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The Grinch Makes Good
Christmas is her favorite time of year. He can’t wait to put December behind him.
Brooke Bailey might be thirty-one years old, but she still believes in Santa Claus. And since she won’t be going home for the special holiday this year, she’s determined to include the residents of her small apartment house in her celebration-even those who aren’t fans of the jolly red-suited guy or reindeer games.
For Dr. Duncan Cox, Christmas is nothing but a commercial disaster filled with disappointment and bad decisions; he sees both in Mercy Hospital’s ER more than ever as the big day draws near. On top of that, this year he finds himself tasked with secretly filling Brooke’s stocking with twelve gifts to help out a friend.
Can Dr. Grinch’s gifts give Miss Merry Christmas the very thing her celebration is missing? And can seeing Brooke’s joy at receiving the anonymous gifts thaw Duncan’s cold heart?
Brooke Bailey might be thirty-one years old, but she still believes in Santa Claus. And since she won’t be going home for the special holiday this year, she’s determined to include the residents of her small apartment house in her celebration-even those who aren’t fans of the jolly red-suited guy or reindeer games.
For Dr. Duncan Cox, Christmas is nothing but a commercial disaster filled with disappointment and bad decisions; he sees both in Mercy Hospital’s ER more than ever as the big day draws near. On top of that, this year he finds himself tasked with secretly filling Brooke’s stocking with twelve gifts to help out a friend.
Can Dr. Grinch’s gifts give Miss Merry Christmas the very thing her celebration is missing? And can seeing Brooke’s joy at receiving the anonymous gifts thaw Duncan’s cold heart?
224 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 1997
113 people are currently reading
113 people want to read
About the author
Alison Kent
129 books643 followersI often read of or hear about authors who knew they were meant to tell stories from the time they left the crib. Me? I didn't decide what I wanted to be when I grew up until I was thirty years old - and then sold my first book at thirty-four. Still, it was obvious that I always knew I was going places.
Like so many other authors, I was a voracious reader from day one, devouring everything from Nancy Drew to My Friend Flicka, which I remember sitting hovered over the heater vent in the kitchen floor to read while my father made his coffee.
I moved on to my mother's Phyllis Whitney, Dorothy Eden, and Mary Stewart gothics before discovering my first true romances written by Lucy Walker and set in the Australian Outback. And then, at last, when I was 18 I found 'The Flame and the Flower'. (My son almost spent his life as Brandon because of that, but I spared him and named him Casey instead!)
Why write romance? Because love stories have always been a major part of the books I've loved. Father Ralph and Meggie Cleary. (I did name my daughter Megan after reading The Thorn Birds! Do you see a trend here?) The aforementioned Brandon Birmingham and Heather Simmons. Wolf Mackenzie and Mary Potter.
Even more so, it's because I love writing romance heroes. The men who sweep both heroines and readers off their feet - not to mention their authors, too!
I've spent several years happily writing action adventure romance for Kensington Brava along with hot and sexy series romances for Harlequin Blaze. Now I'm thrilled to be a launch author for Vows.
Like so many other authors, I was a voracious reader from day one, devouring everything from Nancy Drew to My Friend Flicka, which I remember sitting hovered over the heater vent in the kitchen floor to read while my father made his coffee.
I moved on to my mother's Phyllis Whitney, Dorothy Eden, and Mary Stewart gothics before discovering my first true romances written by Lucy Walker and set in the Australian Outback. And then, at last, when I was 18 I found 'The Flame and the Flower'. (My son almost spent his life as Brandon because of that, but I spared him and named him Casey instead!)
Why write romance? Because love stories have always been a major part of the books I've loved. Father Ralph and Meggie Cleary. (I did name my daughter Megan after reading The Thorn Birds! Do you see a trend here?) The aforementioned Brandon Birmingham and Heather Simmons. Wolf Mackenzie and Mary Potter.
Even more so, it's because I love writing romance heroes. The men who sweep both heroines and readers off their feet - not to mention their authors, too!
I've spent several years happily writing action adventure romance for Kensington Brava along with hot and sexy series romances for Harlequin Blaze. Now I'm thrilled to be a launch author for Vows.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
September 16, 2011
This book is why shame shelves are created.
I'm not really into romance, aside from the Jennifer Echols variety, but I thought I'd give this a try because every other book in LAPL's e-library is a romance and I love Christmas -- like, feel it in my fingers and feel it in my toes love.
Now I wasn't expecting much because hello -- cover, title -- but I figured I'd be in for some good smut or at least some hot leading men. Let's start with the description of the two leading men.
Rawr, baby.
But surely guys of such fashionable sunglasses have hot sex, right? Who knows because the all the sex in the first 80% of the book happens off the page! Why do you think people are reading this, author whose name I couldn't be bothered to look up?? For your descriptions of "the purely female lobes of her ears"? And why didn't you clarify what makes earlobes female? Should I be worried a man may find my earlobes too male for his taste?!
So after the majority of the book being spent with our sexay lead character Duncan having more chemistry with his 80-year-old landlady than the female protagonist, he finally gets to have the sex -- not with the 80-year-old landlady unfortunately. Not only is he having the sex, he's having shower sex! Now, if you've actually had shower sex, you know that unless it's with a Viking god, it is the least sexiest thing ever. When hot water isn't blinding you, you have to make sure you don't slip on all the sexy soap. Seriously, all I was thinking as the author described his burning ache, her wet skin, and the berry-scented bubbles that foamed around her feet, ooooh, was, This bitch is gonna fall and hit her head!
In conclusion, this is my opinion on my first foray into romance:
I'm not really into romance, aside from the Jennifer Echols variety, but I thought I'd give this a try because every other book in LAPL's e-library is a romance and I love Christmas -- like, feel it in my fingers and feel it in my toes love.
Now I wasn't expecting much because hello -- cover, title -- but I figured I'd be in for some good smut or at least some hot leading men. Let's start with the description of the two leading men.
"While JJ's fashionable sunglasses hung from his neck on a neon yellow cord, Duncan had left his dark shades in place. A black sports band creased his damp hair from ear to ear."
Rawr, baby.
But surely guys of such fashionable sunglasses have hot sex, right? Who knows because the all the sex in the first 80% of the book happens off the page! Why do you think people are reading this, author whose name I couldn't be bothered to look up?? For your descriptions of "the purely female lobes of her ears"? And why didn't you clarify what makes earlobes female? Should I be worried a man may find my earlobes too male for his taste?!
So after the majority of the book being spent with our sexay lead character Duncan having more chemistry with his 80-year-old landlady than the female protagonist, he finally gets to have the sex -- not with the 80-year-old landlady unfortunately. Not only is he having the sex, he's having shower sex! Now, if you've actually had shower sex, you know that unless it's with a Viking god, it is the least sexiest thing ever. When hot water isn't blinding you, you have to make sure you don't slip on all the sexy soap. Seriously, all I was thinking as the author described his burning ache, her wet skin, and the berry-scented bubbles that foamed around her feet, ooooh, was, This bitch is gonna fall and hit her head!
In conclusion, this is my opinion on my first foray into romance:
May 6, 2020
Pretty cute but a little basic.
December 28, 2018
This was a pretty good holiday story that I'd read every year. I really loved 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' gifts...sweet!
I really liked the author's writing style (even with the few typos). The slow-burn romance between the H/h built up into some very intense sparks (emotionally and sexually). 'The Grinch' was very sexy, without being crude in that 'he shoved manmeat A into dripping slot B' way.
I would have given this story another star if I had gotten just a bit more info on Duncan's background with his aversion to Christmas. Still, I enjoyed this. 3.5 stars.
I really liked the author's writing style (even with the few typos). The slow-burn romance between the H/h built up into some very intense sparks (emotionally and sexually). 'The Grinch' was very sexy, without being crude in that 'he shoved manmeat A into dripping slot B' way.
I would have given this story another star if I had gotten just a bit more info on Duncan's background with his aversion to Christmas. Still, I enjoyed this. 3.5 stars.
November 30, 2018
Brooke, who love Christmas, and Duncan, who does not - a love story in the making. This book was a cute read, definitely cheesy in some parts, but hey, that's what a cheesy romance novel is all about.
December 29, 2016
I fully expected this to be a sweet, simple read about a grinch and his Christmas obsessed neighbor, and it was, but it also had me majorly swooning at parts and my heart was full when I finished. There's a scene in the lobby near the mistletoe and a bag of garbage that felt so sensual to me that I went back and reread it a couple of times. I found myself wanting to shake some sense into the characters but enjoying the slow burn at the same time. This book had it all, steam, sweet, funny and frustration.
April 27, 2022
Two points for a good show at a real plot. I'd give it two and a half stars if I could - it wasn't completely unenjoyable. But the foreshadowing of the climactic scene started very early and was laid on very thick. If you're looking for a quick, easy read based on the idea of the holidays and lonely hearts finding each other - this is a good one. But don't expect anything too deep in the way of back story of subplot. It's just not there.
