This is a quick and lighthearted novella, and I listened to it in one sitting. The narrators, Alexis Paige and Grayson Owens, were new to me, and they were great as Cassie and Nolan.

Cassie's plans of a vacation on the beach in Honolulu get sidetracked by all the flights being cancelled due to a storm, along with her plans of losing her v-card to a sexy surfer/bartender. She ends up staying at Nan's B&B while she waits for the next flight out, and this is how she meets Nolan. 

Nolan has been going through a rough patch, feeling a little lost and filled with regrets about not giving his family the time he should've the last few years and wants to make up for it while also trying to find himself again.

The two feel an instant spark, and as they spend their time getting into the Christmas spirit, talking, opening up, and celebrating each other's holiday traditions, they feel a deeper connection. And what was supposed to be just a fling while waiting for the storm to pass slowly turns into something more. Nan was just here being the perfect matchmaker, spreading her Nanta Clause magic to get these two together.

I really liked how Cassie and Nolan bonded over their love for academics and their interests being along the same lines. Nolan was also the first person whose opinion on her pursuing music therapy gave her the push she needed to consider it more seriously because she knew he could relate to her work as their fields were closely related. The spice was also definitely steamy (hot tubs always seem to do the trick).

Although I wish the two had the more important conversations on page. Like what had happened with Nolan's ex to make him distance himself from his family and how it factors into him feeling like he didn't know himself anymore.

I also wish he'd had a more in-depth conversation about his ex with Cassie so things felt more resolved or helped in giving us an understanding of his relationship with his ex. She just randomly popped up and then disappeared, and I didn't even know what happened between Nolan and her after Cassie left.

The drama towards the end felt a little dragged out and unnecessary in my opinion since it kind of took away from their budding romance, and then their reunion just didn't seem satisfactory to me. Just a 2-minute conversation to clear up all that had happened over the course of months was not convincing enough for me. Also, the reasoning felt sort of weak and lame. I also wish there was a chapter from Nolan's POV side during said period, trying to put in his efforts to get to Cassie so we could know how hard he truly tried rather than just saying it.

Thank you to Brit Benson and The Author Agency for providing me with the ALC in exchange for an honest review.