'Twas the Week Before Christmas (Harlequin Special Edition) (edition 2013)

by Olivia Miles

Series: Maple Woods (book 1)

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scoutmomskf's review

Very good book, slightly reminding me of A Christmas Carol. We have Holly, the innkeeper, who loves Christmas. She has decorated the inn, participates in all the Christmas activities, and just generally seems a pretty happy person. Then you have grumpy Max. He is a self-made successful real estate developer. He doesn't like Christmas at all. He's in town to try to buy some land for a shopping mall, land her inn just happens to occupy.

I liked Holly. She has made a life for herself at the inn. She left Boston after being disappointed in love, losing her parents and then her grandmother. The inn and its guests have become her life. I loved the way that she throws herself into all the Christmas preparations and activities. When Max shows up she is very attracted to him. He has a great smile and seems very interested in her. She doesn't understand his dislike of Christmas and gets him involved in the activities. Her disappointment when a snowstorm keeps guests away is obvious and she's grateful that Max is staying around. Everything is going great between them until she finds out why he's in town.

Max had had a miserable childhood with a drunk, abusive father and a mother who abandoned them when he was eleven, right after Christmas. He has disliked the holiday ever since. He has worked hard to build a successful real estate development company. His latest project is a shopping mall in Maple Woods. He has come to town to buy the land and get the project approved by the city council. He doesn't expect the instant attraction to Holly. He can't seem to stay away from her and the more he gets to know her the guiltier he feels about his plans. I felt really bad for Max. He was so torn about what he should do. On the one hand, his business really needs the mall property and it's important to him to continue with his business successes. On the other hand, his growing feelings for Holly make him want to leave it all behind for her. He went through so much turmoil before he finally found his way back to her.

The story showed Max his past as he told Holly about it, with the unhappy things that happened to him that made him the man he is today. We also saw Max in the present, as he spends time with Holly and her friends, seeing the happiness she has as she takes care of her guests. Max also envisions the future as it might be after the mall is built and the effects it would have on the town.

I really enjoyed the descriptions of the town and the inn. The various secondary characters felt real to me and brought both the town and the inn to life. I'm looking forward to the next book and a return to Maple Woods. (

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scoutmomskf | Dec 30, 2013 |

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Holly Tate owns and runs a bed-and-breakfast called the White Barn Inn. It used to be her grandmother's home, but when she died a few years ago Holly inherited the large historic home and transformed it into an inn. She loves having it open on Christmas in particular, (her parents died on Christmas day six years ago) and she doesn't like being alone on that day. She prefers spending the holiday with people at the inn. So she really throws herself into Christmas, hanging decorations up, setting up games and activities for the guests, etc...

One day Holly is waiting for her last guest of the day to show up. He finally does, a tall, dark, gorgeous stranger (Max Hamilton). Holly finds herself very attracted to him. He says he's in town on business. But what will Holly do when she finds out the man she is falling for is in town planning to tear down her inn and turn it (and the area) into a shopping center?

Max feels guilty once he gets to know Holly and doesn't quite know how to tell her why he is there. He keeps trying to convince himself that she won't mind selling. But it's obvious that Holly loves her inn. Max hates Christmas. When he was young his parents were never there for him. His father was a drunk, and his mother abandoned them around Christmas when Max was a child. He prefers to work at Christmas time. But now, after meeting Holly, he's beginning to realize that there is more to life than work and business, and he eventually wonders if he should change his mind about the shopping center.

Holly was a likable heroine. She really threw herself into running the inn, making it a success. Even though the one thing she really wanted was a family.

I really liked some of the secondary characters, especially elderly Mrs. Evelyn Adler. I loved the way she kept trying to matchmake and get Holly and Max together. And I liked Holly's friend Abby. I also liked the small, cozy town of Maple Woods.

This was an enjoyable, sweet, and festive read. (

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