4 - "This might just be my best Christmas ever…" Stars!

Awwww, the second book in Donna Kauffman’s seasonal Hamilton series; Lock, Stock and Jingle Bells gives us Holly Bennett and Sean Gallagher’s story. Second-chance as well, which is one of my favorite romance tropes.

"I’m glad you’re back in town…"

Unrequited love never realized as teens because both of them were too shy to make the first move, is definitely not going to happen the second time round if Sean Gallagher has anything to do with it. Holly was the girl that got away, when she left the US to study in the UK and then never returned.

"I watched you every day for… well, it felt like forever."

So when she arrives in Willow Creek to decide what to do with her recently retired mother’s business; Santa’s Workshop he pulls out all the stops (charm, wit, and hot-fresh food) in the hope of encouraging her to stay.

"I already lived with the regret of not pursuing you once. I don’t want to make that mistake again."

Short, candy-cane sweet and sexy good, Sean and Holly’s story was a great addition to the series, and another really enjoyable seasonal read from an author I love more and more with each book I read by her.

"I love Christmas… I love all that it represents."

Holly has come back to the states to take over the store her mother left her. Sean owns the restaurant across the street. Both had crushes on each other in high school, but neither knew, now sparks fly. A fair story, but very short. A novella at times gets frustrating, since so little plot development is there, and this is no exception. Enjoyed it, but wanted more details. The side story with the diary also wasn't needed, as it distracted from the budding romance instead. Needed more details to show a connection with the other "Hamilton" novellas. A quick holiday read if that is what you are looking for, then I would recommend.

Holly returns home to make a decision about her mother’s Christmas store. She has no d sire to run the store, but she may find something else. FromNetGalley.

Holly has inherited her mothers Christmas shop. She has been living abroad since colllege, and isn't sure if she wants to keep the shop. She has big dreams of being an artist and a job in advertising that she's good at but isn't her dream. Sean is a restaurant owner from across the street. He had big dreams too but his dreams brought him back home to the Gallagher family restaurant. Christmas, hope and love are in the air, Sean hopes he can keep Holly by his side, where she belongs. I loved this book. It was a sweet book only problem was that I read it too fast.

Holly Berry Bennett (yep, that's her real name!) hated Christmas. Holly's mother loved it. So much so that she runs a Christmas novelty store. Well the time came for Holly's parents to retire so they decide they are giving her, their only child the store and they are moving to Florida! This might not sound so bad, but Holly lives in London, England! Taking a few weeks off, Holly decides to head back to Willow Creek, VA to try and decide what she should do. While she is there she see's Sean Gallagher. He was the guy who was a few years older than her in school that she crushed on from afar. Boy, he was even better looking now!

Sean Gallagher comes from a large, crazy Irish family. For generations his family has run Gallagher's restaurant and now that his parents are both gone, he is in charge. After attending the Culinary Institute in New York and earning his degree, he is using his new talents at the family restaurant. Imagine his surprise when he sees Holly Bennett getting out of a cab. Wow...she is even prettier than he remembers. Sean always had a crush on Holly but she'd never give him the time of day. Deciding he missed out on a chance at her once, he decides to go and talk to her.

Of course sparks ignite. Sean keeps pushing her for a date....she keeps putting him off since she doesn't even know if she is staying in Willow Creek. After spending more time together things start to heat up. When things are looking like there may not be a happy ending, Holly finds a diary and realizes it may have to do with someone from Sean's family. Throughout the mystery of the diary, Holly starts to realize that her happiness just may be with Sean in Willow Creek if she only can take that last leap of faith.

I just adored this story! Such heart and warmth with Christmas mixed in was perfect! A great fun read for the holidays!

I love this author’s books and Lock, Stock & Jingle Bells was no exception. Great plot, characters and setting. I highly recommend this novella. My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my digital arc. This is my unbiased review.

A fun holiday novella, it is a standalone but would be best read with the other Hamilton Christmas novellas.

Holly is back home after her mother retired and left Holly the family Christmas and antique shop. While there she runs into Sean who she had a crush on as a teenager. They reconnect and both find they may be interested in more than friendship, but Holly isn't sure she wants to stay.

As it's a novella the characters aren't explored in too much detail, but the story flowed fairly well and had some fun holiday details. I was a little disappointed that the mystery concerning the diary they find wasn't introduced until fairly late in the book. It was almost glossed over a bit, too, as a storyline.

This book was just ok for me. I had a hard time getting into the story. I personally cannot understand why she would not want to keep the store. I think her unwillingness to keep it may be what made me dislike the story line.

I totally fell in love with Sean. He was so patient, kind, caring and totally hot. What's not to love about him? He knew what he wanted and he went for it. As for Holly, I can understand where she's coming from but did it have to take her so long to get there? It seemed like she was in forever decision making mode when the clear choice was so obvious. But I am happy that they were able to reach their HEA and that the mystery from Unleashed was revealed. Now onto The Naughty List.

this was a great addition to this holiday series. As an individual story it was great but better as it fit in to another.Good holiday reading

Lock, Stock and Jingle Bells is a standalone however it is book two of a set of novellas about a mysterious “secret”. For this story, Holly is living in London but is called back to the US as her mother has bequeathed her the family Christmas novelty store…but at her mother’s retirement, not her demise. Holly has run long and far to get away from what she considers an oppressing holiday theme (that’s around all year long!) yet here she is, back in her hometown. Dealing with a store she doesn’t want to run. Living in the US, not her London home, trying to decide what to do with her “new” life.

Enter an old friend, Sean. Sean stayed in town, where Holly left, and runs HIS family’s restaurant. Although they knew each other all their lives, Holly always considered Sean out of her reach. He was very outgoing and gregarious where she was a bit of a nerd. Her words.

Sean makes it his mission to show Holly that the season can be wonderful, and loving, without being TOO pushy. They are a hoot together and come up with their own mystery to solve. Again, standalone story but a definite big part of the overall mystery in the three books. Truly enjoyed reading this story again, as Lock, Stock and Jingle Bells is a re-release. Great fun! I received a copy of this ebook from NetGalley.

The second book of the Hamilton’s Christmas trilogy, Lock, Stock and Jingle Bells picks up nicely where book one left off, with a smooth transition into the next couple and their past. Sean and Holly are great characters and their secret crush from high school finally takes on a life of its own. It’s fun experiencing Sean’s attempts to warm Holly to the Christmas cheer, not knowing that she’s already warmed to him. The Hamilton mystery also makes an appearance and ensures this is a charming read. Bring on book three!

This is a charming Christmas story about second chances with high school crushes. An interesting aspect is the juxtaposition between only children and large families. Holly comes home to dispose of her mother's Christmas shop and Sean spots her from his family restaurant as she arrives. I would have preferred less steam and would concentrate on the love that sparkles through the story. The Hamilton family mystery is an intriguing part of this second in a trilogy. I look forward to the final in the series!

Lock, Stock and Jingle Bells is author Donna Kauffman's second book in her Hamilton Christmas novella series. In this book Holly Berry Bennett returns home to Willow Creek, Virginia because her parents have retired to Florida and left her mother's business, Santa's Workshop to her. It is up to Holly to decide if she wants to keep the Christmas shop or not. She just gets out of the airport taxi in front of the closed shop when she meets up again with Sean Gallagher, her high school crush. Little does she know it but Sean had a crush on her at that time too. Now that Holly is back in Sean's life he is determined to keep her back in his life. The attraction is mutual but will Holly decide to stay or return to London?

This book was a fun read. The characters are likable. I enjoyed getting another glimpse of the main characters in the first book. I can't wait to see what happens in book #3.

The cover of the book is cute, the title is intriguing, and it just looked like fun. However, it felt like I was missing something....like this was part of an ongoing story that I was just missing too much information from to be able to follow the story well. It's got really slow parts, and then jumps around, and it just didn't work for me.

Wheb I started this novella, I liked the idea of Holly coming back and reconnecting with her hometown.
As the story advanced, I felt everything got sorted out way too quickly and way too easily.
The mystery appeared, it looked like they would have to do some digging, but it was resolved just in one sentence.
I liked the sex scenes, up until the moment they agreed that they didn't need to use a condom. They barely knew each other, and it wasn't adding anything to the story.
My personal feeling was that when the story got interesting, the couple getting together, the mystery and the deciding what to do with Holly's future, it suddenly ended with a conversation.
I felt it more like an outline to a rather longer story, which I 'd love to read.

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced copy.

Holly and Sean’s patents owned businesses across the street from each other when they were growing up. They both had crushes on the other, but neither knew it until many years later when Holly returned home after living in London for years. They were insanely attracted to each other. Sean wanted to go for it, but Holly didn’t know whether her future was in her hometown or back in London. However, trying to solve a mystery brought them closer together and helped convince Holly to stay.

A sweet romance with a bit of mystery thrown in as well. I haven't read the first Hamilton story yet, but I'll be looking for it now! Looking forward to the next story.

"Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review."

Loved this book very much. It had just enough sweet romance and the storyline was great! I highly recommend!

Lock, Stock and Jingle Bells by Donna Kauffman is a sweet Christmas story. Takes place in a small town and the main characters went to school together, but weren't a couple. There is a mystery and a very sweet romance pursuit. I loved this story!