Welcome Back, Booklovers! We're celebrating Christmas in July all month long. And what better way to celebrate than with a glass of frozen hot chocolate and a Christmas themed-romance?
Eli Austin has just acquired Bennetts, a beloved luxury department store. He's ready to get his revenge on the Bennett family who he believe almost drove his father out of business. The goal is to come in and pretty much shut down the store by making drastic changes.
Despite her mother selling off her store behind her back, Darcy Bennett refuses to go down quietly. She just has to win Eli over and show him that her store is a force to be reckoned with. Unlike his chain Dollar Bin, Bennetts cares about their employees and many have worked with them for years as well as having had family members work from them. This store is her family legacy and she's willing to fight for it. With Christmas fast approaching she'll need to do her best to keep with the store's holiday traditions.
Christmas romance set at a department store is not a new angle but I enjoyed how it was handled here. This enemies to loves romance had plenty of charm and while reading it I was taken by to my days of working the holiday season at a department store. Dollar Bin sounds like Walmart with worse customer service. While Bennetts sounds like the department store of dreams. The department store I worked at was never that nice. If only all retail jobs could include great benefits despite the low pay. If only we all had charitable bosses who cared about all employees and not just the bottom line.
Darcy is one of those characters who can charm anyone and she is well loved by so many people in Atlanta. While her superwoman like attributes could be a little over the top at times I enjoyed such a strong character. She was allowed to be the boss without having to shrink herself for a man which tends to happen in these Christmas romances. And she not only tries to make work better for her employees by offering cafeteria with healthy food choices, affordable insurance, and a day care center but she also sits on several committees and works with multiple charities.
Eli is stubborn and his banter with Darcy was one of the things that kept me reading. Every time it seemed like they were making progress he found some way to ruin it with his ego. He's all about the bottom line and making the most money but fails to see how it effects him employees until he sees how well Bennetts runs. I also liked his relationship with his daughter Sophia, who he adores. Like many children in these types of stories she's a precocious child who wants her widower father to be happy.
This was published in 2012 but it still holds up almost 10 yrs later. Holiday cheer is timeless and the brief mentions of a bad economy continue to ring true.This is a sweet romance that brings that much needed Christmas magic.
It's not in print right now so you can't get a physical copy unless you buy it used but you can get the ebook here for the price of a latte.
Enjoyed the review.
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