GRR Reviews A Christmas Surprise (Love in the Cascades) by Kimberly Rose Johnson

A Christmas Surprise delivers some warm and fuzzies for the Holiday Romance genre, but it really accomplished nothing beyond the ordinary.

Keira is a single parent raising her son after her husband spun out on an icy road and wrapped his truck around a tree. She never drove a car since. She concentrated her attention on her little chocolate shop and her son, who's now 4, relying on friends to deliver stuff to her store... and walking. She failed to connect with one blind date set up by her friends with the handsome veterinarian Pete Harding... due to him being called away for an emergency. They eventually met up, and they do like each other, but then he learned she's a single mother, and his flames cooled. He had his reasons. But when Keira's son wanted a dog for Christmas, who else better to turn to than a veterinarian? And Pete was indeed re-evaluating... was his objection to single mom's reasonable? Did he fall for Keira already?

The hang-ups each had about the other were a bit too direct and on-the-nose, instead of slow onion-peel like mysteries. Instead, we were thrown almost directly into "how can they work past all that" stage. The characters just came across as not that deep overall, which is a shame. If the stress and reasons were peeled back a bit slower it'd be a more satisfying book.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Can a vet who don't date single moms make an exception for a mom candy shop owner who can't drive due to PTSD?

Tropes: Holiday, doctor/patient (veterinarian), pets, single parent, blind date,

Overall Rating:  3/5