by: Reese Ryan
Series: Valentine Vineyards
Genre: Contemporary African American Christmas Romance/Older Woman, Younger Man
Release Date: November 29, 2022
Publisher: Harlequin Desire
Opposites do more than attract when an older woman falls for a younger man in Reese Ryan’s brand-new Harlequin Desire series, Valentine Vineyards!
A red-hot romance between a career-focused woman and a determined younger man?
Doctor’s orders!
Dr. Julian Brandon is too charming, too sexy and too young for Chandra Valentine. But after the successful bachelor rescues her—twice—she owes him. Still reeling from life-changing family revelations, Chandra somehow agrees to pose as Julian’s girlfriend. And now the irresistible Julian has plans that start with seduction under the mistletoe and end with their fake relationship erupting into a scorching affair. Now Chandra’s questioning everything she believed about love…
From Harlequin Desire: A luxurious world of bold encounters and sizzling chemistry.
Turns out, Abbott Raymond “Ray” Valentine is the half-brother of Abbott patriarch Joseph. This is surprising news to Joseph, his son Duke, and the rest of the family. Ray has decided to be true to himself and honor his true heritage. He’s selling Valentine Textiles, which has been owned and operated by his family for generations. It is also the place where several of his children currently work. While he sells the family legacy, he purchases Richardson Vineyards which was once owned by his biological mother’s family, where he hopes to build his own legacy empire, with his children. Ray does all of this without his children knowing and summons them to the small Smokey Mountain town of Magnolia Lake, Tennessee where he plans to tell them about his family discovery, and the selling and purchasing of the companies, with the hope that they will all join him.
All of this is to explain why Chandra Valentine finds herself traveling from San Diego to a place she’s never heard of before. A place that requires her to take a small regional jet to get there. Did I mention Chandra isn’t a fan of flying? Luckily her seatmate is there to calm her nerves. As fate would have it, Chandra and her seatmate, Julian Brandon, are both going to the same place. While there is no denying their attraction to each other, Chandra refuses to involve herself with a man almost ten years her junior.
Julian finds himself back in his hometown of Magnolia Lake to fulfill his end of a bargain he made with Joseph Abbott when he was fourteen years old. Joseph paid for all of Julian’s secondary education in exchange for Julian returning to Magnolia Lake for four years to be the town doctor. Julian just hopes the four years pass quickly so he can get back to his life.
Chandra and Julian continue to run into each other. When she sees Julian being uncomfortable with all the attention from Magnolia Lake’s female population, she steps in and pretends to be his girlfriend. The two quickly agree to a short fling while Chandra is in town, never expecting that either of them would want more.
A Valentine for Christmas contains multiple tropes, with main characters I fell in love with immediately. The Valentine Vineyards series has been set up nicely. All the Valentine siblings are introduced and you get a little bit of their individual personalities. Of course, the Abbott clan makes an appearance. I’m really looking forward to the other books in this series. I’m going to put this out there now. I would love for Ray Valentine to finally find his true soulmate. It should be noted that while the word Christmas is in the title, this story can be read anytime. The Christmas season and events are only slightly mentioned.
~ Favorite Quote ~
“Times change and people mature.”
**Received a copy from the author and voluntarily reviewed it. Also personally purchased a paperback copy.**
Rating: 5
Purchase A Valentine for Christmas from:
(Affiliate Links Used)
The Valentine Vineyards Series:
One Summer of Love releases August 22, 2023
Snowbound Second Chance releases August 22, 2023
Past president of her local Romance Writers of America chapter and a panelist at the 2017 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, Reese is an advocate for the romance genre and diversity in fiction.
Places to find Reese Ryan:
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