The characters and the storyline were both intriguing and kept me hooked with their story. Loved that it was a Christmas story, especially this time of year, it just gets you right into the mood perfectly. This is one of those books that readers are going to love and want to read this Christmas time.

A heartwarming holiday read that tugs at your heartstrings! Well developed, solid romance that is a must-read.

Please note that an ARC was generously provided in exchange for an honest review of which this is both honest and completely voluntary.

This romance has all the feels to it and then some! One hot single man who is focused on business and one woman scorned by an ex, a gaggle of sisters, two large families and some well balanced drama and presto! The magic book formula with love.
Honestly, Jennifer took some getting used to in this story. After catching her ex in the act, she takes what were to be their honeymoon tickets and takes off on a much needed trip to get away from everything. I applaud her on that one. There she meets an overworked, driven business owner who is also taking time out for much needed R&R and they seem to fall into perfect step. Jennifer is a little leery at first but Simeon is an open book. Loved that man. He was a great character and a stand up kind of guy. She's leaving the end of the week and he's got another week there before he's off on a 4 month business trip but they stay in touch and due to a little oops on their vacation, all seemed well.
They speak when he lands in South America and that's the last she hears from him until 3 years later.
Not a typo, 3 years. Her life has been upended, but so had his. His was devastated. And while I did get tired of hearing Jennifer bemoan her lot in life and still running that same pissy attitude. Not sure when she had time to tend to family business. Just sayin'. She happens to run into Simeon at the mall shopping. A quick hi and she flees with her coattails flying. He's a little lost on that. He's just getting his life back after 3 painful years. I'm leaving a lot of the points out on purpose because you need to read them. What I wanted was more of his story and less of her dialogue. When they meet again after he finds her, she still hammers away. It's a long road for these two, but in the end worth the extra mile. All with a nice holiday glimmer!
3.5 stars
*arc from NetGalley and Entangled for an honest review*

will be posted on http://thelibrariiantalks.wordpress.com

When a young woman, broken-hearted, takes a vacation far from wintry Chicago, she never expects to be swept off her feet by a over-worked bachelor. Their love affair does not follow an easy road - marred by injury, unexpected consequences and deep misunderstandings. However, Christmas is the best time to set love right and make promises you intend to keep.

I received an eARC of this book via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.

The Christmas Promise by Sean D. Young is the second in her series A McClendon Holiday which revolves around the McClendon sisters. Each book can be read as a standalone with characters crossing over to the other books. This particular book is about Jennifer McClendon and a vacation that gives her more than she bargained for.

I like Jennifer. She’s a strong heroine who despite circumstances (like finding her boyfriend cheating on her) keeps going. She doesn’t allow the lemons that life throws at her to get in the way of her hopes and dreams. Simeon is just as likable. In fact I found myself falling for him. He’s a little more vulnerable than Jennifer and once he commits to something he commits himself wholly which I admit caused me to swoon a little.

The romance and plot of this book was a little all over the place which is where it lost me. The pacing was odd. The beginning when they first meet moved at a fast pace. Then when it fast-forwards a few years the pace and plot dragged. There wasn’t enough to keep me interested, yet I finished the book because I was invested in the characters by this point. Also the writing style…this was more a case of “it’s me, not you.” It just didn’t work for me. At times it felt clunky and overly detailed and I would rather have just enough detail to get the picture and allow my imagination to do the rest of the work.

Overall, The Christmas Promise was just an okay read for me. It’s a sweet, (surprisingly) clean romance set around the holidays. There is plenty of drama and a little tugging of your heartstrings as well. If you enjoy contemporary, second chance romances, I highly recommend it.

A good story. Typical mills and boon troupe but still good. Gorgeous cover.

Jennifer 'Jenn' McClendon and Simeon Baker spent a week getting to know each other during their time on a beautiful tropical island. Then when they both returned to Chicago, Simeon was hoping to spend more time with Jennifer, but things didn't turn out like he hoped after a tragic accident that almost ended his life. Now though, three years later, they have a chance to be together again. Will Simeon be able to win Jennifer's heart, or will he lose his chance at happy ever after with her?

What a totally wonderful, emotionally-intense, heartwarming read this author has delivered in this second story of their McClendon Holiday series where the main characters had me sympathizing with them because of all they've been through with Jenn's ex betraying her the way he did and then what happens to the hero that makes him break his promise of wanting to get to know Jenn better once they're back in Chicago. Will it take Jenn long to forgive Simeon? Will Simeon react well when he finds out Jenn's secret? However, it was from the moment that the hero and heroine came back into each other's lives after spending their island holiday together that had me reading this story quickly, determined to discover whether Jennifer would allow Simeon back into her life. Will she make the right decision for their children?

As for the dialogue, it was riveting due to what happened to Simeon that kept him from finding his way back to Jennifer after their island holiday; and what happens towards the end of this story that had me wondering whether this couple would get their happy ever after. Would one of the main characters be all right? Moreover, the heroine is strong and brave because of what happens to her at the beginning and how she handles it; and then what she goes through with letting Simeon back into her life. I also liked the close bond she has with her family and how they're always there for each other when it comes to needing advice. Will Jennifer listen to her sisters advice? Yet, what I liked most of all about the heroine was that she gave Simeon a chance to begin with, as there's something about him she just can't resist.

