Cole Weston’s biggest holiday wish is about to come true. The deal of a lifetime is within reach–and once he closes the sale of one small town elementary school, he’ll have a nice fat bonus check to take with him when he finally moves up to the real estate big leagues in New York. He’s not about to let anyone stand in his way–especially not the feisty and all-kinds-of-adorable teacher who does … does everything she can to convince the school board not to sell.
Francesca Bagnoli won’t let go of her beloved school without a fight. The historic building might not be in the best shape, but it’s the heart and soul of her town, and there’s no way she’ll let some greedy real estate mogul destroy it. Who cares that he’s the most attractive man she’s ever seen? She will not lose focus, and she most definitely will not fall prey to Cole’s charming softer side.
In the countdown to Christmas, can Cole and Francesca put aside their differences and take a shot at the kind of love neither expected to find? Or is a holiday miracle just not in the cards for them this year?
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Francesca Bagnoli and Cole Weston’s story will have two unlikely people falling in love and trying not to. Cole closes a deal and then realizes what he has done, can he fix it. I enjoyed reading their story. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I enjoyed reading this story. The characters are well developed and engaging and plenty of chemistry from beginning to the end. Storyline flowed smoothly.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is such a sweet romantic story. I would have loved to read more from these characters however I have to say that I loved the story as it was. I read it in one go as I was that engrossed in it. The storyline was enjoyable and the characters were brilliantly written about. A very enjoyable quick read.
This story is easy to read and a cute Christmas read. It is a heartfelt and well written story. I enjoyed the storyline. I thought the characters were really good and I enjoyed their story.
I read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review. All thoughts and opinions are of my own.
A Hallmark movie only you’re reading it, not watching it. Cole is the one chasing the money and Francesca is a teacher who wants to change the world and her students lives. She also happens to work at the school Cole is trying to buy for development property. They go back and forth with each other all while fighting their attraction they have toward each other. Add in touches of Christmas and you have a perfect holiday romance read.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A cute romantic story full of Christmas hope and heartfelt gifts! I loved how these two amazing characters challenged each other at every step and how they helped to open each other’s eyes to the possibility of what could be! In the end both come out on top!
Cole and Francesca go from enemies to lovers in this fun holiday read. It is full of betrayal and making up and a community with children worth fighting for!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
What better way to get in the Christmas Spirit than reading a great Christmas book? This has a greedy real estate agent trying to steal a community’s little school so he can close his deal, get his bonus and promotion. In his way is a feisty, beautiful, curvy Italian teacher who is in charge at the school. This one had me ugly crying at one point but laughing and smiling too.
This was a short but sweet and sexy short story. It’s an enemies-to-lovers story with instant attraction that both Cole and Francesca couldn’t fight. The story had heart and it’s exactly what you need for the holidays. The sexy scene is not descriptive and it’s a closed-door scene and I wish there would have been an epilogue to know more of their future.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A beautiful feel-good story. An absolute delight is what this book is. I would recommend it most highly. It is full of great characters, who had been expertly described, The story is wonderfully told with a HEA. It has a dedicated special needs teacher, cute, adorable well-deserving kids, a debonair businessman with a secret heart, Christmas and a lot of goodwill. I suspect I’ll read this book again for pure enjoyment. Well edited and the style and language are of high quality. It is a relatively short book but nothing was hurried or skimmed over, the author had managed to strike a perfect balance with respect to length and content.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A sweet, Christmas romance. Enemies to lovers with lots of fun, contention, children and laughter in between.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Very Well Done First Person Present
I’ll admit it: It’s only just before Halloween, and I am already binging on holiday-themed books. That’s why I was drawn to this particular book at my favorite book review site. It isn’t the typical contemporary romance that I normally choose, but I’ve been enjoying the enemies-to-lovers tropes lately, and I wanted to see how that played out in a holiday setting.
I am not normally a fan of the first-person present perspective. In general, I don’t like the present tense used in a novel or novella at all, except in dialogue (of course). While I think authors typically hope that it will make the story more intimate, I actually feel this to be more distancing. So I was a little dismayed to see that this was written in the first-person present as I got into the story.
