Review: Christmas at Dewberry Hollow by Amelia Grey (part of the Kissing Under the Mistletoe anthology)

             

Print Length: 353 total pages

Publisher: St.Martin's Press (September 28, 2021)

From Goodreads.com: Isabelle Reed has no plans to ever fall in love. Certainly not with Gate, a man who doesn’t live in Dewberry Hollow. She will fulfill her duty and help him keep his promise to have his ill grandfather back in London in time for Christmas dinner. The last thing Isabelle wants is for Gate to take her heart with him when he goes.

                                                         *******************

My Rating: 2 stars out of 5

I just couldn't get into this one with any real enthusiasm. Our story begins with Isabelle accidentally shooting a man by mistake (she thought it was a deer and didn't take the time to properly make sure before she fired). Thankfully, the man is okay and it is love at first sight for Isabelle and the wounded man's employer. 

As the story continues, we find out that Gate has returned to Dewberry Hollow to aid his dying Grandfather in finding the tree that he once carved his and his wife's initials in years ago. As the days pass by, his attraction to Isabelle grows, although we are never given a reason for why. Sure they have some interesting conversations, but I never felt a deeper connection than lust. 

Time and again, Gate presses his interest on her (apparently the poor guy just can't take a hint) and while she claims not to be interested her actions tell a different story. Part of her reasoning? When she was 12 the man she thought was going to be her step-father left and never came back, breaking her mother's heart. So of course, Gate cannot possibly love her. Even when he proves to her he's not like the man who broke her mother's heart, it still takes a lot of convincing on his part. 

For me, this one just needed to be a little bit longer with more attention paid to the two main characters, and less on some of the background characters.

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

                                                         *******************

   

 Christmas at Dewberry Hollow is available from Amazon.com as part of the Kissing Under the Mistletoe Anthology