4.5 stars
Major plot spoilers ahead. Read at your own risk.
I absolutely adored this story with Quinn and Vaughn. It just hit the right places for me with many favorable tropes. I was immediately drawn it due to the story, the characters, and the writing. I was immediately attached and was ready to go onto this ride with Quinn and Vaughn to their HEA.
What was amazing about this story was definitely the chemistry between Quinn and Vaughn. It was immediate. It was intense. It was so utterly satisfying to see them flirt and banter during their first meeting. All the cute innuendos that bounced between them were just so fun and entertaining that it had me snorting with laughter. It was basically verbal foreplay. It was amazing. It showed off their connection as well as the chemistry between them that was beyond perfection.
The thing it made it extra entertaining as they were bouncing back and forth off of one another was the fact that neither of them wanted to get involved with anyone period. So, they tried to convince themselves that this was just business and nothing more could happen between them due to the fact that they both sworn off romance due to the fact that they had been hurt in the past. That denial factor just added a little something extra to their encounters that added to the intensity between them. It just strengthened their connection and chemistry even more while enjoying being in each other’s company while trying to denying what was between them.
What I really, really adored that even though they were trying to pretend they weren’t going to get involved, they used business as a reason for wanting to spend time with each other. They kept making that excuse over and over again. It was clear that they just wanted to spend time together and be in each other’s company. In reality these business meetings were really them going on dates with one another. The great thing was because they were planning a Christmas party together all of their “dates” had a Christmas theme to them, which was perfect. This was a perfect example of how Christmas can play a role in a romance and enhance it with all those Christmassy feels, instead of a romance that just took place at Christmas. There’s a difference. What I want from Christmas romance is what this story exactly did. I loved that so much.
Another thing I really loved about these “dates” was the fact that aside from doing those Christmas activities, they actually took the time to get to know each other and learn about each other’s quirks and personalities. The more they got to know about one another. The more fell for each other. They understood each other. They learned that they were opposites yet the complimented each other so well. For example, Quinn was a planner and didn’t like surprises while Vaughn was more the live by the seat of your pants and go with the flow with things. He loved surprises. They both showed why each of these traits were valuable in different situation. They each appreciated that about the other and even adopted at one point the other’s point of view. They didn’t try to change each other. They embraced it and loved it.
This book truly showed two people falling in love with one another. Yes, they had some intense sexual chemistry going on, but it was more than that. It was a connection. Even though they tried to avoid it, they couldn’t because of that strong connection they had. The more they leaned about one another. The more loved each other. I saw them fall deeper and deeper with each other as the story progressed. It was very obvious that they were the one for each other. Even during their first time together, they both acknowledged that this was more than just physical between them. It was about the closeness that they wanted to share with one another. The connection and just being with each other in most intimate way. I loved so much that was in there.
Speaking of the love scene, it was amazing. It was sexy. It was sensual. It was intimate. It was passionate. It was about their connection beyond their bodies. It was everything that I could have wanted in a love scene. It helped though that I totally bought that they were in love with each other already so this scene just enhanced their love to astronomical levels. It just put their connection over the top for me. It really about intimacy more than just a physical response. It was beautiful. It adorable. It satisfied me so much especially with all that built up anticipation from all their dates as well as the simmering chemistry that was surrounding them from the word go. I loved it so much.
There was just one thing that prevented me from giving this a five stars. It had a trope that I’m not a super fan of and even rolled my eyes when it happened. I should have been clued in from the tittle as well as something that happened the first time scene, but I didn’t have a clue that this was the direction it was going to take. What trope am I talking about? It was the surprise/unexpected pregnancy trope. I just don’t care for this trope in general so I was little disappointed that it was in this story. A lot of times that when they use this trope it usually happens in the beginning of a story after a night of passion or whatever it is, but why bothers me so much in romance is that I don’t know if the characters are together because they want to be or because of the baby. Sometimes it just feels very forced in stories, and I just feel like a lot times that they wouldn’t be together or even fall in love if there wasn’t a baby. I get that is the point of and gets them thrown together, but I don’t like that’s how they are forced into contact with each other. Even though they supposedly fall in love with each other, I don’t always buy that. I want something else aside from the baby being the driving force of them being together. It just not my favorite trope, however in the case of this book it was done in a more well done way. It was done where the connection and their feelings were already established before the pregnancy reveal came to light. Vaughn and Quinn clearly wanted to be together and enjoyed being with each other so the baby wasn’t really a factor of why they got together. It was just a bonus. But as I said before, it did make me roll my eyes a bit, and I do wish it wasn’t in this story because it was going so well then to throw that trope in there just threw me off a bit. That’s just based on my personal taste though.
I could gush a lot more about this story because I loved it that much. I wasn’t expecting how in love I was going to fall in love with the love story of Quinn and Vaughn. It was an amazing and entertaining ride to go on with them. I was immediately sucked in my the story, the writing, and the characters. I was so consumed, so invested that I couldn’t tear myself away. I was so entertained by the verbal/flirty foreplay between them. I loved how they bounced off each other. I loved how they balance each other. I loved that they just wanted to spend time together not just in the bedroom. I loved how they made these work excuses just so they could see each other when in reality they were going on Christmassy dates. I loved how they got know each other and understand each other. I loved how they appreciated each other’s quirks. There was just much emotional intimacy between them even before they engaged in physical intimacy. I absolutely loved that so much because even though they had this insane sexual chemistry from the beginning, they didn’t just jump into it. They took their time and established a relationship before anything physical happened between them. Because they had that base line of that relationship just made it all the more intense and satisfying when they finally made love for the first time. Plus it just created some great anticipation between them throughout the story before they finally gave into their passions. I adored that so much. It just made for a really fun ride for me while reading it. It was so good. The only thing I didn’t care for was the accidental/surprise pregnancy trope, but aside from that pretty much spot on. And the fact that it was truly a Christmassy read and not just a romance that took place over the holidays just really put it over the top for me. I just loved and adored this so much. I could see myself rereading this again, and it also makes me want to pick up more books by this author in the future.