I enjoyed the found family aspect and the relationships Stella has with different townspeople!

I loved Beckett and Layla! They were so fun and I can’t wait to read their books in the series, hopefully enjoying them more. I also loved Luka’s interactions with  his family and wish we had more of that!

I wish it had also explored Stella’s issues with her dad more as it’s brought up in the beginning but never really addressed ever again? It felt kind of pointless to introduce him and that storyline but then abandon it by the second half.

I also usually prefer romances with switching POVs to see both sides but Borison did a great job of showing Luka’s feelings even through Stella’s own POV.

The pacing was okay. It was a lot of slow build up just for everything (conflict wise) to explode and be solved, all within the last third of the novel. 

The romance was cute but towards the end I wanted to shake Stella 😅 She was being so frustrating!

Overall it’s cute, fun story that was a quick and easy read! It’s not a favorite for me and didn’t make me swoon or smile as much as I usually do with romances but I’m interested to read more from Borison. Recommend for anyone who wants an easy read with a Hallmark type holiday romance 🎄 

Tropes: friends to lovers, fake dating, found family, small town

Spice: 🌶️ (1.5/3)