While the hero, he's been through a lot and it's understandable why his mother is so protective of him when it comes to her reaction to Jennifer and the kids. I also liked how persistent the hero was when it came to winning back Jennifer because he wants her so much and needs her in his life to be able to balance out his professional life with his personal one, otherwise he'll end up burning out from over-working like he was doing back when he originally met her. Yet, what I liked most of all about the hero is his growing bond with his children and how he was willing to do everything in his power to prove to Jennifer that he wants a place in his children's lives, which is proven with all his does for the kids.

Overall, this author has penned another really good read for this story where this couple's chemistry was strong; their romance heart-warming and on the sweet side; and the ending had me concerned for one of the main characters. Would they be all right? However, I loved how things worked out for Jennifer and Simeon in the end that shows how important love, family and happiness is and that they shouldn't let anything keep them apart, especially not after everything they've already been through. I would recommend The Christmas Promise by Sean D. Young, if you enjoy second chance romances, the surprise pregnancy trope, or books by authors LE Rico, Annie Seaton, Candace Shaw and Synithia Williams.

I read this book rather quickly as it had plenty of drama to keep me entertained. However I did not like how rushed this story felt and did not feel I truly got to see them fall in love. Simeon and Jennifer spent all of one week together and then he was out of her life for 3 years. I know Christmas love stories are always rushed but it felt crazy to have them reconnect after Black Friday and be professing their love by Christmas with the added complications. I was just unable to find their love story believable when I never truly watched them fall in love and it was such a short time frame they spent together. They also knew way too little about each other which was pointed out several times by Jennifer herself.

Hurt from treachery, Jenn leaves for a solo vacation to try and ease the pain. Meeting and spending time with Simeon was a refreshing bonus...
Pleasurable holiday romantic read! Jenn and Simeon are endearing characters and the writing attracted me from beginning to end! Good read...promise!
Voluntarily read ARC, from Netgalley and publisher, for honest review.

What romance should be. An abundance of heart presented with a large quantity of love. I've read three books from Ms. Young's, McClendon series and find myself more hooked with each character I meet. Jennifer and Simeon merge old Hollywood classic romance with a steamy helping of modern day sex appeal wrapped up with a nice precious bow.

A sweet heartwarming story that is perfect for the season. After catching her cheating ex in the act Jennifer McClendon decides to take the vacation they had planned all by herself. Never did she expect to me one of the most interesting and sexy men she's ever met. Yet she did. Simeon Baker is everything she's ever wanted but she doesn't want to move too fast. His job has him traveling more than he's home so she's not sure a relationship would ever work. After an incredibly passionate night together Jennifer returns home. They promise to stay in touch but when Jennifer really needs him she can't find Simeon anywhere. Now 3 years later he shows up out the blue.

The story is very well done and definitely left me with a smile on my face and warmth in my heart. I recommend this book to everyone.

Full review will be posted on Reader's Edyn

I could not finish this book. I didn’t even complete the 3rd chapter. I wanted to like it. I liked the description and the cover was sweet, but the writing just wasn’t for me. I’m not exactly sure what happened. I ended up reading like a telegram. Read a sentence. Stop. Read a sentence. Stop. I got so bored and I couldn’t get in to the book at all. To begin with, she walks in on her boyfriend having an affair and her reaction was so non-typical that it wasn’t even a little believable. I can tell you if that had happened to me, I would have gone Carrie Underwood on his ass! Jennifer just comes off as helpless initially. She wonders what she’s going to do about the plane tickets that were made on her credit card. Seriously? And before that she’s upset because she has to get her key back from him, but then later has an epiphany and calls building management to change her locks. Duh! Then she takes off on the vacation they were supposed to leave on a couple of days later and meets a guy who piques her interest. I hung out for a bit thinking it would get better, but their dialogue was so boxy and uninteresting. It wasn’t even flirty, it was just boring. I mean – UGH! Just look at the small section I included. Stick a fork in my eye! And this was all before the 3rd chapter ended! Oh wait! You mean if you get your hair wet, you know how to fix it? You don’t say! Now that’s talent! Good Lord! Is this really the kind of conversation you would have with the guy you just decided to spend your entire vacation with?

I used to read absolutely every book through until the end whether I enjoyed it or not. I had some weird quirk about what I might be missing if I didn’t stick it out. Now I am to the point that I would rather spend my time with books that I enjoy. After 3 chapters, I had to move on from this one. I was curious so I did a little digging. This book was released in 2015 under Samhain Publishing. It had pretty good reviews, which shocked me. Maybe it read differently. I don’t know. But this version I can only currently locate 1 review for and it is raving about this story. So here it is … this is purely my opinion and others may really like this story. If you do, good. I’m glad for the author. But I prefer my books to flow and engage me; the opposite in this case. If you follow my reviews and tend to agree with my opinions, just hit "back" and find something else.

Kindle version provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Another heartwarming story from Sean D Young with the adorable McClendon family! I enjoyed this even more than the first in this series. Jennifer and Simeon's relationship impressed!