From the publisher:
Mistletoe, Maine, is buzzing and not just because Christmas is around the corner! Dante West, local cutie-turned-Hollywood hunk, is returning home to make his next movie. Everyone in town is excited . . . except librarian Lucy Marshall. When Dante took off for LA without warning—or even a goodbye—he broke Lucy’s heart. She swore not to spend one more minute thinking about her ex, but Dante makes an offer Lucy’s struggling library can’t refuse: a major donation to film on-site.
Dante is thrilled to help boost his hometown’s economy and finally begin making amends to the people he hurt years ago when he left, starting with Lucy. But seeing his former best friend on set every day feels a lot less like closure and more like a fresh start. It’s one thing for Dante to fall for Lucy all over again, quite another for a famous movie star and a small-town librarian to find lasting romance. Can the magic of the holiday season give Lucy and Dante’s first love a second chance?
The holiday romances are upon us. In fact, this one is from last month and I’m just catching up! This is a sweet, small town romance. Dante and Lucy were best friends since elementary school and in high school, started dating. Things got pretty serious and they made a lot of plans for their future. But one night Dante just took off, and Lucy didn’t hear from him for several months. By then, he was in California, chasing his dream of acting. He broke Lucy’s heart and now it is almost nine years later and she really hasn’t recovered. She is still in love with him.
Dante becomes a huge movie star, and the tiny town of Mistletoe, Maine becomes his next project. He’s written a script, a love story, about him and Lucy, and returns to his hometown to film the movie. They throw him a parade, but Lucy is in shock. When she does run into him, she lets him have it and storms off.
Dante wants to film part of the movie in the library where Lucy is the manager. He talks her into it by promising her a big donation, which the library desperately needs. She knows if she turns him down, the library will suffer, not to mention the mayor would overrule her anyway. The next thing you know they are spending some time together.
Lucy finds herself falling in love with Dante all over again. She tries to fight it at first, but eventually gives in. What she doesn’t realize is that when he left, Dante’s heart was also broken and he’s never stopped loving her. There are many hurdles for them to reach their happily ever after, and it is a lot of fun to get there.
This author was new to me, but I will certainly read anything else she writes. I really enjoyed this holiday romance – it was a gift!
10/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
NO ORDINARY CHRISTMAS by Belle Calhoune. Forever (September 28, 2021). ISBN: 978-1538735985. 336 pages.
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