Book Review: A Perfect Paris Christmas by Mandy Baggot #BookReview #Paris #Christmas

GIFTED / Although Christmas books are my absolutely favourite kind to read, this year I finished only four of them. Unfortunately, not one 5 stars read this year. A Perfect Paris Christmas was good and entertaining. Unfortunately I did a bad job when it comes to reading and reviewing it as I got it via Netgalley back in 2020, but here it is finally: my review for this story.

A Perfect Paris Christmas has 378 pages and it was published on September 3rd 2020. I want to thank publishing house Aria for giving me a copy via Netgalley in an exchange for an honest review.

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About the book:

FROM GOODREADS /

United in grief. Pushed apart by tragedy.

Keeley Andrews knows more than anyone that you only live once. So when she receives an invitation to spend two weeks in Paris, all expenses paid, she jumps at the chance.

Ethan Bouchard has had the worst eighteen months of his life. He’s ready to give up on everything, including his hotel chain. So when he meets Keeley, it simply isn’t the right time.

As Keeley and Ethan continue to bump into each other on the romantic Parisian streets, they can’t help but wonder whether this is fate telling them to let go of the past and leap into the future…

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Review:

I feel kind of bad that I read this book two years too late, as I got it for review back in 2020, but as they say, it’s better late than never, right?

The cover for this festive novel is just gorgeous and the sole reason that grabbed my attention in the first place.
The premise sounded interesting but if I am being honest, I was little sceptical whether I would click with the story, as I find it unbelievable (and also I am firm believer that donors/receivers stay anonymous for a reason). However, as I have read and liked Baggot’s books in the past I knew I wanted to give it a try.

Overall, I can say I liked the story in general.
Main characters were likeable and entertaining.
The writing style was the best part, but in my opinion the novel would be even better if it was shorter.

Some things I wasn’t a big fan of. For some reason I didn’t like Jeanne. Everything about that whole side plot was all red flags for me. And I liked it even less how her story wasn’t explained at all and it was just done poorly and unbelievable.
Like, yeah, you can just take a person from the streets to your house, without checking out anything about that child. And imagine guy doing it, living with a 12 years old minor without noticing police or anyone? Can anyone else see how it looks like??

My favourite character was Louis, but unfortunately he was portrayed as a bad guy.

Also, I think this hotel chain is doomed. I mean, who goes to Paris to cuddle with sheep? There are country hotels with full service for a reason, and you go to Paris for glamour.

Anyway, this was cute story but soooo unbelievable.

3 stars rating

Christmas in March: A Surprise Christmas Wedding by Phillipa Ashley #booklovers #BookBloggers #Christmas

A Surprise Christmas Wedding by Phillipa Ashley book cover

GIFTED / I know, I know. It’s March and I am reviewing a Christmas book. Well, it is a book that I have recently read, and since I am two years behind with my reviews, there will be Christmas stories reviewed on Book Dust Magic during whole year. I don’t mind it really (because Christmas stories are my favourite), and I hope neither are you.

I received this book via Netgalley, and I want to say thank you to the publisher, Avon Books UK.
A Surprise Christmas Wedding was published on November 26th 2020 and it has 400 pages.

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About the book:

FROM GOODREADS / It’s been a year since Lottie’s fiancé walked out, leaving her heartbroken. But things start to look up when she lands her dream job at a beautiful Lake District estate, with a handsome groundskeeper for a neighbour.
 
So when Lottie is asked to organise a last minute Christmas wedding at Firholme, she can’t wait to get started. Until she meets the couple, and discovers that Connor, the man who broke her heart, is the groom-to-be.
 
As snow falls on the hills, can Lottie put aside her past to organise the perfect winter wedding? And will there be any festive magic left to bring Lottie the perfect Christmas she deserves?

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Review:

Guys… This book was such a ride! The author didn’t shy away when it comes to put our main character, Lottie, in a difficult situation.

Just imagine working in a wedding residency, having to organize the wedding of an ex who’s cuts still hurt? Yeah, that is the fire Phillipa Ashley had put our Lottie in.

Apart from having to suffer along with her, I also had a lovely time reading about the place and of course, all the other characters, and witnessing love development between her and her (new) love interest, in this heartwarming story.

