CHRISTMAS AT REEDY FALLS

Wafler presents a holiday romance novel, set in South Carolina, in which characters struggle with familial complexities.

Mamie Morrow, a journalist in Charleston, is assigned to cover a new hotel in the north of the state called the Grand Bohemian Lodge. As she works alongside photographer Rob Fitzpatrick, who hails from South Boston, the two quickly find themselves smitten with each other. Mamie’s skepticism about dating, given her career aspirations (“Romance could make me take my eye off the ball”), is not nearly as convincing as her immediate attraction to Rob; indeed, their relationship blossoms with little drama or complication. However, Mamie’s past—riddled with secrets, grief, and estrangement—colors the narrative, as do Rob’s hidden financial struggles and humble beginnings. Overall, Wafler delivers a fun, sweet romance with little in the way of conflict, which makes for an easy read, although readers may find some details distracting. Even though Mamie is a Southerner and Rob is from New England, their dialogue is nearly indistinguishable, aside from a few stereotypical phrases her and there (“struck a trot”; “wicked good”). Also, Mamie’s family history is tied to the Navajo nation from the American Southwest; the Catawba or Cherokee nations historically inhabited the Greenville area, where the Grand Bohemian Lodge is located, so it’s unlikely that Mamie would find relics that remind her of her ancestry there. The fact that it’s the holiday season seems peripheral to the story; it even works against it at times, as when Mamie and Rob are still working on their article on Christmas Eve. Still, the novel does read very much like a Hallmark Christmas movie, complete with a meet-cute, a workplace romance, and love at first sight, which will appeal to genre fans.

An easygoing if sometimes uneven love story with a Southern flair.