Tour Review & Giveaway - - The Ex-Mas Holidays

The Ex-Mas Holidays

by Zoe Allison

Publisher: Berkley

Release Date: September 26, 2023

Reviewed by PJ

 

Maya Bashir is dreading her drive home for Christmas and having to explain that she's just left her high-paying job and a long-term relationship, so a brief detour to her friend’s festive party doesn’t seem like such a bad idea. Until Maya walks in to find the last person she wants to see. Sam, the boy who broke her heart eight years ago. And he’s serving drinks. Naked.
 
Sam Holland is working an extra job on the sly to help his friend get by. But little did he expect Maya Bashir to come barrelling back into his life, learning about his secret side-hustle and taking back her old job alongside him at his daytime role as a ski instructor on the slopes of the Scottish Highlands.
 
As both Sam and Maya realize that their reason for heartbreak so many years ago wasn’t entirely as it seemed, they must learn to stand up for what they want the most…or else miss their second chance at love.

PJ's Thoughts:

Zoe Allison takes readers to the Scottish Highlands in this humorous and heart-tugging second-chance romance, tugging me into the lives of these characters from their unexpectedly funny "reunion" in the first few pages then easily holding my attention right up to the final scene. 

The ski resort provides a wonderful backdrop for this small-town, reunion romance, offering up cozy fires, delicious hot chocolate, crisp air, and snowy slopes that invite you to indulge your inner snow bunny. The setting has me wanting to pack my bags and book a flight to Scotland but it's the characters who would make me want to stay.

At first glance, this book would seem to be a lighthearted, funny second-chance romance. And it is...but it's also so much more. Allison has created complex characters with multiple layers, dealing with real-life issues that elicit a range of emotions. Maya's relationship with her family, and their expectations, has had a profound impact on her life and her happiness while Sam's own family issues have led him into an emotionally abusive relationship. These characters are so relatable, and endearing. I enjoyed their friendship, the attraction between them, the goodness and kindness in them. I was in their corner, cheering them on the entire way. 

While much of Sam and Maya's journey is flirty and fun, there are serious issues front and center in each of their lives. I appreciate the fact that the author gives both Maya and Sam the necessary time - and tools - to face those issues head-on. There is much to sort out between them with open communication being the key. There are also some emotionally triggering circumstances for Sam that are critical to his well being. Kudos to Allison for allowing her characters to grow realistically, acknowledging that the need for mental health treatment doesn't take away from this book's enjoyment, or from the romantic journey, but rather enhances it. 

This was my first book by Zoe Allison. It will not be my last. 

Have you visited the Scottish Highlands?

Where would you be spending your ski resort vacation: on the slopes or snuggled up to a cozy fire in the lodge?

One person who posts a comment before 11:00 PM, September 30 will receive a print copy of The Ex-Mas Holidays. 

Review - - The Highland Duke

The Highland Duke

By Amy Jarecki

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Release Date: March 28, 2017

Reviewed by Hellie

 

Set in the early 18th century during the first Jacobite rebellion, Amy Jarecki’s new series, Lords of the Highlands, The Highland Duke features a lord and servant type of trope with a born-and-raised wealthy chieftain lord and a poor gypsy healer. Geordie, the Duke of Gordon, is wounded in a Jacobite skirmish and Akira, the tinker-healer, saves him and then agrees to continue to treat him until he’s safe back at his Highland home for the exorbitant price of ten shillings. They are from completely different worlds, but are drawn to each other despite the obvious heartbreak headed their way should they give into their desires for each other.

On their heels is an English redcoat (think of Black Jack Randall from Outlander), and Geordie and Akira have to depend on each other to reach his home in safety. Once safely there, Geordie insists on having her escorted back home; however, by now Akira is also being hunted by the men who want to find a traitorous Highland lord part of the Jacobite rebellion--and the traitorous wench who helped the one they had escape. Capturing one such as Geordie will result in wealth, prestige, and lands for someone like the redcoat who hunts him...or even Geordie’s frenemy, the Duke of Atholl.

In addition to these complications, when the couple does admit their love for each other, getting married would be impossible. For one, a duke does not marry a impoverished gypsy, even if he has wealth enough for that aspect not to matter. Marrying a gypsy would be the equivalent of interracial marriage in the 1950s: illegal and unheard of by those with titles. In addition, the duke is divorced from his first wife and a divorce in this time period does not allow for a second marriage, while the first wife is still living.

Full of action and dark complications, The Highland Duke will likely engage readers who enjoy highlander romances and may especially enjoy one set in a time period a little different than the usual mid-1800s or post-Culloden or pre-Scottish Independence. Both characters are likeable and complex, but at times, I felt the romance seemed a bit pushed. (I myself do not like romantic interludes that happen either during or right after one has been escaping for their lives--I don’t think that is the time. However, that is my particular preference. Also as a preference, I’m not keen on the lord and servant trope simply because that kind of power-struggle and the historical/societal attitudes make it hard for me to believe they’d be overcome.) However, Jarecki does a sufficient job showing the evolution of the duke’s struggles in just these areas so one could believe for this couple, a happily ever after was the logical conclusion. And the heroine’s strength of character to not accept less than an honorable relationship is also admirable and made the character a very “rootable” character.

If you can still read books without picking apart plots or characterization* (you lucky thing), this book may rate even higher for you. Jarecki has an excellent author’s note at the end, explaining where she got the idea and what liberties she took when writing. If you don’t care about any of that, then welcome to another delicious series of heroes in kilts!

I do have to say, the final escape scene of near certain death alone makes this novel worth reading. Hilarious and action-packed. Enjoy!

*I was a history minor (junkie) in college and I annoy the crap out of my friends with historical detail that no one likes to focus on, let alone think about in regards to romance. It’s helpful in Trivia Pursuit, unhelpful when it comes to reading a lot of fiction...or conversing with most teenagers.