However, this is not just a light read, because it makes you think. It challenges you to consider how would you act, what would you say, what could you forgive, and what would you choose to forget, if you were in the character’s shoes.

The writing style was good and easy to follow, and it is obvious how the character has numeorus number of books written previously.

All the Christmas elements present in the story make it appropriate festive read (but if you’re like me, you can enyoj it any time of the year).

Overall, a really good book that I would deffinitely recommend.

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Movie Monday: A Christmas Detour – Sweet,festive daytime movie #Christmas #MovieReview #Monday #Festive

Movie Monday is a feature here on my blog, in which I’m rambling about movies I’ve watched lately.

Today I want to talk about a Christmas movie I’ve watched yesterday on tv. I enjoyed it and thought it would be a good idea to put some spotlight on this title.

A Christmas Detour 

a Christmas Detour movie cover

I did not plan to post Movie Monday feature today, because I haven’t watched any movie I wanted to talk about, but then yesterday I stumbled on one festive daytime movie that was showing on our local tv station, and I happened to like it and wanted to put some spotlight on this movie.

Since it is a picture from 2015, and it is a tv movie, I believe it’s available on most streaming services. You’ll have to forgive me, but I didn’t do a research for that.

While I was watching A Christmas Detour I had a feeling I was watching a Hallmark movie, but according to IMDb, it’s from another production.

However, if you enjoy Lifetime and Hallmark movies, you will love this one too.

The story follows four strangers who end up stuck together because of the storm. They all wanted to be in New York for Christmas but their airplane got cancelled and they ended up in a whole another country, snowed in.
As they get to know each other they also discover their own secret wishes they didn’t even know they had.

I liked the festive vibe through the whole movie. It was my favourite part.
Also, the characters were really likeable and I enjoyed watching them on their adventure.
And in the end, as a cherry on top, the love story was cute and just done right.

If you’ll have a chance to watch A Christmas Detour this season, I highly recommend you to do so!

My favourite festive read of 2019… so far: One Christmas Star by Mandy Baggot (Book Review) #Christmas #OneChristmasStar #BookLovers #festive

One Christmas Star by Mandy Baggot book cover

GIFTED / I am so happy to talk about one book I read in October, that happened to be my favourite read of that month: One Christmas Star.
I really enjoyed spending time between pages of this festive novel and I hope my words will make you consider to give it a try too.
One Christmas Star was published on September 12th by Aria, and it has 464 pages.
I have read an eARC I received via Netgalley in an exchange for an honest review, and I want to thank Aria for approving my review request.

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About the book:

FROM GOODREADS / Emily Parker is set to have the worst Christmas ever!

Her flatmate’s moved out, she’s closed her heart to love and she’s been put in charge of the school original Christmas show – with zero musical ability.

Disgraced superstar, Ray Stone is in desperate need of a quick PR turnaround. Waking up from a drunken stupor to a class of ten-year-olds snapping pics and Emily looking at him was not what he had in mind.

Ray needs Emily’s help to delete the photos, and she needs his with the show. As they learn to work together they may just open their hearts to more than a second chance…

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Review:

HoHoHo readathon is coming around and I was really looking forward to read all my festive reads I got for review this year.
However, even though my original plan was to open the readathon with One Christmas Star I just couldn’t wait any longer and I had to read it.
And the best thing about my decision is that this festive novel got me out of my reading slump that lasted almost a whole month.

Ohh, if only I knew this would be the case!
I would have read it even sooner, closer to it’s releasing date.
However, better late then ever, and in my humble opinion, it is not to late to convince you to pick One Christmas Star this year when you’re in the mood for something light hearted and festive…

I love Mandy Baggot’s work for years now. Her Christmas stories are how I discovered her. Her book One Christmas in Paris still brings smile to my face when I think about it, and her novel One New York Christmas is the reason why I decided not to miss Baggot’s books any more.
Now after finishing One Christmas Star, I can say there won’t be Christmas season without at least one Mandy Baggot book in my tbr!

I just enjoyed spending my time with all the characters Mandy Baggot created. I love how realistic they were, and I didn’t click with everyone right away. For example, at first I couldn’t stand Ray, but as the story progressed and we got to know him more, I really started to connect with him.

