A Christmas Duet

Bestseller Macomber (The Christmas Spirit) is at the top of her game with this wholesome small-town story. Schoolteacher Hailey Morgan has always fantasized about writing music professionally, but her ex-fiancé, Zach, trampled her confidence. Now Zach wants to get back together, and her mother is helping him woo by inviting him for Christmas. When a friend offers her the use of a cabin in Podunk, Ore., for the holidays instead, Hailey leaps at the chance to both avoid her relentless ex and spend several weeks getting back into making music. She’s not expecting to meet and fall for music producer Jethro “Jay” Cantor, son of the town’s feisty mayor. They immediately click both personally and professionally—leading to YouTube fame after their performance at the town’s annual Christmas festival goes viral. But when Zach and Hailey’s family track her down and demand that she make some important decisions about her future, her budding relationship with Jay could be in jeopardy. Macomber’s warm, folksy tale is the romance equivalent of comfort food, complete with small-town charm, down-to-earth characters, and an emotionally satisfying happily ever after. This is sure to get readers in a festive mood. (Oct.)