by Georgia Toffolo
Publisher: HQN
Pages: 336
Format: eARC
Buy the Book: Amazon
Goodreads: What do you do when your fake engagement starts to feel too real…
Aspiring clothes designer Victoria Scott spends her days working in a bar in Chelsea and her evenings designing vintage clothes, dreaming of one day opening her own boutique. But these aspirations are under threat from the new department store opening at the end of her road. She needs a Christmas miracle, but one is not forthcoming.
Oliver Russell’s Christmas is not looking very festive right now. His family’s new London department store opening is behind schedule, and on top of that his interfering, if well-meaning, mother is pressing him to introduce his girlfriend to her over the holidays—a girlfriend who does not exist. He needs a diversion…something to keep his mother from meddling while he focuses on the business.
When Oliver meets Victoria, he offers a proposition: pretend to be his girlfriend at the opening of his store and he will provide an opportunity for Victoria to showcase her designs. But what starts as a business arrangement soon becomes something more tempting as the fake relationship starts to feel very real. But when secrets in Victoria’s past are exposed, will Oliver walk away, or will they both follow their hearts and find what neither knew they were looking for…?
Kritters Thoughts: Another holiday romance that was great to get me in the holiday spirit. Victoria Scott is working in a bar, but this isn't the career she dreams of for the long term. Victoria wants to be a clothing designer, but that isn't paying any bills at the moment. An encounter at the bar she works at and then a literal run in on the streets, she meets Oliver Russell who is the heir to a large store brand who is opening a new store in her neighbor - ala You've Got Mail with Tom Hanks.
What I loved about this book compared to the Tom Hanks movie is that Oliver's identity comes out early in the book, so you don't have to stress about this secret being kept from our main character, Victoria. She finds out early, so this isn't a big part of the plot and instead they get to work together for the good of the community that this large store is invading and bettering the community at the same time.
This is the first in a series and while the rest of the series moves to other potential couples, I wouldn't mind another book that focuses solely on this couple as I loved their journey in this book and would love to see what happened after this book ended.
Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row
Ebook 2021 Challenge: 147 out of 100
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one copy of this book free of charge from HarperCollins. I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.
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