However, I should not have worried. The author still managed to bring me right into the story with the opening chapter from the hero’s perspective. In fact, it took me a bit before I realized that this really was going to be in the present tense! The author pulled it off that well… LOL! From what I’ve read in this perspective before, this is no mean feat. This a deep point of view as well; we are firmly in the heads of the characters. In that first chapter of Cole’s, he comes across as cocky, self-absorbed, and arrogant. Again, that is just not easy to do well in deep first-person point of view—we like to think we are the best version of ourselves in our own mind—but the author managed to do it. My hat’s off to you, Avery Scott.
Things only got better when the heroine entered the story, and we get pulled into deep point of view from her perspective as well. I would say that they both have a dogged determination that is similar, but as they are on opposing sides of the key outer issue of the book, all they seem to do is butt heads. But it is fun to watch because the author has delineated these characters so sharply. If you enjoy contemporary romance with a slight holiday twist, you may enjoy this book.
Cute tender and simple
The story is well written and cute with quite tender characters and a heroine, Francesca, who is combative. In fact, the male character of Cole is less harsh than what the first chapter suggests, so then it’s pretty tender.
Cole is a real estate agent solely interested in his career and he does not do in feelings. But he is stuck in a project by Francesca, a teacher from a school he wants to buy. But she fights for children with special needs and for this deprived neighborhood. Slowly, Cole gets closer to her and discovers her universe which is completely different from his financial world.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book
You will fall in love with Cole and Francesca! This all starts out as a business proposal and deal, but quickly becomes do much more. Hosting the Christmas party for the school and helping out Santa makes Cole sparkle in the eyes of more than the kids at Smithtown Elementary. But the Grinch is also alive and well in this story, so the HEA takes a little more time. You will swoon with realization over what lengths Cole goes to. The “12 Days of Christmas” will also forever have wonderful, new lyrics.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The Nice List – Cole needs the sale of the Smithtown Elementary for a building project. Francesca needs the school to stay open to support the community. They are at odds with each other and determined to do what they have to do to meet their objectives. I loved how the author brought both characters together through ups, downs, and the changing of their minds. With the Christmas theme woven into the plot, it brought an extra sensitivity to the story and a very sweet happy ending.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Cole & Francesca are both strong, hard headed, lovable characters. This is a cute little Christmas Story, it reminded me of one of those sweet Hallmark Christmas movies. I’m not going to lie I teared up a couple times. I Love Christmas Books, and I Loved this Sweet little Christmas Story!
This was a really cute quick Christmas read. The characters were both heartfelt, real, raw, understandable people. It was easy to understand their point of view about issues, and get wrapped into the story and their emotional turmoil as the story progressed.
Cole, a real estate developer, was trying to close a big project that invluded a school building. Francesca was a teacher st said school, and was fighting to keep it open.
Cole set a fixer up to finally get the sale going, but even as he did, he stopped in to try and understand Francesca’s reasonings better. As she talked, he lidtened, and as he helped, she noticed and softened. They found that, outside of the school issue, they were good together. Really good together. Cole didn’t mind loosing to her. But did he?
What happens to their frail when Francesca learns about ‘the fixer’? Can Cole salvage his relationship, the real-estate deal, and still help the kids & community? It would take a Christmas miracle to pull it off!
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Holiday wishes due come true in the is sweet fun holiday romance. Just the thing everyone should read to get in the mood for the holidays.
This was a short, cute Christmas novella reminiscent of A Christmas Carol. Cole needs the sale of Smithtown Elementary to go through for a huge development project, but one woman is destroying his chances of success: Francesca. At first, they can’t stand each other. Then, they learn more about each other and why the school is so important to this community. Of course, they also find themselves falling in love. The only problem? Cole already had some slightly underhanded plans in progress before he fell for Francesca, and when it all blows up in his face, he’s scrambling to make things right.
Though a tad predictable and familiar, this was still an enjoyable read for anyone looking to get into the holiday spirit.
Cole has to close down a local school fo a big project. Francesca is going to stop him. I found this a bit slow to be honest and it took me a while to get into it. This is the first book I have read by this author.