Maybe This Christmas - Review

Maybe This Christmas by Sarah Morgan

Rating: 4 Stars
Source: NetGalley

Description:  Tyler O'Neil is trying to make sure his daughter Jess has the best Christmas possible.  All around them Snow Crystal resort is booming with new business.  Tyler is still adjusting to life since his competitive skiing career came to a tragic end.  He's also having to deal with the fact that his long time friend Brenna is starting to look like more than a friend.

Genre: Romance

Why I Picked This Book:  I have read the first 2 in the O'Neil series and really enjoyed them.  I couldn't wait to read Tyler's story.

My Impression:
Pro:  I love the friends turn more story line and I've been rooting for Brenna and Tyler to get together since book 1.  It was also really lovely to revisit Snow Crystal again at Christmas.  Morgan makes snow and skiing seem so fun that even I kind of want to try it and I consider temperatures below 70 unbearable.   While I generally dislike the use of children in romances Jess's involvement and story line seems very natural.  I think that part of it is because we've gotten to know her over the 2 previous books and also because she's old enough where she doesn't really need to be taken care of and can participate in the story.  I liked the fleshing out of Brenna's character and making her more than the expert skier we'd gotten to know in previous books.  I also liked that even though Tyler wasn't aware of his feelings for Brenna we see hints in his behavior and he seems to be making an effort not to show anything.  It was great to see Kayla, Jackson and the rest of the O'Neil family.  I liked that Kayla's meddling was discussed and not always approved of as well as that it didn't always work.

Con:  While I liked that Brenna's character was more fleshed out she had so many self-confidence issues between her parents and the bullying that her love of Tyler made me cringe a little in the first half.  It felt like she needed to deal with her own issues before she could go into a relationship on equal footing.  There was also a lot of repetitive talk about the bullying and her issues with her parents.

Overall:  While this wasn't my favorite in the series it was definitely an enjoyable contemporary romance with a nice winter-y feel.  Morgan does a good job with mixing in humor without making it too silly.  It was fun to see Brenna and Tyler finally get their story and I was satisfied with the end.  While this could be read as a stand alone you definitely should start with Sleigh Bells in the Snow so you can really get to know the characters and the resort.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?: Definitely!  Even though there are no more O'Neil brothers I'm hoping this isn't our last visit to Snow Crystal.

Would I Recommend this Book?:  Yes but start at the beginning of the series.