Christie Ridgeway, Must Love Mistletoe

Must Love Mistletoe

Christie Ridgeway

Avon, December 2006, $6.99

ISBN: 0061140201

She knows why she rooted for Scrooge before he converted, as Bailey Sullivan hates Christmas because her family store in Coronado, California, The Perfect Christmas, depends on the Yuletide season to make a profit. She left her hometown to escape the good cheer, holidays and the store, moving to Los Angeles. Now her family needs her, so she comes home to help save the store from going bankrupt.

To her shock, Bailey finds her parents arguing; her mother Tracey refuses to even step inside the store that meant so much to her, while her stepdad Dan rejects any compromise. Worse is seeing her teenage sweetheart Finn Jacobson; he is home, on sick leave recovering from an on the job injury that left a peer dead and he with a patch on his eye when they did their Secret Service mission stopping an assassin. He does not want to see Bailey, even with one eye as she broke his heart over ten years ago, and he never forgot, but he is polite to her when they meet, even as he acknowledges she is the only one who asks how he truly is and nada about the eye.

Readers must love Christine Ridegway, as she provides an excellent lighthearted Christmas romp starring likable lead characters and a fabulous support cast, especially the relatives of Bailey and Finn. The relationships make for a fine time, as everyone seems to be in a bah humbug mood, but the magic of the season enhanced by love overcomes the nasty disposition. This romance is a winner, but it is critical is for the audience to keep some mistletoe handy (the reason pockets were invented).