I'm going to lead with this: I don't think I'm the right audience for this book. It's a very good book and I think I personally found it more difficult to read because it is so good. Because… the conflict in this one touches some very deep places in my heart and in my personal history. She handles it well and for most readers, I would highly recommend it, but… as somebody who grew up in a religious family, and had to fear the reaction of a family member before I came out (and deal with that family member's refusal to accept the reality she didn't approve of), the conflict in this book hit too close to home, and I didn't have the courage of this book's couple until I was about a decade older.

That's a long and roundabout way of saying that the author painted the picture so well that I was dealing with the echoes of my own past and its parallels with the book. And… reliving old hurts and fears is not the most conducive setting for me to experience the type of romantic holiday warm-fuzzies that I was hoping for: the book had them… my background made it difficult for me to appreciate them.

Shorter still: my rating is for my level of enjoyment. I expect most readers who would want to pick this book up would enjoy it more than I did, so don't let my rating deter you.