by Richard Paul Evans

 Elise Dutton dreads the arrival of another holiday season. Three years earlier, her husband cheated on her with her best friend, resulting in a bitter divorce that left her alone, broken, and distrustful.

Then, one November day, a stranger approaches Elise in the mall food court. Though she recognizes the man from her building, Elise has never formally met him. Tired of spending the holidays alone, the man offers her a proposition. For the next eight weeks—until the evening of December 24—he suggests that they pretend to be a couple. He draws up a contract with four rules:

1. No deep, probing personal questions
2. No drama
3. No telling anyone the truth about the relationship
4. The contract is void on Christmas Day

The lonely Elise surprises herself by agreeing to the idea. As the charade progresses, the safety of her fake relationship begins to mend her badly broken heart. But just as she begins to find joy again, her long-held secret threatens to unravel the emerging relationship. But she might not be the only one with secrets.

I wish I could have reviewed this one before the holidays, but I read it while on vacation, so the review had to wait until I got back (and finished up other blog posts under a time constraint). I absolutely loved this book, it was my favorite holiday read, and I think I read about 7 books? What a great idea for a story! The book was just adorable for the most part, but it did have some gritty topics. I must admit that these gritty topics were glossed over, which may bother some, but it's a holiday book, you can't get too heavy with things. The characters were fantastic, you are rooting for them from beginning to end. I've seen blogger polls that ask who your book boyfriend of the year is, Nicholas would be my pick for certain. It's a fairly short book, you can read it in a sitting or two, especially since you'll want to find out what happens!

Put this one high on your list, whether it be for next season, for a Christmas in July read, and especially if you read holiday books year round 🙂