ARC Review – Her Holiday Man by Shannon Stacey

Her Holiday Man by Stacey Shannon is one of those perfect love stories that remind the reader to cherish every moment and to not let fear keep you from living your life. ~ Slick, Guilty Pleasures 

Description:
Christina Forrester is starting over. After a financial scandal sent her ex-husband to prison, she’s left raising her young son without any of the comforts of their old life. Budgets, coupons, lawn care—you name it, she’s learning to do it all on her own. Well, almost on her own—she’d be lost without Gail Broughton, the kind widow across the street. But when Gail’s son comes home, Christina’s vow to never trust a man again is put to the test.

Will Broughton left town because he was tired of being “that poor man” who lost his wife and unborn child in a tragic accident. But years have passed and, with his dad gone and his mom alone, it’s time to go home. Only his mother’s not alone. She’s taken Christina under her wing, and the beautiful and determined single mother awakens something in Will he thought was buried forever.

As Will and Christina are forced to spend more time together, feelings that are more than neighborly grow between them. And with Christmas coming and a child filling both houses with holiday cheer, it becomes nearly impossible not to embrace the joy—and the love—in their lives.

Review copy provided for an honest review

Her Holiday Man by Shannon Stacey is one of those perfect “Hallmark” movie type of romancenovels that I really do love to read. It’s a story of healing (for several characters), of hope, of giving without expecting anything in return, and it’s about opening your heart and learning to love again. It’s a sweet romance but it packs an emotional wallop and it is perfect story to snuggle up with in front of the fire.

Knowing his newly widowed mother is facing a tough holiday season Will Broughton decides to move back home to help her out and to try and put the sadness of the holiday behind him. What he doesn’t expect is to find his mother enjoying the company of a much younger man, a 7 year old to be exact and one that comes with a divorced mom who lives across the street. Christina Forrester wasn’t prepared when she meets her neighbor and friend Gail’s son and she certainly wasn’t expecting the nerves that attacked her when they first meet.

This is one of those books that will tug at your heartstrings as all of the main characters have suffered a huge loss in their lives and they are all struggling to put their lives back together. Gail lost her husband suddenly and is just trying to make it through the first holiday season without him. Will lost his wife and not yet born daughter days before Christmas eight years ago and now his dad is gone too and he’s still not sure how to cope with it all. Christina’s life was turned upside down when her husband was sent to jail for stealing huge sums of money from investors and everything she owned was taken from her and her son. Nathaniel lost his father but more than that he lost the security he’d always known. Somehow together they all seem to begin healing with each other’s help and while Will and Christina claim they both don’t want a relationship they can’t deny the attraction between them but when they act on it things get a little messy.

It was so hard watching Will and Christina deny what was happening between them because they were both so focused on just getting through the holidays and not letting go of the lives they had managed to carve out for themselves individually. However it was easy to see that when things were going right and they spent time together either alone or with his mom or her son they were happy and thriving. I especially loved the moments Will spent with Nathaniel and the manly bonding they shared.

While not an easy love story there was a realness to it that made it wonderful. Her Holiday Man by Stacey Shannon is one of those perfect love stories that remind the reader to cherish every moment and to not let fear keep you from living your life.

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