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Kismet, Michigan #1
Home For The Holidays
"A delightful secondary romance adds to the fun in this upbeat romp that is touching, hilarious, and lightly dusted with seasonal charm." —Library Journal
Red-hot stylist-to-the-stars Rachel Porter has it all. Well, sort of. Her luxury beach house is actually a loaner from her #1 client. And her cute Tesla Roadster? Well, that's just another job perk...hers to keep, right? But when Rachel catches her #1 client in bed with her boyfriend, she exacts her revenge by tricking her turncoat "frenemy" into committing fashion suicide on the red carpet—and promptly finds herself out of a job. And her house. Her car. Her life. With nowhere to turn, Rachel does the unthinkable: she goes home to Kismet, Michigan.
"Lisa Plumley once again gifts readers with a Yuletide story sure to put you in a holiday mood. This is vintage Plumley. She's created a cast of characters that are a bit eccentric, quirky and likeable and spun a story that will make you smile." —Lezlie Patterson, McClatchy-Tribune News Service
USA TODAY best-selling author Lisa Plumley has delighted readers worldwide with more than three dozen popular novels. Her work has been translated into multiple languages and editions, and includes contemporary romances, paranormal romances, western historical romances, and a variety of stories in romance anthologies.
When Rachel loses her Hollywood dream job, a trip home for Christmas seems like a good idea. But she never expects to find a hunk from her past waiting under the mistletoe...
Red-hot stylist-to-the-stars Rachel Porter has it all. Well, sort of. Her luxury beach house is actually a loaner from her #1 client. And her cute Tesla Roadster? Well, that's just another job perk...hers to keep, right? But when Rachel catches her #1 client in bed with her boyfriend, she exacts her revenge by tricking her turncoat "frenemy" into committing fashion suicide on the red carpet—and promptly finds herself out of a job. And her house. Her car. Her life. With nowhere to turn, Rachel does the unthinkable: she goes home to Kismet, Michigan.
For Reno Wright, picking up his neighbor's daughter from the airport for a holiday visit sounds like no big deal. But from the moment he spies Rachel in the airport, Reno knows he's in over his head. The girl Reno remembers from high school looks nothing like the glammed-out man-killer who walks off the plane. But for all her attitude, Rachel is really just a small-town girl with a heart too big for Hollywood. The temperature may be freezing, but the heat between Rachel and Reno is burning hot.
Reno is falling hard fast...but will his holiday romance survive once the calendar turns?
"Lisa Plumley once again gifts readers with a Yuletide story sure to put you in a holiday mood. This is vintage Plumley. She's created a cast of characters that are a bit eccentric, quirky and likeable and spun a story that will make you smile." —Lezlie Patterson, McClatchy-Tribune News Service
"Home For The Holidays is a bit of a modern day It’s A Wonderful Life. It’s romantic and fun and full of heartwarming moments!" —Joyfully Reviewed
"Home for the Holidays has charm and warmth. Lisa Plumley captures much of the fun of the season, some of the heartache, but also all of the love that makes Christmas so wonderful. Sure, it has a holiday themed title, but this story is guaranteed to make you smile any time of the year." —Romance Junkies (4 blue ribbons rating)
"If you're in the mood for a fun-filled contemporary romance oozing with seasonal charm, appealing characters, and amusing moments, then Home for the Holidays is just what Santa ordered." —Bookloons
"Home For The Holidays is a perfect way to get your holiday reading underway. Readers will definitely enjoy the tone and pace of this book, in addition to the funny, romantic and light-hearted spirit of the characters. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story and suggest that you pick-up a copy too." —The Romance Readers Connection
USA TODAY best-selling author Lisa Plumley has delighted readers worldwide with more than three dozen popular novels. Her work has been translated into multiple languages and editions, and includes contemporary romances, paranormal romances, western historical romances, and a variety of stories in romance anthologies.
Her fresh, funny, and warmhearted style has been likened to such reader favorites as Rachel Gibson, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Jennifer Crusie, and LaVyrle Spencer, but her unique characterization is all her own. Visit Lisa at www.lisaplumley.
