Review: A delightful holiday romance to get you in the festive mood!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 7, 2012
I'll start with confessing that although I have glimpsed HelenKay Dimon's name before, until now I haven't read anything by her, so this novella was my introduction to both HelenKay Dimon's writing and her Holloway series (though We'll Be Home for Christmas is Book #3 in the series), and since I enjoyed both a lot, I'll definitely check out more of her stories. :-DWe'll Be Home for Christmas is Spencer Thomas' ("that other Thomas boy") story of how he finds love with Lila. I have to say that I found the above blurb a bit misleading, as it led me to expect Spence to have several rounds of trying to convince and have Lila admit that indeed she remembered their night, but actually Lila after her initial one sentence denial never refuted it, to the contrary she alluded several times to their time spent together. But that's just a minor technicality, and other than that the novella was delightful.I very much enjoyed the secondary characters, both Austin (Spence's brother), Travis (their friend), Darla (their high school classmate and diner owner) and Cleo (town's busybody old lady) were fun and delightful, all had a lot of heart and (some more than others) quirky personalities. Holloway was a delightful little town and this novella was a wonderful holiday story: it was heart-warming, funny, with that feel-good feeling of small towns' sense of community and helping out each other with a bit of sexiness thrown in. Spence is intense and brooding yet we see pretty soon that deep down he is a nice guy just having issues of abandonment and Lila was an equally nice and normal heroine. Their relationship, chemistry was interesting and kept me involved in the story from start to finish. Have to say, I wouldn't have minded at all if it were a full length novel. ;-)HelenKay Dimon's writing flew smoothly, it was both natural and light (enjoyed the humour infused in the dialogues):"Something in the lightness of Spence's voice and the way he smiled over the clear annoyance in his voice grabbed her attention."You're close to your dad.""Very. He grew a business while raising two rowdy boys. No one ended up in jail or rehab or under an overturned tractor." Spence's eyes glowed with admiration. "I'd call that a miracle.""yet didn't have any problem with the emotionally charged parts either.My only and biggest problem with this story was its ending. It was improbable, rushed and unrealistic. To see a cynical, jaded and emotionally vulnerable man sprouting "happily-ever-after-forever" declarations after less than a week, and about 30 mins after he didn't even consider their relationship serious or long-term just because his brother and friend told him to, kind of ruined an otherwise greatly enjoyable story.Verdict: We'll Be Home for Christmas was a delightful story: If you love small town romances with the local busybodies, the meddling siblings and friends, a brooding yet sexy hero, and funny/sexy writing you'll be in for a treat. I've put HelenKay Dimon on my authors-to-watch list and can only recommend if you are in the mood for a delightful holiday romance.Plot 8/10Charcters: 8/10Writing: 9/10Ending: 6/10Cover: 9/10