Cute, second chance, small town, Christmas love story! Easy to read in one sitting 🥰
I love when a book includes banter in text form, and this story has LETTERS! Even better than texting.

Meghan Quinn writes an adorable festive rom-com with oodles of charm, set in a snowy and picturesque location in Maine. Nola Bisley has returned to her home, Bright Harbor, with a frozen heart after the break up of her relationship with Chris, she is certainly in no mood to appreciate the festive period bursting with Christmas cheer. Caleb Butler, working at his hardware store, is feeling lonely and frustrated, forseeing little but misery in his future, his hostility to the Christmas season is expressed in writing where he refers to himself as Resting Scrooge Face. As a younger man, Caleb had broken Nola's heart when she had left for New York, but he is a haunted man, filled with regrets over ghosts of the past.

Facilitated by Arden, the mailman, the pair end up inadvertently developing a relationship over their shared attitude to Christmas, mistletoe, after all, is the devil's weed, they feel seen, as they become pen pals, but not knowing who they are writing to, with Nola signing herself off as Ho Ho No. Before they know it, the Chrismas spirit begins to infect the couple, as they become besotted, looking forward with great anticipation to their letters. Will they be able to rekindle a love from the embers of a long ago past? This is a delightfully fun, feel good, witty and comic short story, of regrets, pride, angst, and love, a rom-com set in a idyllic seasonal location that will appeal to so many readers this time of the year. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

This was an adorable festive book. I didn’t realize it was a short story when I picked it up. The plot could have been fleshed out a bit, but it did not feel too rushed. A cute, quick read for the holidays.

Loved the letter writing in this book. Think two grinchy pen pals who are not loving the holiday vibes around them communicate about their mutual dislike through old school letter writing...it was a bit too slow for me and I didn't find myself DYING to pick the book up at every turn. Even though it was short, it took me forever to finish (jk like a week)

Resting Scrooge Face is a short and sweet holiday novella from Meghan Quinn! It definitely had the Christmas spirit vibe throughout the story, and it was wonderful seeing Caleb and Nola reunite and get their second chance together. My only complaint is that I wish the story had been a little longer, so we could get a little more development of them together. But it was still a fun read, and I enjoyed all the little connections to other stories from the author.

As always, a great story from Meghan.
This is a short sweet holiday treat.
Perfect way to kick off your holiday reading list.

Nola moves back to her hometown of Bright Harbor, Maine after a bad breakup, where Christmas festivities are in full swing, and everyone is full of Christmas cheer. All this Christmas cheer does nothing to sweeten Nola's mood. Neither does the fact that her old boyfriend, Caleb, the one who broke her heart years ago, is living there and running the only hardware store in town. Caleb is also being a bit of a Grinch this year, ever since he found out Nola was moving back home. He knows he should apologize and make things right with her, but instead, he just wants to avoid her. While doing her best to avoid Caleb, Nola bumps into the local mailman, who gives her a mysterious letter. And when she finds that the writer is a fellow Scrooge, she can’t help but feel her spirit lifting. Nola writes back to her new pen pal—who, unbeknownst to Nola, is none other than Caleb. When Caleb gets a response hand delivered by the mailman, he’s intrigued by the mystery sender. A friendly correspondence develops—and quickly turns flirtatious. Although Nola and Caleb claim they can’t stand each other, they can’t deny the simmering attraction that brought them together in the first place. Can these nameless pen pals write their own love story—or will they be too caught up with the ghosts of their Christmases past to find a future together?
This short holiday rom-com is sure to not only make you laugh, but also put you in the holiday spirit. I loved the letters they wrote to each other, and the anticipation of them discovering each other's true identities. If you are in the mood for a quick read to jump-start your holiday season, then this is the perfect book for you!

This book was brilliant. Only fault is that it’s too short!
I loved the characters in this, the second chance romance trope is one of my faves and I just love the banter that comes with ex lovers, especially when they didn’t part on good terms.
If you’re after a great Christmas short story then make sure you pick this one up.

