Finding Santa by Bridget E. Baker

SYNOPSIS

After Mary's mom left her family to pursue a career-as a trucker!-Mary vowed she'd never repeat her parents' mistakes, even if it meant never having any children of her own. Her resolve destroyed her last relationship, but she's over it. She fills her time with work and volunteering. Mary runs an enormous Christmas charity called Sub-for-Santa.

Her life lacks nothing, or so she thinks, until a strikingly handsome master electrician named Luke doggedly pursues her, convincing her to hazard a first date. 

Luke puts a snap and crackle in her step that she's never had before. Mary giggles over texts like a teenager and counts the minutes until she will see him next. 
​
But when an issue with her charity sends her to the front door of a trailer and Luke answers her knock, Mary's shocked. His adorable children peek out from behind his legs. Will Mary's well-laid plans short like old-school twinkle lights, or can she unwrap herself from this holiday tangle in time to appreciate the best Christmas she's ever had? 

Synopsis from Goodreads

---

PERSONAL REVIEW

*I received a free digital copy of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own*
 
I’m a huge sucker for holiday movies and stories; I love happy endings, and holiday movies and books usually have the happiest ones! When Bridget Baker reached out and asked if I would read her book, I immediately said yes – it had everything I was looking for in a book and I couldn’t wait to read it during the holidays. This is definitely a warm and cozy Christmas read.
 
All the Feels
Picture this as a Lifetime or Netflix holiday movie, but then add in the fact that there’s actually time to get to know these characters (instead of a quick 70 min for them to meet and fall in love). I really enjoyed reading about Mary and Luke’s relationship and how they end up together. They have some hurdles to overcome, but doesn’t every great holiday love story? Mary runs the Sub-for-Santa charity, a program that I want to find out if it actually exists so I can volunteer for it! This is a book filled with family, love, and Christmas (so much Christmas). Mary literally runs the Sub-for-Santa charity, something that I want to find out if it actually exists so I can volunteer for it!
 
Moves Fast, Like Every Good Holiday Story
Because of the holiday timeline, I’m usually more willing to accept how fast characters fall in love (Christmas is a pretty big deadline here). I appreciated how Baker gave us about a month for the characters to meet and fall in love – it’s not completely realistic, but I’ll give in to the holiday magic. I thought the Sub-for-Santa plot was excellent, as well as all of the additional stresses that came up for Mary (a possible promotion, her ex-boyfriend, the charity itself). Mary also spends a nice amount of time with Luke’s children so that she’s clearly building relationships with all of them. Does it move fast? Absolutely. Will you love it anyways? Heck yes!
 
A Bit Too Tame for a Traditional Romance Fan
This is a personal preference, but what separated this book from the Romance novels I usually read is how tame it is. The most we have is the character sharing some heated kisses. While that’s lovely (who doesn’t want some passionate kisses), I was surprised that they never actually had sex. Maybe I’m jaded, but I’m surprised that any couple will chose to get engaged before sleeping together. I usually understand it in holiday movies, but it was a bit of a surprise for an adult romance novel not to have the couple sleep together. However, this is just my opinion, and there’s absolutely no judgement for people who choose to wait until marriage and prefer that this book does not have the characters together that way.
 
This book is everything I love about holiday movies plus gives us time to actually know the characters. I’m so happy I read it and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series (I have a fairly good idea we might be seeing Luke’s brother and Mary’s sister again ;D).

---

FINAL RATING: 4/5