Fortune’s Holiday Surprise by Jennifer Wilck is a heartfelt story about love, family, and healing after loss. Carrie, grieving the loss of her sister and brother-in-law, moves to a small Texas town to care for her niece, Aviva. Arlo, her brother-in-law’s best friend, is also mourning while uncovering secrets left behind by his late father. Together, they navigate grief and rediscover joy.

The book beautifully highlights Jewish traditions, particularly Sephardic Hanukkah customs, alongside the Fortunes’ Christmas celebrations. Carrie and Aviva help Arlo reconnect with his family’s holiday spirit, creating a charming blend of traditions. Carrie and Arlo’s romance is sweet and understated, growing naturally from their shared bond. This is a warm, uplifting holiday tale celebrating love, family, and cultural heritage.

4.5⭐️ Arlo and Carrie manage grief, the holidays, and instant parenthood, all while falling in love and learning about Christmas and Hanukkah customs and the importance of family. This is the 5th book in The Fortunes of Texas, but can be read as a stand alone. I look forward to reading the rest of the series. Even though this book starts with tragedy, it is a heartwarming cozy book to start the holiday off with.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

Fortune’s Holiday Surprise is a story of finding love after loss. Carrie and Arlo’s worlds have both been turned upside down. Carrie lost her sister and brother-in-law and now finds herself in a small Texas town, guardian to her niece. Her brother-in-law was Arlo’s best friend and he’s grieving for the man and still coming to terms with the death of his father and the secrets that man may have left behind. It sounds like a lot – and it is – but author Jennifer Wilck balances the sadness with sweetness and light.

Carrie is learning to be a mother and to find her footing in a world without her sister. Randi wanted Carrie to teach her daughter, Aviva, their traditions and the Jewish representation in Fortune’s Holiday Surprise is wonderful. Carrie’s family are Sephardic Jews and it was a delight to see the Sephardic-specific Hanukkah traditions and treats featured here. Carrie and Aviva also help Arlo re-find the spirit of Christmas and the family traditions the Fortunes enjoy, which was charming.

Arlo and Carrie’s romance is sweet, low on drama, and just plain charming. Grief and love for Aviva bring them together but the friendship then love story that develops out of it is lovely. Fortune’s Holiday Surprise is a delightful holiday treat celebrating love, family, and traditions old and new.

Terrific book. I loved the multicultural aspect of the story with the inclusion of Carrie' Jewish heritage and customs. I know very little about Jewish traditions, and this was enlightening and enjoyable.

After the unexpected deaths of her sister and brother-in-law, Carrie became the guardian of her niece, Aviva. Coping with her grief at the same time, she tries to give Aviva as normal a holiday as possible, which is not easy. She longs to return to her life in Albuquerque but doesn't want to upend Aviva's life any more than necessary.

Arlo is grieving the loss of his best friend, Isaac. He wants to continue being part of Aviva's life and makes a point of spending time with her. He is also dealing with unresolved issues about his father, adding a bit of mystery to the story.

I enjoyed the development of Carrie and Arlo's relationship. They come together because of their grief and love for Aviva. Arlo insists on helping Carrie fix up the house while she deals with settling the family's affairs. Their romance developed as they got to know each other. I loved seeing Arlo's interest in Carrie's traditions and enthusiastic participation as Carried prepared for the holiday. Carrie's support of Arlo as he deals with a mystery surrounding his father goes a long way toward restoring Arlo's holiday spirit. The question is whether Carrie's growing feelings for Arlo will be enough to keep her from returning to Albuquerque.

I liked seeing Carrie's introduction to small-town life. She's used to the anonymity of city life, and it takes her some time to adjust to the closeness of the people of Chatelaine. I loved how welcoming and inclusive they were, with a terrific scene at the town's holiday festival. I also loved the ending and seeing both families' celebrations.

4.5/5 stars

The story is set in small town Texas. It is a holiday romance focusing on both Christmas and Hanukkah.

I absolutely adored this book. The opening paragraph actually started off super sad with both main characters losing people close to them. But I found that this added so much to the story.

This book alternates between the male and female POVs.

The male narrator is cowboy Arlo Fortune. He helps run the Fortune Family Ranch. He recently lost his best friend Isaac (he and his wife died).

The Jewish heroine is Carrie Kaplan. She is a health and wellness writer who is now responsible for her two year old niece.

I absolutely adored both Arlo and Carrie.

