Publication Date: 10/28/2014
Publisher: Harlequin
Imprint: MIRA
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 368
ISBN-10: 0778316610
ISBN-13: 978-0778316619
(Received for an honest review from Harlequin MIRA)
Purchase: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Indiebound, itunes
Sheila Roberts on the WEB: website, blog, twitter, facebook, goodreads
Books in the series:
Life in Icicle Falls
1. Better Than Chocolate
2. Merry Ex-Mas
3. What She Wants
4. The Cottage on Juniper Ridge
5. The Tea Shop on Lavender Lane
6. The Lodge on Holly Road
Coverart: Click the Image for a larger, clearer view of the covers in this series.
Excerpt from, The Lodge on Holly Road, courtesy of the author's website.
Synopsis:
How Santa Gets His Christmas Spirit Back…
James Claussen has played Santa for years, but now that he's a widower, he's lost interest—in everything. So his daughter, Brooke, kidnaps him from the mall (in his Santa suit!) and takes him to Icicle Falls. She's arranged a special Christmas at the lodge owned by long-widowed Olivia Wallace and her son, Eric. And yet…Brooke wants Dad to be happy, but she's not ready to see someone else's mommy kissing Santa Claus.
Single mom Missy Monroe brings her kids to the lodge, too. Lalla wants a grandma for Christmas, and her brother, Carlos, wants a dog. Missy can't provide either one. What she'd like is an attractive, dependable man. A man like John Truman… But John's girlfriend will be joining him in Icicle Falls, and he's going to propose.
Of course not everything goes as planned. But sometimes the best gifts are the ones you don't expect!
Thoughts:
The Lodge on Holly Road is Sheila Robert's sixth book in the Life in Icicle Falls series and it's the quintessential Christmas read! Robert's takes several unlikely characters, puts them altogether in a lodge and let's the Christmas spirit take over. The town of Icicle Falls isn't your typical tourist town and Christmas pervades just about every aspect of life during the season. With a fantastic setting and compelling characters, reader's looking for the perfect Christmas read have definitely found it with this book!
What I liked:
I wasn't really sure what to expect from Sheila Robert's because this was my first book from the author. But I loved the great Christmas cover and even though it was Book six in the series I felt it was worth it for a great Christmas read. I was definitely not disappointed with this one. It was easily read as a standalone and readers who haven't read the other books in the Life in Icicle Falls series will not feel left out or in the dark.
One of the things I liked about this book was the different age ranges in the characters. Robert's gives readers characters from old to young in this book and each of them has a different part to play in the story. I loved the way each story from the widowed Santa to the child who wanted a Grandma for Christmas all became intertwined. Robert's did a wonderful job of taking several ideas and merging them into a very heartfelt book that exuded Christmas Spirit.
The story of James, the disgruntled Santa really hit home for me. He had lost his wife the previous Christmas and his children wanted to make new Christmas memories that wouldn't be filled with the sadness of their mother's passing. What they didn't expect was for James to fall in love with another widow who happened to own the lodge where they were staying. I thought Robert's did a wonderful job of expressing all of the changes that the passing of a loved one can make in a family. From James' discontent with life to Brooke's reaction to his new found love. It was a different kind of Christmas story that was truly a joy to read.
The story of the single mom trying to give her children the best Christmas possible is something I totally get. I am a single mom with two daughters and I understand the desire to give them wonderful Christmas memories and I appreciated Missy's tenacity and determination. She couldn't really give her daughter a grandma for Christmas, could she? Robert's makes readers believe in the impossible and Christmas is the perfect time of year for that.
Bottom Line:
This was a fantastic Christmas read and Icicle Falls is the kind of town I would love to visit for the holidays. I loved all of visitors to Olivia's lodge and the other townspeople who happened in. Robert's has created the perfect Christmas atmosphere in this book. Romance abounds, but things don't get too steamy. With this kind of book, you don't need that to make it extra special... it already is! This was my favorite Christmas read this year.
The Lodge on Holly Road is available NOW from your favorite bookseller.
I'm giving this one 5 out of 5 apples from my book bag!
About the Author:
1 comment:
this is one of my favorite series. i have only read the first three, but hope to get some gift cards to be able to get the rest
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