Holiday with a Twist

Shannon Stacey

Nov 2016 · Carina Press

About this ebook

New York Times bestselling author Shannon Stacey celebrates the season in this brand-new holiday novella 

After a messy breakup, Leigh Holloway is ready to start her life over. Until her parents put the family home on the market and call her back for one final, memory-making Christmas. The last thing she wants to do is deprive her mom of the perfect holiday, so she'll lie her way through the visit and worry about her future in the New Year. Too bad the only bar in town is owned by a guy she seriously wronged in high school.  

Leigh's best friend broke Croy Dawson's heart, and Croy knows it was Leigh's fault. They've never liked each other, but Croy isn't cruel: he'd never turn away a pretty woman in need of some family-Christmas fortification. He doesn't expect her to drink just enough candy-cane martinis to tell him her secrets—and he definitely doesn't expect to get caught up in her holiday madness. 

Despite the surprising love and laughter, Croy and Leigh can't escape the truth: he can't walk away from his family obligations and she has a life and career to reboot. But anything is possible if your holiday comes with a twist… 

 

This book is approximately 30,000 words 

 

 

One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you're looking for with an HEA/HFN. It's a promise!

Ratings and reviews

Holiday with a Twist was a fun, fast-paced novella-length story from Shannon Stacey. Leigh Holloway is going home for Christmas to spend one last Christmas in the family home before her parents move to a smaller home. She has broken up with her fiancé and is looking for a new job, but decides to hide those facts from her family not to put anything else on them. Croy Dawson and Leigh Holloway were friends growing up until Croy's girlfriend, who was Leigh's best friend broke his heart. Leigh always felt a little responsible, so they haven't spoken in years. I really liked they had a history, though they had never been more than friends. I loved they seemed to pick up their friendship right where it had ended and it felt completely natural to me. I loved that Leigh had told Croy about what was going on in her life before sharing with her family and he was just fine with keeping her secret. I really liked the pace at which Croy and Leigh moved from friends to more. While they had never seen themselves as more than friends when they were younger, there was a natural progression to their relationship. I did fear that Leigh keeping her secret too long would end up being a big issue for me, especially once I felt like she and Croy were heading to a real relationship. Happily her family discovered the truth before it was too big an issue for me. I'm a big fan of the friend to lover trope and felt like Ms. Stacey did a wonderful job with in in Holiday with a Twist. I highly recommend this story to help get you into the holiday spirit this year. Rating: 4 stars (B) Review copy provided by publisher

A sweet, but sexy, quick holiday read! It’s been a while since I’ve read a book by Shannon Stacey and this holiday novella reminded me of why I like her writing so much. She sure knows how to tell a great story and keep me entertained. Even though this was a quick read for me I felt that there was quite a bit of character development and no part of the story seemed short changed. I couldn’t find anything to tell me if Holiday with a Twist is linked to any of her longer works but there were several secondary characters that I sure would like to learn more about. I love her Kowalski’s series and, even though it’s been a long time since I’ve read any of those books, this has the same feel that I remember from that series. Leigh Holloway has come home to spend Christmas with her family but she wants to wait until after the holidays to tell them that her life back in Houston has kind of fallen apart. That seems like a fine plan until she meets up with an old frenemy, Croy Dawson and starts falling for him. Years ago Croy was in love with Leigh’s best friend until Leigh caused them to break up. He got over that a long time ago but never in his imagination did he think that he’d end up falling for Leigh. This story made me laugh in places and shed a few tears in others. It also left me wanting to read more about Leigh’s sisters and Croy’s brothers without giving me any kind of cliffhanger feeling. I just liked the characters so much that I hope she will write more about them. A review copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley but this did not influence my opinion or rating of the book. Reviewed for xtreme-delusions dot com.

If you're looking for a lighthearted, angst free, entertaining read - look no further. This one is very well written and I adored these characters. When Leigh Holloway returns home for the holidays, she keeps the fact that she has broken up with her fiance and quit her job to herself. She doesn't want to add stress to her parents shoulders right now. When the pressures of being back home get to be too much and there's no liquor in the house, Leigh has to face the one guy in town that should hate her, Croy Dawson. Luckily Croy is willing to leave the past in the past and the two quickly reunite. Only now being just friends isn't what either one wants. What starts as a secret fling soon becomes a whole lot more and maybe not as secret as they thought. I would definitely recommend this one for a fun relaxing read.

About the author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Shannon Stacey lives with her husband and two sons in New England, where her two favorite activities are writing stories of happily ever after and off-roading with her friends and family. You can contact Shannon through her website, www.shannonstacey.com, as well as sign up for her newsletter.