ABOUT the BOOK
She’s tethered to her past until he rescues the horse of her dreams . . .
Kelsey Simone can’t wait to have a tradition-filled family Christmas. When the vet school dropout’s sister invites her and their mom to stay at the idyllic Starlight Inn, Kelsey plans a holiday just like Grandma used to create in hopes of bringing their family together again. But she didn’t have a handsome stable manager with a Grinchy attitude on her Christmas list—nor the sick mare who reminds her of a past she’d rather forget.
Dane Clark has no time for seasonal frivolity. He has a stable to run, a lame horse to look after, and more than enough family drama to deal with. But the more the chatty guest with the pretty brown eyes and a way with horses gets under his skin, the harder it is to remember why he put himself out to pasture in the first place.
While helping the mare together, they start tearing down the fences of their pasts—until a storm hits and the Simone Family Christmas plans go awry. With the mare’s future in jeopardy, will Kelsey’s and Dane’s old wounds rear their heads, or can the warmth of Christmas melt their frosty hearts?
Holiday Hopes is the third title in the clean and wholesome Starlight Inn series. If you like flawed but hopeful heroes, charming small-town romance, Christmas cheer, and family ties that sometimes bind, this is the book for you.
With Holiday Hopes, the third book in the Starlight Inn series, Jessica Anne Renwick takes us back to Cedar Lake and Starlight Inn. I’ve read the second and third books in the series (review here), but I haven’t read the first. However, both sequels work well as standalones.
After losing her grandma and dropping out of veterinary school, Kelsey Simone feels bereft and inadequate this Christmas season. All she really wants is to recreate her grandmother’s peaceful and charming Christmas. Despite her best efforts, nothing seems to be working as it should.
The only redeeming grace for Kelsey is being able to help Dane Clark (the stable manager at Starlight Inn) with a gorgeous, abandoned and hurt Arabian mare that reminds her of her childhood horse.
Renwick does a fantastic job of immersing you in the story and making you feel like you’re a part of it. Her descriptions of Cedar Lake and the Starlight Inn make you wish you could live there. Furthermore, the compassion, caring and concern shown by the locals melts your heart, warms your soul and makes you wish for the same type of neighbor.
I received an advance review copy for free from BookSirens, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
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