353 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2008
41 people are currently reading
784 people want to read
About the author
Lisa Plumley
63 books153 followersBest-selling author Lisa Plumley has delighted readers worldwide with more than three dozen popular novels. Her work has been translated multiple languages and editions, and includes contemporary romances, historical romances, paranormal romances, and a variety of stories in romance anthologies.
Her fresh, funny style has been likened to such reader favorites as Rachel Gibson, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, LaVyrle Spencer, and Jennifer Crusie, but her unique characterization is all her own.
Lisa’s alter ego is cozy mystery writer Colette London, whose Chocolate Whisperer mystery series featuring globe-trotting chocolatier (and amateur sleuth!) Hayden Mundy Moore includes Criminal Confections, Dangerously Dark, and The Semi-Sweet Hereafter. It will continue with Dead and Ganache in October 2017 (all from Kensington Books).
Her fresh, funny style has been likened to such reader favorites as Rachel Gibson, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, LaVyrle Spencer, and Jennifer Crusie, but her unique characterization is all her own.
Lisa’s alter ego is cozy mystery writer Colette London, whose Chocolate Whisperer mystery series featuring globe-trotting chocolatier (and amateur sleuth!) Hayden Mundy Moore includes Criminal Confections, Dangerously Dark, and The Semi-Sweet Hereafter. It will continue with Dead and Ganache in October 2017 (all from Kensington Books).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
May 12, 2020
Ok, so this was bad. After about a third of the way through I started skimming just to find out what happened, but eventually, I didn't even enjoy skimming.
It's just that everyone in this book was an idiot. Like, absolutely stupid, not smart, doesn't know how to talk to people or behave in public even. Was this supposed to be a satire maybe?
So to start off, Rachel is a Hollywood celebrity stylist who finds her biggest client in bed with her boyfriend and decides to get her revenge by putting the client in a bad outfit (horrendous) and sending her to a big event with media to humiliate her. The client then fires her and also takes away her phones, car and apartment because they were all gifts from the client.
And here's the stupid part - Rachel is surprised at how angry her client is! So apparently Rachel is a 30 year old woman who's been in this business for years, who somehow didn't realize that humiliating her biggest client was going to get her fired and then blackballed in Hollywood? When she first did it (before I realized that everyone in the book is an idiot) I thought of course she knew what she was doing and I was rooting for her to go out with a bang, thinking that this was a big, elaborate plan to fire her client. But then you find out that she thought this revenge would be no big deal and she would keep the client. Really? She was presented to us as a savy and successful businesswoman who's been doing well for years and yet she didn't realize that what she did would have consequences?
She then leaves Hollywood to go to her hometown where she meets Reno, the male lead, and is rude to him for no reason. They then do . . . . something. It's implied they had sex. But also implied that it only *seems* that they had sex and really they did something else. The author drags this on for far too long to the point where it was not in the least bit interesting by the time you find out what they did (it wasn't sexual). It doesn't help that there's no chemistry between them either.
Reno was annoying. For most of the book he's perfect. He buys all the candy being sold by young girls for charity, he's so hot that all the women in town giggle when they see him, he never says no to helping someone. He was completely one dimensional for at least 3/4 of the story. There was a scene in the second half of the book where Rachel talks about how he feels a need to be wanted because of some issues he has and that was actually interesting for a moment. I stopped skimming and actually read that scene! But scenes like that were pretty rare in this book.
And the side romance was just awkwardly weird. Nate is apparently really, really stupid in a way that's also sexually inappropriate, though the author seemed to want us to go "awww" at all of his bad behaviors. Like when he grabbed Angela's ass (!) to show her what to avoid when she went on a date with someone else (!!!) and then, a minute later, asks her for help in wooing Rachel who he swears is the love of his life or something.
So of course Angela and Nate end up together, but I don't understand *why* other than Angela is horny and Nate is hot? That's what it came down to as far as I can tell. We're told they both love each other, but it wasn't shown at all (platonic love, sure, but romantic love came out of nowhere). But honestly, they had more chemistry than Rachel and Reno at least.
