Book Recommendation – The Christmas Box by Jessica Wakefield

Book Description:

Three Christmas Novellas

Can Christmas be saved by a mysterious box? Join three couples across three decades as they find love in places they least expected it.

1995: Braving Christmas

Amy Franklin is in love with her best friend. Years of family rejection have left her unable to tell Chris Lawrence how she feels for fear of history repeating itself. But as she becomes the key to saving his family’s Christmas tree farm, she realizes teaming up with Chris permanently might just be worth being brave after all.

2005: Risking Christmas

Holed up in a cabin in Connecticut during a blizzard, chef Josh Keller is looking to finish a proposal for his new restaurant. But he didn’t count on getting snowed in with Nicole Abbot, the very food critic who derailed his career faster than you can say master chef. As the days drift by, Josh and Nicole form a tentative truce that might just turn into more.

2015: Faking Christmas

Antonia Katsaros needs a fake boyfriend to attend her sister’s Christmas-themed engagement party, or she’ll never hear the end of it from her meddling family. In the mall, she meets Dylan Matthews, a guy more than ready to help the woman who helped his niece. Can their fake relationship turn real just in time for the holidays?

Narelle’s Thoughts:

The Christmas Box is an adorable collection of three short contemporary Christmas romance novellas set in the USA from Australian debut author Jessica Wakefield.

1995: Braving Christmas

In this cute friends-to-more novella, Amy is challenged to step outside the comfort zone of her Kansas small town and take a chance on a romantic relationship with Chris. She’s loved her best friend, Chris, for years, but she has to overcome her fears and abandonment issues, and help him save his family Christmas tree farm.

2005: Risking Christmas

In this fun enemies-to-love novella, Josh is a chef and Nicola’s the harsh food critic reviewer who he blames for closing down the restaurant where he used to work. Josh wants to open a restaurant in New Haven. Sparks fly from forced proximity when Josh finds himself stranded with Nicola and her sweet little dog in a cabin during a Connecticut blizzard.

2015: Faking Christmas

In this sweet fake relationship novella set in NYC, Antonia is drowning in Greek family expectations that she marry and have kids immediately. She needs a date for her sister’s engagement party at their family owned Greek restaurant to get her mom and her aunts off her case. When she’s at work and dressed in costume as Santa’s elf, she meets Dylan and his adorable niece, and a fake relationship seems like a good idea to appease her family.

The novellas have a Hallmark Christmas movie vibe and are underpinned by a subtle Christian worldview. I recommend The Christmas Box collection to contemporary romance readers who like sweet and clean Christmas romance novellas with a charming wooden box connecting the stories.