Christmas in Paradise by Brittany Larsen: Book Review

  *Book received for consideration. All thoughts are my own.

Can an innocent fling turn into the real thing?

I’ve dreamed of being an event planner for as long as I can remember. So, when I get the chance to plan both my step-sister’s televised wedding and Paradise, Idaho’s first Yulefest, I’m determined not to let anything get in the way of proving myself.

Until I encounter the one thing that threatens to sidetrack me: a smoking, hot smolder.

Sebastian Sparks has all the swagger to back up his smolder, and I know I’m in trouble the minute he saunters up to me. But underneath his bad boy image is a surprising vulnerability that’s evident the minute I climb onto the back of his bike.

His e-bike.

He’s supposed to be fun, not forever. Now he wants more.

But he has no idea what he’s getting into with me, and the whole town seems to be conspiring against my efforts to keep a safe distance from him.

When we have to work together to light up Yulefest, Sebastian is determined to prove he’s more than fling-worthy. He’s a man ready to give up everything, including the thing he’s most afraid of. I want to believe him, but I’ve got more than my own heart to protect.

Despite destroyed gnomes, Danish pancake disasters, and a gang of hungry squirrels that threaten to make our first Yulefest together our last, the electricity between us is enough to power every twinkling Christmas light in Paradise.

That’s before the mistletoe mishap. It’s all over the place, including every square inch of the motel room we’re forced to share.

It will take more than attraction and close proximity to keep us together. If we’re going to find our own slice of paradise this Christmas, there’s another heart Sebastian has to win, even though he’s already won mine.

Is it too much to hope our love story might be the most memorable one this holiday season?

Dive into Christmas In Paradise, a closed-door, he-falls-first, romantic comedy where love, laughter, meddling townspeople, and a little bit of holiday magic might just be the recipe for a happily ever after.

Brittany Larsen is an Idaho girl who's spent the last twenty plus years in California raising daughters, reading just about anything, and writing--not necessarily in that order. Hot yoga is her happy/uncomfortable place. She loves a good romance, whether it's set in modern-day, nineteenth century England, or the Old West, as long as it's got a feisty heroine and makes her laugh and/or sigh.

Follow me on insta: https://www.instagram.com/brittanylarsen.books/

Check out my website: https://www.brittanylarsenbooks.com/

Christmas in Paradise is the third book in the Love in Paradise Valley series. While you definitely might have a better understanding of the town and family dynamics if you've read the previous books in the series, this could definitely be enjoyed as a standalone as well. 

This might just be one of the sweetest Christmas romances ever... and I absolutely adored it. Hope and Sebastion meet while she is visiting Paradise to help plan her stepsister's wedding and sparks instantly fly. They have a brief, innocent (kissing only) fling before Hope returns home, ghosting Seb... until she returns a few months later... with her daughter in tow. Charly is just the absolute cutest and definitely helped to make this story as great as it was. As a special needs mom, I thought the author did a great job with these characters-- addressing the extra considerations, without feeling like something worth pity. 

The chemistry between the Hope and Seb was fantastic right from the start, and I absolutely adored that of course... but it was definitely watching him grow and fall in love with Charly too throughout the story that made this story stand out to me. He was far from perfect, but I love how he cared about Hope enough to want to try. So many sweet moments throughout the story that will definitely have readers swooning... all perfectly balanced with the humor and holiday cheer. I will certainly never look at mistletoe or squirrels the same after reading this one, that's for sure! 

Christmas in Paradise is a closed-door romance with chemistry filled kisses only and very minimal language (I believe only one instance).