I have a bit of a bone to pick with the cover... the main character is said to have fair skin, blue eyes and blue black hair... that my friends...on the cover... is a blonde.
I was a little confused by the interludes we got of Sally and JJ randomly throughout the book. Sure, Brooke threw them together and they hit it off, but this story wasn't theirs so the random closeups of their kisses (mostly the private one) kind of sent me into an OCD tailspin. It could just be that the author felt their romance wasn't really in need of its own story so she bundled it into this one...either way, I found it a little out of place.
I have a bit of a bone to pick with the cover... the main character is said to have fair skin, blue eyes and blue black hair... that my friends...on the cover... is a blonde.
I was a little confused by the interludes we got of Sally and JJ randomly throughout the book. Sure, Brooke threw them together and they hit it off, but this story wasn't theirs so the random closeups of their kisses (mostly the private one) kind of sent me into an OCD tailspin. It could just be that the author felt their romance wasn't really in need of its own story so she bundled it into this one...either way, I found it a little out of place.
January 29, 2017
Heartwarming
This is a very sweet story that is not only heartwarming but also soul searching. I did find the lack of JJ's reaction about his "feelings" for Brooke after kissing Sally disturbing. Especially since she was supposedly his ideal woman. I guess this one blip doesn't matter as everyone got their own happily ever after.
This is a very sweet story that is not only heartwarming but also soul searching. I did find the lack of JJ's reaction about his "feelings" for Brooke after kissing Sally disturbing. Especially since she was supposedly his ideal woman. I guess this one blip doesn't matter as everyone got their own happily ever after.
October 26, 2018
A nice, feel good, happy ending Christmas story. The kind you’ll want to pick up and read, leaving you feeling warm and cozy.
December 13, 2017
A very sweet take on the Twelve Days of Christmas.
Miss Merry Christmas vs. Dr. Grinch.
Brooke loves everything Christmas from baking cookies to wearing her reindeer slippers. But this year is tough for her. Her first year not going home for the holiday, and the first without her grandmother. So she decides to throw herself into making her small apartment building into Christmas central.
Duncan on the other hand would rather do anything than celebrate Christmas. As an ER doctor, he sees horrible things come into the hospital around the holidays. Not to mention he does not have the best family memories of Christmas.
There is a lot happening in their shared living space. Brooke is trying to put Duncan’s best friend and fellow doctor into the friend zone, her best friend Sally is on the hunt for a new man and new business opportunities, the elderly apartment owner and resident busybody is in serious matchmaker mode, and then there is Brooke’s secret Santa, who in reinterpreting the Twelve Days of Christmas for her. Trying to make her Christmas special.
It was a fun, quick read. Told from multiple points of view.
Miss Merry Christmas vs. Dr. Grinch.
Brooke loves everything Christmas from baking cookies to wearing her reindeer slippers. But this year is tough for her. Her first year not going home for the holiday, and the first without her grandmother. So she decides to throw herself into making her small apartment building into Christmas central.
Duncan on the other hand would rather do anything than celebrate Christmas. As an ER doctor, he sees horrible things come into the hospital around the holidays. Not to mention he does not have the best family memories of Christmas.
There is a lot happening in their shared living space. Brooke is trying to put Duncan’s best friend and fellow doctor into the friend zone, her best friend Sally is on the hunt for a new man and new business opportunities, the elderly apartment owner and resident busybody is in serious matchmaker mode, and then there is Brooke’s secret Santa, who in reinterpreting the Twelve Days of Christmas for her. Trying to make her Christmas special.
It was a fun, quick read. Told from multiple points of view.
December 2, 2018
Brooke Bailey
Duncan Cox
Brooke is not going home for Christmas, since her Nana died earlier in the year. She decides to decorate and have Christmas with her friends where she lives. Duncan Cox is a Doctor and has moved back to Houston from Seattle as an Emergency Room Doctor and lives above Brooke in the same building. He doesn’t like Christmas and has worked his whole life trying to keep from feeling anything. The book goes into how Duncan gets 12 days of gifts for Brooke, first as a favor for his friend and then because he wants to. The relationship that develops between Brooke and Duncan. You find out why Duncan doesn’t want to feel and why Brooke likes Christmas so much. The relationship’s with the secondary characters Sally, JJ and Nettie. This was a good and fast read. Would read other books by this author and she also writes under the name of Mica Stone. She writes a wide variety of genres.
