From one of the freshest new voices in clean and wholesome romantic fiction, The Holiday Plan is the perfect escape for fans of Courtney Walsh, Annie Rains, and Debbie Mason.
Native New Yorker and author Verona Scott is battling heartbreak, both personally and professionally. Coming off a disastrous split with her ex, she’s struggling for inspiration to write her next book. And she’s lost without her favorite Aunt Theoni’s wisdom and guidance.
Hoping for a fresh start and to avoid the holiday completely, she’s planned a Valentine’s detox: a luxurious trip alone to the historic Courtington Castle hotel, near the adorably quaint town of Camelot Creek, tucked into a picturesque valley in the Adirondacks.
But escaping the heart-shaped balloons and red roses isn’t as easy as she thought.
This won’t be the restful retreat she’d imagined. Instead, she’s just walked into one of the biggest matchmaking events of the year. Not to mention, the incredibly attractive single dad and dating coach Troy Turner is heading the whole thing up, and he’s on a mission to include Verona in the festivities.
Troy is in the midst of a professional crisis of his own. After a bit of unfounded bad press, the very last thing he needs is a guest to cast doubt in the minds of his attendees.
Will Troy change Verona’s mind about the most romantic day of the year? Just when sparks begin to fly, an unexpected visitor checks into the castle, stirring up the past. No matter what, for Verona, Valentine’s Day is the day where everything changes.
A heartwarming, sweet romance that will whisk you away to a magical winter wonderland, and have you reaching for the hot cocoa and box of chocolates long after the holidays.
The Holiday Plan: An utterly charming, feel-good romance
By Emma Lynden
Excerpt 1
This wasn’t how twenty-nine was supposed to feel.
Verona Scott had made a solemn pact on her birthday that the last year of her twenties was going to be one of her best. All the pieces had seemed to be in place. She’d been in the process of writing what she was sure would be another best-selling book—the one that would make up for the lackluster sales and reviews of her most recent titles. And she’d felt certain this would be the year that Alex proposed and she’d start planning her wedding. She’d written down all her hopes and goals, had the timing arranged to a tee.
But, apparently, the universe had missed the memo. Barely six months into her thirtieth year, the second part of the dreamscape she’d spun had unraveled.
Verona buried the box of bridal inspiration, which she’d accidentally stumbled upon when hunting for her favorite sweater, deep inside the bottom drawer of her desk, sealing it away out of sight. She’d been so ready to begin that next chapter with Alex. To settle down and start a family… But what she’d hoped were wedding bells chiming in the not-too-distant future had turned out to be an alarm siren tripped by her boyfriend in his rush out the door.
Excerpt 2
There was something wildly surreal about having a romance novel rejected on Valentine’s Day, and the extraordinary irony of the situation stung that much sharper. Like filing for bankruptcy in the fireworks business on the Fourth of July. Or having the funding for a gingerbread company fall through right at Christmastime.
She didn’t know how long she’d sat in place, stupefied by the succession of surprises she’d received, but watching the peaches-and-cream sky slowly fade into a soft lavender twilight outside the windows, it had been long enough for the sun to set. She didn’t snap back to herself until a beam of bright white shot up suddenly into the darkening room from the direction of her cell phone, its screen illuminated with a new message notification.
Pink or red?
Growing up, you could always spot Emma Lynden with her nose in a book, drawn towards uplifting fiction full of hope and heart, and frequently imagining stories of her own. It was then that her dream of becoming a writer first took root.
But it wasn’t until years later, when a close friend chanced to remark, “I bet you could write a really nice romance,” that those long-tucked-away dreams finally found the direction they’d been destined for.
Our friends know us best, don’t they?
After a stretch of late nights, a whole lot of scribbling, and the spark of a holiday surprise, she penned “The End” on her debut novel… and so this adventure began.
First, I want to thank Emma Lynden and Harpeth Road Press for providing me with this book so I can bring you this review.
Emma Lynden is an author you are going to want to keep an eye out for this year!! Her debut romance novel The Holiday Plan put an everlasting smile on my face and love in my heart! It was a beautifully written story that gave me all the feels and then some. It was one of those storylines that Emma thought outside of the box to create something very deep and meaningful. I loved it so much that I think you should go out and put it on your TBR list!!
I absolutely fell head over heels in love with the cover that Kristen Ingebretson designed! She truly captured the sentiment behind the story. Beautiful job!
Directly from the first page of the book I fell in love with the book! How could I not?! The setting of the book was Valentine’s Day!! Of course I am going to be happy that the main character is a strawberry blonde like me! I loved that she was a romance author! They always say that you should write about what you know and what you are passionate about and Emma did just that. Luckily it really worked out in her favor. As a reader I connected to that storyline.
There were so many moments within the storyline that I couldn’t stop laughing!
Emma did an incredible job with her picturesque scenery descriptions. They were just breathtaking.
Emily was the one character out of all of them that pulled on my heart strings the most! She was so sweet, adorable, loveable, and so cute!! I loved how much she adored her Daddy and wanted what was best for him. That storyline just melted my heart!
There is a lot of great advice for us single women in this book. There were two lines that kept repeating that touched me and affected me deeply.
Emma’s Book is a solid 5 star read and the best romance book that I have read in a long time. She has an instant fan who can’t wait to see how far she will go! 2022 is her year to shine!
0 comments:
Post a Comment