Review: Christmas Love
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 23, 2013
**I was given an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.**Looking for a sweet romance that will make your heart pitter patter? I recommend reading Katy Regnery's debut novel, By Proxy. This book had me cheesing and gushing the whole way through. And it surely brought the holiday spirit back into my life.The synopsis does a fabulous job of explaining what the story is about. It's essentially a story about instalove during the holiday season. Honestly, I feel like I have seen many stories like this before, especially on Lifetime and the Hallmark Channel during the holiday season. However, I still enjoyed it every much. I am a sucker for stories likes these.  And it really helped that there are a lot of "Eeeee!" and "Awwwww!" moments in this book. I love-love-loved the fun banter between the characters!I learned a lot while reading. For example, I now know what a double proxy marriage is. I don't know about you, but I don't know anything about Montana other than the fact that it's a state in the United States. I loved how the story is set in Montana. Ms. Regnery has a way of describing things that made me feel as if I was actually living in the small town of Gardiner during the wintertime. Because of this book, I definitely want to visit Montana someday.I feel what drew me in the most to this book are the characters. First, there's Jenny Lindstrom. She's a small-town girl who teaches high school in the same town that she grew up in. She is described as a schoolmarm. She takes pleasure in the simple things in life, and her loved ones are her first priority. I admit it; I wasn't interested in Jenny's character at first. I found her boring, afraid to take risks, and weak. However, that all changed as I continued through the novel. I found out what Jenny's fears are and how they prevent her from moving forward. I learned about the risks she took for her family and friends. Jenny is just a sincerely sweet person who has a heart of gold. She's pure. She's not loud nor does she cause drama. I love me some feisty, hyper-sexualized, eccentric, and broken heroines. It's what I am used to reading. However, I realized that it was nice to have a change for once. Jenny is grounded and stays true to her beliefs. I highly admire and respect her for it. There's absolutely so many things to love about her!Then there's Sam Kelley, a hot successful businessman who has quite a reputation back home in Chicago. What I loved about Sam is that he was able to finally realize what he actually wants in life. I enjoyed watching him see that it's not about the flashiest things in life that are important. Living in a big city and being vice president at the firm he works in are not important. Life is about what makes one truly happy. Life is about following one's heart.Overall, I highly recommend this book. The story is entertaining. The connection between Sam and Jenny is amazing, and watching the two fall in love was ridiculously cute. I cannot wait to read the next installment of this series! Bravo, Ms. Regnery! 4 stars!