Christmas has arrived… And she’s spending it with her boss! New Yorker Erin is intrigued when Hugo Harrington asks for her help on a hotel renovation in London, just weeks before Christmas! But Erin soon discovers how personal this project is to her brooding boss. Watching him wrestle with the memories of his past uncovers a side to Hugo she’s never seen. And then a stolen snowbound kiss changes everything…
My Review:
There are a lot of things I’m willing to accept, as a romance reader. My suspension of disbelief really does go a long way. But I have to admit that I was completely thrown off by the premise of this story. Because absolutely no one - NO ONE - is going to hire a New York event planner and fly them to London to plan an event in a London hotel. Literally the entire point of an event planner is that they know where to get the good stuff and hire the good people. Take them out of their home ground and they are going to waste an awful lot of time running around looking for new sources. They wouldn’t know anyone. All their contacts would be in New York. You just wouldn’t do it. And it’s not like you can’t hire a competent events planner in London, for goodness’ sake!
What bothered me about this was that it was unnecessary. Hugo could just have hired Erin in London and the whole romance happened there… and the only thing cut would have been the Touristy American In London At Christmas schtick which really didn’t add to the romance at all. And the romance itself was actually really good; Hugo and Erin both have past relationship trauma and Erin is a single mother (with adorable plot moppet son and hilariously sassy mother as side characters). There’s some great scenes where Erin makes clear and rational decisions about just having a no-strings affair with Hugo, which were delightfully affirming of a woman’s right to do exactly that and not be treated as slutty - of course it doesn’t work out that way as emotions get involved, but I liked the attitude towards it being a completely valid choice if that was what they both wanted. There are also no rivals for the affections of either of them in the story, keeping the conflict strictly based on their own internal struggles, which I also really liked.
This is apparently the third in a trilogy about the Harrington siblings by different authors, and I haven’t read the other two, but I don’t think there was too much missed out on - Hugo’s sister Sally has some Big Drama happening which is obviously simultaneous with her own book, but I was able to follow along okay. The revelation that their mother was subject to emotional and financial abuse which led to the breakup of their family may be triggering for some, so please be aware.
Overall I did like this but I struggled from the outset to accept the premise. If you can ignore the utter unlikeliness of it and you like cute American Tourist in London at Christmas vignettes, you’ll probably love it. I’ll give it four stars.
Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this title via Rachel’s Random Resources.
Author Bio –
Susan Meier is a lover of a great story and a fabulous turn of phrase. What better home for her than Mills and Boon where stories touch the heart? She found her bliss when Harlequin published her first book and hasn’t looked back. A mom of three and wife to the best guy on the planet, she loves reading almost as much as writing, and thanks the heavens for the internet and YouTube which have made research so much fun.
Social Media Links –
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/susan.meier.54
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