I was looking for a holiday novella and this one seemed like fun. Plus I’d been wanting to try out Shannon Stacey.
Holiday Sparks by Shannon Stacey
(2010, Contemporary) 1/2/12
Grade: 3.5
Chloe Burke is back in her small hometown, housesitting for her parents in the weeks before Christmas. She decides to upgrade her parents’ electrical wiring as a Christmas present, which means spending a lot of time with local electrician Scott Quinn – who has grown up nicely since they were in high school together. The job soon turns to a holiday fling – but it couldn’t lead anywhere, since he’s a small town boy and she’s a city girl.
This was a cute and sexy holiday story. The writing was great and the tone was perfect for a holiday novella – fun, light, sexy. The problem was the message, which was larded on a bit too thick – small town good, big city bad, girls who like the big city are eeee-vvvvillll. By the end of this fairly short novella, I was ready to gag (and I like small towns in moderate doses!) I’ve heard a lot of good things about Shannon Stacey but if this is her typical storyline, I think I’ll pass.
What is it with romance authors and small towns? I don’t even like the city that much but after reading one of these “small towns are perfect, cities are awful” stories, I want to stab someone. It’s a tribute to Shannon Stacey’s writing style that I liked this story as much as I did.
Karen Wheless
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