They’re each other’s Christmas present. But what about the other 364 days? Ex-soldier Matthias Bravo likes spending the holidays hunkered down in his remote Oregon cabin. Until Sabra Bond seeks refuge from a winter storm. Now they meet every year for a no-strings Yuletide romance. But Matthias is changing the rules. This Bravo bachelor finally knows what he wants–Sabra forever. Is she ready to … forever. Is she ready to commit to love not just at Christmas but every day of the year?
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I read this one a few months ago and it reminded me why I’ve been a fan of Christine Rimmer for decades. And I’m always one who loves to celebrate Christmas year-round.
This 3rd installment In Christine Rimmer’s Valentine’s Bay series is unusual that it occurs over 4 years only at Christmas. Two strangers meet at Christmas time when Sabra is stranded and taking refuge at Matthias Bravo’s cabin. After a rough start and misunderstanding, the two travelers begin to get along and get to know each other. They decide on a “no strings attached relationship” which agrees with both of them. They decide to meet at the cabin for next Christmas. They continue to make the visit taking it a year at a time. Each deals with all the problems they face out in the real world and enjoy the respite that the “only the two of them” provides. Both want more than an annual relationship but are afraid to voice that desire because they are afraid that it will ruin what they have. Eventually, they express their feelings and they head out to meet the important people in both of their “families” to discover how to make their love an life together work. Another GREAT read from Christine! I love that she always writes strong heroines and heroes!
I absolutely love Christmas and this book will be one that I will read every year! Matt and Sabra had a chance meeting in his cabin. She sought shelter. He was the perfect gentleman and she was going through a hard time. He gave her space as she needed but fell hard. Will their holidays stay magical or fizzle after New Years? I love this sweet novel!
In an updated view on an annual tryst, Christine Rimmer brings us “Same time, Next Christmas”, Matthias Bravo and Sabra Bond’s story in her Valentine’s Bay series. It is in a bit of a different format, taking place over a multi-year period. It sounds a bit strange, but it totally works for this story line.
Matthias likes to spend his Christmas holiday alone in his remote cabin. As he arrives at his cabin, he realizes there is someone who beat him there. Sabra has been hiking during a rain storm and has taken refuge from the storm in his cabin. Over the course of a week, they go from enemies, to housemates, to lovers. Realizing they have ‘something’, but not sure it’s a forever kind of something, they agree to meet again the following Christmas.
Each year they begin to feel more and more for each other, but neither wants to try to contact the other during the year, feeling that they would break the agreement they made that first year, to only have a week at Christmas. Feelings come to a head with each of them, but at different times. Will they be able to come to an agreement that perhaps one week a year isn’t enough, and they have the ability to become year-round partners, or will they go their separate ways and just have those few Christmas memories.
Same Time, Next Christmas by Christine Rimmer.
Sabra Bond and Matthias Bravo meet when she breaks into his cabin in the woods, they agree to have a Christmas only affair, it works well for the first 3 years, then they break up when Matthias asks Sabra for more in the relationship. then they meet at the cabin on the 5th Christmas and they are both ready for more. I really liked the way this book was written. It was very easy to read, and I would recommend to anyone looking for a good book.
Good story. Interesting characters. Worth the read.
“Same Time, Next Christmas” is part of Christine Rimmer’s Bravos of Valentine Bay miniseries. It is the story of Matthias Bravo and Sabra Bond.
Every Christmas, Matt goes to a cabin in the woods away from his family. They understand why Matt needs his alone time, since Matt was in the military and still deals with a family trauma from when he was younger.
This year, he finds someone already there and is immediately suspicious. It turns out to be Sabra, who had been out hiking and got caught in a rainstorm. The two end up spending Christmas together when the rain turns to snow.
Matt and Sabra are attracted to each other and their time in the cabin turns physical. Once Christmas is over and it’s the New Year, they agree to come back again the following Christmas without having any contact throughout the year. Neither have the mindset to be in a relationship – Matt suffering from his past and Sabra from falling for the wrong guy.
The title for this book is perfect. It surmises the premise exactly. I did get tripped up by the timeline a couple times, not sure if I was reading a scene from the past or if it was taking place in the actual present (even with headers at the beginning of some scenes).
“Same Time, Next Christmas” is a perfect romantic read for the holidays.
Terrific book with a very unusual timeline. Most romances take place over a few days to a few months, while this one spans four years. It was a lot of fun to see how both Sabra and Matthias changed over those years. It began when Matthias arrived at his cabin for his yearly holiday retreat. He loves his big, noisy family, but at that time of year, he’d prefer to be alone. Those plans are upended when he arrives at his cabin and discovers a beautiful trespasser. Sabra had been out on an impulse hike when she got caught in a storm. Miles from her car, she broke into an empty cabin to get out of the weather and dry her clothes.
I loved the first meeting between Matthias and Sabra. Matthias wasn’t in the best of moods when he arrived, thanks to a small accident with a hatchet and not feeling well, so he may have over-reacted just a little bit. Sabra certainly wasn’t expecting a rifle-wielding man to come bursting in the door. I was pretty impressed that she didn’t freak out, especially with Matthias’s surly attitude. She earned even more points from me when, noticing both his injury and his fever, she refused to leave. Instead, she stood up to him and insisted on helping him. The battle of wills was pretty funny, and I loved seeing Matthias finally give in. Once he started to feel better, Matthias’s better nature came out and I enjoyed seeing him and Sabra get to know each other, well enough to be comfortable sharing their pasts. There are also some hints of sparks, but both of them have been burned in the past and have no immediate plans to enter any relationships. Yet those sparks prompt an unconventional idea – indulge themselves in a holiday fling, knowing that when they part, they won’t see each other again. So fling they did, and what they had together was fantastic. And when the snow melted, that was it. Except neither really wanted to say goodbye. I loved the plan that they came up with: that if she wanted to, Sabra could return next Christmas, and they would do it again. But there would be no contact for the rest of the time.
I loved the glimpses into their lives over the next year, as neither could forget the other. But both stuck to the agreement until December 23rd came around again. I loved their joy at seeing each other again, and how they couldn’t get enough of each other. One of the best things was that it wasn’t all physical. I loved the way that they could be content just talking, playing with Matthias’s dog, Zoya, even just being near each other while reading. Each of them realized that their feelings were changing, but neither was quite ready to do anything about it. I ached for both of them because their fears were still holding them back.
I loved the roller coaster of emotions over the years as Matthias and Sabra worked their way through their fears, hopes, and dreams. The strength of their feelings was never in question, only what they would do about them. I loved their times in the cabin as they grew closer physically and emotionally. There were some really sweet scenes of the two of them together as they shared the good and the bad of the previous years. There was also a lot of pain as first Sabra and then Matthias allow their fears to push them apart. Those scenes had me in tears as their pain leaped off the page. The glimpses of them during the non-Christmas times of the year showed how deep their feelings for each other were, and how their separations affected them. I was especially rooting for Sabra during that last year as she confronted her fears and allowed herself to build up hope for the future.
The reunion of Matthias and Sabra was everything I could have hoped for. Their joy at being together again was clear. I loved how they were able to face their pasts and see that everything that happened had been necessary for the growth of their relationship. I liked seeing them catch up on each other’s lives, especially the changes in his. I adored the epilogue and seeing them with their friends and family. I had to laugh at Sabra’s friend Iris and her “talk” with Matthias. I loved how easily Sabra fit in with Matthias’s family and the lovely surprise at the end.