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You've Got a Match #1
A Dash of Love For Christmas: A Sapphic Secret Celebrity Holiday Romance
From anonymous chats to a whirlwind holiday romance—can love survive the spotlight?
Sage Holloway used to adore Christmas. But after a devastating breakup, the nurse finds herself dodging mistletoe and romantic entanglements in equal measure. Until a chance encounter with a single mom and her precocious daughter begins to thaw her heart.
Peyton "Pepper" Liu, a former celebrity chef, has traded the chaos of Hollywood for the cozy charm of Hollyvale. Determined to give her daughter a stable life, Pepper pours all her energy into opening her dream restaurant. Love isn’t on the menu—until she crosses paths with Sage, whose grounded nature feels like a lifeline in Pepper’s whirlwind world.
At the urging of their meddling friends, both women join Matches Ever After, a high-end matchmaking app. Unbeknownst to them, their anonymous chats spark a connection as electric as their real-life encounters. But as their bond deepens, so do the secrets Pepper keeps.
When a glittering holiday pageant turns into a media circus, Sage discovers Pepper’s true identity—and the messy past she’s been hiding.
Can Sage trust Pepper’s intentions? Can Pepper prove she’s more than the headlines? And can they find a way back to each other in time for Christmas?
Sage Holloway used to adore Christmas. But after a devastating breakup, the nurse finds herself dodging mistletoe and romantic entanglements in equal measure. Until a chance encounter with a single mom and her precocious daughter begins to thaw her heart.
Peyton "Pepper" Liu, a former celebrity chef, has traded the chaos of Hollywood for the cozy charm of Hollyvale. Determined to give her daughter a stable life, Pepper pours all her energy into opening her dream restaurant. Love isn’t on the menu—until she crosses paths with Sage, whose grounded nature feels like a lifeline in Pepper’s whirlwind world.
At the urging of their meddling friends, both women join Matches Ever After, a high-end matchmaking app. Unbeknownst to them, their anonymous chats spark a connection as electric as their real-life encounters. But as their bond deepens, so do the secrets Pepper keeps.
When a glittering holiday pageant turns into a media circus, Sage discovers Pepper’s true identity—and the messy past she’s been hiding.
Can Sage trust Pepper’s intentions? Can Pepper prove she’s more than the headlines? And can they find a way back to each other in time for Christmas?
- GenresChristmas
248 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 25, 2024
15 people are currently reading
48 people want to read
About the author
Claerie Kavanaugh
40 books15 followersClaerie Kavanaugh has spent most of her life telling stories, but she never imagined herself writing romance. In fact, she used to think it should only be reserved for Hallmark movies. It wasn't until college, when she discovered fanfiction, that she learned what romance was truly about: not just fluffy relationships and happily ever afters, but human connection, the desire to push one another to be better, and create hope that somewhere, somehow, everyone has someone.
When she's not writing, she loves to travel and explore new cultures, helping other authors polish their works as a freelance editor, and singing while doing so. Broadway musicals are her soul-food, something her mother and sister know well. She constantly blasts the newest soundtrack through the halls of their Missouri home, much to the chagrin of her very sassy and spoiled cat.
When she's not writing, she loves to travel and explore new cultures, helping other authors polish their works as a freelance editor, and singing while doing so. Broadway musicals are her soul-food, something her mother and sister know well. She constantly blasts the newest soundtrack through the halls of their Missouri home, much to the chagrin of her very sassy and spoiled cat.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 27, 2024
3,5/4
This was a nice Christmas read. The story itself is very good but feels like the book is in need of an editor. There are repeating sentences and paragraphs. Some moments are confusing. I wasn’t sure sometimes as I read next chapters if that what happend in the previous one happend or not, because it felt like some things were forgotten. A lot of good ideas pushed together in the second half of the book but not sticking well enough to each other to form a consistent storyline. Despite all of that I still liked this book.
This was a nice Christmas read. The story itself is very good but feels like the book is in need of an editor. There are repeating sentences and paragraphs. Some moments are confusing. I wasn’t sure sometimes as I read next chapters if that what happend in the previous one happend or not, because it felt like some things were forgotten. A lot of good ideas pushed together in the second half of the book but not sticking well enough to each other to form a consistent storyline. Despite all of that I still liked this book.
December 25, 2024
Needs an editor.
