Once Thanksgiving is over, my brain switches gears and all I want to read are holiday stories. Holiday cozy mysteries, holiday romances, etc. So, I went and found Dear Santa by Kristen Granata. It had strong reviews and with it being less than 150 pages long, I thought I’d give it a shot. I’m so happy I did! It was such a cute holiday story; I would love to read more!
Christina heads to a bar to meet up with a paid escort hired to pretend to be her boyfriend while visiting her family for the holidays. As the only single child in her family, and one who just had her heart broken the year prior, Christina is desperate to have a calm holiday where she can come out unscathed. Enter, Jake, er Dominic. She hires Dominic, a male escort, to play the doting boyfriend. Jake, depressed and alone for the holidays, happens to overhear a nervous Christina waiting for her escort and immediately feels protective. Who knows what kind of guy might show up? Wanting to not be alone, and make sure Christina is safe, he pretends to be the escort she’s waiting for.
Things move quickly because, again, this is a short novella. Despite this, I really liked both Christina and Jake! Although she hires a fake boyfriend, Christina has plenty of backbone and has no problem standing up to Jake AND her family. Jake is a softie who falls first and hard, wanting this fauxmance to turn real. He has his struggles which, again due to this being under 150 pages, are only lightly touched upon. Still, it was enough to win me over.
I think Dear Santa by Kristen Granata is a cute and spicy holiday romance. It is sweet, very short, and definitely left me wanting more. I recommend it for sure and will probably do a re-read next holiday season!
