A Goon's Holiday Heart

by Thee Tasha Marie

Heaven Daye and Snow Whyte, once inseparable teens from opposite sides of the city, saw their fairytale end when Snow left. Ten years later, the holidays bring him back as a changed man, determined and ready to reclaim the woman he never stopped loving. But more than Heaven's heart is at risk.

Forgiveness isn't simple for her. Letting Snow back in means risking old wounds, mistrust, and betraying the goals that helped her rebuild. Love demands sacrifice, and their reunion could reignite both their passion and the pain from all they lost.

Will Heaven open her heart, or will Snow face Christmas alone, dangerous and empty-handed?

Genres: Christmas

112 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 25, 2025

Reviews

[JMonique · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a cute holiday read!! 🥰

Snow & Heaven were sooo cute!! Their love story from beginning to end gave me all the feels! I was lowkey hurt when Snow broke up with Heaven but finding out his reasoning it all made sense & he really did what was best for her! He came back for his woman after 12 long years!! That man wasn’t taking no for an answer!! He knew what he wanted & he didn’t stop until he got it!! I was smiling from ear to ear by the end of this book!! They both got their Christmas wish 🥰

[Samantha Earle | The Book Brief · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this novella. It made me smile and laugh out loud. I even got teary eyed a couple of times. 🥹 I’m so glad that Snow and Heaven were able to reunite and love on each other again. Time and distance couldn’t change how they felt about each other. Snow for sure was not living life without his lady. Shoutout to Paris too for being a dope best friend. 🥰

[Wind · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5🎧 Kidnapping your girl to get her to fall back in love with is just the type of book I need😊

[Melise · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️
The holiday vibes were definitely there, and I didn’t notice any major editing issues that alone earned some points.
Where it fell flat for me was the second-chance romance. When the entire breakup stems from poor communication (or just not saying the obvious thing), it’s hard for me to fully buy back into the relationship. The FMC was still holding onto something from 12 years ago and taking it out on everyone around her, which made her tough to root for. The MMC wasn’t terrible, but coming fresh out of jail and expecting everything to fall back into place felt… unrealistic. A simple honest conversation long ago could’ve avoided all of this.
Also, he didn’t seem sorry enough, and I wasn’t feeling her putting her hands on him being upset is valid, but physical reactions aren’t it.
Overall, not the worst story by far just a bit flat and not as emotionally satisfying as I hoped

[BeautifullyFlawedKAH · Rating 5 out of 5]

Snow was not playing about his! He had a plan and made sure it was executed by any means necessary

[Mz_MELLO YELLO from the BAY · Rating 5 out of 5]

That 90’s type of vibe!!!!

High school love and high school sweetheart does exist. Sometime it takes for someone to leave to understand your worth. Communication will always be a key factor in any relationship. Let’s Chat!

Some men like their woman a little feisty and will pop out & show🫣! That’s exactly how meet - Snow & Heaven. Now we all know that, when you find that one, it’s all gas NO brakes🤭! These two wasn’t coming off each other. The fact that this YN didn’t pressure Heaven was everything to me. He was truly there for her with no strings attached🥰! We all know there’s consequences for living that fast life. Most of the time there only 2 places you end up - jail or cemetery 🫣. Ya boy Snow seen that first hand. Ya girl was green but not that green. Ya boy handled the situation all wrong in my opinion. Communication would’ve been the best, but the lack of it cause my girl pain and heartbreak.

Listen, the way he was determined to get his girl was it for me, minus how he got her🫣. He play too much 🤭! Now my girl did her best to not give in but the heart knows what it wants. Honestly in my opinion, she probably would’ve stayed pure as she only seen herself with Snow🤭! When I say this man had it all planned out, he had just that with the help of her best friend Paris and I loved it. He was not going another day without his woman🤏🏾!

This about the 2nd book I read by this author and let me tell you that it’s a ride🤭! She has yet to disappoint. This read gave me that 90’s feel. As that was the era when diving up to holla was a thing 🤭! Plan to read more soon as the author has my attention👀!

[Miss Read A lot · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found it really unsettling that a 30-year-old woman cut her mother off and treated everyone around her poorly because of a boy she dated as a teenager. They were together for 2 years and twelve years later she’s still angry at the world over it. That just wasn’t believable to me. She put her entire love life on pause over what was essentially puppy love. He didn’t even take her virginity, so the level of resentment and bitterness didn’t match the situation.

What bothered me a lot was her reaction to Paris being happy, pregnant, and moving forward with her life. Instead of showing support, she was stuck in her feelings.

I tried to push through, but I can’t finish a book when the main character is this unlikable. The reason behind her anger felt weak and stretched far beyond what made sense. I usually enjoy listening to books while driving, but I actually turned this one off and drove in silence. That’s how disconnected I felt.

If the story had shown deeper, ongoing trauma or real hardship, I could’ve understood her bitterness more. But as written, it leaned too heavily into an angry, closed-off FMC without giving a strong enough reason, and I personally didn’t like it.

[Bunny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listen here, Tasha just can NOT write a bad book okay? I loved this so much. I was supposed to read 3 chapters and take my ass to bed. I ended up reading the whole damn book! 🤭

This was that get that old thang back. First love, first heartbreak, high school sweetheart puppy love type story. But with a hood twist.

I love a good laugh out loud read honey. Snow had me in here cracking up! And Tate! Yesss honey! Loved him down! P is definitely me for my friends and vice Versa.

