Knightly If practice makes perfect, I should excel at pretending that Heath Miller doesn’t affect me. That I’m immune to that wide jaw, taut body, and the unique woodsy-aftershave-engine-oil scent that makes my ovaries explode.Since before I could walk, he’s been my champion, and my best friend. The one problem he can’t solve for me is him. Why? If I tell him I love him, I’ll lose him and his … Why? If I tell him I love him, I’ll lose him and his adorable daughter. Maybe the best Christmas gift I can give him—and myself—is to turn in the keys to my B&B and put some distance between us.
Heath
I’ve made my share of mistakes. Lost my MIT scholarship, came home to fix cars and romance Kentbury’s female tourists—until I wound up a single father. For all eight years of Cassie’s life, Knightly’s been my anchor.
I’ve changed. Cassie’s the best part of me, and Knightly’s been there every step of the way. But as Christmas lays its mantle of magic over Kentbury, she drops a bomb—she’s following a dream to New York City. I’ve got one week to do everything, say everything I’ve never dared. To convince my best friend to be mine—ours—for all the holidays to come.
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Christmas in Kentbury is the perfect start to your holiday season. It’s the sweet and sexy beginning of a romance a lifetime in the making. It’s hallmark channel meets HBO. (Seriously, Hallmark is missing out on the naughty stuff.)
So bring a smile to your holiday and join us in Kentbury. I’ll be there trying to convince Hop that I’m waiting.
Reviewed for Sweet Spot Sisterhood
This beautiful friends to lovers Christmas story takes place in the beautiful town of Kentbury, Vermont. Heath and Knightly have been best friends since childhood, and each has loved the other since teenage years but worried that taking it to the next level could ruin what they have. Neither knew the other felt the same way. When Heath becomes a single dad of a little girl, Knightly is right there to help him raise this precious angel.
But eight years later, Knightly realizes that she will always only be Heath’s best friend and “Lee” to his daughter, never “Mom.” Having her feelings hurt and trampled on over the years, she has finally made a decision. Running the family B&B, along with her brothers’ Ski Resort and Cider business is a dead end for her. She needs to make some changes. And so she decides to shake things up. And Christmas magic may have to come to Kentbury to make them all realize what they have.
This is such a wonderful heartwarming standalone Christmas story with a HEA and my favorite, an epilogue!! You need to grab this up now, find a cozy corner and devour this Christmas gift!
Christmas in Kentbury
Lee has had a crush on Heath since she was fourteen years old. Heath spent years fooling around with the tourists who came to Kentbury. But then one of the women dropped a baby that was his and he became a father. Life changed, but his first thought was to ask Lee for help with baby Cassie and suddenly Cassie and Lee were the center of his life.
Eight years later, Lee is wanting a family of her own, a husband and children, and is giving up mooning over Heath and Heath suddenly realizes what he could lose.
I loved the setting of a small resort town where everyone knew each other. Heath is one of the nicest people, silently doing good deeds around town. While everyone in town sees them as a couple, Lee and Heath seem afraid to risk their friendship by adding romance to their relationship.
Heath is so dreamy. The way he rescues Knightley every chance he gets is so romantic. I couldn’t help falling in love with these characters.
Knightley and her brothers run a B&B in the town of Kentbury. Well really Knightley (Lee) runs it and her brothers help sometimes. They also have a ski resort they are trying to make profitable. Lee is so busy with the businesses but she still finds time to hang with her secret love Heath Miller and his daughter Cassie she’s been helping to raise since she was one month old.
Heath has his own fantasy’s about Lee but doesn’t let himself go there. He can’t bare the thought of losing his best friend. Lee deserves better than a mechanic. I mean what would she see in him?
Claudia develops her characters exquisitely and makes the reader really invest in the story. When its over, you feel like you know the town, the characters and you long for just a little more. This friends to lovers romance is no different. Heath and Knightley will become a part of you. Trust me. Claudia Burgoa
This was a nice, enjoyable read. I liked the characters and the story overall. There was really no angst or major drama just two best friends who are “secretly” in love with each other (even though the rest of the town seems to know it) but are afraid to make a move and destroy their friendship. Heath and Lee finally get their act together but unless there’s another book it kind of just ended and whatever happened to her interview in New York.
I’d like to read more about them and some of the secondary characters like Lee’s brothers and Heath’s brother. Overall, a good story.
This was such an adorable friends to lovers novella. It was beautiful. Such an intense, emotional ride wondering how it was going to all end up. This book was way more interesting than what I had originally anticipated. It’s so much more than another holiday read! I would recommend it to anyone who loves a fun friends to lovers romance.
Christmas in Kentbury is a light and easy best friends to lovers read. Heath and Knightley have a wonderful friendship, their eachother persons, and they would do anything for eachother. I smiled so much while I was reading this. To me it was fun watching them bumble around, and deny their sexual tension they have. You could feel the sparks coming off the pages. I liked little Cassie, and most of the family members. I enjoyed reading this cute Christmas novella, and I’m hoping that the author will write more of this family.
My first Claudia Burgoa book and it definitely won’t be the last!!
