Her Inconvenient Christmas Reunion

This was my first read by Nina Singh, though I’ve been intrigued by her books for a while. I’ve avoided them thus far because I’m always a bit wary of branching out in Harlequin’s offerings beyond their Heartwarming & Love Inspired lines. There are no explicit scenes in this story, but I will say that it’s very steamy and things are clearly going on, if you get my meaning. However, the author does very well at keeping it within the ‘not explicit’ boundaries (just within, in some cases lol).

Zayn and Izzy have a past, and when they’re thrown back together in the present, they might have a future too… if they can get past that past. (see what I did there? lol) They’re both well-defined, layered characters with their own sets of flaws and sparks between them aplenty! It’s clear from their first re-encounter that those feelings they had for each other are still simmering below the surface, no matter how much time has passed. I enjoyed spending time with each of these characters – Zayn a bit Scroogish and Izzy definitely more of a Bob Cratchett. It’s not a smooth ride for them (of course) but it’s definitely a heartwarming journey.

Bottom Line: There’s something about Christmas that makes second chance romances that much more enjoyable, and that’s certainly the case in Her Inconvenient Christmas Reunion. Zayn & Izzy have sizzling chemistry which predictably (since this definitely isn’t billed as Christian or clean & wholesome fiction) leads where you think it could, and while I personally don’t agree with their choices, the author does have a limit to the steam and keeps it pretty well within those boundaries (which I appreciated.) From the romantic settings (a Napa Valley vineyard & Paris at Christmas) to the great characters and the sweet message of forgiveness, this is a well-written romance with all the holiday feels!

(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book)

I love a good holiday story! This was a Harlequin Romance book which meant there were some language and implied bedroom scenes but nothing graphic. I typically read clean fiction but the book description sounded interesting so I decided to give it a try.

The main characters Izzy and Zayn have history together but haven’t seen each other in over 5 years. They become reunited after the death of a loved one and throughout the book they try to communicate and figure out what went wrong years ago.

They both own wineries so there’s alot of alcohol mentioned in the book which I wasn’t thrilled about; but I liked reading about their business practices, differences and how they learned to work together. I especially loved reading about Izzy’s business holiday traditions and why she felt like they were important.

I enjoyed reading this sweet, romantic holiday story about love, forgiveness and starting over.

I received a copy of this book complimentary for blog and social media review. All opinions are my own.

Her Inconvenient Christmas Reunion was such an easy story to fall into from the very start. Zayn and Izzy were once a couple in love with a future ahead of them until it ended with Zayn leaving without a good reason, at least one he could give to Izzy. They were still loosely connected through Zayn’s aunt who owned and ran the winery that Izzy eventually managed. After his aunt’s death, they are now co-owners of that winery, and Zayn in his male superior attitude sees the chance to now make changes to the more casual, far more laid-back way that property has always been run. And will continue in the same fashion if Izzy has her way.

There is much that Izzy is unaware of, facts that Zayn and his aunt knew. So in some ways making them co-owners was his aunt’s way of making sure they kept a connection, that they had to work together. Yet, Zayn’s attitude right now is to go in, make an offer Izzy cannot refuse, and buy out her half of the winery. That is so not going to happen. The result? Two stubborn people with a past between them and an uncertain future ahead will have to find some ground to meet on… with unusual results.

There is more than that one big thing that Zayn is holding back information about, and as the story continues we learn more as that secondary situation gets worse on almost a daily basis. There is a good reason why Zayn left. Should Izzy have been told? Oh, yes, no doubt in my mind – but she was young as was Zayn and they grew into different people than they would have if their love had continued on the same course years ago. I’m also certain of that.

Watching the love that never, ever was far from each other’s thoughts strengthen, grow into something understood yet new was a fascinating experience. There were moments when at the least I wanted to shake some sense into both of them – or sit them down for a stern conversation. But book characters never listen to me anyway.

I had such an emotionally good time reading Her Inconvenient Christmas Reunion. Christmas in Paris, who wouldn’t love that? A love that never died, past decisions to get beyond, acceptance of who each was today – all of that made for an emotional, funny, sad, enjoyable experience.

I fall in love with secondary characters just as much as, if not more than (at times) the main characters. And it’s that thought that will have me checking Ms. Singh’s upcoming releases to see if Paula and Ethan ever open their eyes to each other. Yeah. I’m that kind of reader who wants a happy ending for everyone. (Not that I wouldn’t simply buy any book she writes otherwise for I enjoy her style of storytelling very much… but I want to know about those two people in particular.)

I own an e-book edition of Her Inconvenient Christmas Reunion.

Izadora “Izzy’ Veracruz is the manager and vintner of Stackhouse Winery. She loves her job and had even forsaken her father to be working for the competitor. Because of Izzy’s dedication and love for the winery, Myrna Tabor, Stackhouse owner with no heirs to help her, bequeathed half of the winery to her and Zayn, her nephew.

