Audio Review: Holiday Spice by Samantha Chase

Holiday Spice by Samantha Chase
Series: The Shaughnessy Brothers #6
Published by Audible Studios on 2017-11-21
Length: 9hrs and 49mins
Reviewing Audiobook from Audible
Rating:

As soon as the mistletoe goes up, that's when life gets really interesting

Darcy Shaughnessy has gotten used to her overbearing brothers chasing away any man she wants to date. But a chance meeting with a brooding - and deliciously handsome - artist is about to make this holiday season one to remember.

There's only one thing Benjamin Tanner loves more than his woodcarving: solitude. Then he gets snowed in with Darcy in his cozy cabin in the woods, and their heated feelings begin to melt the icy barrier between them.

With Ben's need for privacy and Darcy's love of family and social life, will opposites still attract once the snow clears and the holiday festivities come to an end?

You know how you start a book and you think you know how it’s going to go and then it hits a little harder than you thought it would? Yeah…that’s what happens every time I read a Samantha Chase book. Chills and tears several times in this one – fair warning. 😉

Ben Tanner is a bit of a loner, but he is a brilliant wood carver. He is working on publishing his book from his home in Washington State, and he has hired a friend to help him write it and get it published. When his friend sends her sister-in-law in her place, Ben is surprised and completely thrown by the beautiful, sexy woman that’s come to help write his book. 

Despite Ben’s reluctance to work with someone new, Darcy Shaughnessy is excited to prove herself with this new project Samantha sent her on, all the way from North Carolina to Washington. What she doesn’t count on is the giant snowstorm that throws the two of them together for several days – snowed in in the mountains of Washington. Very quickly, their attraction to each other leads to something deeper (and steamier). Their chemistry is undeniable and the sparks fly as they start the holiday season wrapped around each other and working on his book. They find out they have a lot in common and that they understand each other. Not only are they both artistic, but they have both lost people they love. Ben’s parents died two weeks before Christmas six years prior, and Darcy’s mother died when Darcy was a baby.

As Christmas gets closer, Ben realizes he has to tell Darcy the truth. Darcy loves Christmas and adores her big family and all the good times they have during the holidays. Ben hasn’t celebrated Christmas since his parents died and barely talks to his two brothers. After seeing the Shaughnessy family together he’s pretty conflicted about his feelings on “family”, but his feelings about Darcy are clear – he wants a life with her. But can they be reconciled to each other when they are both dealing with the grief of losing parents?

OOF, this story gets you right in the feels. As much as I love the romance of this story (I mean, c’mon, snowed in in a cabin in the mountains with as many cookies as I can stand [with a hot lumberjack-type]? Gimme a hek yeah!) the real gem about Samantha Chase’s writing is how she deals with the *real* issues that face *real* relationships. It’s a very cathartic read, because you can see how these two work through things together, and it all comes out peachy in the end. Also, don’t be surprised when you get misty-eyed in chapter 12 and the Epilogue. 

Giving this spicy holiday read a HUGE 5 stars. And now, if you’ll excuse me, I will be Googling “snowy Washington mountains” for the rest of the day. *dreamy sigh* Dumb pandemic. 

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