This holiday novella gave me all the feels! I loved Knightly and Heath and their amazing friendship. This book ticks all my favorite boxes: friends to lovers, single dad, small town. I loved meeting these characters and I hope there’s future visits to Kentbury!!
*This is my voluntary review of an advanced reader copy*
A perfectly sweet Christmas friends to lovers story.
Knigtly and Heath have been friends forever. They have been there and supported each other through everything..even a surprise baby! But Knighly thinks it is time to give up and move on..and move away! Heath knows she is the one but knows it is now or never. Can he convince her to stay for him and not just his daughter??
I loved these two! I hope we get to visit Kentbury again!
Christmas in Kentbury is a sweet and romantic novella about Knightly and Heath. Knightly and Heath have been best friends since they were kids and have been by each other’s side through everything. They both have feelings for one another but are too scared of ruining their friendship to cross the line. When Knightly decides that she needs to leave Kentbury for New York and move on with her life, Heath realizes that he needs to fight for Knightly.
more like 4.5
REceived in exchange for a honest review.
I loved Heath and Knightly. Their story warms the heart. Especially with Heath and all he did to woo Knightly.
Heath and Knightly have been friends forever. Heath is also Knightly’s brothers friend as well. The oldest brother I wanted to smack upside the head. He was part of the issue for Heath to me. heath always felt more for Knightly but never acted on it for many reasons. One being he never felt good enough for Knightly for his parents didn’t have him feel that he was good enough. Second being he was afraid to lose Knightly’s friendship.
When Heath made a mistake and became a dad, Knightly was there to help him and encourage him. Knightly’s family stood by him as well. Her family always supported him.
Heath was a great dad. He is a kind and warm person as well. Always there to help others and give of himself. He is very supportive of Knightly as well. But his parents really did a number on him man. They looked down upon him and this has him feeling he isn’t worthy. Which is far from the truth.
Knightly is great as well. She is kind and sweet. Has a great business sense when it comes to the b&b. She is also like a mom to Heath’s daughter. And she has had a crush on Heath forever only now she is older and wants more. She fears that Heath doesn’t based on his past with woman. That and her brothers. Dang them. So when Knightly finally feels it is time to go forward, she starts to push Heath away. This is where the fun begins.
Heath is persistent and finds out what is going on and you see the panic set in. We see him have to face his feelings and fears and play with the big dog of love or lose the one woman that is always there for him and loves him as well. It is Knightly’s dad that helps Heath with his indecision. That was one of the more tender moments. When Heath is told he is worth so much. And when he begins to believe it you just smile. But you swoon when he woos Knightly and she sees that he really does love her.
The story is fun, sweet and just a feel good read. You can’t help but fall in love with the characters and the story. Heath and Knightly have great chemistry and just make you feel so welcome in their world. Claudia Burgoa has written a wonderful feel good story that warms the heart and draws you into their adventure into taking a leap and having faith in love.
I adored Heath and Knightly and all the characters in Kentbury! I want to go vacation at the B&B! Cassie was adorable and while it took years and Knightly almost leaving town, Heath finally made his move on his best friend in order to keep her in his and his daughter’s lives. I cannot wait to read more from this author!
This was such a great and quick read. It’s a friends to lover romance with great main characters and side characters. I hope there will be more stories about the people in Kentbury in the near future.
Knightly has been in love with her best friend Heath since she was a little girl. Heath is also Knightly’s older brothers best friend too. When Knightly was 17/18 years old and Heath finds out he was a father, she was there to help him and support him in raising his daughter Cassie. Cassie grew up really having Knightly as a mother figure and Heath is glad to have Knightly as his best friend even though he has had romantic feelings for Knightly for quite some time now. However, Heath feels that he is not good enough for Knightly and he thinks that he is not good at relationships.
Knightly for her part feels that she needs to move on so that she can find love with someone else since she thinks that Heath will never think of her as more than a friend. Obviously both of them are afraid to let the other know their true feelings for fear of losing their friendship. When Heath finds out that Knightly is considering taking a job outside of Kentbury, he realizes that he can’t lose her and has to show her his true feelings and to make sure that he has had feelings for her for a long time and it is not due to her possibly leaving him and Cassie.
When Knightly gives Heath a chance, they both finally admit their true feelings for each other and can’t believed that they have wasted so much time because of their fear of losing their friendship!
OMG! I adored this amazing book so much. I was sad to have to work and interrupt my reading of it! Claudia Burgoa writes in such a way that I want to gobble up her books in one sitting but sometimes have to wait, alas! Always worth it!
The idyllic and picturesque town of Kentbury is home to Knightly’s family’s business, a resort with many facets, which she, her father and 2 brothers all share the running of. Each contributes their own personal experience and expertise. It seemed to me like a unique ‘everyone’s hometown’ where kids could have an almost perfect childhood and endless happy memories. Knightly or Lee as she is fondly called has been in love with Heath, she and her brothers best friend, for as long as she can remember, always one of the boys and sadly, firmly in the friend zone.
