A very cute little story of Gabe and Imogen’s first Christmas as a couple. Their relationship takes center stage in this short tale, along with some challenges that fray it. Imogen’s parents show up unannounced, meaning she has to deal with her difficult mother, and Gabe has to confront his personal demons from holidays past.
I very much appreciated the characters’ desire to take their relationship slowly, as that made them far more believable than flying off the deep end. The imagery is vivid, the characters are familiar, and the atmosphere is extremely cozy, making for a perfect holiday read. There were just a few too many clunky sentences and typos (conversations are sometimes missing parts, such as when Gabe answers his own question to Mrs. Roberts as if she had asked instead, and Imogen’s mother randomly changes names from Helen to Elizabeth in one line) to ignore, but they ultimately do not take away much from this very enjoyable little tale!