Unexpected Gifts by Elena Aitken

Unexpected Gifts (A Castle Mountain Lodge Romance)
Synopsis:

Let it snow! Cozy up to the Castle Mountain Lodge in the middle of the remote Canadian Rockies for Unexpected Gifts.

Christmas represents everything Andi Williams is supposed to have, and doesn't. Running away to a remote mountain lodge in the Canadian Rockies, sounds like the perfect way to escape, until a mix-up finds her sharing a villa with sexy, rough around the edges, Colin Hartford.

Colin's determination to enjoy the holiday he’s missed for the last five years, sweeps Andi into a season of joy that she’s not sure she’s ready for. Can Andi open herself up to everything the holidays have to offer...including love?

Review:

Unexpected Gifts is what I want in a a Christmas romance. After reading Christmas Kismet, which has basically the same story (though this story is not in a remote cabin) I wasn't expecting much. I was pleasantly surprised by the sweet Christmas story I found.

The story starts off with Andi needing to get away for Christmas since her dad and family went away last minute. She had a stillborn baby earlier in the year, the guy leaving her right after that happened, and she still cannot be around kids, babies in particular. It just makes her sad, so she heads off to a lodge to spend Christmas alone. 

Colin has been away from Canada for many years and decides this year he need to come back and spend Christmas in the snow, not on the beach like he has. Of course there is a mix up at the lodge and Andi doesn't really have a room. It is also snowing like crazy outside so the roads would be treacherous for her to drive home on. Colin saves the day and invites her to stay in his villa since it is quite large and he doesn't need all that room. They are both instantly attracted to each other, but neither is really looking for a relationship. 

Colin finds out that Andi doesn't like Christmas so he makes it his mission to convert her. It doesn't really take much, but it was super sweet everything he does for Andi. He is just a really sweet guy and even though he hasn't wanted anyone in the past, he slowly realizes he wants to try with Andi. The scene after Andi tells him she doesn't sleep with people on the first date made me love him for sure. She pretty much throws herself at him, and he just keeps saying how he respects her too much to just go for it when she will regret it in the morning. I loved him. He was so sweet. 

Of course since everything is going along just fine there has to be some drama, but not too much. Really the author didn't string the drama out very long and it was resolved rather quickly. It also ends in a nice place, and was just a sweet story. A good Christmas read. 

Rating: 3.5/5