Once Upon a Christmas Carol

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I liked the premise of Rachel being a pop star, her career taking a nosedive as new younger talent take her place and she’s close to losing it all. After receiving a card to come back to her hometown Crystal Falls for a surprise, she instantly thinks it’s her Dad trying to get her to come home. He didn’t send the card, so the mystery begins. Who wanted her home? As she sees familiar faces, there’s her high school sweetheart Matt that has surprisingly moved back to Crystal Falls from New York with his daughter. Is there a chance they could rekindle an old flame?

This was a short cute story. I was surprised with the full cast for such a short story and it had the setup similar to a play. I liked Matt more than I did Rachel. Whilst everyone else was focused on family and the holiday season, Rachel only wanted to be ready for her next record deal. She had so many good people and a nice environment to be in, and didn’t see the importance of what was surrounding her. The good thing she did was helping Matt’s daughter gain in her confidence, which was heartfelt and warming.

The Christmas mashup song was fun and cheesy. The ending was predictable, which you’ll get with these Christmas reads, though that’s why we like to read them right? It would have been nice if Matt and Rachel had more time to explore their feelings, as it felt a bit rushed from Rachel’s POV. I definitely believed Matt’s feelings more as he was a kind, sweet person overall, wearing his heart on his sleeve.

This was a good short Christmas read with small town second chance romance and it’s focused on what’s important during the holidays.