Book Recommendation:
Supermodel Rory Gray just wants to go home. After wrapping up a three-day high-fashion photo shoot overseas, she’s exhausted and ready for the holiday. A holiday that involves Hollywood parties, air-kissing the industry elite, and a whole lot of fakeness…but whatever. Once she gets through that torture, she’ll head to her beloved Seattle and the life of anonymity she misses so much. In less than twenty-four hours, she’ll be there.
Colt Ross has spent the past six months detaching himself from the Hollywood world he grew up in, and home is the last place he wants to be. But he’s been called back by his overbearing father for reasons he can only imagine. Likely reasons that involve taking over the family corporation or fund raising among Hollywood elite—something Colt has no interest in being part of. Not that he has a choice; when you’re the son of an industry executive, rubbing elbows comes with the territory. In less than twenty-four hours he’ll be home. After all this time away, home no longer appeals to him. Especially not at Christmas. Leave it to his father to ruin a holiday.
But when a late-season hurricane grounds both of their flights in the Dominican Republic, Rory and Colt find themselves stuck at the airport far longer than anticipated. As weather conditions worsen, they both begin to realize that this Christmas will be spent with strangers packed inside a single airport terminal—specifically at gate 18.
Rory and Colt are faced with a choice: band together in their misery or make this Christmas one they will never forget. For two people who aren’t real fond of the holiday, this Christmas might turn out to be the best they’ve ever had.
Narelle’s Thoughts:
I’m not a big fan of hanging around airports. I travel interstate for work and, if possible, avoid checking in baggage. When my flight home is delayed, I’m thankful the airport lounge serves a light dinner and always has soup as an option.
Rory Gray and Colt Ross are living an airport nightmare. They are stuck in a foreign country on December 23rd due to a hurricane grounding all flights out of the Dominican Republic.
Rory is a supermodel who doesn’t speak Spanish and forgot to pack a toothbrush and a change of clothes in her carry on. That makes her seem ditzy to Colt when he finds her lying beside him in the middle of the night in a crowded corner of Gate 18.
Colt is a bored playboy who has sworn off women. Six months earlier he ran away from his previous life where he worked for his domineering father. He has been summoned home to LA for Christmas.
Colt recognises Rory, although she doesn’t remember that they have previously met in person. During the story he discovers her inner beauty makes her outer beauty pale by comparison.
Rory is a loner who struggles to trust people and let go of past hurts. She’s attracted to Colt and likes that he’s not impressed by her celebrity status. She allows him to glimpse the real Rory during the few days they’re stuck together riding out the hurricane.
The story is funny and light hearted with a few poignant moments. The forced proximity is challenging for Rory and Colt in different ways.
Christmas at Gate 18 is a fun and clean romance novella with a few edgy elements that may be too much for conservative readers. The Christmas setting of a hurricane in the Caribbean was different and I enjoyed being stranded with Rory and Colt at Gate 18.
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