Christmas on 4th Street
by: Susan Mallery
3.5 HEARTS
There's nowhere better to spend the holidays than with New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery in the town of Fool's Gold, where love is always waiting to be unwrapped... Noelle Perkins just got a second chance at life, and she intends to make the most of every minute. That's why she ditched a frustrating legal career to open her own store in Fool's Gold, California. The Christmas Attic celebrates everything that's magical about her favorite season. Business is booming, and as a bonus, gorgeous army doctor Gabriel Boylan has offered to help out during the holiday rush.
Gabriel's memories of Christmas past contain more sour grapes than sugar plums, thanks to a drill sergeant father who ran his home like a boot camp. Spending the holidays with his family while he recuperates from injury sounds as appetizing as last year's eggnog. Still, there are some enjoyable distractions in town, including sunny, sexy Noelle...and the red-hot mistletoe kisses they can't stop sharing.
Gabriel didn't think he was made for happily-ever-afters. But when fate hands you a love as sweet and surprising as this, only a fool could refuse....
Gabriel's memories of Christmas past contain more sour grapes than sugar plums, thanks to a drill sergeant father who ran his home like a boot camp. Spending the holidays with his family while he recuperates from injury sounds as appetizing as last year's eggnog. Still, there are some enjoyable distractions in town, including sunny, sexy Noelle...and the red-hot mistletoe kisses they can't stop sharing.
Gabriel didn't think he was made for happily-ever-afters. But when fate hands you a love as sweet and surprising as this, only a fool could refuse....
Overall this was a good story, but it just lacked the usual connection I get from Mallery's books. I liked Noelle and Gabriel. They had a beautiful story, a good relationship, I was disconnected.
Noelle is the type of person I could get along beautifully with. She was carefree and happy, and it was contagious. Nothing got her down for long. She kept her head high and took life as if it could disappear at any moment. She lived for the day and never let an opportunity pass her by. Her personality and outlook on life was the perfect complement to Gabriel. He gave her a reason to take a chance again, even if it may not have been the type of chance she hoped for. She was missing something in her life, and she found it in the most unexpected person.
Gabriel is a very exhausted and beaten down man. His life is not one he wishes to share with anyone. It's disturbing, horrifying, and very very dark. He never realized how broken he was because of it until he came to Fool's Gold and met the most remarkable woman in Noelle. Everything bad in his life was forgotten in the midst of her happiness and joy. She made him forget his life and relax. She allowed him to see the brighter side of life that he had been denying himself for so long. She healed him in a way he never expected, or believed, and she made him realize that he really could have happiness and love.
This is a very cute holiday story. I wish I would have connected to the characters more, but it was still a story worth reading. Although some of it was rather sad at times, overall it was a story of two forgotten souls finding each other and falling in love.
Noelle is the type of person I could get along beautifully with. She was carefree and happy, and it was contagious. Nothing got her down for long. She kept her head high and took life as if it could disappear at any moment. She lived for the day and never let an opportunity pass her by. Her personality and outlook on life was the perfect complement to Gabriel. He gave her a reason to take a chance again, even if it may not have been the type of chance she hoped for. She was missing something in her life, and she found it in the most unexpected person.
Gabriel is a very exhausted and beaten down man. His life is not one he wishes to share with anyone. It's disturbing, horrifying, and very very dark. He never realized how broken he was because of it until he came to Fool's Gold and met the most remarkable woman in Noelle. Everything bad in his life was forgotten in the midst of her happiness and joy. She made him forget his life and relax. She allowed him to see the brighter side of life that he had been denying himself for so long. She healed him in a way he never expected, or believed, and she made him realize that he really could have happiness and love.
This is a very cute holiday story. I wish I would have connected to the characters more, but it was still a story worth reading. Although some of it was rather sad at times, overall it was a story of two forgotten souls finding each other and falling in love.
**ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Hotness Rating
3 out of 5
3 out of 5