Zayn Joffman is a successful businessman who left his family’s winery business to find his way and later did well for himself. After his aunt’s passing, he inherited his family’s vineyard. He had many thoughts and proposals to reinvent the winery and elevate Stackhouse Winery to fit the global arena. One thing was stopping him, and it came in the form of a woman from his past. Too bad it comes Izzy, a co-owner, as a package, who cannot be bought out and is making sure that Aunt Myrna’s legacy continues (status quo).

The story is from both Zayn and Izzy’s POVs. They have a long history together – childhood sweethearts, to be exact. They grew up together in the winery, but Zayn, one day, left for no reason. This devastated Izzy, who thought they had “something” together, even if they were still so young. It is only after Aunt Myrna’s passing that Zayn steps back into his past and to face his “sins.”

Izzy and Zayn’s chemistry is striking in that they both do not see how well they can work with each other versus against – to better the winery. They need to sort out their pasts to run the winery effectively together. They are as complicated together as individually.

Zayn is a man, riddled with much self-doubt that his frustration floored me. He is far from perfect based on his troubled past, though he tries his best to change for the better. Thus, there is still lingering trauma within Zayn; he does not trust people easily, even when they prove to be and is critical of anyone who may show care and understanding towards him. Bottom line: he DOES NOT DO relationships. Period. The only relationship he considered was a long time ago, and it was with Izzy, which did not turn out well, and he had to leave her for her own good.

With Zayn coming back to Stackhouse, his well-kept “secrets” starts seeping out and will make him question the decision he took five years ago. Readers will see his “vulnerable” side wherein he gets triggered more by his past and the consequences of his choices. There is one point in the book that I felt heartbroken for Zayn. He was misunderstood and judged based on his past, making him believe that he could not return and continue his family’s legacy through Stackhouse. Something else bothered Zayn that he chose to ignore instead of taking action to correct the problem. Like myself, Izzy was sad to see a successful businessman still have this guilt haunting him.

When readers find out what he has kept hidden and rationalize everything, I changed my mind mid-way because his reasons for just keeping things status quo was the best action he could have taken. It is rare for me with a character, and I wholeheartedly agree that Zayn did right. (Crazy, I know.)

Izzy also has her share of issues to sort out. She worried about Aunt Myrna and the vineyard, her family’s wishes for her, and the heartbreak Zayn left her.

Izzy tried her best to balance everything. But with Zayn ignoring her brought up some abandonment issues thinking that he left because she was not good enough for him. She slowly got over Zayn and focused on her passion for the winery until Zayn came back and insulted her by doing something crazy (as expected) that made things much complicated.

If Zayn had the right frame of mind to discuss things with Izzy, instead of assuming things, he and Izzy work together to contribute and co-own the vineyard, then Izzy and Zayn could have avoided the hurt and disappointments. There were flashbacks a few sad flashbacks for either of them to encounter at a young age. I like how Nina used this to strengthen the readers’ connection to Izzy and Zayn empathize with the story’s conflicts.

Zayn’s dual personality confounds me a bit because, on one end, I see the go-getter, take-no-prisoners businessman Zayn, while on the flip side, the quiet, fumbling-for-words, the past Zayn. The juxtaposition is excellent, and reading underneath it all, implied the lingering attraction of Zayn to Izzy still holds, even after all these years.

Midway through the story, an exciting opportunity turned everything around for Izzy and Zayn. Unknowingly, this new development was a blessing to both main characters and allowed Zayn to find his back into Izzy’s life. This part of the story picks up faster yet organically evolved to unravel Izzy’s and Zayn’s problems.

A hint: Izzy and Zayn started working finding common ground with regards to the winery and even got a trip in together that I love!

Both of them realize how much they need each other to heal and find redemption from their painful experiences. All the secrets piled up against each other were unhealthy and brought more damage than protecting each other. It was humbling to see that they listened to Aunt Myrna’s parting words, more so with Izzy, who followed it down to the letter.

I want to share that just when I thought things would be simple – two ex’s trying to fix their relationship into a good one, something else happens that throws me in kilter. I was not ready for this, and more emotions came. I have to say that Nina is very cunning in this one. There was no sign or hint on this till it blows up from Zayn.

Izzy is a brave woman to have come from where she did. She pushed through her pain to be Zayn’s unwavering supporter after everything. It took a lot out of her, and you read it in her words and actions. She was sincere and did not coddle Zayn. She knew him well enough to be the silent and relentless business partner.

On the whole, I would recommend this book for readers who love enemies-to-friends, second chances, and redemption/healing stories. It is a story about a series of misunderstandings, unresolved issues (until the end), rehashed mistakes, and later, healing as the truth comes outs on why things turned simpler (if they did it right, the first time) in the end. No matter how late in the game, being honest is always the best, and it showed so well in this book.

It is an easy read for readers and captivating enough not to put down the book until the end. I enjoyed it a lot.