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Just Until Christmas: A Bookshop Story
Every book in the Leafwood Falls series can be read as a standalone.
She came to Leafwood Falls to hide from her failure. She didn't plan on faking a romance with the one man who sees right through her.
Amanda arrives in town just before Christmas with impractical boots, too much luggage, and a career in ruins. After her sustainable kitchenware business collapsed in a public scandal, her plan is spend December working at the Oak & Ink Bookshop, avoid difficult questions, and lick her wounds in peace.
She certainly doesn’t plan on Finn.
Finn is a rare book appraiser who prefers crumbling pages to people. He’s hiding his own professional scars behind a wall of quiet reserve and a worn blue notebook full of secret sci-fi stories he’s too afraid to share. When he meets Amanda on the shuttle, her relentless warmth crashing into his logical silence, he assumes they’ll just be polite coworkers for the month.
But Leafwood Falls has a meddling matchmaker, Mia, and when the pressure to couple up gets too high, Amanda makes a panic-induced She tells everyone she and Finn are already dating.
Now, they have a deal. They just have to fake it until New Year's.
It should be easy. But between practice dates by the frozen lake, coffee delivered exactly how she likes it, and the discovery of the beautiful worlds hidden in Finn’s notebook, the lines between "pretend" and "real" begin to blur. They make each other laugh. They make each other brave. And the town, including a certain opinionated orange cat named Hemingway, is starting to suspect that this "fake" relationship has more sparks than a fireplace.
As Christmas Eve approaches and their January 1st deadline looms, Amanda and Finn must retreat to the safety of their solitary lives, or admit that the best love stories are the ones you never planned to write.
What readers are saying
“Intriguingly delightful!” ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
“So much fun to read.” ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
“Omg I absolutely love each and everyone of her stories.” ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
“Love, love , love these characters. They pull you in…make you want to be among them…in all their illogical wonderfulness!” ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
“Magic, serendipity, and romance side by side with complex characters just trying to make their way through this thing called life.” ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
“The characters are real and they make the town feel like a place where you'd like to live!” ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
“I thoroughly enjoyed Leafwood Falls and all of its characters including Hemingway the book store cat.” ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
“I absolutely love Hemingway the cat, the quirky Bookstore, and all the townsfolk.” ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
She came to Leafwood Falls to hide from her failure. She didn't plan on faking a romance with the one man who sees right through her.
Amanda arrives in town just before Christmas with impractical boots, too much luggage, and a career in ruins. After her sustainable kitchenware business collapsed in a public scandal, her plan is spend December working at the Oak & Ink Bookshop, avoid difficult questions, and lick her wounds in peace.
She certainly doesn’t plan on Finn.
Finn is a rare book appraiser who prefers crumbling pages to people. He’s hiding his own professional scars behind a wall of quiet reserve and a worn blue notebook full of secret sci-fi stories he’s too afraid to share. When he meets Amanda on the shuttle, her relentless warmth crashing into his logical silence, he assumes they’ll just be polite coworkers for the month.
But Leafwood Falls has a meddling matchmaker, Mia, and when the pressure to couple up gets too high, Amanda makes a panic-induced She tells everyone she and Finn are already dating.
Now, they have a deal. They just have to fake it until New Year's.
It should be easy. But between practice dates by the frozen lake, coffee delivered exactly how she likes it, and the discovery of the beautiful worlds hidden in Finn’s notebook, the lines between "pretend" and "real" begin to blur. They make each other laugh. They make each other brave. And the town, including a certain opinionated orange cat named Hemingway, is starting to suspect that this "fake" relationship has more sparks than a fireplace.
As Christmas Eve approaches and their January 1st deadline looms, Amanda and Finn must retreat to the safety of their solitary lives, or admit that the best love stories are the ones you never planned to write.
What readers are saying
“Intriguingly delightful!” ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
“So much fun to read.” ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
“Omg I absolutely love each and everyone of her stories.” ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
“Love, love , love these characters. They pull you in…make you want to be among them…in all their illogical wonderfulness!” ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
“Magic, serendipity, and romance side by side with complex characters just trying to make their way through this thing called life.” ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
“The characters are real and they make the town feel like a place where you'd like to live!” ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
“I thoroughly enjoyed Leafwood Falls and all of its characters including Hemingway the book store cat.” ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
“I absolutely love Hemingway the cat, the quirky Bookstore, and all the townsfolk.” ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
- GenresChristmas
272 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 4, 2025
83 people are currently reading
85 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 26, 2025
Book version of a Hallmark movie.
Such a cute story!
Such a cute story!
March 25, 2026
I think this is one of the best books in this series. Set in a bookshop in Leafwood Falls, the bookshop has its own opinions on what readers should read, dropping books at their feet giving ideas. There's also a cat, Hemingway, who also has opinions!
In this book, Amanda and Finn arrive on a shuttle from the airport, neither realising they are to be working at the bookshop. Amanda covering for Mia who is working the Christmas rush at The Copper Kettle, and Finn appraising a large estate collection Charlie bought.
One thing leads to another and when they try to pretend they are a couple, things go wrong.
It's a really lovely read.
Whilst all the books in this series are standalone stories, they are best read in order of publication to preserve continuity of the characters and wider storyline.
I'm looking forward to the next book.
In this book, Amanda and Finn arrive on a shuttle from the airport, neither realising they are to be working at the bookshop. Amanda covering for Mia who is working the Christmas rush at The Copper Kettle, and Finn appraising a large estate collection Charlie bought.
One thing leads to another and when they try to pretend they are a couple, things go wrong.
It's a really lovely read.
Whilst all the books in this series are standalone stories, they are best read in order of publication to preserve continuity of the characters and wider storyline.
I'm looking forward to the next book.
February 20, 2026
Just Until Christmas
The last book in Leaf wood Falls and I wish it wasn't true because I want to stay!!! I loved every book of the six plus the extra one about Hemingway the cat.I want six more ! Every book was an escape to a place where community and people cared for each other and their world .A place you only dream about , unlike the reality of our current hateful ,angry state of mind that people are reflecting..Leaf wood falls may be in Brooke Skies mind but once you read one story you will hope a place like this exists somewhere near. I will miss going there already.😅
The last book in Leaf wood Falls and I wish it wasn't true because I want to stay!!! I loved every book of the six plus the extra one about Hemingway the cat.I want six more ! Every book was an escape to a place where community and people cared for each other and their world .A place you only dream about , unlike the reality of our current hateful ,angry state of mind that people are reflecting..Leaf wood falls may be in Brooke Skies mind but once you read one story you will hope a place like this exists somewhere near. I will miss going there already.😅
January 2, 2026
I love small town romantic light-hearted series. I have read MANY. Commonalities include small town businesses (bookstore, bakery, cafe Bed and Breakfast, and usually a farm etc.) The story lines are typically someone ends up in said town unexpectedly then falls in love with both the charm of the town and another local grumpy character. What makes Brooke's Leafwood Fall series different is not variation off of the model, but rather and exceptional ability to develop characters that are rich, and deep and complicated. I love that she never presents women as "weak" or unaccomplished. However, she describes their struggles with real feeling and emotional investment. Brooke has a beautiful way of using language and her writing is superb and smart. My only complaint about this book is that it is the final in this series is that I will not be visiting Leafwood Falls again. Too bad! As I have become particularly fond of Hemmingway!
March 26, 2026
I loved how the community came together once again to help others find love, happiness and their better self. Even they were new to the community Leafwood Falls they Amanda and Finn and as a result added two new members to their community. I love that they brought up a yarn store and a hardware store several times. Hoping for more novellas based on them too especially the yarn store as I’m an avid knitter. Lovely story about love, new beginnings, believing in you self and the power of community.
December 21, 2025
I will read anything written by Brooke Skie!
Omg I absolutely love each and everyone of her stories. The characters, the town, the magic and quirkiness are delightful to read. Can't wait to read more from her amazing brain and skills. Thank you Brooke. Oh yeah and Hemingway is spot on too, love him.
Omg I absolutely love each and everyone of her stories. The characters, the town, the magic and quirkiness are delightful to read. Can't wait to read more from her amazing brain and skills. Thank you Brooke. Oh yeah and Hemingway is spot on too, love him.
December 24, 2025
Delightful!
I wanted to read a Christmas story and I came across this one and it sounded different than most and intriguingly delightful! I had not read books 1-5 of the series but took a chance and, wow, what have I been missing? A wonderful, magical, heart warming holiday story. Now I have to catch up with the first five novels (which have been downloaded)!
I wanted to read a Christmas story and I came across this one and it sounded different than most and intriguingly delightful! I had not read books 1-5 of the series but took a chance and, wow, what have I been missing? A wonderful, magical, heart warming holiday story. Now I have to catch up with the first five novels (which have been downloaded)!
December 19, 2025
🩵🩵🩵🩵
I absolutely love this series and this new book added to it! The characters are real and they make the town feel like a place where you'd like to live! I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series!
I absolutely love this series and this new book added to it! The characters are real and they make the town feel like a place where you'd like to live! I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series!
January 1, 2026
Review
This is book 6 of a series, and the only one I've read. But it was fine as a stand-alone. I really liked it. Mia was a hoot, and when Finn finally "got it", he and Amanda fit perfectly.
This is book 6 of a series, and the only one I've read. But it was fine as a stand-alone. I really liked it. Mia was a hoot, and when Finn finally "got it", he and Amanda fit perfectly.
January 11, 2026
Addicted to Leafwood Falls
Brooke Skie is now my favorite romance novelist. This series of books are fun and intriguing. Who will Mia torture/help next? The bookstore is my favourite setting in this series and Charlie is still my favorite character.
Brooke Skie is now my favorite romance novelist. This series of books are fun and intriguing. Who will Mia torture/help next? The bookstore is my favourite setting in this series and Charlie is still my favorite character.
December 10, 2025
one of the best
One of the best in the series!! They were all great but this was insightful. The fictional small town is delightful!
One of the best in the series!! They were all great but this was insightful. The fictional small town is delightful!
December 30, 2025
3 1/2 stars. A fake romance set in a small town bookshop. Cute heartwarming story. Great audio.
January 9, 2026
Heartwarming
Just as good as The 1st book in this series. Keep them coming I can't wait to read the next 1 in this series. It
Just as good as The 1st book in this series. Keep them coming I can't wait to read the next 1 in this series. It
February 14, 2026
Brooke Skie strikes again. I love how differently this story progressed from the others. Made me fall in love with Leafwood Falls all over again. No spoilers...but omg the ending is so perfect!!
February 27, 2026
Friends
Brooke made the people come to life and you just knew if you met them you would want them as a friend
Brooke made the people come to life and you just knew if you met them you would want them as a friend
May 4, 2026
Good book. I loved it!
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews