Guest Reviewer: Donna Salzman

I’ll be Home for Christmas by Lori Wilde

Publisher & Release Date: Avon, October 27, 2015

Time and setting: Present Day, Twilight, Texas 

Genre: Contemporary Romance/Holiday 

Length:  419 pages 

Heat Level: 3 Flames 

Rating: 5 Gold Crowns

Book Description:

Christmas in Twilight, Texas, is all merriment and mistletoe. The Cookie Club is whipping up their most festive sweets, the townspeople are scrambling to get their holiday shopping done, and Joe—a hometown guy with a restless heart—is dreaming about the woman he wants to kiss most . . .

. . . And who happens to be staying at his sister's place over the holidays, while Joe's sister is away. But Joe isn't quite sure he wants to be a living Christmas present to runaway law student Gabi Preston.

Joe thinks the sassy sweetheart he nicknames "Trouble" won't inconvenience anything but his healthy sex drive. But when he discovers the reasons Gabi escaped from her life, he aches to give her everything she's never had. As the magic of the season draws them together, the gift of love is the only one worth giving…

Buy Link:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00T3CE54I?keywords=i'll%20be%20home%20for%20christmas&qid=1447681791&ref_=sr_1_1&s=digital-text&sr=1-1

Add to Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24805668-i-ll-be-home-for-christmas?from_search=true&search_version=service

Donna’s Musings

I haven't met a Lori Wilde book that I didn't like, but her Twilight, Texas series is my favorite, so I was glad to see this one.  I love holiday-themed stories, and Christmas-themed stories best of all.  

This story goes back to Twilight for Christmas and features Gabi Preston who, against the wishes of her high-powered attorney parents, has dropped out of law school to go in search of Christmas as depicted in a snow globe that her older brother gave her just before he died on a Christmas many years before.

Her family has not really celebrated Christmas since her brother's death, so Gabi is out to find someone who does. She is in full-blown rebellion mode as she quits school to try and find out who she really is.  

To pursue her search, she has traded homes, vehicles, and life in general with a girl she connects with on the Internet, as both are great fans of the movie "The Holiday."  The girl turns out to be Katie Cheek, who lives in Yurt, which is quite a change for Gabi as she is used to a swanky LA apartment.   But, it turns out the yurt is just across the road from the Cheek family Christmas tree farm, and Katie's big brother, Joe, has given up his wanderlust lifestyle to temporarily run it for his ailing grandfather.....and to keep an eye on Katie's house guest. 

For a girl in search of the real Spirit of Christmas, Gabi has landed in the right place.  Twilight does Christmas up in style, and the Cheek family embodies it.  Gabi quickly gets wrapped up in the holiday spirit, and in the arms of Joe Cheek and his family.  

The relationship between the two is fascinating. One is never sure if they are falling in love or getting ready to kill each other. For two people who really don't want to fall in love, they do a good job of it, with a lot of laughter and a few tears along the way. She slips right into life in Twilight and more than earns the nickname of "Trouble" Joe pins on her in the first chapters of the book. 

I won't give away more than this, as I don't want to spoil the story for the next reader! All I can say is, I loved this story as it describes a Christmas most of us can only dream of, with a lovely happy ending perfect for the holiday season.  This is a five-star read, one I think anyone who enjoys a holiday story will love.