Throw in a lot of Hollywood Girl Is Ashamed Of Small Town Life Because She Forgot Her Roots, followed by the required realization that Small Town Life is Better And More Real Than Hollywood, and you have this book in a nutshell.
It was also odd that Rachel grew up in Kismet, but was constantly amazed at how things were done in Kismet. It was like the author forgot the backstory and was confused about where the character was from?
I don't know, maybe this *was* supposed to be a satire and I just didn't get it.
It's just that everyone in this book was an idiot. Like, absolutely stupid, not smart, doesn't know how to talk to people or behave in public even. Was this supposed to be a satire maybe?
So to start off, Rachel is a Hollywood celebrity stylist who finds her biggest client in bed with her boyfriend and decides to get her revenge by putting the client in a bad outfit (horrendous) and sending her to a big event with media to humiliate her. The client then fires her and also takes away her phones, car and apartment because they were all gifts from the client.
And here's the stupid part - Rachel is surprised at how angry her client is! So apparently Rachel is a 30 year old woman who's been in this business for years, who somehow didn't realize that humiliating her biggest client was going to get her fired and then blackballed in Hollywood? When she first did it (before I realized that everyone in the book is an idiot) I thought of course she knew what she was doing and I was rooting for her to go out with a bang, thinking that this was a big, elaborate plan to fire her client. But then you find out that she thought this revenge would be no big deal and she would keep the client. Really? She was presented to us as a savy and successful businesswoman who's been doing well for years and yet she didn't realize that what she did would have consequences?
She then leaves Hollywood to go to her hometown where she meets Reno, the male lead, and is rude to him for no reason. They then do . . . . something. It's implied they had sex. But also implied that it only *seems* that they had sex and really they did something else. The author drags this on for far too long to the point where it was not in the least bit interesting by the time you find out what they did (it wasn't sexual). It doesn't help that there's no chemistry between them either.
Reno was annoying. For most of the book he's perfect. He buys all the candy being sold by young girls for charity, he's so hot that all the women in town giggle when they see him, he never says no to helping someone. He was completely one dimensional for at least 3/4 of the story. There was a scene in the second half of the book where Rachel talks about how he feels a need to be wanted because of some issues he has and that was actually interesting for a moment. I stopped skimming and actually read that scene! But scenes like that were pretty rare in this book.
And the side romance was just awkwardly weird. Nate is apparently really, really stupid in a way that's also sexually inappropriate, though the author seemed to want us to go "awww" at all of his bad behaviors. Like when he grabbed Angela's ass (!) to show her what to avoid when she went on a date with someone else (!!!) and then, a minute later, asks her for help in wooing Rachel who he swears is the love of his life or something.
So of course Angela and Nate end up together, but I don't understand *why* other than Angela is horny and Nate is hot? That's what it came down to as far as I can tell. We're told they both love each other, but it wasn't shown at all (platonic love, sure, but romantic love came out of nowhere). But honestly, they had more chemistry than Rachel and Reno at least.
Throw in a lot of Hollywood Girl Is Ashamed Of Small Town Life Because She Forgot Her Roots, followed by the required realization that Small Town Life is Better And More Real Than Hollywood, and you have this book in a nutshell.
It was also odd that Rachel grew up in Kismet, but was constantly amazed at how things were done in Kismet. It was like the author forgot the backstory and was confused about where the character was from?
I don't know, maybe this *was* supposed to be a satire and I just didn't get it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 12, 2008
I love Christmas books, and generally really cut them a lot of slack, but this one was not great. The character's motivations and thought patterns didn't make any sense, and sometimes the words themselves didn't either.
But it did end happily, and had Christmassy things in it, so that's fun.
But it did end happily, and had Christmassy things in it, so that's fun.
October 20, 2018
This was cute, although, I felt Rachel was too calm upon finding her boyfriend and client in bed together. It was still a fun read with a holiday setting.
