Once Upon A Wish by Shane K. Morton (Home for the Holidays Multi-author series)

With a lighter few weeks of ARC reading over the holidays, I am crossing t's and dotting i's and making sure I've read everything in some of this season's multi-author series and today I'm wrapping up the Home for the Holidays series with Once Upon a Wish by Shane K. Morton.  

From the blurb:

When Jax returned home to his small town of Hardin, Kentucky- the last thing he thought he'd find was the life he left behind, and the desire to return.

Jax- I'm going home for the holidays for the first time in three years. It's also been three years since I've gone home. I blame work and the life I worked hard for in Los Angeles. It's a major league team, and if I hadn't worked so hard, I wouldn't have accomplished this. But I had to come back. My high school coach is retiring and he asked me to be his keynote speaker. Home... It comes with a lot of baggage. Why did I have to bump into Kenny? He's the largest piece of baggage I left behind. But he smiled at me, and all I could think of were the good times we had. Not the heartbreak he caused... I need to remember that he was never good for me. He was selfish and full of himself, and he had no right to look so hot.

Kenny- The holidays always bring about a bunch of crap that I really don't want to deal with. This one comes with my father's retirement and the party I have to throw him. I've been alone for five years. But maybe this holiday will be different? I'm tired of being alone, in my own forced exile. Maybe it's time to embrace the future? Besides, Jax is back in town. That's a surprise! But am I ready to see him again after all the hurt I know I caused him? I know what my heart says. It's only ever been Jax for me, even if he does deserve better.

Heather's Review:

Once Upon a Wish is a sweet, small town reconnection between two men who were best friends, high school sweethearts and whose paths diverged until Jax returned home to Hardin for the holidays and a special tribute to his high school coach and sweet heart's father...

If you're looking for sleigh bells and snowball fights, you'll probably feel let down by this book, but if you want a slightly angsty reunion between two men whose paths have reunited them at the holidays, you'll enjoy this book immensely.  Once Upon a Wish is one of those books that focuses on the couple and happens to take place at the holidays and that is, in and of itself, magical.

I absolutely love Jax and Kenny, and how they work through their history and reconnect as their more adult selves.  It's a truly lovely romance and one that was a pleasure to read!

Rating: 5 Stars

Once Upon a Wish is currently available in paperback and e-book and can be read as part of your Kindle Unlimited subscription.