Our main character is Emily who is a teacher. Being a teacher, she spend lots of her time with children, and I phrase the author for giving the children their own personalities and voices, instead of using them just to fill the space, as some authors tend to do.

The book is written in third person. It has 464 pages and to be honest, I was little afraid it would drag and I wouldn’t enjoy it as much as I wanted to, but I flew through this book like it had 300 pages.
I guess we can say the writing style plays big part in that, but also the lyrics the author filled the pages with.

In case you didn’t know, Mandy Baggot is also passionate about music, and her love for that art spilled onto pages, in some way.

I also want to stress out that the book talks about serious topic – alcoholism in a very tasteful way, and in my case it wasn’t triggering, but of course, I can only speak from my own experience, can’t talk for everyone.

After finishing One Christmas Star I can confirm that Mandy Baggot is now one of my favourite authors.
Since I don’t have many, when I proclaim someone as my fav, it is a big deal to me!

I want to finish this review with compliments to cover designer. This is one of the prettiest festive covers I’ve seen this year.

I would recommend One Christmas Star to lovers of festive chick lits and Hallmark movies, but also to everyone who’d like to read something heart warming this year to wake up the Christmas Spirit.

4,75 hearts

My HoHoHo Readathon TBR 2019 #HoHoHoRAT #ReadAThon #BookBloggers #Christmas

HoHoHo readathon 2019 image

Hi Guys,

It’s again that time of the year: The time when my favourite readathon is happening, thanks to Wonderful Kimberly from Caffeinated Book Reviewer  who’s hosting HoHoHo Readathon for the seventh time, and it will be my third time participating.
Readathon takes place from November 8th to November 17th.

Last year I had so much fun and my only plan is to read more books than I have then. My aim is 6 books, and since readathon is 10 days long, I believe it is manageable.
I don’t have to go to work this year which is a plus, and also, in case you didn’t know, festive novels are my favourite kind so chances of me getting into reading slump are very, very slim (plus I only just got out of one recently).

I have two physical books I plan to read this time around:

Christmas books picture

I also plan to read these two Netgalley eARCs:

The Christmas Invitation by Trisha Ashley book cover UK edition and the adults by Caroline Hulse book cover US edition, Penguin Random House

I have also requested two books via Netgalley, so if I get approved for them they will also make the cut, but if I get declined I’ll just pick up some other books from my physical collection.

That is it!
Wish me luck and please tell me will you be participating in HoHoHo readathon?
If yes, what are your goals? If you have a blog post about it, feel free to leave your links so I can visit you.

The one about family… and love: A Perfect Cornish Christmas by Phillipa Ashley #Christmas #WomensFiction #BookLovers #Cornwall

A Perfect Cornish Christmas by Phillipa Ashley book cover

GIFTED / Today I want to talk about one beautiful Christmas novel that I have read some time ago. It was actually my first Christmas read of the year, but I had to wait with my review so I could post it around it’s release day.
A Perfect Cornish Christmas was published yesterday (October 31st 2019) by Avon, and it has 400 pages.
I  I have read an eARC I received via Netgalley in an exchange for an honest review.

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About the book:

FROM GOODREADS / Christmas in Cornwall is just around the corner…

But after last Christmas revealed a shocking family secret, Scarlett’s hardly feeling merry and bright. All she wants this Christmas is to know who her real father is.
So Scarlett heads to the little Cornish town of Porthmellow, where she believes the truth of her birth is hidden. She just didn’t bargain on being drawn into the Christmas festival preparations – or meeting Jude Penberth, whose charm threatens to complicate life further.
Everything will come to a head at Porthmellow’s Christmas Festival … But can Scarlett have the perfect Christmas this year, or are there more surprises on the way?

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Review:

Phillipa Ashley was on my to-be-read list of authors for some time, so I am so glad that A Perfect Cornish Christmas was the first novel by her that I have read, because I really enjoyed it.

If you know me, you know Christmas stories are my absolutely favourite, and I can proudly say that I am happy that I have opened the season with this one.

