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To kick off the Christmas Falls combined universe we kick off with GRINCH KISSES. A fun age gap small town romance in finding the Christmas spirit again!
From the blurb:
Yep, you read that right. Every year I save Christmas--and Christmas Falls--by organizing a massive festival that sustains tourism for our little town.
But it turns out when Christmas is your life 24/7, the shine wears off the twinkly lights after a while. The holidays are a heck of a lot of work, and when I go home, I want peace and quiet, not fa-la-la'ing on my porch.
That all changes when my sister brings me an early Christmas gift. One I didn't ask for. One that's tall, broad, and handsome...
Suddenly this season got a whole lot brighter.
Christmas Falls is a multi-author M/M romance series set in a small town that thrives on enough holiday charm to rival any Hallmark movie.
Molly Otto's Review:
It was a fun start to kick off the Christmas Falls combined universe. Griff loses his Christmas spark from being pushed away by his ex and having to go home to Christmas Falls to run the Christmas festivities. Logan still loves Christmas, even though growing up in the foster system made that difficult. When Logan goes to Christmas Falls as Griffs sisters's fake boyfriend, he doesn't expect to find love and acceptance by this crazy family and especially not from Griff.
It threw me off that they slowly built up the courage to date yet fall head over heals in love almost instantly. Love how accepting and encouraging Griff's family is in making everyone happy, even if it's stepping on toes to do it.
All in all, a good start to the Christmas Falls combined universe.
Rating: 4 Stars
Angel's Review:
I've read a lot of DJ's books. I was obsessed with her Granville series. I've been looking forward to the Christmas Falls series ever since it was first announced and I'm so happy that Grinch Kisses kicked off the series!
Griff, or as the townspeople like to call him, Grinch, is in charge of all the holiday festivities that takes place in Christmas Falls. He's in charge of the scheduling, the planning, and the decorating. After his divorce and his kids distancing themselves, he threw himself into his work. Never making time for anything or anyone else. Until his sister asks him to host her 'boyfriend' for the holidays. Of course he would end up catching feelings for a man who's unobtainable.. or is he?
Logan has loved Christmas ever since he was a kid. He has fond memories of the holiday because of those moments with his family. Once his parents passed away, Christmas has been an even special time for him. When Jess suggests visiting Christmas Falls, he accepts her offer. The only catch is he has to pretend to be her boyfriend.
I always have enjoyed DJ's books. The way she writes her characters and their stories is really unique, and they stand on its own. There's humor, of course, but there's also love, friendships, grief, a bit of angst, and of course steamy moments. So, it's safe to say that this book was written quite well! The characters were great. I really enjoyed the play on the grumpy/sunshine trope. Except here it was more of a Grinch/elf cheeriness spin on that trope. I liked how these two slowly got to know each other as friends, and even though they both wanted each other, they didn't do anything until everyone was honest and upfront about the situation.
Their relationship grew and developed, and I really adored how Logan saw the teddy bear beneath the Grinch facade that Griff has. It was sweet and very cute. I thought the originality of all the shops' names was really creative and amusing! I loved all the festivities that were described so vividly, that really made me excited for the holidays! The found family aspect of this book made my heart so happy! That was done so beautifully, it evoked emotion that you could feel coming from the book.
I do wish there was a bit more information on how Griff worked things out with his two kids. There wasn't really much clarification on that. Overall, though, I really enjoyed this book!
My absolute favorite moment in this book was when Griff referenced National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. That just instantly made me smile and laugh cause I knew exactly what it was referring to!
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Heather's Review:
Grinch or misunderstood man? You be the judge... Griff works so hard making Christmas perfect for others, while burying his own pain... so meeting sunny Logan gives him the chance to experience that joy for himself after several years of depression and sadness.
I love that the fake boyfriend trope is used, but not by the main characters together... it makes for an interesting juxtaposition and an added layer...
Otherwise, this is a fairly low angst romance, perfect for the holidays!
Rating: 5 Stars
Jacqueleen the Reading Queen's Review:
"Every time I reminded him my time here was short, my heart grew more attached to this man and this place - this family and this home - that would never be mine."
Grinch Kisses may be a lovely holiday romance set in Christmas Falls, but that does not mean this story is all candy canes and mistletoe. In fact, it made me feel a little sad if I'm being honest and I'll explain why soon. I really liked Logan as a side character when he appeared in Don't Bang Your Stepbro, so when I realized he was one of the MCs in Grinch Kisses I was super excited. What I did not realize until reading the book was how truly alone Logan was and that's what made me sad.
"Just make yourself at home. Such a casual, everyday phrase and yet... I wouldn't even begin to know what it meant to have a real home."
Logan's the only member of his family left which means he's a man without roots. He's used to wandering, never staying in one place for too long. I don't remember if he'd ever even had a long term relationship. Fortunately for Logan, arriving in Christmas Falls and meeting the fabulously grumpy Griff changes everything!
"And he was so worthy. So much more worthy than a bitter fool like me."
Griff and his family were just awesome. I absolutely adored how they all fussed over Logan and basically adopted him once the truth was revealed. I was so happy to see Logan finally having an entire loving family he could count on along with his Grumpy, yet secretly sweet man Griff. Great holiday read!
Rating: 5 Stars
Grinch Kisses is available to buy as an ebook, paperback, or to read with Kindle Unlimited subscription.
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