Series: Christmas Colorado #2
Published by Forever on 2014-06-24
Length: 416 pages
Reviewing eBook from My Book Shelf
Rating:
Grace Flaherty had given up hope of ever seeing her husband again. After all, it'd been over a year since he went missing in combat. So when he strides through the door of her bakery in downtown Christmas one sunny afternoon, she can hardly believe her eyes. But her happily-ever-after is going to take some effort - because Jack has no memory of his family.
All Jack Flaherty remembers about Christmas is that he couldn't wait to leave town. Now he's a local hero with a wife and son he doesn't know. Even as he struggles to rekindle the romance with his wife, he knows in his heart what he wants: a second chance at love.
Recently I needed a break from my normal reads and decided to return to Christmas Colorado. Christmas in July by Debbie Mason is the second book in the series and tells the story of Grace and Jack Flaherty. I kind of did this series backwards by starting the series in book 5 and now I’m going backwards. I’ll be honest I’ve been wanting to read their story since I read Jill’s story in Happy Ever After in Christmas. I love this couple and now I have even more reason to love them. Told in dual POV, my heart broke time and again for this couple who were trying to reconnect after a long separation.
Grace is my hero. She’s a baker, raising her son and doing so as independently as she can. When the story opens, Grace is ready to say goodbye to her husband. Jack’s been missing for 17 months and for her own sanity, it is time to say goodbye. She needs to focus on her son and her business if they are going to survive without Jack. But then Jack returns and Grace’s world is turned upside down. The guilt of their last night together and the letter she wrote saying goodbye is eating her alive. Add to that Jack’s memory is gone and he doesn’t remember he has a wife or even a son, she’s at her wits end. My heart broke for her as she struggled to cope with all life was throwing at her.
Jack is a man’s man. He is a war hero, an escaped POW, and now he’s home in Christmas, the last place on earth he wants to be…except maybe the cell he spent most of his time in the last 17 months. When he returns to the States, all he wants is to take the woman who was held captive with him to bed and forget all they’ve endured. He even thinks that he could potentially settle down with her. Then his little sister shows up and fills him in on everything he’s forgotten, like the wife and son. Honorable to his core, Jack returns to Christmas. I like Jack. He’s trying to be a good guy, do the honorable thing, yet at every turn he winds up hurting this woman he doesn’t remember. Yet there’s no denying they have chemistry and his son is a mini-him. I felt for Jack as he struggles to remember what he’s forgotten.
The plot of the story really revolves around Grace and Jack. She wants to settle in Christmas, it’s her home and where she’s been raising little Jack while Jack was missing. Jack wants out of Christmas, he wants to reenlist, and he never wanted a wife at least that he can remember. It’s heartbreaking reading as these two hurt one another over and over again and themselves. I loved the way the author brings them together, how she weaves their story into the town of Christmas.
Overall I really enjoyed Jack and Grace’s story. It was a little repetitive as they continued to fight over Christmas, how to raise little Jack and whether or not to keep the bakery. I rooted for them though. And I’ll admit I skipped sleep to finish the book in one night. The book can be read as a standalone as a new set of characters appears in each book. If you enjoy contemporary romance, I highly recommend it.
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