Going into A Perfect Cornish Christmas I had no idea if it was a standalone or part of the series. It definitely read as a standalone, but then again, I know that Ashley has another book called A Perfect Cornish Summer so I believe they are companion novels (someone should update it to Goodreads, so we’d know!).

This story follows two sisters; Scarlett and Ellie. Since the story centres mostly around Scarlett, I would say she is our main character, but because we do get to follow the story from Ellie’s perspective as well, I’d say she is our second main character.
The story is written in third person.

When it comes to genres, I’d say that A Perfect Cornish Christmas is women’s fiction, or even general fiction with romance in it.
In the first place the story talks about family, and complicated relationships between people. It covers some serious topics that are result of people choices, and how they effect other’s lives.
It also talks about belonging and how it impacts us as beings, how it defines who we really are.

Romance is also part of this book and we get to follow two romance developments, one for each sister.

The third important part of the story, in my opinion, is Christmas itself. The setting, food, snow… basically everything that happens around Christmas time, and in this novel, there is a Christmas festival that takes place and is also nice addition to the fable.

I liked most of the characters, and disliked some that were negative ones.
The only character I simply couldn’t understand was Scarlett and Ellie’s mother. I don’t understand how could she kept quiet about everything even after the truth came to light.
I also had hard time understanding their father and his choice to stay with her in the same house while she was acting that way.

The only downside of the novel is that there are lots of repetitions and I felt like I was reading a 500 pages long book, when in reality it has 400 pages.

Overall, I think A Perfect Cornish Christmas is the one to curl up with during winter, so I recommend it to women’s fiction lovers.

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Movie Monday: Married by Christmas and Call Me Mrs. Miracle #MovieReview #ChristmasMovie #Christmas #MarriedByChristmas #CallMeMrsMiracle

Movie Monday is a feature here on my blog, in which I’m rambling about movies I’ve watched lately.

This week I watched two not-so-new Christmas movies and I enjoyed them very much.

Married by Christmas

This weekend I spent in my home town house, with my parent. My father loves movies so he has so many movie programs subscriptions: HBO, Pickbox, Cinestar, you name it!

I was so happy to see that on Pickbox they had a category Christmas Movies, so I decided to enjoy some movies from there (and I plan to watch more when I visit again for Christmas).

Married by Christmas was the one with an interesting premise. Two sisters competing each other because the one who marries first will inherit the family company.

I really liked this movie. It was more on a serious side, because the main theme is serious, but it also has romance and overall is so enjoyable that I would recommend this one to watch if you’ll have a chance.

Also, it’s pretty short (1h and 27min) which is great in my opinion.

Call Me Mrs. Miracle

Call Me Mrs. Miracle is the one I enjoyed more. It has a nice romance but it also has many subplots that give the completeness to the story.

It follows a man who is a store manager and a woman who takes care of his nephew after his mum died and his father is on a mission because he’s a solder.

This movie is an adaptation of a novel written by Debbie Macomber. She is a well known romance writer with several movie adaptations, and I just realized that I have never read a book by her, which is a shame.
I decided that that will change because I really enjoy watching those fluffy movies and I am sure I would enjoy her books too.

Call Me Mrs. Miracle was filmed in 2005 so it’s pretty old, but since it is one of Hallmark movies, I think it’s available to watch for free on television.

It is also on a shorter side (1h and 30min).

I really enjoyed watching Call Me Mrs Christmas and I recommend it to watch if you like cheesy, relaxing Christmas movies.

Book Reveiw: Calling Mrs Christmas vy Carole Matthews #BookReview #CallingMrsChristmas #Chicklit #Christmas #ChristmasReads

Title: Calling Mrs Christmas
Author: Carole Matthews
Publisher: Sphere
Date: October 29th, 2013
Pages: 452
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased

Synopsis (from Goodreads): Cassie Smith has been out of work for a while but she has an idea. Drawing on her love of Christmas, she begins charging for small things: wrapping presents; writing cards; tree-decorating. She’s soon in huge demand and Cassie’s business, Calling Mrs Christmas, is born.

Carter Randall wants to make Christmas special for his children so he enlists Cassie’s help, and his lavish requests start taking up all her time. Thank goodness she can rely on her partner Jim to handle the rest of her clients.

When Carter asks Cassie to join them on a trip to Lapland, she knows she shouldn’t go. As much as tries, Cassie can’t deny how drawn she is to Carter and everything he has to offer, but she still loves her warm-hearted Jim. Suddenly Cassie finds herself facing a heart-breaking choice that could change her entire life.

Review:

Warning: This book talks about cheating.

Calling Mrs Christmas was on my tbr list for two years now. When I first found out about this novel it wasn’t available on TBD, then last year I was all missed-matched when it comes to reading, but this year I finally bought myself a copy.
I’m not going to lie: what won me when it comes to Calling Mrs Christmas was it’s gorgeous cover. I mean, isn’t this the most wonderful festive book cover that you have ever seen?
Plus, it’s festive, and you know how I feel about festive stories!

Our main character and narrator is Cassie Smith who is at the desperate place in her life. She has no job, so she and her boyfriend are struggling financially, and there is also depression that comes with it.

I think the author did an amazing job describing what it feels like to be unemployed when the state is not one’s choice. 

Some time around Christmas, Cassie gets an idea to start a business in which she would organize Christmas events and decorations for others. She calls her company Calling Mrs Christmas and after a while, her business really starts to kick off.

Here is where a millionaire Carter comes in. He employes Cassie to prepare his house for Christmas, but to also spend time with his family in Lapland.

Spending time away from her boyfriend Jim, in beautiful Lapland with handsome Carter, takes it’s tool on Cassie. She starts to develop feelings for Carter and is torn between two men: her beautiful, kind boyfriend who was there for her when she was at her lowest, and good-looking, rich Carter who could take away all her financial worries.

Even though I didn’t like how Cassie behaved from the Lapland point to the end of the story (and how unprofessional she was), I have to admit that the author managed to invest me in the discussion would it be better for Cassie to stay with a kind man or to start a new relationship with the rich one.
I mean, in a romantic world we would all agree that you should follow your heart, but in the real world, our hearts sometime do not know what they want, and also, we all know that one is happier when is financially stabile.

The story is written in first person, following Cassie’s POV, but some chapters are written in third person, following Jim’s POV (Jim is Cassie’s boyfriend).

I liked the story and I think it’s a good festive book, even though if I’m being honest there are much better festive novels out there.
However, that is just my opinion, and judging by Goodreads reviews, some readers find Calling Mrs Christmas a perfect Christmas story.

I would still recommend it, but don’t keep your opinions too high.

Tis the Season with Lush @LustLtd #LushHrvatska #SelfCare #MeTime #Cosmetics #LifeStyleBlogger #Christmas

It is no secret that I am in love with Lush products. Ever since I started using them few years ago I feel like my life is sparkled with joy. 
I like to try new things from time to time, but I always come back to Lush, because they are just unique.
I mean it, my week is not complete if I don’t have a nice bath, and Lush Bath Bombs are always my no 1 choice.

I love how the company care about environment and how they have naked products in their supply. They are cruel free company, and am happy to know that my money that I spend on self-care products goes to conscientious firm.

Christmas scents are my favorite, and every year I buy myself Lush products in the amount that will last me trough the whole year.
Since I am very enthusiastic about them, I decided to share them with you.
Most of the products you see are double stacked, but here I will show you only one product of each.

This is not sponsored post and I purchased every single product with my own money.

 

Bathing 

Bathing is my favorite thing to do when I have some me-time. There’s nothing I like more then read a book in the bath, listening to some instrumental music and enjoy myself.
Lush bath bombs are my favorite, but Bubble Bars are right there after them.

This time I decided to go with Holey Night bomb which smells so nice and relaxing, Shoot for the Stars bomb which is my no 1 favorite bath bomb by Lush and I like to use it trough the whole year around so I always buy more then a few to last me long. Next is Perle de Sel which won me with it’s festive smell. It was just amazing and I couldn’t resist.
Butterbear is also one product I like to go back to. It doesn’t make the water looking all fancy, but it makes my skin so soft and I love it so much. The last product on the picture is Puddy Holly bubbleroon which smells like pure Christmas.

 

Showering

Just so you know, when it comes to showering, soaps are my favorite go-to products.
I know that they apparently leave your skin dry, but I like to believe that if you use kind soaps it is not the case. I like how after using the soap I feel really clean, plus I almost always moisturize my skin with body lotion.
On the picture you can see Golden Pear, a Christmas soap which smells just like sweet pears. It’s also pretty soft.
Next to it is Santa’s Belly, which is a shower jelly that smells like apples and is fun to use.

 

 

Body-Care

On the left you can see Sugar Plum Fairy body scrub which I took purely because of the smell.
It smells so amazing, and next time I’ll go to Lush I’ll have to ask them if they have bath bomb or some other product with that smell, because it could be my new favorite.
We all know exfoliation is good to do at least once per week, so there’s never enough of scrub products. This one won’t take too long to finish, unfortunately, because it’s pretty soft.
On the left is Snow Fairy body lotion which smells like my childhood. It smells like candy and bubble gum, like sugar store, like my childhood dreams. I think this is the most popular smell by Lush, and it’s for a reason!

 

Skin-Care

The last but not the least, since skin care is so important to me, I couldn’t resist and I had to buy Rudolph jelly face mask.
It smells like chocolate cake and it clears your skin while leaving it glowy.
I still have to try this one to tell you if it really had that effect (I probably already tried it when you read it so ask me in the comments if you’re curious).

 

 

 

 

 

That is it!
Tell me do you also like to use Lush products and which are your favorite?

Also, if you have any questions for any of these, or want me to write about other products in the future, feel free to let me know in the comments.

Book Review: Once Upon a Christmas by Sarah Morgan #BookReview #Christmas #OnceUponAChristmas #BookLovers

Title: Once Upon a Christmas
Author: Sarah Morgan

Series: Lakeside Mountain Rescue (#1 & #2)

Publisher: Mills & Boon, Harlequin UK
Date: October, 2012
Pages: 379
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased

 

Synopsis (from Goodreads): What’s your number one Christmas wish?

Bryony’s daughter has put a dad on her Christmas list. That leaves Bryony with one month to find the perfect man, so this year she’s wishing for a miracle!

While she’s looking for love, her best friend Helen is doing the opposite. Her Christmas wish is to forget all about the white dress hanging in her wardrobe – and her faithless rat of a fiance.

Helen and Bryoney’s festive cheer definitely needs a boost, so it’s lucky that once upon a Christmas, wishes really do come true…

Review:

They say there is no recipe for a successful novel, but I think we’re being lied to.
I think there is one, and Sarah Morgan knows it. Either is that, or her novels follow the same formula.
Let me tell you what I mean…

I have read three of many of her novels, and all three of them had one thing in common: two main characters being stuck with each other under the same roof because of some unavoidable reason/event/misadventure, hanging together and falling in love.

I know Sarah Morgan has written so many books, and I only read three of them, so I hope they are not all the “same” because it would be a shame.

However, I have to stress out that her writing style is the most amazing thing about this novel and I would read all of her books, just so I could absorb at least bits of it.

Once Upon a Christmas is a novel that follows two stories: Bryony’s  and Helen’s.
I feel like Bryony’s story was originally imagined as a novella, but then it got “part two” and all of a sudden, it was a novel.
I am glad for it, because I liked part two much more then part one.

Part One follows Bryony who decided that she will grant her daughter’s Christmas wish and find a guy who will be perfect to be her father.
First of all, I can’t even tell you how wrong, in my eyes, that motive is. You don’t look for a guy you’ll date just so your child could have a father, if anything, that is not fair to a guy.
Second, the love interest was too controlling, unlikeable, in love with himself and a “whore”, while the Bryony, even though she had a child, wa so innocent, she probably grew a second hymen.

The story is manly focused on Bryony and Jack, with only few side characters, like novella should be.

On the other hand, Part Two is focused on more characters, town and it’s atmosphere, and I liked it so much more.
Our main characters Helen and Oliver were really likeable. Oliver was sweet guy and didn’t get on my nerves like Jack, and Helen’s motives came from the right place.
The only thing I didn’t like that much was how Helen was pictured like some weak woman who needs protection, and how she let other make decisions for her.

Overall, Once Upon a Christmas was a good festive read and I would recommend it to romance lovers.