By CJ Carroll
Inspirational Romance
Rating 4.5/5
Synopsis: In her last matchmaking attempt, Zed Evans's late aunt stipulated he must find a wife--or lose his childhood home. Fortunately, the resolute bachelor needs to be married for only three months. Now he just has to convince Tasha Jenkins to be his holiday wife in exchange for funds to get her dream business started. It's the perfect plan...until love makes an unexpected appearance.
There were so many things to love about this book. The marriage of convenience is a topic popping up in romance novels more often now. This book takes it a bit farther by having the couple live together and it taking place during the holidays. The story spans across three holidays (Christmas, New Years, Valentines Day) that I'm sure inspire feelings in most people. This is a season that is hard to spend alone, so seeing Zed and Tasha navigate these feelings jarring holidays together was a nice development.
We also enjoyed the inspirational segments of the story. Tasha is the singles' Pastor at her church, and although Zed's exact church affiliations are not mentioned, it is known that he is religious. The both speak about their faith and lean into it when they are going through tough times. The two share these faith building moments, as well as many inside jokes, that makes their relationship feel more authentic and makes them well matched. Zed makes us all swoon with his ability to listen well enough to plan the most memorable date and gift ideas ever (Fellas, take notes!). Tasha has a knack for seeing past someone's exterior and getting right to the root of their souls. We loved the character development of these two, as well as the healing process they most both undertake before feeling ready to attach to any other person.
Our only criticism of the book was that while Zed and Tasha are pretty well developed characters, other characters in the story fall a little flat. We are introduced to both Tasha and Zed's best friends as important figures in their lives, and then we really do not hear much from them after that. You would think that during such an emotionally trying time, both would turn to their best friends, however that is not the case. We do hear mention of Zed's best friend Anton again near the closing of the book, but it feels more like an afterthought probably added during editing.
All in all, we highly recommend this novel! Especially to our male reader who don't usually read romance, this is one you can appreciate.
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