Not This Christmas

by Susanne Ash

She’s not going back home for Christmas. Not even for her sister’s wedding. Until they send him…

Paige Taylor took her grandfather’s death harder than anyone. She hasn’t been back to spend Christmas on Palmar Island since. And has no plans to change that. Not even when her baby sister decides to get married on Christmas Eve and asks Paige to be her maid of honor.

Liam Finnegan is ready to do anything for his best friend, Matteo. When the guy asks him to be his best man, he gladly agrees. But when Matteo and the wedding planner concoct a crazy plan to get the bride’s sister to make it home in time, he’s ready to draw a line in the sand. Especially when that plan involves having him drive more than halfway across the country to pick up the maid of honor, who sounds more like a high maintenance diva than anything else.

Anything that can go wrong will go wrong on this road trip neither of them wanted to go on. Will they make it in time to the wedding? Or will a sudden blizzard stop them in their tracks? Read Not This Christmas to find out.

Not This Christmas is a sweet enemies-to-lovers holiday romance full of banter, twists, and plenty of chemistry. It’s part of the Christmas on Palmar Island series, but can be read as a standalone Christmas romance.

Don’t miss the other books in the

An Heir For ChristmasThe Billionaire’s Christmas Wish All He Wants For ChristmasComing Home For Christmas And coming

Falling For Santa

Genres: Christmas, Enemies To Lovers, Contemporary, Romance

171 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 31, 2022

About the author

Susanne Ash writes sweet contemporary romance. When she's not busy putting pen to paper, she loves to cook, knit, and head out exploring with her husband and daughter. She lives close to the beach in beautiful South Carolina. You'll find that her setting is often a fictionalized version of her surroundings and the places she's visiting with her family.

Reviews

[Joy Wolfe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book but one thing kept me from giving it five stars....all the mistakes in it! It wasn't just a few, it was all through the book. The main character, Paige, was spelled Page a few times even on the same page. At one point it talked about her taking "sky" lessons instead of ski lessons. Her best friend from Colorado, Colleen, was misspelled Collene. Then there were sentences that had extra words that should have been left out totally to make sense. The story of Liam, who drove to Colorado to pick up Paige and bring her back to South Carolina for her sister's wedding was a good plot. Paige didn't like to fly, ride the bus or take a train. Her only option was for the bridegroom's best friend, Liam, to drive across country to pick her up in his car. He did not know Paige, and it was awkward at first, but as the trip went on they became friends. They were not enemies at all...they did not know each other, but that certainly changed on this long and sometimes stressful trip. My personal opinion is that a good re-write would be the answer to getting a five star rating!

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly I can barely get through this with all the grammatical errors. Between misused punctuation to missing essential words in the middle of sentences, I did my best to ignore it and push through. But then the author decides to spell the fmc name incorrectly. It goes back and forth between two different spellings. Words are spelled incorrectly. Common phrases aren’t used in the right context and some aren’t phrased correctly (“kicking in screaming” instead of “kicking and screaming”). A handful of times I could ignore it, but it is was so consistent that I literally couldn’t focus on the story.

Note about the story itself…most of the plot was enjoyable and gave us insight into the character’s dynamics but the ending…completely rushed compared to the rest of the book. A huge miscommunication was presented with only 10% of the story left. The last 2 chapters were a race to finish off the story with a hea because the author decided speed through the miscommunication trope.

[Tanya Thrasher · Rating 4 out of 5]

5 stars!

I had read several of Susanne's books, and I love them. They are quick, easy reads, with HEA, and closed door relationships. The characters are delightful and intriguing! The stories are heartwarming and fun! The only reason I gave the book 4 stars is because there are several typos and errors. I feel like if you are an author, you are at the top of the writing chain... therefore, editing and more editing should be a big factor before you publish your book for the masses. I only say this because I am a voracious reader, and it throws you off of the story. Then, you have to figure out what the author is saying. Several times, I had to go back and re-read to understand what the words were supposed to be.
I do recommend Susanne's books, and I'm pretty sure she's an Indy published author. So, she may not have the editing reviews from others to depend on. With that said, just know there may be a few errors. Keep up the great work, Susanne!!! Best wishes!

