In which we realize with a little help from the King, second chances are possible
The Plight Before Christmas by Kate Stewart
Stars: 4
Spicy: R
52 Book Club Challenge #1: A Pun in the Title
Whitney is 38 and single, living in Nashville and working for an advertising agency. She just found out that the promotion she knows she richly deserves just went to a douchebag bro that never does his own work. She heads off to the mountains of North Carolina to lick her wounds and spend Christmas with her family at her late grandparents’ cabin, surrounding herself with love, holiday spirit and lots of cocktails. What she doesn’t expect is her brother bringing his co-worker to the family festivities, especially when it is Eli, her college boyfriend who broke her heart at the end of their senior year. A successful entrepreneur, Eli seems to have his sh*t together and seeing him brings back all of Whitney’s insecurities. Will she be able to survive being around him again?
This was a wonderful read with a lot going for it - whether you read it in December or July (and thank you to my niece, Camryn, for the recommendation). There are great secondary characters, dual POVs, flashbacks, and some serious heat. There were also a few surprise moments I was not expecting that added layers to the story. The sexual tension between Whitney and Eli is palpable and I loved how Stewart creates the build-up to their physical relationship both in the past and the present. The vulnerability revealed by all the characters, not just Whitney and Eli, made the book especially poignant. And finally, the reveal of the real reason Eli pushed away Whitney had me sobbing. This was not a flimsy third-act break-up thrown in to move the plot along. Stewart shows us that these two did need to through this heartbreak in order to find their way back to each other.
Definitely one that you put on your list, just make sure you are ok with ugly crying wherever you are reading it.
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