There is amazing Jewish rep. Carrie is Jewish and she is determined to show her niece all of the joys of Hanukkah.

It was definitely interesting to see Arlo be quite clueless about Jewish customs. It was also very enlightening to see this book go into detail about Sephardic Jewish traditions. Carrie’s family was Sephardic (coming from Mediterranean countries/Middle East and Spain). And honestly I was not familiar with some of these traditions. So this was quite different from most romance books that I’ve read featuring Hanukkah.

I really enjoyed seeing both main characters with Aviva (the 2 year old). And I also really liked how close Arlo was with his siblings and mom. There is also a bit of a mystery to do with his father, which added so much to the story.

This book was wonderful. It had tragedy. But it also focused on love and family. And it was wonderful to see both Christmas and Hanukkah celebrated beautifully. Even though the book starts out sad it is a wonderful feel good holiday romance.

Fortune’s Holiday Surprise is a very well written romance. I throughly enjoyed the plot and the character dynamics. I received an advance ebook from the publisher and Netgalley. This is my unbiased review.

Quick Summary: A sweet sorrow romance

My Review: Fortune's Holiday Surprise by Jennifer Wilck is book #5 in The Fortunes of Texas" Fortune's Secret Children series.

About the Book: "He'd lost the holiday spirit... Until she brought light back into his life."

After a devastating tragedy that took the lives of a most beloved couple, Arlo Fortune and Carrie Kaplan were brought together. Not only did they share meaningful memories, as well as life altering news, but they also shared a willingness to freely give from their hearts to a little girl in need.

My Final Say: This was a book about family, connections and bonds, and a love that overcomes.

Readers who enjoy small town, found family, reconciliation stories will enjoy this read.

Other: The romance did a lot of teaching on Hanukkah. It was touched on throughout the entirety of the story, in fact. It emphasized the importance of tradition.

Rating: 3.25/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: A
Status/Level: 🍬

Thank you to the author, to the publisher (Harlequin - Romance | Harlequin Fortunes of Texas), and to NetGalley for granting access to a digital ARC of this title in exchange for an honest critique. I sincerely appreciate the opportunity.

This is absolutely the holiday book I needed. I really appreciate the Jewish representation in this romance. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review.

Thank you Harlequin and Netgalley for this arc.

Sorry but this one is not working for me. The same things keep being said about the same subjects but no progress is being made in telling the story. It's also bogged down with excessive, unneeded details. DNF

It's TIMEEEE....Time to start reading holiday reads and this was the perfect book to start the season. A cute, sweet romance that was perfect to start my holiday reads. I love the Jewish / Christian mix for this love match. As someone that knows very little about Judaism (beside what I learned from Elmo's Holiday Special) I found Arlo's interest in Carrie's religion a great way to learn about her traditions and that Carrie was open to learning and celebrating with Arlo and his family just made this a perfect read of holiday joy. As someone that went to school with one only one friend that celebrate Hanukkah I loved Carrie's learning to navigate staying true to her roots, teach her niece/daughter without the benefits of having a large community around her very much resonated with me. It most be a little daunting to be the only person that doesn't celebrate Christmas in a town that is going all out and I love that . I love am a huge small town romance lover so this little town that Welcomed Carrie, was open to her making Jewish treats for their bake sale, and just being super supportive of her while she deals with the grief of her sister and brother in law and having to care for her young niece. It gives me all the feels that you want in a small town romance.
I loved Carrie and Arlo together. They just seemed to fit so beautifully and are going to make a perfect little family. In the wake of so much tragedy it is so nice to picture them together overcoming it all. What a perfect time of year to fall in love.
While this was not the 1st in a series I loved that it reads as a stand alone. It has so much heart in such a little book, I could have read for much much longer. I will be looking into the other books in this series as I need more of this family,. I highly recommend for anyone that like small town holiday romances, found family and just a perfect holiday romance.

Even though this is #5 in the series, I read it as a stand alone. I imagine if I had read the other books first I would've known the characters more in depth. The book is a sweet holiday romance, that takes grief and turns it into love.

Thank you to NetGalley, Jennifer Wilck, and Harlequin publishing for allowing me this e-arc version in exchange for my honest opinion.

What a wonderful story. Loved Arlo and Carrie together and don't forget Aviva. The combining of Chanuka and Christmas was meaningful especially since I too celebrate both. This is a warm and inviting read no matter what your Faith is.