ROMANCING CHRISTMAS

In this novel, a single mother and an itinerant military bachelor get to know each other during one eventful holiday season.

Ava is well aware that she lives next door to an unusually attractive Navy officer. She has never done more than wave at him in passing, and that’s fine, because she’s totally focused on caring for her young son, who has health problems. She cannot afford to get distracted by something as frivolous as a romance. But then one day, when she’s bringing her son, Nicholas, home from school, her handsome neighbor, Harris, is building a snowman in his yard. A meddling female friend knew what time Ava would be returning home with Nicholas and concocted a reason why she needed Harris to construct a snowman. As expected, the young boy is desperate to join the fun. All it takes is one conversation between Harris and Ava, and everything begins to change. When Nicholas goes to his father’s house for Christmas, Harris and Ava have the holiday break to enjoy each other’s company. It will be a quick tryst before Nicholas returns and Harris relocates for his next assignment. Though wildly attracted to each other, when they begin to connect on a deeper level, they realize all the reasons why their relationship can never work. Told alternately from Harris’ and Ava’s perspectives, the story pokes fun at how easy it is to create a romance simply by participating in trite activities during the holiday season. At the same time, Aster cleverly utilizes each of these tropes to strengthen Ava and Harris’ attachment to each other. From snowball fights and ice skating to decorating trees and baking Christmas treats, no holiday-season milestone is neglected. Despite the lighthearted tone, the issues that Ava faces as the mother of an ill child are deep and complex, but the author handles them with grace and insight. Replete with witty banter, steamy sex scenes, and oodles of Christmas cheer, the book is engaging and compulsively readable. Despite the story’s clichéd setup and a few cheesy lines, Aster’s openly formulaic approach helps the novel achieve exactly what it set out to do.  

A delightfully romantic tale that hits all the right Christmas notes.