The story was okay. Not good or bad just okay. Between the time changes, location changes, and repeating paragraphs of identical information this was a difficult and frustrating read.
Flying from New England to Hollywood and back cannot be done in a day. The idea of a woman being ostracized and vilified for her husband’s infidelity is absurd and insulting. With a thorough editor this could have been an enjoyable read but it wasn’t.
The story was okay. Not good or bad just okay. Between the time changes, location changes, and repeating paragraphs of identical information this was a difficult and frustrating read.
Flying from New England to Hollywood and back cannot be done in a day. The idea of a woman being ostracized and vilified for her husband’s infidelity is absurd and insulting. With a thorough editor this could have been an enjoyable read but it wasn’t.
January 2, 2025
Sage is a trainee nurse, disliking Christmas because of past experiences. Payton is a celebrity chef, who has moved to a small town with her young daughter Clem to escape her divorce and the negative media frenzy.
There are so many editing problems with this, but under all that, it is still a lovely, heartfelt story.
There are link passages missing, places where chunks of text are repeated, information one character knows, that there is no record of them ever being told, and then a bit later they have forgotten it. Many other errors; for example, at the beginning, Sage is a trainee paediatric nurse, but later she is in ER, and at one point she is addressed as Doctor. Some things in the book happen in the wrong order, or happen, and then the story forgets that they happened. Continuity is the biggest problem here, getting worse as the book progresses. The story seems to jump around a lot, without a cohesive story arc, instead a series of scenes. Other books I have read and reviewed from this author have similar editing issues. These could all be exceptional books with a bit more editorial care.
The English and the spelling in the book are good, and some sections of text are really exceptional. The warmth of the scenes with Clem, especially with the three of them together, are lovely, some of the best in the book. One of my favourites is at the beginning of the story, where we have a beautiful meet-cute, with many more warm festive scenes to follow. The author’s talent at cozy descriptions really bring the Christmas spirit to life.
I gave this four stars because I really enjoyed the story…
If you can choose to look past the many technical errors in the book, the story is well worth reading.
There are so many editing problems with this, but under all that, it is still a lovely, heartfelt story.
There are link passages missing, places where chunks of text are repeated, information one character knows, that there is no record of them ever being told, and then a bit later they have forgotten it. Many other errors; for example, at the beginning, Sage is a trainee paediatric nurse, but later she is in ER, and at one point she is addressed as Doctor. Some things in the book happen in the wrong order, or happen, and then the story forgets that they happened. Continuity is the biggest problem here, getting worse as the book progresses. The story seems to jump around a lot, without a cohesive story arc, instead a series of scenes. Other books I have read and reviewed from this author have similar editing issues. These could all be exceptional books with a bit more editorial care.
The English and the spelling in the book are good, and some sections of text are really exceptional. The warmth of the scenes with Clem, especially with the three of them together, are lovely, some of the best in the book. One of my favourites is at the beginning of the story, where we have a beautiful meet-cute, with many more warm festive scenes to follow. The author’s talent at cozy descriptions really bring the Christmas spirit to life.
I gave this four stars because I really enjoyed the story…
If you can choose to look past the many technical errors in the book, the story is well worth reading.
November 20, 2025
A Dash of Love for Christmas is marketed as a sweet sapphic holiday romance, but unfortunately, it didn’t live up to that promise—largely due to its narration, which actively detracted from the story. I had just come off a rich, emotionally layered audiobook read by a human narrator, and the contrast here was jarring.
The cadence of the AI narration felt unnatural, with odd inflections and pacing that made the dialogue sound robotic. The child’s voice in particular was unsettling, and at one point, the sound of a phone vibrating was literally spelled out as “Bee Zee Zee Zee,” which completely pulled me out of the story. While it’s clear the virtual narration was meant to be a cost-effective solution, it made the audiobook difficult to finish—I ultimately DNFed with less than an hour to go, despite my best efforts.
Unfortunately, the content didn’t do much to salvage the experience. The prose lacked rhythm, and the dialogue was often composed of clipped, simplistic sentences that made the narrative feel disjointed. Pepper, one of the main characters, never truly came alive on the page. Her conflict—trying to keep her celebrity past a secret—was over-explained to the point of tedium. It’s a frustrating dynamic, especially in a romance where honesty and emotional growth are so crucial.
