Review: Take Me Home for Christmas by Tracy Solheim (Chances Inlet #5)


Note: An advance reader copy (ARC) was provided by the author.

I haven't read the first four books in Tracy Solheim's Chances Inlet series, but that wasn't a hindrance to my enjoyment of Take Me Home for Christmas, the fifth and latest addition to the aforementioned series. Elle McAlister and Hayden Lovell had been the closest of friends since they were kids, but all it took was one stolen kiss for things to change between them. A change of plans has Elle returning to Chances Inlet, and she needs to make sure she's nowhere near Hayden's vicinity. That's easier said than done when Everett West, a world-famous war correspondent whose memoir was being serialized in the publication Elle worked for, has a more than passing interest in Hayden's aunt, Kitty Johansen. That kiss made Hayden see Elle in a whole new light, but how can he convince her that it meant something to him as well if she keeps avoiding him, and will Hayden's mother's vendetta against Elle leave these two best friends with a fractured friendship and not hope for more?

My three previous reads from Tracy Solheim were all part of her Milwaukee Growlers series, and I was eager to dive in and check out something outside of those football romance novels. Chances Inlet is one of those places that may be smaller in size but bigger in personality, or should I say personalities because of the interesting residents that abound. I appreciated that this was lighthearted read with just a smidgen of angst sprinkled on top, thanks in large part to Hayden's mother's issues with Elle. Aside from the romance of it all, this was also a story about family and how dreams can change. I enjoyed getting to "meet" the rest of Elle's family and I'm definitely curious about how they found their happily-ever-afters as well. That doesn't mean, though, that I felt there were gaps in the story simply because I hadn't read any previous books in the series. Take Me Home for Christmas did, indeed, work well as a standalone, and I'm giving it four stars.

Release Date: 12 December 2024

Date Read: 07 December 2024

Learn more about Tracy Solheim.

Pre-order Take Me Home for Christmas on Amazon | Apple Books | B&N | Google Play | Kobo.

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