Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Late for Christmas

AUTHOR:  Amy Lane

PUBLISHER:  Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH:  121 pages

RELEASE DATE:  November 30, 2021

BLURB:

Cassidy Hancock hates being late—he’s pathological about it. Until the crisp fall morning when he pauses to watch his neighbor’s handsome son chase his dog down the sidewalk… and gets hit by a tree.

Mark Taylor sees the whole thing, and as a second-year medical resident, he gets Cassidy top-notch care. In spite of himself, he’s fascinated by his mother’s stodgy neighbor, and as he strives to help Cassidy recover from a broken leg, he begins to realize that behind Cassidy’s obsession with punctuality is the story of a lonely boy who thought he had to be perfect to be loved.

Mark and his family are far from perfect—but they might be perfect for Cassidy. As the two of them get to know each other, Cassidy fantasizes about the family and happy-ever-after he never thought he’d have, and Mark starts to yearn for Cassidy’s wide-eyed kindness and surprising creativity. But first they have to overcome Cassidy’s fears, because there is so much more fun to be had during Christmas than just being on time.

REVIEW:

Cassidy Hancock is pathological about being on time.  Which means he’s always early.  He just cannot be late – and the reason is just heartbreaking.  But one day, he’s distracted by his neighbor’s son walking his unusual dog and a tree falls on him.  Miraculously it only breaks his leg instead of killing him.  Lucky for him, said neighbor’s son, Mark, is an Orthopedic resident at the local hospital 🙂  He rides with Cassidy in the ambulance when he confesses that he has no one to call.  Cassidy needs surgery because the limb went through his leg and broke both his tibia and fibula – so there’s that.  Mark makes sure his boss is Cassidy’s doctor and that way he knows he’s in the best hands.  Mark and his mother Yvonne feel like they need to be there for Cassidy after the kindness that Cassidy had shown after Mark’s father had died the year before.  Things weren’t getting done around their place and so Cassidy and trimmed the hedges, mowed the lawn, cleaned the gutters, etc.  When Yvonne had tried to thank him, he got flustered and closed the door 🙁

As Mark and Yvonne intercede to contact Cassidy’s boss and then make sure he will be able to come home – making accommodations for the wheelchair in his house, taking care of meals, etc. – Cassidy is reluctant to accept the help.  Why would they do that for a virtual stranger?  Mark and Yvonne are not taking no for an answer though.  Rose, Cassidy’s boss assures him that he needs to take the time to recover.  When he’s getting ready to be released from the hospital, they share a heart to heart that helps him look at things a little differently.  Rose has tried to hold back, but she wants Cassidy to be happy and so her mothering becomes a little more direct 😉

After Cassidy gets home, Mark and Yvonne are taking shifts and making sure the he has what he needs.  Mark stays the night in the guest room to make sure Cassidy has help if he needs it.  But mostly what Cassidy needs is to let people in to help him.  He’s never had that in his life and it’s been rough.  As Yvonne and Mark and the whole Taylor clan bulldoze their way into his world, Cassidy has to decide if he can meet them halfway and let himself have what he’s always wanted.  Of course there are challenges and mistakes, but there are friends and family around who offer advice, support and love to get Mark and Cassidy past their hurdles and have the Christmas they deserve.

Amy Lane continues to knock it out of the park on her holiday stories.  This might be my favorite yet.  Oh Cassidy, how I love you!  I was in tears multiple times while reading this book.  Rose was the perfect boss for Cassidy – in so many ways.  She “gets” him and after five years is working to get him to open up and let people in.  Mark’s whole perfectly imperfect family is the glue of this story.  Yvonne Taylor and her children are the kind of neighbors one hopes for – just like Cassidy’s dream family really.  Like real life, things aren’t all smooth sailing for Mark, Cassidy or the rest of the Taylors.  But they still make the best of things and enjoy each other’s company and try to make things better.  I loved that nothing was perfect in this story – nobody had the perfect life or the perfect relationship or the perfect anything.  But it all worked together “perfectly”.  It was about how they supported each other when they needed it, how much fun they had teasing each other, how much they just loved the heck out of each other and how they just wanted to bring Cassidy into the fold.  Cassidy’s been let down too many times to trust, but Mark and Yvonne and Rose are persistent.  Then when Mark’s nieces and nephews and his sister and even his boss Harry gets into the act, it’s a foregone conclusion that Cassidy will not escape being part of the Taylor clan.  Mark was so sweet and loving as he did his best to convince Cassidy that he had so much to offer and that he deserved to be loved and happy despite his rough start in life.  That past doesn’t determine his future – he does.  He didn’t have to be the neatest or the smartest or the most punctual.  He just needed to be himself.  There were happy tears in this story as well and I hope that maybe someday we will get a little glimpse of how Mark and Cassidy are doing in the future.  This story has many many lovely holiday moments with present making, cookie baking, party evading as well as smexy times 🙂  If you love a glorious story about overcoming past traumas, finding your person and discovering the true meaning of family, then you will love this story. Highly recommended.  One of my favorite books this year.

RATING: 

BUY LINKS:

Amazon

Dreamspinner