I loved that Heaven did NOT fold super easy. It wasn’t that drug our annoying type holding back. But, a realistic POV of how anyone who was in her situation would act. And him arranging a kidnapping was very SNOW of him. 🤣🤣🤣

Random/Unrelated. But if anyone has watched “Angel and Demon” on Tubi? Yeah…. This book really gave the vibes.

10/10 sis! 5 ⭐️a chefs kiss!

[L. Kennedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Teenage love to adult love - no choice of rekindling because Snow was coming for his girl, Heaven regardless of what or who was in her life. (Second chance romance)

I normally wouldn’t write what I dislike but I feel like I need to do so for this one. I probably would have rated it higher but the FMC was so handsy. I didn’t like that every time she got upset or emotional - her way of reacting was by putting hands on Snow. I didn’t like that. I understand if it was once and it was a shock type of thing, but even then it’s not okay to put your hands on anyone. / I didn’t want this matter to be overlooked especially when she had a lot of reactions/behaviors that were very childish/bratty.

[Katrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Teenage to Adult Love

Nice introduction to Heaven & Snow. Quick read and the whole time that I read this book I thought to myself, “Heaven is really riding on my last nerves 😬.” I understood her frustration at the beginning but when Snow had that woman kidnapped, I lost all sympathy for her because Snow was trying to right a wrong. Snow was a man on a mission to get his teenage love back at all costs. I’m glad that Heaven got out of her feelings long enough to see the love that she still had for Snow and let him love her down (literally 🍆💦).

[Lexx · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nowwww Heaven should have knownnnn that Snow didn’t just disappear on her! 🥹

I love a second chance romance and this was it!! Heaven and Snow were teenage sweethearts, until he broke up with her and fell off the face of the Earth for 12 years. Now he’s back and Heaven doesn’t know what to do…..her friend do tho! 🤣🤣 Shoutout to her for setting Heaven up! Otherwise my girl never would have gotten her man!!!

[Shanae · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Goon's Holiday Heart is a solid second chance Christmas romance with well developed characters and an interesting storyline (as someone who doesn't read much urban fiction or many novellas). I recommend this short to anyone looking for a quick fun read.

Final rating: 3.25/5

Spice rating: 2/5

Content warnings:
Moderate: Cursing, Sexual content, Abandonment
Minor: Kidnapping, Murder
*There is a part of the book where the MMC is 19 and the FMC is 16.

[Shaunrick McGee · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED IT! The only thing I disliked about this book is the fact that I have to wait for part 2. If you're looking for a quick read that pulls you in from page 1 and has BDE and a FMC that handles business just like her man--get into this!

[Kia :) · Rating 5 out of 5]

such a cute story

Without saying so much this was a cute love story I’m so happy and was rooting for them to find each other again. Snow was not playing bout his baby heaven. 10/10 we need a part 2 lol

[Alicarene · Rating 5 out of 5]

True Love

Soooo I love anything Thee Tasha Marie writes because baby listen! This was a really good love story! I feel like I’ve witnessed some parts of this story back in the day!

[Quira · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute lil novella. Snow was not letting up off Heaven soon as he hot back into her orbit. I wish this was longer so we’d really get into the Scrooge-ness of it all, and fully see how her cold heart melts. But this was just a taste, and I liked the ending.

[Bianca C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Snow & Heaven

Interesting read. I enjoyed the beginning, their young love but some things just didn't add up. Story had promise but some of the events were outlandish and unrealistic

[Sequitta Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet n slow

Mannnnn this was so good. Idk how The Tasha Marie comes up with these amazing stories and characters. Heaven and Snow deserved to be together. Paris is a true friend/sister. You want be disappointed.

[La Ronda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick holiday novella

Tasha continues to give us these cute holiday novella that definitely sets the mood for the occasion. I love a good young love that gets rekindled in adulthood.

[Kokotee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mean she was 18 at the time and He was all she’d known. So I get the ms.Scrooge personality. He could have found a better way than leaving like that BUT he was young. Cute very cute

[Kosha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute Holiday Read

Snow played no games about Heavenly. I enjoyed this cute holiday read. Definitely want to read more about the couple.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was such a cute and forced proximity holiday story. Snow definitely did not play with Heavenly. Would recommend

[Marian · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great thug love story

I really enjoyed this love story. With most romance novels the main characters will go through some things but always find their way back to each other.

[Keyerra Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

eh. this was cute, but i lowkey hated how mean heaven was. it was almost cringe. like damn girl. relax a bit.
didn’t care for the mama and that sorry ass excuse she gave.
overall, decent read.

[Tamekia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heaven & Snow

Just what I need this season! Tasha girl you do it EVERY time! I loved this one! You give everything we need and at the pace I love!

[Roxy Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

teenage love

This was a sweet read Snow love Heaven but he left her with no explanation leaving her crushed and cold hearted but he had a plan to get his girl

[Charlene L. Robinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh

For a quick read it was ok but I needed more.
The storyline was all over the place and at times felt rushed.

[Seanise Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

❤️🔥❤️🔥

This book was great…Plot twist and all.. really loved how the characters ended up back together…There really could be a happily ever after!!!

[Pamela B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Snow and Heaven were the quintessential teenage love affair; the bad boy and the good girl and it was chef’s kiss. I really enjoyed watching their relationship develop and the growth that came with it. Both parts of their story were beautifully done.

This author truly knows how to tell a complete, satisfying story in under 200 pages without missing a single detail. I absolutely loved this holiday read.

Snow was my favorite type of MMC: protective, intentional, and loving hard. Whew! Snow was definitely a good time.

[Latoi · Rating 5 out of 5]

😍😍

Who doesn’t love a little kidnapping troupe? Snow did his big one. Thee tasha this was a good book. Ready for part 2 now.