Duncan Cox
Brooke is not going home for Christmas, since her Nana died earlier in the year. She decides to decorate and have Christmas with her friends where she lives. Duncan Cox is a Doctor and has moved back to Houston from Seattle as an Emergency Room Doctor and lives above Brooke in the same building. He doesn’t like Christmas and has worked his whole life trying to keep from feeling anything. The book goes into how Duncan gets 12 days of gifts for Brooke, first as a favor for his friend and then because he wants to. The relationship that develops between Brooke and Duncan. You find out why Duncan doesn’t want to feel and why Brooke likes Christmas so much. The relationship’s with the secondary characters Sally, JJ and Nettie. This was a good and fast read. Would read other books by this author and she also writes under the name of Mica Stone. She writes a wide variety of genres.
August 12, 2019
Brooke Bailey loves Christmas. Her family is strange and since her Nana dies, she's staying at her job/apt. for Christmas. So she decorates their lounge area. The two doctors in the building are both attracted. She's been dating JJ Mackey, but isn't interested. Duncan Cox is a different story, but he's a grinch. She sets out to reform him, while he slowly comes to realize she's for real. When she matchmakes JJ with her best friend, their opportunity happens and by Christmas Eve they're both hooked.
November 17, 2021
This didn't work for me too much. Brooke is Miss Christmas but she's just as closed off as Duncan. They spend most of the book avoiding each other and avoiding their attraction. They both are stupid and make stupid decisions. The Grinch is one of my favorite Christmas stories and this did not do it justice at all. There were a few good points in the story and I finished it, so 2-2.5 stars is what it gets.
December 5, 2022
2.5 but rounded up to three. I love romance books but usually don’t read holiday romance stories. There were parts that made me swoon parts that made me cringe. The land lord is my favorite character and I aspire to be her when I am 80! Just be warned the sex scenes are not the reason to read this book. Nonetheless a cute holiday story.
December 15, 2022
What a delightful surprise this story was!!! I happened upon it while searching for the perfect romantic Christmas story to put me in the mood for the holidays. I listened to the audiobook and loved the festivity this story had. The 12 days of Christmas idea was inspired!!! I really look forward to reading more by Alison Kent in the future!
November 29, 2024
At the end of the day all I wanted was a silly, lighthearted Christmas romance. And I got that!
But I dont think I'll ever stop wondering what makes earlobes "purely feminine", or if my neighbor is jerking off to the sound of me in the shower.
This was delightful, but I wouldn't say it was good.
But I dont think I'll ever stop wondering what makes earlobes "purely feminine", or if my neighbor is jerking off to the sound of me in the shower.
This was delightful, but I wouldn't say it was good.
September 8, 2017
I loved this book from start to finish.
I love the characters and the story.
I love the characters and the story.
October 30, 2018
I read to 27% and it was just boring. I returned it for a refund.
October 30, 2018
The story was cute, but this version had too many missing punctuation marks.
January 23, 2020
This book is a quick read. The plot is predictable. The characters are like able. However, I skimmed much of the book as there is not much depth to the story.
November 21, 2021
Meh, a slow drifting story. A nice Christmas-centered story. Not much action or genuine heat. But it wasn't a horrible story just not overly inspiring.
December 1, 2021
3.25 Stars
December 7, 2021
My first audiobook by this author just in time for Christmas! And it gave me all the sugarplums needed to put me in the holiday mood!
December 21, 2022
ITS IN THIRD PERSON
Okay now that’s out of the way…
It was cute, like too cute. I needed drama.
Okay now that’s out of the way…
It was cute, like too cute. I needed drama.
December 28, 2023
i hated the audiobook narrator...idk if that has impacted this review or not.
September 1, 2024
Didn’t finish after the first few chapters. It’s okay. The characters seem likable. I just personally don’t like when the main characters start off by inner monologuing about how hot they find the love interest and then give an excuse about why they don’t want to be interested in or lusting after said love interest. Especially when it’s mentioned every few paragraphs by BOTH characters during their pov’s. A LOT of romance novels do this. It becomes boring and repetitive. ‘Oh he/she is so hot/perfect/arousing/etc. Wait no i need to stop thinking about their good looks. No I mustn’t want this person. I don’t want anything serious. I’m not looking for a boyfriend/girlfriend’, etc. over and over and over. And with both characters doing this there is no variety. And no mystery.
June 11, 2021
This was a cute story with lots of misunderstandings and some decent heat. The only thing for me was that it did not keep my full attention throughout. It could be my ADHD though! 😉
February 15, 2023
It's a nice story of love and forgiveness. It shows the excitement of Christmas.
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October 24, 2018Loved it!! What an awesome read, such a beautifully written story and characters!! My first of Alison Kent's and won't be my last!!
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews