Why are you even looking at reviews?? Just go read the book!! I promise, you will NOT regret it!! This, like every other Rose Bend book, captured every inch of my heart, twisted it up, and tied it off with a lovely, glittering bow. Nessa, our heroine, is in so much pain from losing her mom, and from losing her dad years ago, and then a few months ago losing him for good…and on top of all this, she’s gotta be a guardian to a 12 year old?? While keeping a secret so that she doesn’t hurt her sister any more than she already is?? Listen. It’s a LOT. Like, crawl into a hole, a lot. But with a gentle (and lumbersexual!) man who respects her walls and boundaries while still helping her face everything….she just might find a reason to trust again. Love though? That’s a whole different story. Seriously. Why are you still reading this? Go buy the book. Or rent it. Or borrow it (not my copy bc it’s signed so you’ll have to pry it out if my cold, dead hands). If all else fails, stand in the bookstore reading it. You can thank me later!!

Oh. My. Goodness. This is the one Christmas novel you need this year. Naima Simone’s Christmas in Rose Bend is a doozy of a holiday tale, with plenty of Christmas magic for all involved. Nessa Hunt and her sister Ivy end up somewhat reluctantly in Rose Bend for December because their father gifted them that reservation as part of a final bequest. But neither of them is feeling particularly sisterly, and they’ve each got pain and loss to spare. Fortunately Kinsale Inn and the Dennison family who own the inn have love and warmth aplenty. Wolf Dennison has deep wounds of his own that haven’t quite healed. While he can talk the talk, he’s intent on guarding himself from the chance to bear new hurts. Naima Simone’s writing is lush and beautiful and all engrossing. Nessa and Ivy and Wolf capture our hearts from the first page, and the town comes equally alive with each Christmas activity. Ms Simone bring the gamut of emotions from fierce anger to founded and ill-founded fears to deeply felt desire to unbridled joy. Christmas in Rose Bend is an incredible read, and a real Christmas gift.

I really enjoyed this Christmas visit to Rose Bend. I absolutely loved everything about Wolf but Nessa had to grow on me. She was very closed off when she showed up in Rose Bend and she slowly opened up once she met Wolf. She was finally able to start letting in her younger sister and making friends. Without Wolf showing her affection and attraction she would have stayed closed off to everyone, she was afraid of being left but all she was doing was keeping herself alone. You could feel the attraction between Wolf and Nessa from the moment they met. That is one thing Naima Simone does well, you can always feel the attraction between her characters. I loved seeing a little more of Cole and Sydney and can’t wait for Leo’s book.