The Blurb:

The way to a man’s heart is on a sleigh.

Arthur Anderson doesn’t want anything to do with love and romance, and he certainly doesn’t want to play Santa in his mother’s library fundraising scheme. He knows full well what she really wants is to hook him up with the town’s lanky, prissy librarian.

It’s clear Gabriel Higgins doesn’t want him, either—as a Santa, as a boyfriend, as anyone at all. But when Arthur’s efforts to wiggle out of the fundraiser lead to getting to know the man behind the storytime idol, he can’t help but be charmed. The least he can do is be neighborly and help Gabriel find a few local friends.

As their fiery arguments strike hotter sparks, two men who insist they don’t date wind up doing an awful lot of dating. And it looks like the sleigh they both tried not to board could send them jingling all the way to happily ever after.

The Stats:

The Review:

??????.5 Stars

Small town gossip can create some serious misconceptions and a meddling mother can create some serious drama.

There is a lot going on in this book with the sorta geeky town librarian and the seemingly assholish red-bear Arthur who start off despising each other.

Sparks soon fly—and Heidi Cullinan knows how to bring the heat. I’m tellin’ ya, for some reason I keep underestimating this author…’cause she can tuck some scorching hot scenes into what you’d think would be a cozy little holiday read. I should have known better, honestly, because in book one we had plenty of clues to Arthur’s proclivities. Also, it wasn’t too long ago that she knocked my socks off with Nowhere Ranch. This wasn’t quite the top of her game with the freaky business, but it was close…so, so close. I wanted more—but I’m greedy and pervy like that.

I had just a little inner turmoil with Gabriel the librarian…he reminded me  of my 11th grade English teacher to the degree that it was way creepy sexualizing and romanticizing him. This teacher and I didn’t get along at all. I exasperated him. Daily. (It was my mission.) It took me a while to stop thinking about that teacher and give the Gabriel his due because the similarities were so very frightening. But, the fact is, that particular teacher had more of an impact on me than any other—and so did Gabriel to the people of small-town Logan, Minnesota.

The characters are beautifully nuanced, and the story is overall sweet in the Christmas spirit. These guys are strong on their own, but together they make each other stronger. Each is a safe place for the other and their differences are complimentary.

This was a nice continuation to the series.

This review also posted on GoodReads and Amazon.