I love Shannon Stacey's books... maybe because she is from New England, but I get the "home" feeling whenever I read them. This was a cute friends becoming more book. I love that type of book. My only complaint was that it was a novella! I wanted more!

Received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

A cute quick read that made me want a candy cane martini in the middle of June.

Holiday with a Twist is a super short holiday novella by a great author! This one provides a cute and entertaining love story that takes place over the holidays. It is touching and sweet and the perfect quick and easy read for the holidays.

I love holiday love stories and this one is a doozy. Leigh has returned home to New Hampshire from Houston, where she was living with a job she loved and a fiancé who… well that part of her life fell apart a couple of months ago. Leigh’s mother wants to have all three of her girls home for one last Christmas in the old home before she and their dad move to a condo. There is a bit of chaos in the family and Leigh is afraid adding one more daughter-at-loose-ends will cause her mom to forget about moving and insist all the girls move back home. So she doesn’t tell anyone what is really going on in Houston.
Cory is a childhood friend who was ditched by Leigh’s best friend, and whom she hasn’t seen in years. One night, needing a drink to help her relax, Leigh goes to the only bar in town only to find Cory tending bar and one stiff drink too many causes her to tell him her woes. As the few days she has in town pass quickly, Leigh realizes she is falling in love with Cory. Can she stay? Does Cory love her back?
This story of friends who have had a lot of time pass begin to recognize that they have something worth holding on to, everyone around them suspects they know what’s going on but until Leigh is able to come clean about the breakup with her fiancé nothing can be done outwardly. It gets really complicated and hearts begin to bend before they break.
I loved this novella. In fact, so much story is packed into just a few pages it seemed more like a novel than a shorter book. I wanted more about Cory and Leigh when the story ended. I really wanted a look into the future! This is a very satisfying Christmas love story and I enjoyed it so much. I’m looking forward to delving into Shannon Stacey’s back list to get more because I love her style of writing romance.

Holiday with a Twist by Shannon Stacey reminded me very much of those Lifetime Christmas movies so many of us watch during the holiday season. There was a bit of conflict, but the magic of the season, a healthy dose of attraction and some insta-love all made this a sweet holiday romance.
While Leigh Holloway is excited to see her family for the holiday’s she not excited about returning to her childhood home to help her parents pack it up for their move to a condo and she isn’t thrilled about not telling them she broke off her engagement or quit her job. While she knows she should come clean with her family she doesn’t want her parents to think they should postpone their move because her life is in an uproar. Needing a break from her family Leigh heads to the only establishment in her small hometown with a liquor license, Center Street Pub, owned by the Dawson family including Croy who once blamed her for his girlfriend breaking up with him.
These two had history, a lot of it nice and then one incident that was not so nice but years have passed and when they see each other again they find themselves interested and attracted. I enjoyed watching this relationship blossom as they rekindled their friendship and explored their growing attraction. While they both needed to communicate things better, I could also understand their wariness in doing so.
Overall, Holiday With a Twist was a sweet, yet sexy romance filled with laughter, tears and a whole lot of love.