October 10, 2010
As a single mom and avid Christmas fan, this book touched me on multiple levels. The emotional insecurities that inevitably occur after divorce by both the divorced couples and their children are addressed in a way that is heartrending but also uplifting. The joys of Christmastime are never far away for me, and reading this story reminded me of how miraculous the season can truly be.
The characters in this story come in many different flavors, each of the main ones trying to find their way through emotional issues. As is often true in reality, oftentimes the problem solving used to help one character’s issue helps to shed light on questions and answers that the helper has. By the end of the story, it’s hard to tell who helped whom out more, the adults or the children. I worried about Karina’s need to be so helpful all the time and how it affected her relationships, but luckily she had an epiphany about that (along with other things) towards the end of the book. Reid had his share of uncertainty, but he was definitely the Christmas miracle that Karina was hoping for (although they never did get back to the honey).
This is the author’s second trip to Kismet. The first book was “Home for the Holidays”. I can’t wait to pick it up. If it is anything like this story, it will be quite enjoyable. ~ Monica, www.ireadromance.com
The characters in this story come in many different flavors, each of the main ones trying to find their way through emotional issues. As is often true in reality, oftentimes the problem solving used to help one character’s issue helps to shed light on questions and answers that the helper has. By the end of the story, it’s hard to tell who helped whom out more, the adults or the children. I worried about Karina’s need to be so helpful all the time and how it affected her relationships, but luckily she had an epiphany about that (along with other things) towards the end of the book. Reid had his share of uncertainty, but he was definitely the Christmas miracle that Karina was hoping for (although they never did get back to the honey).
This is the author’s second trip to Kismet. The first book was “Home for the Holidays”. I can’t wait to pick it up. If it is anything like this story, it will be quite enjoyable. ~ Monica, www.ireadromance.com
January 18, 2010
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Home For The Holidays. It was a fun light read, and perfect for getting into the Christmas spirit. The characters were funny, heart-warming and overall, very likable.
This is the second Lisa Plumley novel I have read, and I now offically consider myself a fan. I definitely saw similarities in the overall plots of both of her books I have read (Home For The Holidays and Let's Misbehave). Not to mention, although the characters were not the same, I saw similarities there also. None of that is necessarily a bad thing though right? I certainly didn't feel like I was reading the same book.
This is the second Lisa Plumley novel I have read, and I now offically consider myself a fan. I definitely saw similarities in the overall plots of both of her books I have read (Home For The Holidays and Let's Misbehave). Not to mention, although the characters were not the same, I saw similarities there also. None of that is necessarily a bad thing though right? I certainly didn't feel like I was reading the same book.
April 3, 2009
Liked Plumley's earlier stuff, but this was too long, overloaded with "tell don't show" and the secondary romance was much better than the primary romance. All in all, struggled to finish this.
December 21, 2017
A good Christmas romance (or 2). I've read these out of order so this was my last trip to Kismet and I'll miss my Christmas visits there. Very enjoyable story and likeable characters.
December 13, 2024
Really 3.5. Reno was kinda annoying, like he helped everyone else to almost a fault. Just tell your friend no I’m not setting you up. Rachel was kinda annoying. Like she kept walking around like she was better than the town and thought they had no idea what happened when she was in LA. You made the ticker on CNN, and cable exists in the town.
December 10, 2023
Look, I’m normally a sucker for a cheesy Christmas novel but this one was… not it. The characters weren’t likable at all and the writing was cringe. I was actually not hating it at the beginning, but the ending really ruined it for me. I rolled my eyes multiple times lol.
December 28, 2017
Very Cute holiday read, very Hallmark movie-esque. Less cliche than most.
February 5, 2019
3.5. Started out slow......
December 13, 2020
Pretty enjoyable story of a high powered LA woman going back to her hometown at Christmas. You know what will happen. Extra credit for romance from the men’s point of view.
June 22, 2025
Super cute, not a "big brain" type of a read but read rather quickly over a weekend camping trip!
February 1, 2023
Cute, feel good book set in one of my favorite states-Michigan- and my favorite time of year, Christmas. The main character is a little out of touch, but since she was living in LA for her career she gets a pass. I enjoyed the banter between everyone in the book; it felt very normal. The story kept me engaged and I can't help but recommend it as a holiday read. Is it blow your mind amazing? No. But it's happy, has Christmas traditions and really just makes you feel in the moment.
December 21, 2008
Home for the Holidays was a fun and entertaining read. Lisa Plumley made her characters likable and fun and threw in a few good laughs.
At first, I wasn't sure how much I would like the main characters. Rachel was shallow and a little bit irritating. Reno was a little too understanding and a bit of a push-over. In the end, they both won me over. More than that, I liked all the secondary characters. Reno and Rachel's parents both bring plenty of laughs. Most of all, though, I loved Nate. I think I might have loved this book more if he were the main character. He was goofy and a little nuts, which made his character totally lovable.
This is the second Lisa Plumley book I have read. The first was good, but not great. This one I thoroughly enjoyed. I liked the setting (I'm from Michigan, so I like the Midwestern homey feel) and all the characters. This book helped me get more into the holiday spirit and has left me with that happy feeling.
At first, I wasn't sure how much I would like the main characters. Rachel was shallow and a little bit irritating. Reno was a little too understanding and a bit of a push-over. In the end, they both won me over. More than that, I liked all the secondary characters. Reno and Rachel's parents both bring plenty of laughs. Most of all, though, I loved Nate. I think I might have loved this book more if he were the main character. He was goofy and a little nuts, which made his character totally lovable.
This is the second Lisa Plumley book I have read. The first was good, but not great. This one I thoroughly enjoyed. I liked the setting (I'm from Michigan, so I like the Midwestern homey feel) and all the characters. This book helped me get more into the holiday spirit and has left me with that happy feeling.
April 13, 2010
I started reading this last December, since it's a Christmas book, but never got around to finishing it, so it's been chilling on my bookshelf for 4 months and I decided to just go ahead and finish it. It only took a week, but geez, I thought this book would never end. The first 100 or so pages were OK, but then once the two main characters started to hook up, it just dragged on. Of course there was the conflict towards the end of the book that all books have. Gotta have that twist to wake the reader up.
Maybe if I had finished reading it during Christmas time, I would've gotten into the holiday spirit. Maybe if I wasn't so bitter about love right now, I would've found it more romantic. But mostly I found it to be a waste of time and am glad that I bought it was gift card instead of spending the $7 it would've cost to buy it.
But that's just me.
Maybe if I had finished reading it during Christmas time, I would've gotten into the holiday spirit. Maybe if I wasn't so bitter about love right now, I would've found it more romantic. But mostly I found it to be a waste of time and am glad that I bought it was gift card instead of spending the $7 it would've cost to buy it.
But that's just me.
January 16, 2016
This was OK. Would have liked the secondary romance to have had their own book - although then the "tension" between the two men wouldn't have worked. I know it's supposed to be funny and cute - and it was, but both Reno and Rachel were also annoying. The thing that bothered me the most was that everyone was just a little stupid - including the parents. For example, if her parents knew about her big fiasco, how come they never said anything? And his parents breakup issue was also meant to be funny (dad and the mid-life crisis) but was just a bit weird. The Big Misunderstanding was set up by Reno (weird name - sounds like a girl) first dissing her career (everyone knew, nobody cared) and then he basically says his friendship is more important than his love life, which to me is a deal-breaker as far as hero-hood goes.
May 7, 2009
This story is about a small town girl who became a famous fashion trender in LA, but after something diasterous had happened, she was forced back to the small town of Kimet to hide out for a while. Rachel was a big hit dressing famous celebraties in LA, and with a cute boyfriend, she thought everything was going well. But everything fell apart after she found her boyfriend in bed with one of her #1 client. Angered, Rachel had dressed her client in a hideous dress on her birthday, and was soon fired without a home, car, or phone. She was forced back to Kimet, where she met Reno. After spending a few weeks in Kimet with Reno, she found what love is and rediscovered the spirit of family, friendship and christmas.