This was a super cute, super quick holiday novella. It can be read in one sitting, and I'd recommend brewing a cup of hot chocolate to go along with it. I discovered Meghan Quinn over the summer and this was my second read by her and I'm excited to continue reading more of what she puts out. This book was a delight and should be on everyone's reading list this holiday.

If you are in the mood for a little second chance holiday romance then look no farther. This is a quick cute little read about Caleb who let Nola get away once and became a holiday scrooge but now Nola is back in their small town and Caleb gets a second chance.

"Resting Scrooge Face" fits the category of romantic comedy with a holiday theme. When Nola returns to her small hometown, she does not plan to re-encounter her ex-boyfriend. After a public argument with him at a local coffeehouse, Nola is more than determined to avoid him and get her life back together. When Arden the postman delivers a message to Nola from a secretly Scrooge-like pen pal, Nola finds a kindred spirit and the fun commences.

Readers will find plenty of humorous moments in this pleasantly predictable Christmas short story. The letters from "Resting Scrooge Face" to "Ho Ho No" set the pace for a sweet conclusion for the secret pals. If you are looking for a seriously classical story--well, this is not it! This story will put even the most staunch curmudgeons in the holiday spirit and ready for mistletoe and holly.

I received this novel from the publisher and from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Well this was just a treat! I love You’ve Got Mail/Dash & Lily style stories, and this one was super cute to read. I was quickly transported to the small town of Bright Harbor where Nola returned from NYC after a rough breakup and where she’s trying to avoid her ex & first love, Caleb. Both Nola and Caleb are feeling particularly grumpy this year, knowing they are both in the same town together and trying to avoid running into each other and being confronted by their past. I guarantee you will devour this quick, light, holiday novella in one sitting and it will put you in the Christmas spirit. I love Meghan Quinn’s writing, and even though this read did not include the spice you may expect from So Not Meant to Be or A Not So Meet Cute, you will laugh-out-loud and swoon over this holiday rom-com.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Set within the fictional small town of Bright Harbor, Maine, this was an adorable pen pal romance between two exes sharing their distaste for the holidays via letters.

You've got a meddling mailman, some great banter, and a small-town heartthrob that gets his second chance with the woman who left for the city.

If you're fans of Meghan Quinn's Getting Lucky series, the nods to neighbouring small town Port Snow and its characters will make you smile, I'm sure! I loved that.

I will say, I knew this was a novella, but it was very, very short. The timeline is FAST. But it was cute and can easily be read within an hour!

A sweet, second-chance romance, holiday novella to get you in the Christmas spirit!

Nola arrives back in her hometown of Bright Harbor, Maine just in time for Christmas! The circumstances of being home put her in a curmodgeon-y mood! Not only is her hometown full of Christmas cheer, but it’s also the home to her first love and the first boy to break her heart, Caleb. Caleb has spent years regretting letting Nola go and hasn’t enjoyed Christmas since she left town. In a moment of pure holiday grumpiness, Caleb writes a letter outlining his hatred for the holiday…only to have it secretly delivered to Nolah by a meddling mailman! And thus begins the correspondence between Resting Scrooge Face and Ho-Ho-No! Through each anonymous exchange their holiday cheer returns! But, what happens when they find out their former flame is their current pen pal?

This short story had cute banter, fun holiday puns, and the small town meddling I love! It was just a bit too short for me, at a length where I felt I couldn’t quite connect with the characters the way I crave and it moved at a rapid pace that left the character's connection a bit thin as well. I know it is unfair, but knowing how MQ typically writes, I just wanted more of the characters and a bit more length in the story! However, if you are wanting a quick holiday novella to get you in the holiday spirit, this feel good Christmas romance is definitely for you!

