His Holiday Crush

4.5 stars — I seem to be on a bit of a roll! This very much felt like a souped up Hallmark Christmas movie…by which I mean it might have had similarities to loose Hallmark plotlines, but the story was deeper and there was less cheese. And since I’m personally not as interested in the schmaltz, I really loved this. Max was the big city lawyer that has to come back to his hometown, but I really felt why he was wary of his hometown and being back there. Can I say that I loved that it wasn’t because he was gay? Talk about refreshing. He really had a lot to get over in his past, and while I think he only started to tackle some of that by the end of the book, I did love seeing him confront his fears and find them mostly unfounded. Dominic was a freaking sweetheart who was working on his own issues. And I think that’s one of the things that I loved about this story — he was already getting help for his PTSD, meeting Max wasn’t the catalyst for that. Max just brought more into his life. And the two of them together? They made me smile, they made me melt, and they even frustrated me at times — but luckily that didn’t last too long. The steam was…just wow. Definitely a lot of chemistry with one another. I think one of the surprise hits for me in this book was Marnie and Steph. They were just so freaking adorable and precocious, and believable as children. I loved the way they had 3 great men trying their best for them. I loved that they were part of what reminded Max that there was more in life. I also really loved the friendship Max had with Hal. Even though we didn’t see a *lot* of it, what we did see just made my heart happy. They were so solid and caring, you could genuinely feel their love for one another. I also really loved that Hal was another non-toxic male — a cuddly contractor! All in all this gave me everything I always want in a Hallmark movie without all the things I don’t want. Total Christmas hit.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 3.5 stars for this LGBT Christmas romance! Max left home a decade ago and vowed never to go back. Now he is a lawyer in New York, about to make partner. His best friend calls him and invites him over for Christmas. Max goes back and forth, and finally decides to stay over for one night. One the way he wrecks and is rescued by a very nice looking police man. Sparks fly when Max realizes who just saved him. The chemistry between Max and Dominic (Nicky) was on fire! From the moment they met you could feel the heat! I loved the way their relationship unfolded. Also, who doesn't love an awkward meeting! The side characters were great and heartwarming. I loved how the whole town wanted to welcome Max, no matter what happened a decade ago. Rep: LGBT, M/M relationship TW: parent abandonment, drunk driving, car crash, PTSD, depression There are some heavy topics, but the book handles them in such a great way! It still felt like a light, heartwarming Christmas read!