This Christmas…

She’s giving her heart

Bookstore owner Melanie Beach has only ever loved her best friend, Jack Cuthbert.

Everyone thinks they belong together.

But Jack isn’t interested romantically in Mel.

So now she is making some changes in her life and looking for love.

And Jack doesn’t like it. 

At all. 

Will Jack’s heart open up before Christmas? Or will he lose his best friend—and the woman he’s always loved—to someone else?

Titles in the Matchmaker at Work series include — A Hero for the Holidays —♥— The Bad Boy’s Redemption —♥— A Merry Christmas Date —♥—

This is a romance that includes no swearing, no violence, and no sexual content (beyond a few light kisses).

Title:  A Merry Christmas Date
Series:  Matchmaker at Work #3
Author:  Syndi Powell
Genre:  Contemporary Romance
Published:  November 30, 2021
Publisher:  Harlequin Heartwarming
My Rating:  4

A Merry Christmas Date is the third title in the Matchmaker at Work series, and this time we’ll see the results of a woman finally giving up on the man she’s loved for years, simply not seeing her as more than a friend… until she starts to look for her forever love by dating other guys.  The truth hurts sometimes, but also there are moments that bring the truth to light in a way not seen before — that’s a lesson that Jack is about to learn.

The saying, “Love is blind,” comes to mind when talking about Jack.  He and Mel have been friends since they were toddlers; they are each other’s best friends… but Mel loves him in a romantic way, wishing for a future together as far more than friends.  Yet Jack has kept her firmly in the friend zone for far, far too long now.  She’s finally accepted that he’s not going to fall in love with her in the way she needs, so it’s time to put that dream to rest and begin looking for the man who can love her the way she deserves to be loved for a lifetime.  Only, Jack isn’t really okay with the thought of Mel being with some other guy, a stranger stepping into her life isn’t what he wants… but he also doesn’t believe in happily ever after love either.  At least, not yet.

I had such a good time with A Merry Christmas Date.  Melanie is such an amazing character, and she’s done what (I believe) many of us have finally done… said that I’m worth more than what I’ve been given by this man and cut them loose.  It might sound harsh, but we’ve got to love ourselves as well as the hope that someone will love us in return, ya know?  What had me chuckling out loud so often in their story was Jack’s (expected) reaction to not being the number one guy in her world.  That she would actually rather go on a date with a stranger than spend time with her bestie (him) is perplexing and annoying to Jack.  But, he’s the one who put her firmly in the friend zone, now that he’s realizing that Mel is so much more than that to him, well, now he has to convince her that how he sees their relationship has changed.  Not going to be as easy as he thinks because he has done such a good job of being “only” best friends for so many years now.

Watching them work hard to get to their happy-ever-after ending was a fun, delicious joy.  If you love a well-written, fun, emotional story that will have you frustrated and chuckling at almost the same time, then have I got a book for you.

I own a Kindle edition of this title.

Available in print or e-book