The library hold didn't come in until after Christmas. Which is too bad as maybe I'd have been more patient with all the cruft if I were reading it "in the season"? I dunno. As it stands, it was pretty standard RaeAnne Thayne fare, though maybe a bit on the extreme end of perfection.
We actually have two couples finding each other in this one, so bonus. I actually liked Brie and Levi better, though they were definitely secondary. And that despite the fact the limited time worked against them more (i.e. their romance felt rushed by the time limit whereas Tate and Annie didn't). I just think their connection had more chemistry and that they fit better together.
I had a couple real problems with some of the characterization in the story. Brie was the more obvious with her backstory of pain. I can't help feeling that rehab and therapy should have worked out some of the core issues before she got to the winter retreat. Indeed, stating explicitly that she shared more with Levi than anyone else, including the professionals who helped her out of her tailspin isn't the enhancer I think the author intended. For one, it makes me question her recovery because that kind of thing is absolutely undermined by lying or omissions—particularly ones that large.
More subtly disturbing was Annie's obvious over-extension and having Tate praise what a great woman she was explicitly while he's witnessing her over-extension. Like, his admiration is attached to her making unrealistic commitments and being unable to reach out to her support network when she gets in over her head. This is not healthy or sustainable. And it sets up a pattern of expectation that bodes ill for their future. Like, I expect to see them in couples counseling in ten years talking about how his expectations are outrageous and he's all complaining that she's "changed".
Plus, there's a lot of holiday charity in the story and having witnessed that kind of thing first-hand, I can tell you that reception of those works landed somewhere between "implausible" and "laughably ideal". Needs-based charity at the holidays is a mine field of emotion with a heady cocktail of shame and desperation swirled into the gratitude and relief. Which would be hard to put into a holiday romance, I'm sure. But it jarred a bit, even so.
All that said, it's RaeAnne Thayne and she's an outstanding writer and I was never not engaged despite the things drawing me out of the story. I enjoyed it at least three stars worth. So I'm going to go with that rating.
A note about Chaste: The time is short and privacy even shorter. So there's no room for sexual shenanigans. Brie mentions wanting some with Levi, but he's a stand-up cowboy type who takes care of his woman, so he nipped that in the bud. In a gracious way. So this is pretty chaste, I think.