Author: Liz Maverick
Publisher: Audible Originals
Publication Date: November 2020
Genre: Romantic Comedy / Contemporary Romance / Christmas
Buy the Book: Audible
Description: Cozy up with this warm, festive rom com novella about being true to your heart, the friendships that define us, and the irresistible pull of holiday magic.
Last year, Rachel Bacharach met the man of her dreams at a Hanukkah party — and then her outgoing best friend Tamara swooped in and “called” Oz Caplan for herself. It’s a typical outcome for the dependable, bookish Rachel, who is never able to extinguish the spark she immediately felt for Oz. But being secretly in love with her best friend’s boyfriend all year hasn’t been easy.
As this year’s party approaches, Oz and Tamara break up. It’s a worst-case scenario when Oz asks Rachel to help him write Tamara love letters to win her back in time for their Hanukkah anniversary. Rachel’s been writing love letters to Oz in her journals for a year; she knows all the words he would need. But will Rachel be able to hide her true feelings from Oz any longer? And might this year’s party finally be Rachel’s chance to trust her heart and put everything on the line for love?
My Thoughts: It really frustrates me when the girl meets the guy of her dreams and loses him to her best friend before she ever has a chance to give it a go. I chose this story because I wanted more Christmas theme books for the holiday and the idea that Rachel is asked by her best friend to look after Oz after they break up was intriguing to me.
Rachel met Oz at a Hanukkah party the year before and before she could see where it would go, her best friend makes a grand appearance and calls dibs on him. Rachel has been in love with Oz ever since but only shares her feelings in her journal. A year later, Oz and Tamara break up, he hurts his leg and Tamara leaves the country on vacation. Tamara asks Rachel to look after Oz and Oz asks Rachel to help him write letters to Tamara in the hopes of winning her back.
This story should have frustrated me because Rachel comes across as a complete doormat, Oz is an idiot for not getting with Rachel in the first place and what kind of friend is Tamara to just think of herself? Instead of getting frustrated, I continued with the story to see how it would play out and it turned out to be one of my favorites for my Christmas reading of 2020.
Thankfully, Oz doesn’t spend the entire book pining over Tamara and begins to wonder if he had spent the last year with the wrong woman as he sees Rachel as more than just one of his best friends. I really enjoyed that we got both Rachel and Oz’s points of view throughout the story, which made the story more enjoyable. The chemistry between Oz and Rachel was palpable and though Oz was clueless when they first met, I enjoyed his confusion when he gets the clue. I couldn’t help but like Rachel. She is selfless and caring of the people she loves, even at her own expense. Yeah, she’s a doormat, but she’s a loyal one and she was easy to like and relate to. I wanted to despise Tamara and, to be honest, I had a bone to pick with her for most of the book. She comes across as vain, selfish and inconsiderate, considering she just dumps her boyfriend, who is injured and goes on vacation AND refuses to answer her phone, return calls or respond to text messages! She surprises me in the end, showing a different side of her personality and redeems herself.
My Final Verdict: I recommend this story to readers who are looking for an interesting story to make the Christmas season sweeter.
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