ROMANCING THE HOLIDAYS

Four couples find love during the holidays in this romance novella collection.

In Lucky Fall, 22-year-old Michigander Sarah Faulk, a restaurant manager who has spent most of her life raising her now-adult siblings after her parents’ deaths, receives a surprise gift from her best friend, Cristine: tickets to see her favorite band in Dublin. This is the city where Sarah’s parents met and fell in love. As St. Patrick’s Day approaches, Sarah retraces her parents’ romance and falls in love herself, both with Dublin and with the band’s PR manager, Bash. The Fourth of July is the central holiday of Pawsitively Perfect, as a chance encounter between veterinarian Leigh and military veteran James (involving her large dog, Pogo, and a bowl of badly made potato salad) leads to a friends-to-lovers relationship as the two team up to plan a canine-friendly outdoor fundraiser. Can Leigh shake off the residual hurt from her cheating ex-boyfriend? Next, Leigh’s colorful office manager, Rosalie, gets her own story in All Thanks to You when she meets handsome cat person Jonah Keene at an animal shelter Halloween party. He turns out to be her troubled teenage sister’s English teacher—and he causes her to question her own fear of commitment, set in place by perpetually warring parents. In the final novella, Beaver Creek Resort, single mother Claire Donahue reluctantly goes on a pre-Christmas trip with her young daughter, Tessa, and sister, Sydney, and forges an unexpected, strong connection with ski instructor Blake. Johnson tells each tale from the leading woman’s point of view (all except Lucky Fall employ the first person). The four female protagonists are fully formed before meeting their heroes, with a diverse range of experiences featuring the common threads of fulfilling jobs and rich relationships with friends and family. Each story has appropriately festive touches, from Guinness in Irish pubs to cute Halloween costumes and romantic Christmas surprises. Though one particular detail is confusing (two tales contain characters named Jonah who seem to be different people), the collection is a fast, enjoyable read.

A fun bit of escapism with four equally sweet romances.