The Christmas Keeper

August 26, 2019
McKinlay’s second Happily Ever After contemporary (after The Good Ones) has sugar, spice, and everything nice. Publicist Savannah “Red” Wilson grew up loving the hustle and bustle of New York City. When she’s unfairly fired, she goes to Fairdale, N.C., to help her best friend promote her new bookstore, believing putting the new business on the map will rejuvenate her damaged reputation. Her goal was to reclaim her career, not to fall for the hunky, Christmas-loving Joaquin “Quino” Solis. At their first encounter, Quino knows Savannah is the one, and he gets the chance to prove it to her when they join forces to work on a PR campaign to save the bookstore from financial ruin. With mistletoe kisses, ice-skating, and “ugly” Christmas sweaters, Quino charms his way into Savannah’s heart. Just as Savannah starts warming up to the festive holiday and to Quino, things get frosty when he learns the part she played in his tangled family history. Witty dialogue and a charming small town filled with warm, loving characters will keep readers coming back to this tender series.

Stable owner Joaquin Solis quickly falls for publicist Savannah Wilson, and narrator Tara Sands has the listener cheering him on. It's the Christmas season, and Joaquin loves all things Christmas, from mistletoe to tacky sweaters, while Savannah is opposed to it all. The listener can easily envision the festive environment. Joaquin has a younger sister, Desi, who is a cheerful optimist, and Sands gives her a light and bouncy tone. When Joaquin suffers the loss of a beloved horse, Sands has listeners feeling the pain right along with him. While Sands has a slight nasal quality to her voice, as listeners get caught up in the romance, it becomes less distracting. S.B. � AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine