I’m on a holiday novel bender and I have no shame. Join me as I waive my jumping-the-season flag proudly. I came upon Christmas Fireside Cabins by Jenny Hale looking for holiday books for my smalls. The cover jumped at me and I knew I had to gobble it up. Do the same. Christmas at Fireside Cabins is a warm and toasty romance with twists you didn’t see comin’!
As I’ve admitted before, I am a sucker for a good cover. You would think at 40 years old I should move beyond judging a (literal) book by its cover. Progress, not perfection. This is my kind of holiday romance cover. I don’t need two fit twenty-somethings sucking face on the cover. Or it’s related cover cousin – the girl straddling the guy near a farm fence. Anything with a guy in an open shirt is a hard pass. Kill switch.
So this, Jenny Hale, with it’s cozy cabin with a beautiful landscape and festive lights? Sign me up.
Meet our characters from Christmas at Fireside Cabins:
- Lila – waitressing until she feels her true calling, parents have passed, friends are her family
- Edie – friend, PR professional
- Charlotte – friend, professional hairstylist to the stars
- Piper – friend, soap-maker by trade
- Eleanor – widow and owner of Fireside Cabins
- Theo – hunky, single, curmudgeon owner of the town coffee shop (I get the Scott Eastwood vibe on this guy)
Our girl Lila followed her heart to Nashville with her ex-boyfriend years ago but he cheated and Lila became relationship roadkill. She leans on her girls as family. Every Christmas the four gals take a trip to celebrate together. These girls do it UP. However, the three girls are all moving forward in life – professionally and personally – and Lila is stuck in neutral.
Plans for the annual Christmas shenanigans got moved up this year and the ladies are taking their fun on the road outside of Nashville at Fireside Cabins. The pics online and what they see IRL are night and day. Think Katy Perry with and without makeup. No shame. I’m the same. Creating the visual, ‘s’all. The owner, Eleanor, is a sweetheart and so apologetic. The four gals decide to make the most of it and stay at the cabins rather than jump ship.
The four gals befriend Eleanor and dig into the town happenings. Wherever this town is, I want in because there was SO much fun stuff on the agenda.
The owner of the local coffee shop, Theo, is throwing serious shade and Lila likes nothing more than a challenge. I hear ya, sister. Lila is going to get Theo be sliiiiiightly less icy if it kills her.
Edie gets called out of town. Charlotte gets called out of town. Piper decides to skedaddle. Lila feels a pull towards the town and her connection with Eleanor, so she stays at the Fireside Cabins.
Lila works double-time on a kindness recon mission with Theo and a last-ditch effort to give the cabins a face lift before Eleanor loses them. What Lila didn’t expect was to feel so emotionally invested to the town. Or this new grandmother-ish relationship with Eleanor. Or a budding relationship with Theo.
Without giving too many things away, lemme just lure you with the heads up that there are twists in this book I didn’t foresee based on the first half of the book or the cover. Well done, you crafty author!
And props to this Lila character because she fights for her guy. She’s no wishy-washy. Her snowboots were made for getting her MAN!
This is definitely a warm and toasty holiday book you could buy, read and pass along to a gal pal or your MIL and not be embarrassed. I’m looking at you, Fifty Shades of Grey.