Series:
Sugar Maple Farms (Book 2)
The snow may be fake, but could the romance be real?
Christmas in August? Sunset County is decked out for the
holidays -- fake snow and all! Maya Monroe can't believe her novel is being
turned into a Christmas movie. Except the "acclaimed" director, Will
Hastings, is Maya's ex. The man who broke her heart via text, and clearly knows
nothing about romance, is directing her dream project.
Will never imagined he'd be filming a Christmas romance
-- especially one based on his ex's book. But Will's determined to complete the
job, even though Maya keeps interfering with his creative choices -- and his
heart. In this staged winter wonderland, their feelings are stealing the show.
Can Will and Maya heal their past for a second chance to be the lead couple in
their real-life romance?
This was a good second-chance romance. The main
characters, Will and Maya, were high school sweethearts. Then Will left to
follow his dreams of making movies, breaking up with Maya via text, and
breaking her heart.
Since then, Maya has become an accomplished baker, owning
her bakery, Flour Child, and making whimsical cakes for the local party
planner. She is also a successful romance author, whose latest book is about to
become a movie. She's very excited until she learns that Will is the chosen
director.
The last thing Will wants to do is direct a cheesy
rom-com, especially one based on his ex-girlfriend's book. But it puts him in
town long enough to deal with his ailing father, with whom he has a tense relationship.
He knows he will run into Maya sooner or later, but isn't prepared for the
surge of feelings when he does.
I enjoyed the rekindling of Will and Maya's relationship.
Things are awkward at the beginning, as Maya remembers the pain of their
parting and Will grapples with the guilt over how he handled it back then. Knowing
his opinion of romance movies, Maya isn't sure she trusts him to do her book
justice. There are a few clashes over creative differences, where Maya appears
to enjoy getting under his skin. But Will also includes her in much of the
behind-the-scenes activity, and I liked seeing him begin to see things from her
perspective.
The sparks between them continue to grow as they get
closer. Maya hopes for more, but Will has a couple of reversions back to jerk
that sow seeds of doubt. A filming crisis adds complications and stress. I
loved the twist at the end that brought them back together and solved their
filming issue. The epilogue was terrific, including a sweet scene with Maya's
pup, Bruce.
There were a couple of secondary stories going on that
added depth to the story. One was Maya's effort to help a friend by hiring her
troubled teenage son, Lucas, to work in the bakery. There was a risk that things
could go sideways, but Maya found a way to reach him. I loved watching Lucas
change.
We also saw more of Will's relationship with his father.
Their troubles stretched back to when Will was a teen and Gene's disapproval of
Will's dreams. He's not happy about Will's plans to move him to an assisted
living facility and makes his displeasure known. Maya's presence eases the
tension somewhat, but the strain remains. There were glimmers of hope during
the epilogue, so I want to believe it gets better.
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