Hello everyone!
Christmas is now LITERALLY just around the corner, and I can honestly say that it's looking to be a good one.
Then again, I suppose I have the benefit of my family all being at home already, all the family gatherings scheduled and arranged for through the weekend, and then some, and of course there's a whole lot of great stuff to catch up on!
But, since it IS Thursday, and I'm trying to keep up, here's a book blog post for all of you, in the Christmas spirit of course.
Because why would you want to read anything that ISN'T Christmasy when you can so easily get into the holiday cheer with the right book you can leaf through? Besides, I have a trilogy to wrap up so that I can honestly say I've finished yet another book series.
And I mean, I HAVE been talking about billionaires for the past three weeks or so, maybe even a bit longer. There isn't much that can beat that.
Without further ado, let's get into A Secret Parcel, by Serentiy Woods!
As with each previous blog post this month, there will be links at the end to those which have come before, including both the previous books in this series.
To sum up, however: the three King brothers, Brock, Charles and Matthew, are sort of down on their luck come Christmas in New Zealand, but slowly and surely they're turning it around. Brock has happily found himself nesting with his new girlfriend Erin and her boy Ryan, while Charlie has snagged gorgeous Ophelia and her daughter, Summer.
This leaves the youngest, Matt, all alone for Brock's Christmas party, unless he finally manages to score with Georgia, but she's been saying no to his advances since ... well, since forever.
Georgia manages one branch of the We Three Kings charity foundation for the brothers, and Matt was actually there the day they interviewed her, but they've managed not to get together because she's been persistently saying no since then. According to her, she doesn't need someone as shallow as Matt to break her heart.
Matt, on the other hand, is genuinely hurt by that assumption seeing as he isn't, in fact, shallow at all, but then again she makes him work for it a bit harder. He's famous for his Ward Seven children's books which have been translated into toys and cartoons and whatnot, and he's up for an award around Christmastime as well.
Since he doesn't want to go alone, he asks Georgia to go with him - just as friends, which she eventually does agree to.
Georgia does have a son, Noah, though, who's acting out and generally just making a nuisance of himself on occasion that puzzles her since she can see that he's a good boy and apparently just looking for something, attention or something else.
The boy is definitely unhappy about school, but he's starting middle school come next semester so for the holidays, his mum hopes all will be well as she has already made arrangements with her parents to head back there. Not something Noah appreciates, since he says that his grandmother is a tyrant and his grandfather doesn't really do anything but agree with her.
Since Georgia agrees to go with Matt, however, it means Noah will be heading down there alone while she goes to the award ceremony, which adds tension between the two, but nothihg comes of it yet.
On the bright side, Matt wins three of the four awards he's nominated for, and he and Georgia spend the evening dancing and laughing and generally enjoying each other's company.
Also, they set some records straight, as in who's shallow and who isn't, and who's a playboy and who isn't, unearthing Matt's insecurity of believing himself to be less talented or smart than his brothers, who are both doctors, an idea which Georgia nixes.
They share some very steamy moments together, moments which are tastefully done, by the by, and Georgia agrees to spend the week before Christmas with him at his house, as a pseudo-couple.
By this point, we can all see Matt wants her for more than just sex, but she's still hesitant. Things come to a head when they get a call Noah had been caught stealing, however, and they fly down there to go see what's going on.
Matt has a heart-to-heart with the boy, telling him about his sister and how he had acted out after her death, how a counsellor had helped him, and that he knows about what happened with Noah's father.
Georgia had previously shared her personal history and reason why she moved in the first place, after Matt discovered a tattoo of a semi colon on her hip: her husband had been battling depression for a long time, they got pregnant young, and once an earthquake ruined their home, he lost all will and hung himself in the bathroom.
Georgia decides she has enough of her mother's bullying and packs the lot of them up for a trip back to the North Island, much to her mother's dismay, and agrees that she and Noah will go with Matt to Brock's party.
She also receives a gift from Matt: a finished first version of a comic book for Noah, with the main character based off the boy, and a fully coloured portrait of her as Matt sees her.
They ring in Christmas together at Brock's loft, where we finally tie up all the loose ends: Brock proposes to Erin, who says yes, and Charlie tells Ophelia the meaning of an Italian sentence he had said to her during lovemaking once: that she's the love of his life and he wants to marry her when she's free.
Matt, also, proposes to Georgia, and thinks initially he's going to have to keep asking her once a week (like he had about going out) until she accepts, but she surprises him by saying yes that same night.
The end!
If you need a good introduction to an author and her books, I'd strongly suggest We Three Kings, or perhaps Santa's Secret. Any of Ms Woods' books is a good catch, though, so honestly whichever one you pick is probably going to be one you like! I just started with these three and so far have nibbled my way through quite a number already.
Besides, billionaires for Christmas in New Zealand? What more could you ask for!
xx
*image not mine
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