Guest Review: Holly Lane by Toni Blake

Posted November 21, 2011 by Book Binge Guest Blogger in Reviews | 4 Comments

Publisher: Avon, Harper Collins
The weather outside is frightful, but kisses by the fire are so delightful . . .

Sue Ann Simpkins is working hard to rebuild her life and find some holiday spirit. A weekend away from Destiny in a cabin on nearby Bear Lake seems like the perfect Christmas gift to herself—until her ex’s best friend, Adam Becker, shows up at the door, claiming the cabin is his! And if that’s not trouble enough, how had she never noticed how gorgeous he was?

Alone for the holidays and forced to play a reindeer at the local department store, Adam’s been feeling rather Scrooge-ish himself. But finding the smart, sexy woman he’s admired since elementary school waiting in the house he rented is helping to brighten his humbug mood. And when a sudden snowstorm strands them together in very close quarters, leading to one very hot night together, Adam soon realizes that what he really wants for Christmas is a second chance at love. Now all he has to do is convince Sue Ann . . .
What a delightful holiday tale!!  I began reading this story largely because I am a book reviewer and this looked interesting.  It didn’t take too long before I realized that this was one terrific story about people and the relationships that either enrich or bedevil our lives.  Two divorced individuals, friends for many years–actually because of Sue’s now ex-husband.   And finding themselves both the renters of the same lake cabin over the Thanksgiving holiday didn’t set well with either of them.  Being snowed in may have been the setting for moving the relationship from simply friends to “friends with benefits” but regardless how hot the sex or how enduring the initial friendship, both were wise enough to know that rushing into any kind of relationship that smacked of permanence or even a hot affair, would not serve either of them well.
This story is really about the hurts that are inevitable when one partner decides to feast where the “grass is greener.”  Divorce is almost always hurtful but when it comes on the heels of unfaithfulness and betrayal of marriage vows, then the recovery period can be brutal.  Sue had lots to process and on top of dealing with a spouse who had little maturity, almost no sensitivity to her feelings and those of her children, and the inevitable re-ordering of her life, finding a job, and figuring out how this was all going to work, the holidays were approaching.  It is here that Sue begins to recognize that Adam is a far different kind of person than her ex. 
 He has been alone for a while, has come to resent Christmas, except now with Sue in his life just a little bit, he has begun to believe that there really might be some happiness on the horizon for him.  But there are lots of speed bumps ahead.  Sue’s need to process what has happened to her and her family, her need to find a stable foundation for her life, may or may not include him.  His willingness to be “there” for her is testimony to his maturity and his willingness to patiently wait for her to realize that things can be good between them for longer than one night.
This story is filled with the realities of life–the positive and the negative–and the people who can bring joy with their caring and those who bring difficulties because of their overwhelming self-interest.  It is a story that tells of the holidays from the stand point of those who may have little for which they yearn other than a significant other or even a good friend with which to share it.  It is also about the triumph of the human spirit–a saying we use a lot, I realize–over the thoughtlessness of others, especially people who claimed at one time to love us but who have disappointed us down to our bones.   Through it all is Sue and Adam’s story and their struggles to work through feelings, habits, traditions, and challenges.  Somehow we must all deal with some of that at some point in our lives and this story is the kind that gives us all hope that there may indeed be a “happy new year” waiting for us come January 1.
This is one of the nicest holiday stories I have read so far this year.  I highly recommend it.  
I give it a rating of 4 out of 5
You can read more from Judith at Dr J’s Book Place.

This book is available from Avon. You can buy it here or here in e-format.


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4 responses to “Guest Review: Holly Lane by Toni Blake

  1. kaz.milo

    I just realized that it was no.4 in a series, is it important to read the first 3 books before I read this one?

  2. Kaz: I didn’t read the first three books and found no difficulty in making sense of the book. I thought it was a fabulous Christmas novel!

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