[Jayne Wheatley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice story

Eek I used the word nice I know, but I have to be honest.
It says enemy to lover story, however they were never enemies so I'm confused over that.
Paige is a teacher living 30 hour drive from her family after losing her grandad she moved away to try to get over the loss, her sisters wedding is fast approaching and she tries to avoid it so the best man Liam drives the trip to take her to the wedding. She won't fly as scared of flying.
Yes they have a few minor dosages on the drive but never enemies not even close!!!
They both feel the attraction and Paige moves back home to be with Liam.
There are so many spelling errors including the characters names. I don't think it's had an edit which is a shame, also mix up If the plot a few times.
It's these factors that I rated 3*.
It could be improved with a bit of care and attention from the author.

[Becky Radke · Rating 2 out of 5]

It wasn’t a terrible book. It just needed more like More depth (I understand it is a novella, but it’s still needed more going on). More connection- It was Insta love, and it was not an enemy to lovers trope like the summary said. They weren’t enemies because they didn’t know each other before. They got to know each other on a drive from Denver to South Carolina but they never were enemies throughout that drive. Also, more editing. It had PLAIN instead of PLANE and even spelled the main character’s name incorrectly multiple times (PAGE instead of PAIGE). I’d say it’s a good rough draft, but needed more to make it a final finished book.

[gabrielaツ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Para ser un libro de romance contemporáneo, no está nada mal. Buena narrativa, contiene las descripciones necesarias y los personajes están bien desarrollados. Me gusta que nos presenten a un buen chico, el cual si sabe respetar a una mujer (cosa que rara vez se ve en los romances de hoy☠️). Aplaudo que en ningún momento se intente romantizar situaciones o comportamientos que no deberían ser romantizados. Y el final es lo mejor porque ambos están dispuestos a luchar por su relación, no solo ella o solo él, sino ambos.

[Sandra Hartzel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paige Taylor was dragging her feet about returning to Palmar Island for her sister’s Christmas Eve wedding because of memories of her grandfather’s death. They send the best man, Liam to drive her across the country. While trying to stay ahead of a snowstorm they are delayed and stranded for a night in a motel. As they become better acquainted, they are attracted to each other but need to work out how a relationship would work between them since they live so far from each other. This is a great Christmas story about doing the right thing, and finding love.

[Katelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a cute story and I liked the overall plot, however it felt rushed and a lot of spelling errors (or even places that timeframes kept changing within the same scene) that were very distracting. I really wanted to like it more, but it needed more depth, honestly should have probably been almost double the length it was to fully tell the story, and to have an editor go through to fix the errors.

[Lynn Hyman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun Story

Strangers stuck together in a car for a long ride, yes, please. Paige didn't want to go back to Palmar Island for her sister's wedding, and Liam didn't want to spend four days on the road to pick her up and bring her back. It's a fun story about them getting to know each other on the road and the various mishaps and events that happened. Excellent ending.

[Sara Lawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute love story

There's something about spending time with someone in close proximity that can make you fall in love fast. Not quite enemies to begin with, more just strangers with nothing apparent in common. A cross-country road trip, a blizzard, and a wedding worked their magic in a bit of a whirlwind. Not the best developed story, but convincing enough. I was entertained.

[Karen Brasher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not This Christmas

This was a cute Christmas story but it needed a lot more editing. There were a lot of homophonic words used incorrectly throughout the book. It was distracting to say the least.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Priceless

Lium and Paige meet under stressful times , he drive from North Carolina to Colorado to pick up the Bridesmaid for his best friends wedding. On the drive back they sort of click. Funny, sad, special moments and HEA!

[Kathy Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story

I really liked the story, but there were several confusing parts, especially towards the end. It just needed to be proofread a little better. Other than that it was a good read.

[Kathryn Munsell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed!

This story had lots of good conversations and banner between them. It was a road trip that was full of great as t memories when they would back. I think you’d enjoy this story too!

[Jeri Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review of Not This Christmas

I really enjoyed this book and I will definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves romance novels. She is a very good writer.

[NaDell · Rating 1 out of 5]

Idea=good. Proofreading=terrible.

So many unnecessary misspellings throughout, including two names of main characters multiple times. The timeline doesn't line up. This book seems very rushed.

[SJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick little Christmas romance.

[NancyDrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read!

I love this author's writing style, and this was the second book I have read by her...Palmer Island is a place that you want to live after reading about life there,...