One Christmas Wish - Sara Richardson (Heart of the Rockies #2.5)

I know, I know, I totally owe you a Christmas book for last week, sorry this one is a bit late. I finished it last week, but Forgetting August kind of took over my brain for the last 5 days. Today I bring you One Christmas Wish, a novella in the Heart of the Rockies series. It absolutely can be read as a standalone, but I highly suggest you pick up the entire series. Sara Richardson has a magic way with characters and you'll be in love with every single one. While this is less Christmas than I'd like, it was a great story and the kind of novella I enjoy. We've got just three weeks left of holiday books, so hopefully you've been enjoying all of these that I have shared.

Rating: 4 stars
Published: November 2015
Many thanks to Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Amazon Goodreads

Julia is just going through the motions of her brother's wedding, keeping a huge secret that she plans to skip town right after. She wants the independence she lost years ago, a life without her mom and brother's help. She's willing to do whatever it takes to make the wedding perfect, until the one man she hasn't forgotten about in 12 years shows up. At 15, Isaac Nash was the love of her life, but 12 years in the Navy has severed those ties. Except, Isaac never forgot Julia, and after making a life for himself, he may be ready to make room in his heart for her. The past may be too much for the both of them to get over, but spending the Christmas wedding together shows Isaac that he must convince Julia to give him another chance.

Julia is a quirky character, she completely sucks you in, but her reasoning doesn't always make sense. At 25, I completely relate to her feelings of needing to step out on her own, except she has a handicap to deal with on top of it. Her desire to be independent is refreshing, I really liked that she didn't take one look at Isaac and want to jump right in with him. She wants him, recognizes that she has feelings for him still, but also doesn't believe he could want to be committed to her and her needs forever. Isaac is total book boyfriend material, he's got a rough past, found himself and a new life, and held onto his feelings for 12 years. If that isn't love, I don't know what is. He works to show her that her handicap is something people who love her want to help her with, not out of requirement. I love the situation they are tossed into, allowing them to finally share some of the feelings they'd been holding onto. Plus, when the family finally learns of Julia's decision it led to al to of sparks, some interesting character drama, and a lot of development in the relationships of all characters.

 This is a 5 star novella, but I had to dock a point for the lack of Christmas feelings. I really felt like it came across as just a convenient time frame, however the wedding part really brought it to life. It is a novella in the Heart of the Rockies series, so everything moves fairly quickly, however the characters and their past is just right for the speed. The romance is a bit predictable, but the characters themselves are not and there are a couple tasteful, steamy scenes. While it isn't really a Christmas story, it is a great love story in the midst of winter and one that will leave you smiling.