ARC Review provided by NetGalley. I was not required to leave a positive review. All opinions are my own

I thought this was a cute, fast paced novella. I loved the letters passed back and forth and the meddling mail man. Nola and Caleb were very funny, it's the perfect short holiday rom-com to kick off the season of Christmas reads

Having just come off reading about one of Nola's younger brothers in another recent MQ release, I was very excited to learn that this was going to be about Nola herself! This was a sweet second-chance romance between Nola and the high school sweetheart who walked away, Caleb. If you're looking for a romantic Christmas-themed short story to brighten up your holiday reading lists, then I would definitely recommend checking this out!

At the start of the story, Nola and Caleb are both grumpy guts for various reasons. Nola is sad about being unceremoniously dumped by her partner and Caleb is just feeling extra crabby this season thinking about his life. With their extensive dating history and bad breakup years ago, there are a lot of unresolved emotions between them that added to the tension of knowing they were unwittingly writing to each other. I loved it! 😍

If you enjoy epistolary formats, then you'll really enjoy these letter exchanges between "Resting Scrooge Face" and "Ho Ho No". Aren't those names great? 😂 It was so fun to see them unknowingly connect again, even if it's bonding over all the reasons they "hate" the holiday season. Being a short story, there's not much room for a lot of development or for drama—which I appreciated—but even though we don't get many pages to spend with Nola and Caleb, I still liked their romance and rooted for their HEA. I definitely would read a full-length story about them but I'm glad that we at least get this short because their romance was sweet and fun! I loved to see them reconnect over stories while fixing up Nola's parent's house.

Aside from the rekindled relationship and the letter exchanges, one of the highlights for me was revisiting Port Snow. This place is one of my favourite fictional small towns that I still desperately wish was a real location, lol! I will take every chance I get to return to this place. Overall, I really enjoyed this and my only criticism is that it ended cos I wanted more.

Special thanks to Amazon Original Stories for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Resting Scrooge Face is quite the entertaining Christmas quick read. With a small town feel, witty antics and meddling townsfolk, this was a short story that melted my heart.
Nola and Caleb were childhood sweethearts, having broken up when Nola moved away to New York. She is now back home and the uncomfortable feeling of being in the same town as Caleb again, really doesn’t help matters. Can these two get along and have a second chance or is all love lost and in the past?
I loved this heartwarming story.

This was a cute holiday read! Right away you’re hooked with the characters and wanting to know more. I loved that Caleb and Nola had this great chemistry. This is a very short novella and it definitely works out that Nola and Caleb had been together before. That had all that history and knew each other. In fact they both still had feelings for each other! I loved all the letters back and forth! It really added to the romance.

Read if you like:
Dual POVs
Holiday romance
Second chance romance
Letters
Kissing only
Meddling elderlies

Resting Scrooge Face by Meghan Quinn is A short, sweet, christmasy story. Perfect for this time before christmas to get you into the christmas spirit.

Caleb and Nola haven‘t seen eachother in years after a bad break up. But when Nola turns up back in town he somehow manages to get himself a penpal.

I really enjoyed this story. It was sweet, short and funny too.

4⭐️

Resting Scrooge Face is a super short story about high school sweethearts, Caleb Butler and Nola Bisley. He broke up with her when she was going to NYC to pursue her dream and he knew small town life was for him. He knew that if he didn’t break up with her then she wouldn’t have left. He wanted the best for her and for her to succeed.

Now, she is back home to Bright Harbor, Maine after her last boyfriend dumped her. Neither Caleb or Nola are feeling very festive. Caleb even wrote a letter just to vent his feelings.

Arden, the mailman, takes it upon himself to deliver that letter to Nola. Since she feels the same way, writes back and the funny, anonymous letters between the two start.

This is a cute, no steam romance to get you into the holiday spirit.

It was great to see Nola (Ryot’s sister from “Untying the Knot”) have her own story.

Thank you to Amazon Publishing Montlake Romance and NetGalley for the advance readers copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.