Jace Applewhite is home for the holidays, helping out on his family’s Christmas tree farm and enjoying some much needed downtime between semesters of grad school. He’s intrigued by the sexy and serious barista from The Daily Grind, but she’s got a Hand’s Off vibe that can be seen from miles away.Tara Honeycutt missed most of her college years being single parent to her two younger half siblings. … younger half siblings. Working multiple jobs, she’s forgotten what it’s like to be a normal twenty-something. All her focus is on giving the kids some new holiday memories.
When a major gas line breaks, leaving them with no heat, no hot water, and no way to cook for Christmas, Jace invites Tara and her sibs out to Applewhite Farms. Will a good old fashioned farmhouse Christmas be enough to get Tara to give him a second glance?
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Second
Chances at a dream. Tara left college to take care of her half siblings without some regret, but she knew they needed her. Now doing their second Christmas, she makes two wishes, to give them a good Christmas and to feel like a normal girl. Have helps with both.
FYI – The Wishful series has been bundled into economical box sets and this book (ebook & audio) is included in Volume 3.
This is a cute novella adding to the Wishful world. It’s set during the Christmas season and runs somewhat concurrently with Be Careful With My Heart & Just for This Moment (books 3 & 4). There aren’t really any spoilers to other books – but as there are a lot of folks to keep track of in Wishful, it’s helpful to listen to the series in order.
Tara has been a small secondary character up until now and it was so sweet to listen to Jace woo her. Tara has been so busy adjusting to role of mom to her much younger siblings that’s she’s basically in survival mode. I appreciate that when Nolan includes children, she makes them an integral part of the story in a realistic way. Jace not only falls in love with Tara, but with Austin and Ginny as well. The whole Applewhite family envelopes the Honeycutts and makes this listen sugarplum sweet.
As a novella covering a short time period, this ends more as an HFN – but I’m sure we’ll hear more about Jace & Tara as the series goes on.
Amy McFadden rocks this again. She continues to give all the folks of Wishful unique voices and mannerisms. I also couldn’t help but adore Ginny’s voice and enthusiasm. So cute! I continue to enjoy this writer/narrator team.
Great book
On his first day back Jace meets the barista. He just has to know her better. Tara doesn’t have time for romance. She has two half siblings to raise.
Very good story. Very well written
I read this lovely novella in one sitting, played the old “awww, just one more chapter!” game until 1 a.m. 🙂
I met Tara first in Riley and Liam’s book, and I was curious about her own story. Let’s just say that Jace and the Applewhite clan are perfect to bring balance Tara’s less than easy life. I was delighted with how the story turned out for everyone, including Ginny and Austin.
Beside the romance, this story packs a huge dose of Holiday spirit, no matter what time of year you read it. <3
I received an ARC of this book from Kait Nolan and have chosen to review it. I really enjoyed this story I got to see what happened to a character that I previously had wondered about in another of the Wishful series books. In this book you get to see the struggles that Tara has faced and you get a better understanding of what has happened in her life and it just tugged at my heartstrings for all the tough situations that she had to go through to get to where she is at. This book is a really easy read and it something that you can finish in one setting if you have the time to spare. I absolutely loved it and I can’t wait to read more of the Wishful series.
It’s good to get back to Wishful, that small southern town that’s so similar to every other small town in America, only not quite. Anyone who grew up in small-town America will relate to this series. They’ll totally understand all the undercurrents that run through the town and how utterly frustrating, but endearing, the people are.
This is a quick and sweet novella about Jace and Tara. Tara gave up her dreams at nineteen to raise her step-siblings. Jace is the all-around good guy that is home for the holidays to help out at the family farm. Again, it’s sweet, it’s quick, it’s Wishful!