Review: Holidate by Monica Murphy (Dating #3)
Note: An advanced reader copy (ARC) was provided by the author via Social Butterfly PR.
Some people love holiday movies; I, however, have a thing for holiday reads. Where I'm from, the Christmas season begins when the -ber months roll in, so that's basically the first of September! Think Christmas carols in the malls and on the radio, countdowns galore, jotting down the Christmas gift shopping list (and scouting for gifts!), and so on. And while I've seen posts of friends getting all excited over this year's lineup of holiday television movies from Hallmark, I'm more into checking out who among my favorite authors have a holiday book set for release or just any holiday read in general that catches my fancy. First this year is Monica Murphy's Holidate, which also happens to be the third book in her Dating rom-com series, and it truly does have the holiday romance spirit!
Candice Gaines loves Christmas; Charlie Sullivan does...not. She's all about getting into the holiday spirit--from carols to decorations to being active with local charities. Charlie, however, could have been the child of Scrooge and the Grinch, what with his utter dislike for the season. The thing is, his family's Christmas tree farm is the number one provider in town and the outlaying area. With Charlie's parents wanting to become more actively involved with philanthropic endeavors, they insist that Charlie being the eldest among their children do his part. When the Sullivans request that Candice accompany their son to holiday events and gatherings, Candice agrees and hopes to spread some Christmas cheer his way. And while Charlie finds his new constant companion too cheery and too Christmasy, the more time the spend together, the more they feel the true spirit...of falling in love.
This was a cute Christmas read, and it definitely brought me some much needed cheer. There's more to Candice and Charlie than their opposing views on Christmas, and as close as these two get, I worried about how they would handle the expected complication that they'll be forced to face just when they've gone and fallen for each other. There are recurring characters from the first two books in the Dating series--Save the Date and Fake Date, books one and two, respectively--and while I'm one for reading a series in order, I think this works well enough to be read as a standalone should new readers decide to jump in straightaway. Monica Murphy's Holidate garners four stars. ♥
Candice Gaines loves Christmas; Charlie Sullivan does...not. She's all about getting into the holiday spirit--from carols to decorations to being active with local charities. Charlie, however, could have been the child of Scrooge and the Grinch, what with his utter dislike for the season. The thing is, his family's Christmas tree farm is the number one provider in town and the outlaying area. With Charlie's parents wanting to become more actively involved with philanthropic endeavors, they insist that Charlie being the eldest among their children do his part. When the Sullivans request that Candice accompany their son to holiday events and gatherings, Candice agrees and hopes to spread some Christmas cheer his way. And while Charlie finds his new constant companion too cheery and too Christmasy, the more time the spend together, the more they feel the true spirit...of falling in love.
This was a cute Christmas read, and it definitely brought me some much needed cheer. There's more to Candice and Charlie than their opposing views on Christmas, and as close as these two get, I worried about how they would handle the expected complication that they'll be forced to face just when they've gone and fallen for each other. There are recurring characters from the first two books in the Dating series--Save the Date and Fake Date, books one and two, respectively--and while I'm one for reading a series in order, I think this works well enough to be read as a standalone should new readers decide to jump in straightaway. Monica Murphy's Holidate garners four stars. ♥
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Read my reviews for the Dating series:
Save the Date (book one) - 4.5 stars - My Review
Fake Date (book two) - 3.5 stars - My Review
Holidate (book three) - four stars - My Review (posted above)
Holidate (book three) - four stars - My Review (posted above)
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