Holly Lane

Blake’s sugar-sweet fourth Destiny contemporary (after Whisper Falls) piles on the pathos as single parents Adam and Sue Ann shyly explore romance and attraction while coping with custody arrangements and money woes. Sue Ann’s daughter, Sophie, keeps asking for Christmas presents that Sue Ann can’t afford. Adam’s twin boys are spending the holiday with their mother, leaving him woeful and alone. When Adam makes Sophie’s Christmas dreams come true, Sue Ann is deeply touched but terrified that he’ll let her down the way her ex did. Blake balances cinematic imagery (a live reindeer in the backyard) with silliness (Adam in a reindeer suit inviting Sue Ann to play “reindeer games”) while tugging on readers’ heartstrings like a virtuoso harper. (Nov.)