Happily Letter After

The holidays come early in Keeland and Ward’s fun, endearing sequel to Dirty Letters. Sadie Bisset is a staff writer for Modern Miss Magazine and handles the annual Holiday Wishes feature. When the magazine receives a “Dear Santa” letter in July, Sadie, whose mother died of cancer when Sadie was six, feels an unexpected connection to the 10-year-old author, Birdie Maxwell, whose own mother died three years earlier. Birdie’s main request is that Santa send a “special friend” to make her father happy again, but she also asks for socks and olives—requests Sadie can’t resist fulfilling, even during the off-season. Against her better judgment, she continues to grant Birdie’s wishes when Birdie writes back, and her simple gestures spiral out of control when, while approaching Birdie’s house, Birdie’s smoking-hot father, Sebastian, mistakes her for his new dog trainer and ushers her inside. It’s hard enough for busy restaurateur Sebastian to find time to spend with his daughter, so dating is out of the question. But keeping his distance from Sadie proves even harder than training his daughter’s out-of-control Great Dane. Hilarious mishaps, unexpected twists, and a large dollop of sweetness combine into an irresistible romance. This one is sure to tug at readers’ heartstrings. Agent: Kimberly Brower, Brower Literary. (Oct.)