I immensely enjoyed this wonderful story, and I am not sure how, but it is my first book by C.F. White, and she is now on my radar, so it won’t be my last. I adored the two lead characters, Rick Thornton, a down-on-his luck out of work actor, and a bona fide grump, through and through, and then we have Jayden Collins, a college student barely getting by and making ends meet, but full of cheer and sunshine, younger and his complete opposite, or so you would think. Rick needs a job just to keep himself busy and to stop wallowing in his grief and bitterness over what he lost, basically top billing and his acting career. The best his agent could find was a gig playing mall Santa Claus and meeting with kids, probably his hardest acting gig since he needs to act jolly, when he is anything but. Jayden enjoyed being an elf and greeting the children, and as a theater major, it thrilled him to meet and be working with Rick Thornton, except he turned out to be a disappointment at first. Rick finds there is something about Jayden that brings out the good in him, and despite their age difference, with Rick being much older, they really clicked. There is a nice depth to these characters, and I enjoyed watching them get to know each other and learning more about them, their pasts, which I found intriguing, especially Jayden and what made them into the people they were. There is never a dull moment in this book, and I loved how it all played out, with the perfect balance of drama, angst, heartwarming moments, heartfelt emotions and a slow burn, but so worth the wait romance. C.F. White, thank you for this fabulously captivating story, the emotional rollercoaster ride and yay to a found family.
🎧📚🎧 Piers Ryman did a fabulous job bringing these characters to life, giving each their own distinct sound, making it easy to follow along and tell who was who. He was spot-on with his portrayal of the characters, embodied their personalities completely and was believable in each role. Setting the ideal tone for the story, he conveys all his characters’ emotions in his performance, has you feel each one. Ryman is a versatile voice artist and a captivating storyteller whose performance keeps you hooked the entire time.