Guiding the Grouch

A chance meeting in a Summer Creek diner turns billionaire Gabe Gatlin into Dani Latham’s Christmas project, but it might just be the present they both need for the holidays. When the over the top holiday schedule his sister makes up crosses his desk at the same time as a file on a little known property in Summer Creek, Gabe only needs a nudge to run away for the holidays, but his grouchy ways are quickly challenged by the small town with a great deal of Christmas spirit, and by the waitress that has made a home there. Single mom Dani is grateful for the increase in tourists, even one as dismayed by Christmas as Gabe, as they add to providing her son with a stable life. Helping Gabe find his own Christmas spirit should be a bit of fun – until he eventually leaves, but she didn’t count on losing her heart in the process.

The epitome of a Christmas Hallmark special in novel form, “Guiding the Grouch” has everything fans of this genre could want. Gabe is handsome, rich, and in need of something more in life. Dani is cheerful, hardworking, and ready to meet Gabe, even if she doesn’t know it. The way Gabe settles into life in Summer Creek, befriending the locals, falling for Dani and her son, and more, all tugs at the reader’s heartstrings and pulls them along for the ride. With minor conflict mostly tied into his lie of omission, this story is just the right kind of sweet and light to fill that need for a holiday romance without being too complicated. In plain words, perfect for Hallmark fans.

Sarah E Bradley