Book Review: A Cross-Country Christmas by Courtney Walsh

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 256 pages
Author: Courtney Walsh
Publisher: Sweethaven Press
Release Date: October 26th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Lauren Richmond isn’t a fan of Christmas.

Which is why she rarely makes the trip home to the Midwest for the holidays. After all, she has plenty to keep her busy—namely, her duties as a set decorator on a TV sitcom.

But this December, Lauren‘s brother and his wife are expecting a baby, so her brother arranges a ride home for her with his good friend, Will.

Unfortunately for Lauren, she’s been trying to forget college baseball coach and childhood crush Will Sinclair for more than ten years.

Now, thanks to her fear of flying, she’s stuck in a car with him from California to Illinois.

She’s circumspect and organized. He’s flirty and spontaneous.

She’s convinced that people don’t change. He’s trying to prove to her (and himself) that he has.

On this cross-country road trip, they’ll both discover that history doesn’t exactly repeat itself. . . but like any good Christmas carol, it does have a second verse.

PULLED AT MY HEART.

This is one of those five stars that even when you noticed some flaws, the read still pulled at your soul in so many ways that it deserves the highest rating. What a great Christmas-time read and put me into the spirit of the season.

I love how even over the course of just a few days I felt drawn and attached to Lauren and Will’s second chance romance. A lot comes out when you’re stuck on the road for long periods of time, and wow did it! They were both deep and nuanced characters who I resonated with. I felt for them, I wanted to hug them, and I really wanted them to JUST KISS ALREADY. Don’t worry, I got that too.

Filled with holiday goodness I highly recommend this one for your TBR. Couldn’t get enough. It’s fast paced and easy to fly through. I love the theme of grace and choosing your own story, even when you need to rewrite a few pages. There’s hope in the future.

Overall audience notes: