A Married Little Christmas

While I’m making my way through another extended holiday season that I may occasionally refer to as WIBOS (Will It Be Over Soon?), I’m going to remember that Abby Jimenez’ new Christmas-themed romance collection was a lovely bright spot in it!

These three novellas are charming, clean, festive fun that I’m confident will warm the hearts of Yule lovers and holiday humbugs alike. I know I very much loved reading a romance where the spiciest thing in the book was the gingerbread! Don’t get me wrong, there was plenty of palpable emotional chemistry, and seeing adults grow naturally into their relationships without immediately discovering the joys of the nearest bed, shower, counter top, etc. was so appreciated.

Each of these stories was a treat. It’s not a criticism to say they all left me wishing for even more pages to spend time in! Jimenez keeps the three stories in the same literary universe, with each one being connected to but not dependent on the next, by mention of certain characters or places. It was a clever touch and made them feel like one bigger continuing story without taking anything away from their individual, standalone charm. 

I’m not going to spoil the Christmas magic by deep-diving into plots, but I’ll give you a little peek behind the curtain:

Part 1: Sweater Weather (10 chapters) - Fate unexpectedly brings two former high-school sweethearts, Anna and Jeremy back together in a fake-dating, holiday dinner fiasco involving their two wacky families and a grandma with comically strong opinions on the patriarchy. Cheers! (That comment will make sense when you read it. 😉)

Part 2: Stealing Christmas (16 chapters and an epilogue) - This could also be titled “Don’t Lose a Bet to Your Brothers” as Matty finds out when he has to spend a day at Pancake Disco dressed as Zombie Santa. Yikes. Luckily, he meets kind-hearted waitress Rhiannon who might just make losing this bet the best thing that’s ever happened to him!

Part 3: Marry Little Christmas (15 chapters and an epilogue) - In this ho-ho, oh no! story, William and Lauren rush to a holiday-themed town called Little Christmas to save their respective best friends from marrying after a whirlwind three-day courtship that can’t possibly last, right? One thing is certain: this best man and maid of honor may discover that love doesn’t always work in predictable ways … for their friends or themselves!

Bonus: Recipes - Jimenez is an award-winning baker as well, and she was kind enough to include some very yummy sounding recipes that I’ll be trying ASAP!

I can’t pick a favorite story because I loved all three, but I will say that I especially wanted more time with Matty and Rhiannon. They were so fun and would be perfect for a full-length novel. It's on my Christmas wish list for next year! Speaking of wishes, thank you to the publisher for granting mine for this. It was a delightful and heartwarming start to my holiday season!

★★★★ ½ 

Thanks to Forever Books/Grand Central Publishing, NetGalley and author Abby Jimenez for the DRC to honestly review. It’s out now.