Christmas Is Cancelled (#1) by Aurelia B. Rowl

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It’s impossible to forget…

Matilda ‘Tilly’ Carter has had the week from hell – and now, with all trains cancelled, it looks like Christmas will be too! With a mascara-streaked face, a broken heel and nowhere to go, there’s never been a worse time to run into the man who once broke her heart. Especially when he looks better than ever.

The one that got away…

For Dean, Christmas has always been hard. The Tilly standing before him is no longer the firecracker of his memories—even if the way she makes his heart race hasn’t changed at all. He is determined to uphold the promise that kept them apart nine years ago. But spending a cosy Christmas with Tilly would break a better man and each accidental touch, heated look and stolen kiss is taking its toll on Dean.

Looks like my Christmas got a whole lot better once this book came into my hands! This has a different tone from Rowl’s previous two books, Popping TheCherry and A Girl Called Malice but it's still fun.

Tilly is stuck at the train station the night of Christmas Eve adding another blow to an already wretched day. Overcome by stress, she quickly dashes out of the station only to run into an old friend and crush Dean, who in my imagination is played by Richard Armitage. They haven’t seen each other in ages so they don’t recognize each other initially but once they do, the sparks are still alive. Tilly is a physical and emotional mess so Dean provides her sanctuary by inviting her back to his place to stay the night. She takes him up on the offer, after all, she has no other options. At his place, Tilly tries to manage her rattled nerves so she can appear lighthearted while Dean struggles to keep his desire under wraps with his sexy broodiness.  Now it's just a matter of who breaks first.

Naturally, there has to be a reason these two have been apart. In fact, there are many including Dean’s promise to her brother and some personal things he’s been wrestling with privately. This is where secrets become misunderstandings which lead to an abrupt end to an otherwise unique but lovely (read: hot) Christmas "magic time".

The only thing that may baffle readers is the very quick resolution. Yeah, that kind of got me but then I thought, why not? This is a Christmas story and of all the times of the year, aren’t miracles supposed to happen then? So if you’re craving some feel-good feels where the sexy heroine gets her sexy man and everyone is all sexy smiles at the end, read Christmas Is Cancelled. Everyone should get a happy ending and have their greatest wishes come true, especially at Christmas!

~ Bel