Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  A Gift-Wrapped Holiday

AUTHOR:  Amy Aislin

PUBLISHER:  Self-published

LENGTH:   255 pages

RELEASE DATE:  November 22, 2022

BLURB:

Mal’s first priority is giving his six-year-old son the best Christmas ever, a goal made trickier by a recent move to New England after losing his job. As a single dad, he’s not looking for romance—especially not with a blond California boy ten years his junior.

After being ridiculed at the family business, Luca sets out to prove himself by opening an eco-friendly gift-wrapping store in a small town with a hard-on for Christmas that’s about as far from LA as he can get. Out of his comfort zone in snowy Maine, love is the last thing on his mind.

But the magic of the season has other ideas. As Mal and Luca collide on wintery streets, will they let their first Christmas in Lighthouse Bay lead to happily ever after?

REVIEW:

Mal has moved back to Lighthouse Bay from Seattle after his ex-wife relocates and he ended up getting downsized after his company is sold.  They share a sweet 6-year old boy named Otis.  They had experienced loss early in their lives and then years later had Otis.  But turned out that their relationship changed and they weren’t the right partners for each other.  Their divorce was pretty drama free and Otis doesn’t really remember a time when his parents lived together, so he’s used to the shared custody.  Mal is trying so hard to make sure that Otis’s first Christmas away from Seattle is great.  Unfortunately he’s sort of over-scheduling the kid to do it.

Luca has relocated to Lighthouse Bay, Maine from LA where his family business is located.  He walked out after being disregarded for the last time.  His grandparents, who really raised him, had met there and so he visited, found the perfect store location and moved.  His eco-friendly and sustainable Gift wrapping store is where Otis stops in to get a present wrapped. He’s followed by his frantic parents who had been looking for him since he left the park where they are all taking part in pre-Christmas activities.  Mal finds Luca adorable and they flirt a bit when he comes back to pay for Otis’s package wrapping job 🙂  They get to chatting and Mal is intrigued by Luca’s business and his mission.  Serendipitously, Luca is planning to do business with Mal and his sister Aoife’s marketing company.  Things go swimmingly and Mal and Luca start dating.

The town is totally geared up for the Christmas activities and Mal and Luca are right in the thick of things.  Luca even agrees to be in the hockey tournament even though he hasn’t been on skates in 20 years.  He’s not a fan of the cold, but he admits it is beautiful 🙂  As they spend more time together Luca is stunned by how much Mal actually listens to and understand him.  He shows it in a number of ways.  Mal is appreciative of how great Luca is with Otis and how understanding he is that Mal needs to put him first – something no one in Luca’s family every did for him.  At most he was an afterthought.  Only his brother Donovan has even reached out to him after he left LA.  And when he actually shows up, he is a total surprise.  Things go really well and despite some small obstacles, it’s clear Mal and Luca belong together.

Oh what another lovely holiday treat from Amy Aislin set in her Lighthouse Bay, Maine small town.  Truly this book would make a FANTASTIC Hallmark Christmas music.  Holiday themed small town?  Check.  Adorable 6-year-old kid with a hunky divorced dad with a huge Irish family who is on great terms with his ex with whom he shares custody?  Check.  Super cute new to town small business owner with a personal mission?  Check.  What’s not to love?  Both Mal and Luca have some baggage.  Mal continues to have to rein in his fear that something with happen to his son Otis because he has already lost one child.  Luca really wants to prove himself because his family has never once given him the time of day.  Luca is completely competent and he is strangely happy in this small town in Maine after leaving LA.  The people are friendly and he feels like a part of a community.  The fact that Mal really sees him and that his family takes him into the fold immediately really goes a long way in making him welcome and wanted – two things he has never gotten from his family.  Donovan is a surprise – I honestly thought that maybe he was going to steal Luca’s ideas and do something for himself, so I was really happy to be wrong about him 🙂   Mal and Luca absolutely click and it is easy to see how much Luca really likes and cares about Otis as well.  Despite not have experience with kids. Luca seems to figure out how to interact with Otis right from the get go – in one super adorable meet cute for Mal and Luca.  We get to see glimpses of past couples from Aislin’s Lighthouse Bay trilogy books here as supporting characters which is a real treat.  I loved how Luca’s found family (his bestie and his parents) fit in with Mal’s family.  I also really liked how the author didn’t tie everything up neatly with Luca’s bio family because in truth, that doesn’t always work out.  It’s better to find your people that to try to force something that is never going to provide the right support.  Honestly I can’t think of anything more delightful that visiting this small town for another happy holiday romance.  Another winner from this favorite author.  Highly recommended.

RATING: 

BUY LINK:

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