Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for an ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.
I was very excited when I saw that we were going to be able to return to Blue Moon Bay, and I had a feeling I knew who we would be following as the lead female when the first book ended, so I was delighted at the opportunity at the chance to read this ARC. Christmas books aren’t usually my thing (though I do find a guilty pleasure in watching Hallmark Christmas movies – but usually for laughs more than the awws), but this one was something I didn’t want to pass up.
Jessica & Mitch have a very passionate whirlwind romance in this book, but it isn’t necessarily unbelievable. There are genuine conflicts in this book that are outside forces, putting strain on the budding relationship to assist with the anxiety of whether or not they will end up together in the end. This isn’t a will-they-won’t-they romance, but rather a “will the world tear them apart before they can be together” romance. (Is that a genre? It is now) I enjoyed the tie-in’s with the first book, and while you don’t need to read the first one to understand this one, I do think it adds a lot more to the story. Some of the character description is not as detailed since it came in the first book, but there isn’t a lack of character development if you read this one as a standalone.
Overall, I personally liked this one a bit less than the first, but that doesn’t make this a bad book in the slightest. I think it was very cute and I was genuinely not sure how the ending was going to be at times. I think if you like Christmas romance books, or if you liked the first book in Blue Moon Bay you should definitely check this out. 3.5/5