This is a ‘friends who could be more’ kind of story where Knightly and Heath have been denying their feelings for one another for years. When Heath finds himself unexpectedly a father of an adorable baby girl from a one night stand, who does he call on to help with her? Well, his best friend of course. Little does he know that he crushed Knightly’s heart that day, having had a child with someone other than her, as she had always hoped and dreamed. She’s been secretly (maybe not so secretly) in love with him for so many years but has kept these feelings to herself as to not change their beautiful relationship as it is. Years later, she realizes that Heath will never be what she needs him to be. She loves his daughter like her own,but she isn’t her mother.
Lee has to either stay or go, settle or find happiness elsewhere. Can Heath let her go, can he live without her in his life. Can she?
I felt a wide array of emotions while hanging out in Kentbury with these characters in this short but oh so sweet tale, so well told I needed a cleansing sigh after a few tears were shed in the process. A perfect ending to an equally perfect story..LOVED it, recommend it..read it and enjoy Christmas in Kentbury! I wonder if we might return here for more at some point in the future…
Such a beautiful, heartfelt, fun holiday romance! Great setting and fantastic characters. This single dad, friends-to-lovers romance is a perfect holiday read!
Heath & Cassie
This is a beautiful story of friendship that over the years grows into so much more but neither one wants to ruin what they have. Cassie has been Heath right hand woman for years . Cassie realizes that he may not want the same things that she needs such as the love from a husband and children.
Heath has raised is daughter with the help of Cassie but recently he can feel her pulling away. When he realizes that she is going to leave the little town they call home to find true love , family and a job with a hotel he will need more than a Christmas miracle . He may have to come clean with his feelings and see if she feels the same. Beautiful story!
~~Michele McMullen ~~
I loved these characters and this friends to lovers story. They were already a family and just needed a little nudge to make it official. Heath is just such a great swoon-worthy good guy, so easy to fall for him. So many stories need to be told about this family and their small town.
Five ho-ho-ho stars! This is a perfect read for Christmas!
Ho-ho-ho holy Christmas! Claudia Burgoa delivered a friends-to-lovers-romance with a sweet touch of Christmas. Wow! This book is like a hot cocoa with a lot of marshmallows (my favourite by the way). She mixed the spicy and forbidden with sweet and pure romance. Falling in love with your best friend is quite a challenge that could end in heartbroken but this is not the case, this is more…
Christmas in Kentbury is a stunning read for this season. It is perfection wrapped in a gorgeous cover. Knightly and Heath are a match made in heaven. To acknowledge their true feelings for each other is a brave thing to do for each one because of the fear of losing what they have. Sometimes you should take the risk when it is about love so you don’t life in the “what ifs”. To take the next step risking your friendship or to forget about your feelings… that’s the question.
The pacing is fast and the plot is well developed. The characters are complex and imperfectly perfect like real human beings. It is impossible not to feel empathy for them, especially for Knightly. My heart squeezed in my chest and I wanted to scream to Heath’s face what he didn’t see (or he didn’t want to see). Knightly is brave and caring and maybe her heart need to forget the love she felt or risk her feelings…
The attraction is there but both main characters forced themselves to hide what they felt because of the strong friendship they don’t want to ruin. But life happens and after all the denial it exploded in their faces like an intoxicating addiction. All barriers will be destroyed and love will flourish free in their life wrapping them in a soft cocoon.
At first, I hated Heath because in some level he abused of Knightly friendship but after he realized his true feelings I was swooning over him because who does not fall for a man who recognizes his mistakes and mends everything to make his woman happy? He won my heart at the same time he won Knightly’s. He had the courage to confront his love for his friend, the woman who always was there for him and his daughter. He will hand his heart to Knightly praying she will keep it and that she will give him, her heart in return.
To win Knightly’s heart will be a sweet and sexy journey for Heath and her. To conquer her heart when she gave up on her feelings is going to be deliciously entertaining.
In my opinion, Christmas in Kentbury is everything you want in a holiday romance. It just has the right elements to make it an intense, heart warming romance just perfect to give you the spirit of the holiday time. Sweet and hopeful, this book is an adorable way to spend your time. If you want a good read for this season, this book is perfect for you because the queen of angst penned a beautiful novella that will throw you directly into the spirit of Christmas.
If you love friends to lovers, plus a Christmas setting then Christmas in Kentbury is the story for you!!!
Knightly has been in love with her best friend Heath since forever. But he just seems to always keep her in the friend come. She has stuck by Heath through so much. But she’s decided to stop waiting for Heath. When Knightly decides to move, will Heath come to his senses?
Once again Claudia pulls readers in, and grabs hold. I’ve come to ADORE her books. She gives us characters that are lovable and realistic, plus AMAZING storylines that flow perfectly. And Christmas in Kentbury was no exception. An absolute holiday must read!
Christmas is Kentbury is a sweet friends to lovers novella that takes place around the holidays in a small town called Kentbury. Heath and Knightly have been friends forever. Both have romantic feelings for the other and both are afraid to act on it. Neither wanting to ruin their friendship. But when one of them fears the other may be leaving town, they decide to set things straight. I really enjoyed reading their story, despite being a novella I felt like the characters were well developed and that we got a full story with them. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a short, sweet friends to lovers romance.