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A review by brooke_review
The Christmas Wager by Holly Cassidy
4.0
Holly Cassidy’s The Christmas Wager is bringing all of the small town seasonal vibes! At first glance you might think that Holly Cassidy is a debut author, but if you do a little unwrapping, you’ll discover that best-selling author Hannah Mary McKinnon is gifting us seasonal stories under this pen name. Known primarily for her suspense thrillers, McKinnon is surprisingly also adept when composing rom-coms, as The Christmas Wager is a pure delight!
Bella Ross is living the Los Angeles dream … or at least she hopes to be soon. Working for a cutthroat real estate development firm, she is putting in the work to earn her big break … hopefully a promotion that will finally give her room to breathe and let her be able to say that she has officially made it. It looks like that big break could be coming sooner that she could have ever hoped for because she has just been selected to secure a prime location for her firm. The only problem? It is in Small Town, USA, aka Maple Falls, Colorado, a village as cute and quaint as a Christmas card.
Bella left small town life long behind her when she moved from Canada, so she wants to secure this deal ASAP and jet back home. Getting the aging owner of Always Noelle, a generational Christmas shop, to sign over his beautiful historic property should be a cinch with someone as crafty as Bella on the job, but she wasn’t anticipating his grandson stepping in and shutting the whole thing down. Jesse Harrison quickly shines light on the fact that Bella is cheating their family out of what is rightfully owed to them. If Bella wants to buy Always Noelle, she is going to have to pay for it … by participating in Maple Falls’ Holiday Games, a series of seasonal competitions that’s a Maple Falls’ tradition. Winner takes all.
The Christmas Wager is such a fun book to kick off the holiday season. Bella is an absolute Grinch, and I loved seeing this Christmas character trope written as a woman, as it is typically the male counterparts who are lacking in comfort and joy. Will Bella’s heart grow the more time she spends in the absolutely adorable Maple Falls? Time will tell, but one thing’s for sure … how can she NOT feel all holly and jolly after participating in the Holiday Games? From baking to caroling, the Holiday Games are a fun and festive addition to this enemies to lovers rom-com.
The Christmas Wager is an evenly paced holiday read with interesting characters and plot points. This novel employs one of my least favorite plot devices, however - the characters miscommunicate and become assumptive toward the end, creating unnecessary conflict and drama. This always feels like an easy out to me when used in a novel, as I don’t find people to be as narrow-sighted and selfish as books employing this device often make them out to be.
Recommended to fans of, of course, Hallmark Christmas movies, and those who enjoy cute holiday romances of the milder variety.
Bella Ross is living the Los Angeles dream … or at least she hopes to be soon. Working for a cutthroat real estate development firm, she is putting in the work to earn her big break … hopefully a promotion that will finally give her room to breathe and let her be able to say that she has officially made it. It looks like that big break could be coming sooner that she could have ever hoped for because she has just been selected to secure a prime location for her firm. The only problem? It is in Small Town, USA, aka Maple Falls, Colorado, a village as cute and quaint as a Christmas card.
Bella left small town life long behind her when she moved from Canada, so she wants to secure this deal ASAP and jet back home. Getting the aging owner of Always Noelle, a generational Christmas shop, to sign over his beautiful historic property should be a cinch with someone as crafty as Bella on the job, but she wasn’t anticipating his grandson stepping in and shutting the whole thing down. Jesse Harrison quickly shines light on the fact that Bella is cheating their family out of what is rightfully owed to them. If Bella wants to buy Always Noelle, she is going to have to pay for it … by participating in Maple Falls’ Holiday Games, a series of seasonal competitions that’s a Maple Falls’ tradition. Winner takes all.
The Christmas Wager is such a fun book to kick off the holiday season. Bella is an absolute Grinch, and I loved seeing this Christmas character trope written as a woman, as it is typically the male counterparts who are lacking in comfort and joy. Will Bella’s heart grow the more time she spends in the absolutely adorable Maple Falls? Time will tell, but one thing’s for sure … how can she NOT feel all holly and jolly after participating in the Holiday Games? From baking to caroling, the Holiday Games are a fun and festive addition to this enemies to lovers rom-com.
The Christmas Wager is an evenly paced holiday read with interesting characters and plot points. This novel employs one of my least favorite plot devices, however - the characters miscommunicate and become assumptive toward the end, creating unnecessary conflict and drama. This always feels like an easy out to me when used in a novel, as I don’t find people to be as narrow-sighted and selfish as books employing this device often make them out to be.
Recommended to fans of, of course, Hallmark Christmas movies, and those who enjoy cute holiday romances of the milder variety.