Reviewed by Donna
TITLE: Christmas Riches
AUTHOR: H.L. Day
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 46 000 Words
RELEASE DATE: November 15, 2019
BLURB:
Opposites might attract. But does that include age?
Christmas comes early for Aiden Malone in the form of a seductive, blue-eyed stranger down on his knees. But a shocking revelation about his new “friend” has him running for the hills and cursing his stupidity before the night is out.
Tom’s not prepared to give up that easily. He may be rich where Aiden’s poor. Innocent in a way that Aiden isn’t. And on the wrong side of twenty. But he’s old enough to know what he wants. And that’s Aiden. He just needs to persuade the older man to look past his hang-ups about age and wealth.
Lust and prejudice pull Aiden in opposite directions, severely testing his willpower. As Tom’s layers begin to peel away, Aiden discovers the younger man’s life of privilege may not be all it seems. If Aiden gives in, they could have the sweetest Christmas that either of them has ever tasted.
But Tom’s about to shatter their joy with a surprise announcement. Decisions need to be made on both sides. It’s down to Aiden, though, to stay strong and decide whose happiness is more important. His? Or Tom’s? Because they can’t have it both ways.
It’s possible their relationship won’t even last as long as it takes for the snow to melt.
REVIEW:
A month or so ago I remember seeing a Facebook poll by H.L. Day asking readers’ opinions on second chance romances. I didn’t even need to think twice. I hate them. It’s one trope that I always avoid reading because a lot of the time I feel if the characters stuffed up their relationship once, odds are they’ll do it again, even if a HEA seems definite. I made a mental note that I needed to avoid that book that H.L. Day was writing, even though I’ve always loved her stories. But then I got all excited seeing that this author was releasing a Christmas story, and the whole ‘second chance romance’ thing totally slipped my mind. Until I realized what was happening in this book and was thoroughly unimpressed with my memory. So, this is my review for a Christmas romance that left me a broken sobbing mess, and which I’ll never read again. However, I can also unreservedly admit that this was a brilliantly different sort of holiday love story, which was both painfully heartbreaking and adorably sweet.
What the author succeeded in doing here was providing believable reasons for these characters to struggle to make their relationship work. Sometimes I think age gaps are a silly reason to deny a connection, but the fact that Tom was only eighteen made it more credible. Like, a difference in ages might not seem such a big thing, but if the word ‘teen’ is involved it can make a person seem less than an adult. But with the way Tom and Aiden originally met, Aiden is fully aware that Tom is adult enough in all the physical ways. I really believed his struggle to accept that he was over thirty years old and lusting after a teenager.
And since I mentioned their first meeting. Wow, it was a doozy! I loved the way this story began, it was pretty unique. Well, at least I’ve never read another book that starts that way. There are probably some out there.
Although I don’t want to give away what happens in the story, I feel the need to reassure anyone reading this review that there is a happy ever after between our main characters. Despite the fact that I cried my eyes out over this story, or maybe because of that reason, I absolutely recommend Christmas Riches to everyone who loves a beautiful holiday romance. Even though it utilized one of my most avoided tropes there’s no denying that H.L. Day has delivered a gorgeous story.
RATING: 
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