TITLE: How the Grump Saved Christmas
AUTHOR: Claire Kingsley
AUDIOBOOK NARRATORS: Samantha Brentmoor, Stephen Dexter
RELEASE DATE: 11/17/2022 (book and audio)
GENRE: Holiday Romance, Small Town Romance
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
CW/TW: Miscarriage (in the past)
BLURB:
Hardworking Isabelle Cook has a serious problem. Her family farm, site of Tilikum’s Christmas Village, is in trouble. Big trouble. And worst of all? The man trying to buy it is none other than the grumpiest, grinchiest man of them all—Elias Stoneheart.
That’s a big nope. She’s not letting him get involved. Not with his heart made of coal.
Elias Stoneheart is in the business of making money, not friends. Especially when his boss is promising a long-awaited promotion. All he has to do is convince one struggling family to sell their farm.
The problem? It’s Cook Family Farm. And Isabelle Cook is his ex.
He might have history with Isabelle, but this is just business. A Christmas-loving farm girl is not going to come between him and his ambition.
And Christmas? He hates it. Christmas Village needs to go.
But as Elias spends time in the small town, holiday spirit—and Isabelle—get under his skin. And she might be the only one who can melt the ice around his heart.
Author’s Note: a sassy farm girl takes on a grumpy businessman in this stand-alone, snowy, small-town Christmas romance. Saucy banter, a guard donkey, plenty of holiday cheer, and a heartwarming happily ever after that will make you believe in the magic of Christmas.
MY REVIEW:
If you have not read this story already and are looking for a holiday romance story to read this season, I strongly consider you add this to your TBR!
Isabelle Cook and Elias Stoneheart were childhood sweethearts until they weren’t. Now Elias is back in Tilikum to try and get Isabelle and her family to sell their farm to his company so he can secure a long-awaited promotion. Will Isabelle and the town of Tilikum be able to convince him that there’s more to life than just work?
I really loved Isabelle and Elias’s story! It was a very cute and heartwarming holiday story! I also loved the additional love story we sort of got with Alice and Cole, and Alice’s daughter Maddie, and I loved how Claire used these characters (and more) to help guide Elias in his journey to discovering what the true spirit of Christmas is.
I really enjoyed listening to Samantha Brentmoor and Stephen Dexter narrate this story! I absolutely loved Stephen though, especially when he would take on the voice of Maddie (be still my heart!) If you have are looking for a great holiday story to listen to, I highly recommend this one!
If you’ve read Claire’s Bailey Brothers series then you may have seen parts of this story play out in Levi and Annika’s book in Rewriting the Stars as Isabelle is one of Annika’s best friends. No, you don’t need to read that book in order to understand this book as they are separate stories, but some of the events that happen in Rewriting the Stars overlap in this one. I will say, if you have never read the Bailey Brothers series, I highly recommend you read it because it is phenomenal! You can expect: sizzling love stories, a hilarious but sometimes contentious family feud between the Baileys and Havens that usually revolve around pranks, ornery squirrels that can be trained to cause mayhem, and a small town that you will fall in love with and want to move to!