Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE: Forever Wilde in Aster Valley

SERIES: Forever Wilde #9

AUTHOR: Lucy Lennox

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 189 pages

RELEASE DATE: November 16, 2021

BLURB:

When Miller Hobbs finds himself on a winter vacation in Colorado with the giant, exceedingly loud, Marian and Wilde families, he doesn’t quite know what to do with himself. He’s not really a Marian or a Wilde despite having DNA ties to both.

So every morning before the rest of the family wakes up and fills Rockley Lodge with holiday merriment (and noise), he escapes to the quaint downtown of Aster Valley where he spies a man through the bakery window kneading dough and dancing to music only he can hear. Miller is entranced by the dancing baker, and when Darius looks up and catches Miller staring, the interest suddenly goes both ways.

Can two strangers find love among the quaint chaos of an Aster Valley Christmas? Even if it includes the two most overwhelming and meddling families vying for the title of greatest matchmakers of all time?

REVIEW:

Hang onto your hat – Tilly and Granny are naughtier than ever in this special double crossover holiday book. All the major characters from the Marian family, the Wilde family, and the Aster Valley found family come together to celebrate Christmas at Tiller and Mikey’s lodge in Aster Valley. It made me smile to revisit beloved past characters, especially Blue and Tristan from my very first MM romance, Borrowing Blue.

Let me first address what seems to be on a lot of minds, mine included: I was worried about reading this book because, while I’ve read ever book Lucy Lennox has written, I can’t remember the details of many of her older ones. It’s not that they’re not memorable – quite the opposite – I just have a notoriously bad memory. (It does make for great re-reads because I get to experience it all over again.) Rest assured, you’ll be fine if you can’t remember all of the Marians and Wildes; none of the backstory is pivotal to the plot here. However, it is important to understand the setting in Aster Valley, so I highly recommend reading at least Tiller and Mikey’s story, Right as Raine. Most importantly, if you’re a little shaky on past details, there’s a link to a free, very short story provided in the beginning of the book that gives background info on one the MCs, Miller Hobbs. This knowledge is critical and only takes a few minutes to read.

Now that you’re caught up, let’s move on to the main event – the love story of Darius and Miller. Miller is the long-lost grandson of Tilly and cousin of the Marian and Wilde kids. He’s alone in the world and feels guilty for enjoying life after his mother’s recent death. And… he’s an introvert. Can you imagine that in this crowd? Poor Miller is overwhelmed by this outrageously noisy and irreverent family. He’s not used to all the ribbing and innuendo, and is uncomfortable with so many people at once – in the neighborhood of fifty family members! Mikey, who’s there for all the food preparation, notices Miller’s distress and helps him relax. He sends him into town early one morning to get a break from everyone and to pick up the breakfast pastries he ordered from the bakery.  love at first sight when Miller and Darius, the baker, spot each other through the store window.

Darius recently moved to the picturesque Rocky Mountains town in Colorado from his former home in Chicago where he ran a chain of bakeries worth millions. He wasn’t happy in that lifestyle and needed to escape the stress, thus the new small-town life. He relates easily to Miller who once lived in Los Angeles but has no desire to return to the big city. Easygoing, warm Darius is immediately likable and is instantly smitten with Miller. They fall in love as the families enjoy all the important holiday activities: cookie decorating, Christmas shopping, gift wrapping, tree trimming, and snow tubing. Since its only a one week vacation, this is insta-love – not my favorite trope – but it seems to work in this context.

“Everything in me was confident Miller Hobbs was my person, and all that was left to do was convince him I was his, too.”

Among all the chaos, noise, competition, elderly shenanigans, suggestive dialogue, and good-natured bickering is an important subplot pertaining to Miller’s complicated relationship with Tilly. Miller has a lot of repressed anger surrounding his and his mother’s pasts and it all comes to a head on Christmas Eve.

This feel-good, fun-loving story will be a hit for any fans of Ms. Lennox’s Made Marian, Forever Wilde, and Aster Valley series, all brought together in one brightly wrapped Christmas package.

RATING: 

BUY LINK:

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