I’m nowhere near ready for Christmas, but I am so ready for Christmas novellas!
The Perfect Gift Synopsis:
It’s the season of second chances in this heartwarming, contemporary holiday romance where two single parents find each other—and another chance at love—in the most unexpected of places.
’Tis the night before Christmas…and businessman and single father Jason is scrambling to find the dollhouse of the season for his seven-year-old daughter Emily. But when he finally strikes gold at an obscure toy store, he’s met with resistance—literally, as from the aisle across from him a beautiful woman named Leah is grabbing onto the dollhouse box with similar intent, determined to get the same Christmas present for her own daughter.
Desperate not to let the other win, Jason and Leah forge a pact: stay together until they find the same dollhouse at a different toy store. It sounds simple, but ten stores and many hours later, they still come up empty. They might not be finding another dollhouse, but they sure are finding a lot to talk about and, as their mutual attraction grows, the unlikely pair finds the greatest holiday gift of all—love.
Review:
The Perfect Gift is a sweet little holiday novella about two people who start out in competition for the same present for their seven-year-olds (possibly the last Little Family Dollhouse left in the entire city) and end up falling a little bit in love.
Thankfully, it’s about as far away from Jingle All the Way as a story can get. (shudder)
Jason and Leah do try to buy the last dollhouse at the store where they meet, and they decide to (reluctantly–especially Leah, since she technically had her hands on the toy first) pair up to scour the city looking for a second one. But there the similarity ends.
Yes, Christmas is almost upon them and yes, their task of finding a second dollhouse often seems futile, but Jason and Leah manage to hang on to their sanity and their humanity throughout. They discuss their daughters. They eat a few meals together. They get to know each other–and decide that they like what they discover.
I liked that there isn’t a magical fix at the end. A solution is reached; it’s not exactly what they all originally desired, but that made the story feel more realistic. The novella ends with a very optimistic happy-for-now and hopeful for the future note that gave me the warm fuzzies.
It was just the thing I needed while stuck inside my freezing cold house in the middle of a November storm. (Thank you, “Winter Storm Knife”!)
Rating: 4 stars / B+
I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.
Buy Links:
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Goodreads
Dani-Lyn Alexander Bio:
Dani-Lyn Alexander lives on Long Island with her husband, three kids and three dogs. She loves spending time with her family, at the beach, the playground, or just about anywhere. In her spare time, which is rare, she enjoys reading and shopping—especially in book stores. Some of her favorite things include; Bernese Mountain Dogs, musicals, bubble baths and soft blankets. She’s an incurable insomniac and has an addiction to chocolate.
Links:
Thank you so much for sharing the release of The Perfect Gift and for such a lovely review! I’m very happy you enjoyed the story!
It was so sweet! It almost made me forget we were getting buried under snow and that I had no heat–it was a fantastic escape, and put me in the Christmas mood 🙂
Though I currently HATE snow. But I loved your novella!
I love the meet-cute in this novella.
I’m sorry you were buried under snow, and I hope you have heat back, but I’m really happy you loved my novella 😀