December 27, 2014
I kind of liked the first half of the book and enjoyed the christmassy atmosphere once Rachel was back in snowy Kismet.
The second half of the book was mostly boring as everything was clear. The drama was absolutely unnecessary.
Rachel was a very annoying character and I couldn't understand her at all. She was arrogant, egoistic and shallow. Reno was the absolute opposit: cute, down to earth and friendly but he still couldn't save the book for me.
The atmosphere in the book was really cosy though and perfect for the Christmas days.
The second half of the book was mostly boring as everything was clear. The drama was absolutely unnecessary.
Rachel was a very annoying character and I couldn't understand her at all. She was arrogant, egoistic and shallow. Reno was the absolute opposit: cute, down to earth and friendly but he still couldn't save the book for me.
The atmosphere in the book was really cosy though and perfect for the Christmas days.
January 5, 2014
I was extremely glad that Rachel left her boring job in Hollywood... Ugghhh hated the first part of the book. So Reno and Rachel hooking up was fun but so so.... What should have been the book -- Nate and Angela. Wow! Nate was a hoot and fixing him up to snag his dream girl (Rachel) was the best part of the book. 4 stars for having too many odd characters including Derek. So random... But nonetheless I enjoyed the book as a cute holiday title to read.
February 10, 2013
I really enjoyed this book. I was unsure if the main character, Rachel, would be too much of a ditz/snob to make the story enjoyable but instead she was fun and surprised me (and other characters) throughout the book. Yes, she did something stupid and it tanked her career but she doesn't spend all her time wallowing. I also like the development of her relationship with Reno and loved the subplot with Reno's sister Angela and her eventual boyfriend.
July 16, 2009
This was a fun book but I liked the side story better than the real one. Nothing wrong with the main characters, but they just got redundant and I found myself hurrying through their story for peeks of Nate and Angela and what was happening with them. Unfortunately none of the sex was between them...Nate sounds like an adorable hottie!
August 13, 2009
This was an adorable love story and it showed the importance of our relationships, rather than our careers. Careers can go up in smoke at any time, but relationships aren't quite as volatile, making them much more important. Besides, at the end of the day, which would you rather have - a paycheck and empty apartment, or people to share dinner with and laugh over the day's stories?
October 23, 2011
I was frustrated by this book. It would build up an event then switch to another scene then only hint about the end of that event. Also, seemed more like chick-lit than romance. I quit after 125 pages. LA boyfriend cheated on Rachel with her boss, she reacted, was fired, returned home, Reno picked her up at airport.
January 22, 2020
Rating- 3 good
Heat- 2
Entire series- 3
Tropes- hallmark movie in a book, person from big city falls for someone in small town
There is just something about a Christmas romance set in a cutesy small town. Home for the Holidays takes us to Kismet, Michigan which is the kind of idealistic small town that doesn’t exist in reality. It’s a fun Hallmark like story.
Heat- 2
Entire series- 3
Tropes- hallmark movie in a book, person from big city falls for someone in small town
There is just something about a Christmas romance set in a cutesy small town. Home for the Holidays takes us to Kismet, Michigan which is the kind of idealistic small town that doesn’t exist in reality. It’s a fun Hallmark like story.
December 3, 2008
I really liked this books by Lisa Plumley. First time that i have read her work and thought i would take a chance on a Christmas themed one. Not usually my cup of tea but the amazing people of Kismet touched my heart without being to sappy. I did not want their story to end.
April 28, 2015
I like Lisa Plumley's other stuff, but I struggled to get through this one. I ended up skipping over half the book. I like the concept but the characters just didn't do it for me and the book dragged on for ever at times.
December 31, 2012
This is the second book I have read by Lisa Plumley. I enjoyed Home for the Holidays, but I found Holiday Affair much better. The story and characters were not up to what I read previously. 3 stars
December 25, 2013
A decent holiday story that drug on a bit at times. I liked how we got 2 storylines, and the secondary characters sometimes outshined the leads. More substantial than the typical holiday romance too.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews