"Let's just say, it's a shame you grew up to be boring."
I don't expect her to say those words. I gape and fold my arms across my chest. "I am not boring."
Synopsis
BRIE
Things I should never have done:
Put my ex-boyfriend’s name on my Christmas wish list.
Grin dumbly at him when he shows up at my door.
Think it's kismet that he's staying on the other half of my duplex for the holidays and means we’re meant to be together. Because we’re not. He broke my heart in High School and never looked back.
ROCKWELL
Things I will never do:
Move back to Bearwood.
Repeat my parents’ mistakes by getting married.
Kiss Brie Holland under the mistletoe. I know how good her kisses are, and if I want to make sure number one and two don’t happen, I’m going to have to keep her safely in the friend zone until I’m out of Bearwood for good.
Thoughts & Feelings
Does anyone else love reading Christmas time stories outside of Christmas? It's so much fun to dream about snowy weather and the magic of the season when I'm not currently stuck in the snow. Don't get me wrong I do read Christmas books in December, but I love to enjoy them all year.
Anneka R. Walker quickly became a must read author for me and when I saw that she was releasing a contemporary Christmas novel I was so excited. Christmas books are so much fun and I was excited to see what kind of holiday spin Anneka would put in her novel. She did a fantastic job of weaving together an adorable second chance at love with the magic of the Christmas season.
One of my favorite things about the novel was the five fun things that Brie challenges Rockwell to do. In one of their early conversations Brie tells Rockwell that he is a boring adult (LOVED IT!) and challenges him to do five fun things while he is in town. If he doesn't do all five he is stuck going to a huge community Christmas event with Brie. This challenge brings us so many funny and tender moments between Brie and Rockwell. I love how he basically just invites himself into whatever holiday happiness Brie is undertaking. Anneka did a great job throwing in activities that we are all familiar with, like present wrapping, but she also introduced me to a few traditions that I wasn't as familiar with. The Holland family party sounds like so much fun!
I also love how much Brie's friends are in the story. Two of Brie's close friends from high school are now her roommates so naturally they stumble across Brie and Rockwell a few times. It was so much fun to get to see their reactions and how they also invite themselves to join the holiday shenanigans or make up an excuse to leave. I love that we also get to see the loving and supporting side of their friendship as well. We learn a lot about Brie, and her history with Rockwell, through their conversations and it was fun to see how well rounded the friendships were.
Book Tags
Language
clean
Steam Level
clean, kissing
Content & Trigger Warnings
Rockwell's parents divorced when he was eighteen. This is brought up a few times and plays an important role in his story.
Book Information
Title: Merry Kismet
Series: Gift-Wrapped Romances
Author: Anneka R. Walker
Gift-Wrapped Romance Series
Cabin Crush by Kasey Stockton
Merry Kismet by Anneka R. Walker
releasing November 6, 2023
Solo for the Season by Martha Keys
releasing November 9, 2023
One Small Secret by Esther Hatch
releasing November 13, 2023
Jingle Bell Jilt by Mindy Strunk
releasing November 20, 2023
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