The sex scenes, which can often redeem even a shaky romance, were surprisingly lackluster. They felt more like procedural step-by-step instructions than genuine moments of intimacy, and they were so brief and uninspired they hardly felt necessary.
I had hoped for a cozy, queer holiday romance, but what I got was a flat, repetitive narrative paired with a grating listening experience. I wouldn’t recommend the audiobook format and can only hope that readers of the digital version fare better.
The cadence of the AI narration felt unnatural, with odd inflections and pacing that made the dialogue sound robotic. The child’s voice in particular was unsettling, and at one point, the sound of a phone vibrating was literally spelled out as “Bee Zee Zee Zee,” which completely pulled me out of the story. While it’s clear the virtual narration was meant to be a cost-effective solution, it made the audiobook difficult to finish—I ultimately DNFed with less than an hour to go, despite my best efforts.
Unfortunately, the content didn’t do much to salvage the experience. The prose lacked rhythm, and the dialogue was often composed of clipped, simplistic sentences that made the narrative feel disjointed. Pepper, one of the main characters, never truly came alive on the page. Her conflict—trying to keep her celebrity past a secret—was over-explained to the point of tedium. It’s a frustrating dynamic, especially in a romance where honesty and emotional growth are so crucial.
The sex scenes, which can often redeem even a shaky romance, were surprisingly lackluster. They felt more like procedural step-by-step instructions than genuine moments of intimacy, and they were so brief and uninspired they hardly felt necessary.
I had hoped for a cozy, queer holiday romance, but what I got was a flat, repetitive narrative paired with a grating listening experience. I wouldn’t recommend the audiobook format and can only hope that readers of the digital version fare better.
August 1, 2025
Peyton and her daughter Clem have moved to a small town to escape her celebrity and start over. When her daughter takes a fall skating a local nurse, Sage, helps out.
Sage likes both, but is focused on work. Her friend sets up a dating profile for her under a alias, where she unknowingly chats with Peyton. Both the real and online flirting leads to Peyton revealing this to Sage, and they start dating.
Minor gripe: lots of small editing errors. I also found the plot not really making sense to me, and Peyton's PR person is incompetent.
2.5 stars.
Sage likes both, but is focused on work. Her friend sets up a dating profile for her under a alias, where she unknowingly chats with Peyton. Both the real and online flirting leads to Peyton revealing this to Sage, and they start dating.
Minor gripe: lots of small editing errors. I also found the plot not really making sense to me, and Peyton's PR person is incompetent.
2.5 stars.
August 28, 2025
I feel like I got a rough draft instead of a finished novel. There were so many errors that a simple spelling and grammar check could have caught. Even the main character names were misspelled several times. Then there were repeated sentences and paragraphs, followed by timeline errors and what looked like three possible scenarios for one scene. Seriously, this should not have been published in this form.
The story was good, but I kept getting pulled out of the magic of a story by these glaring rough draft errors.
The story was good, but I kept getting pulled out of the magic of a story by these glaring rough draft errors.
December 4, 2024
How much is too much?
Still reeling from leaving L.A. Pepper goes north to Vermont to hopefully settle down with her daughter. Building and opening a restaurant and hopefully creating and keeping a relationship with a local
beautiful woman proves hard for her and for everyone that Pepper (Peyton) loves. Does not help that the woman she loves will also have relationships troubles, it seems Sage thinks she cannot have a relationship with anyone! Enjoy!
Still reeling from leaving L.A. Pepper goes north to Vermont to hopefully settle down with her daughter. Building and opening a restaurant and hopefully creating and keeping a relationship with a local
beautiful woman proves hard for her and for everyone that Pepper (Peyton) loves. Does not help that the woman she loves will also have relationships troubles, it seems Sage thinks she cannot have a relationship with anyone! Enjoy!
September 6, 2025
Hiding isn’t the answer
I liked the story and the characters, but the editing was off and I found myself re-reading sections to have it make sense. Peyton is trying to hide from her past only to have it follow er and her adorable daughter Clem. Sage has a very guarded heart and trust issues. She can't resist Clem or her mom for long. A sweet holiday romance with a touch of angst.
I liked the story and the characters, but the editing was off and I found myself re-reading sections to have it make sense. Peyton is trying to hide from her past only to have it follow er and her adorable daughter Clem. Sage has a very guarded heart and trust issues. She can't resist Clem or her mom for long. A sweet holiday romance with a touch of angst.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews