A California Christmas

A California Christmas by Brenda Novak, book seven in her Silver Springs series, was an enjoyable read. Emery Bliss’ life was quickly turned upside down thanks to her ex, when Ethan posted a sex video of the two of them online. Not only does she lose her dignity, she also loses her job as a TV anchor. Upset and humiliated, Emery heads to her old hometown of Silver Springs, CA to stay with her mom’s friend, Aiyana Turner. While Emery is there she runs into Dallas Turner, one of Aiyana’s adopted sons. who happens to be in town for his mom’s wedding. Dallas climbs mountains for a living because it’s a way for him to escape his past. While there is instant attraction between Emery and Dallas, the last thing she needs is another man in her life. But of course, the more time Dallas and Emery spend together, the hotter the flames are getting until they both give in to their attraction. Emery is ready to jump into something serious with Dallas, but because of things from his past he cannot commit. When Emery’s life is threatened, Dallas is even more conflicted than ever for his feeling for her. Dallas is going to have to confront his past before he can ever have something special with Emery and when the past if finally thrown at him, it will take a lot of soul searching for Dallas to figure out that what he really wants the most out of life is Emery. I really enjoyed A California Christmas by Brenda Novak. I just love this series as well as all of Aiyana’s troubled, adopted sons. It was fun watching them find love. I really liked Emery. She was strong willed and sweet. Despite having so many negative things going on in her life, Emery found the strength to never give up. I adored Dallas, as you couldn’t help but feel for him, because of his past. I just wanted to reach out and give him a hug. Overall they made for a wonderful couple and I really enjoyed their love story. I highly recommend A California Christmas to other readers. I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

Emery Bliss' life has quickly turned upside down. When her ex, Ethan, posted a sex video of the two of them online, not only does she lose her dignity, she also loses her job as a TV anchor. Upset and humiliated, Emery heads back to her old hometown of Silver Springs, CA to stay with her mom's friend, Aiyana Turner. While Emery is there she runs into Dallas Turner, one of Aiyana's adopted sons who is in town for his mom's wedding. Dallas climbs mountains for a living because it's a way for him to escape his past. While there is instant attraction between Emery and Dallas, the last thing she needs is another man in her life. But of course, the more time Dallas and Emery spend together, the hotter the flames are getting until they both give in to their attraction. Emery is ready to jump into something serious with Dallas, but because of things from his past he cannot commit. When Emery's life is threatened, Dallas is even more conflicted than ever for his feeling for her. Dallas is going to have to confront his past before he can ever have something special with Emery and when the past if finally thrown at him, it will take a lot of soul searching for Dallas to figure out that what he really wants the most out of life is Emery. I really enjoyed this story. I just love this series and all of Aiyana's troubled adopted sons....it is fun watching them find love. I really liked Emery. She was strong willed and sweet. She has so much negative things going on in her life but she never gave up. I also just adored Dallas. You couldn't help but feel for him because of his past. I just wanted to reach out and give him a hug. Overall they made for a wonderful couple and I really enjoyed their love story.

A California Christmas by Brenda Novak Silver Springs #7 Coming into this series on book seven was not a problem. I wasn’t sure who everyone was, but it didn’t matter in the telling of the story of Emery and Dallas. I settled in easily and enjoyed it thoroughly! Emery Bliss has had a horrible situation descend on her…revenge porn on the internet that won’t go away has cost her not only public scrutiny and castigation on the internet but also has seen her fired from the job she loved as a news anchor. Tail tucked between her legs she ran to hide in Silver Springs with a friend of her mother’s. In addition to the chaos in her personal life why not throw in parents in the midst of an acrimonious divorce and a grandmother facing senility and she is a wee bit beyond woebegone. So, who does she meet in the first few pages of the book? Dallas Turner, home for the holidays to help his mother get ready for her wedding. His mother and brothers, all adopted sons of Aiyana, are intriguing characters I wish I had met in book one and followed through the series BUT…perhaps in the future I will catch up with them. Anyway, the story was delicious and delightful and filled with ups and downs and problems to sort out and solve. Love wasn’t a given but it was definitely hoped for. What I liked: * Emery: a professional woman on her way up, battered on the internet, struggling to cope, in need of a good friend and a safe place to stay. I liked her. * Dallas: a professional mountain climber, carrying a heavy load from childhood, a good friend-brother-son-man, he has a lot to give, needs to learn to open up and to move forward. I liked him. * Aiyana: a strong woman with a backstory that no doubt was told in the past…intriguing woman and wonderful mother to young men that cold have been lost without her. * The way the person who posted the intimate tape online was exposed and made accountable * The way that Emery and Dallas slowly came together * The brothers * Cal, Aiyana’s fiancé * The woman who hired Emery for a short time * That the perpetrator of the revenge porn post was eventually dealt with What I did not like: * The double standard related to tape that went online * The person that put the video up online * Knowing that this sort of thing happens in real life Did I enjoy this book? Yes Would I read more by this author/in this series? Definitely Thank you to Harper Collins - Harlequin-Mira for the ARC – This is my honest review. 5 Stars