Coming in strong with their debut novella, Erin Rose sweeps you off your feet with a quick dip into the world of second chances, do-overs, and dreams come true. Christmas Passion and Hot Cocoa Cookies is a drive-by feel good romantic comedy were the past and present collide, giving one reformed quiet and shy guy another chance to do what he couldn’t before, get the girl of his dreams. 

Two out of the three musketeers in high school, Levi and Mila were inseparable. Too shy to tell her how he felt, he always regretted becoming the third wheel when she began dating his best friend. Years later, Levi can’t believe his luck when he runs into Mila while picking up his niece. Refusing to allow history to repeat itself, Levi finds himself in the middle of a holiday “fling” that he never wants to end as he volunteers to be Mila’s much needed “distraction”.

Swamped with bake sales, fundraising, and performances, Mila can’t make heads or tails of her life, let along get romantically involved with someone. Just wanting to scratch an itch, she didn’t anticipate Levi and how much he would turn her world upside down. Only home briefly to help his sister, she knows this is temporary but what do you do when the holidays gifts you the one thing you never knew you always wanted.

What I liked about this book: There were two parts of this book that made me stand at attention. When Levi and Mila finally hooked up, there…are…no…words! The build up to that scene didn’t remotely do it justice. Nothing would have prepared me for that! I have to agree with Mila, the Levi in the bedroom versus the gentleman he is in public – night and day! The second part was the ending, it was perfection! The emotion, humor, and intensity just took my breath away. While my brain was frustrated by not knowing what happened as there wasn’t an epilogue or wrap-up, I did enjoy where the story left off.

What I didn’t like about this book: There were moments where the story lost a little bit of steam, dragging out and causing my interest to wane. It would eventually pick back up but in a such a short read, there shouldn’t have been any lulls. I also found it very difficult to connect with the characters. You were given glimpses, peeks into their past that seemed like they should be significant but instead of diving more into it, the story just kept going – making you question why they were mentioned in the first place. With that being said, I feel like the writers found their stride towards the end of the book as the emotion became more apparent, the intimacy was more focused, and I felt a little more drawn in by the characters. 

For a quick tub read, waiting room distraction, or something to listen to while you drive to work (well maybe home from work – I don’t see how someone could concentrate at work after listening to this!), Christmas Passion and Hot Cocoa Cookies is the perfect way to satisfy that sweet tooth in need of a quintessential holiday romance.