Write Before Christmas

3.5⭐ Write Before Christmas was a well-paced and gentle small town holiday tale. That features two forty-something characters Matt and Dani, and a romance that was PG-Esq and pleasant; and with a few fun moments, I was engaged throughout. **I was kindly provided with an ARC via Entangled Publishing in exchange for an honest review**

Dani is a divorcee, former teacher, desperately looking for a new job/career to support her and her 19 year old daughter. Matt is a fantasy writer whose series has been made into a hit TV show (think G.R.R Martin and Game of Thrones), but he seems to have a bad case of writer's block and his personal assistant has shipped him off to a holiday rental house/mansion to meet his Christmas deadline for the third and final book in the series. Worlds collide when Matt's assistant hires Dani to be Matt's private chef and housekeeper, the added bonus, she has no idea who he is ... other than the stranger she kissed one night while out walking her dog! Matt is fighting the TV producers who want him to write dragons in the third book and the last thing he needs is a distracting woman making his bed and cooking him delectable treats. But suddenly the words seem to flow more freely, is Dani his muse? I really enjoyed this, but I can't put my finger on why TBH because there wasn't really any major drama, even the tension seemed muted. Maybe it's a facet of the protagonists being over 40 that they don't go for all the hand-wringing angst of the 20-somethings. Anyway, it was a charming read with likable and genuine-sounding characters. Perfect feel-good holiday romance without the saccharine. I was given a free copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This was just the right light-hearted romantic comedy I needed over the holiday season. Filled with lots of sweet, funny moments, it tells the tale of Matt, a younger, hotter, George R.R. Martin-type, who is trying to write the last book in his series at the same time that the television series based on his books is set to begin their last season of production. Too many similarities to ignore it, but that’s what makes it so fun and relatable.