More like a 3.5 - cute fast pace read that kept me engaged, realistic relationship

Fake relationship, turned real. Cute sappy moments that build into a friendship and love interest to relationship. A few moments of "just get over yourself" but all in all, a cute little romance that was a great in between read. ( )

Not wanting to endure a family Christmas holiday as the spinster sister against the backdrop of a newly engaged one, Nikki hires an actor who is a drop-dead gorgeous hunk as her boyfriend for the week. It works, at least for a while, but then it all falls apart when an argument by the sisters is overheard. It’s a delightful tale, for Christmas or anytime, peopled with interesting characters looking for a happy ending. It’s a well-written quick read, and sure to bring a smile to your face. ( )

Written in the first person from the perspective of Nikki Moore, a thirty-year-old, successful producer in an advertising company who has been single for a while, and feels she is a disappointment to her family because she has not yet snagged a man. Her younger sister, Julia, has just become engaged, further underlining Nikki's deficiency in the boyfriend-department.

Going home at any time, but especially for the Christmas holiday, has always been a trial for Nikki as she feels that Julia is the golden girl who inherited all the beautiful genes, and that their parents always side with Julia, while Nikki is the plain one, who without a man, is a bit of a disappointment to them. And now Julia has got her man, Paul, to commit - a man Nikki had known for years and had feelings for, before the fateful day she introduced him to Julia, when Julia realising that Nikki had feelings for Paul, snatched him from under her nose.

What do you do in a situation like this, when your younger sister is now engaged and you are still single? You hire a boyfriend to take home for the holiday of course! Having discovered the attributes of Julia's perfect man, Nikki searches the database at work for a model to match and comes up with Diego O'Donnell. She hires him to act as her boyfriend for holidays, probably in hopes of making her sister jealous and certainly to steal her thunder as now everyone will be focusing on Nikki's new boyfriend. What Nikki does not bargain for is falling in love with Diego.

Nikki is a likeable character from the start. I feel her frustration that she is not able to shine at home like her sister does, and this frustration can bring out the crazy side of her personality. I didn't take at all to Julia, who comes over as spoilt and selfish throughout, and would be someone I could not trust, and would keep at arms length... or much further!

I loved that when Julia cooks a vegan meal, the food is eaten without comment, but an hour later the whole family end up in Nikki's bedroom devouring pizza which her best friend, Blair, has smuggled into the house. For me this sounds like the first time Nikki has 'triumphed' over Julia and underlines that Julia is the golden child whose failures are not to be mentioned. She is allowed to believe that everyone enjoyed the meal, so it comes as a bigger slap in the face when she finds the whole family feasting on pizza. I'd be pretty smug too, telling her without words, that her diet doesn't suit everyone!

This is a funny, easy to read, happy-ending, Christmas story which I thoroughly enjoyed reading. I loved Nikki's sarcastic thoughts which definitely mirror my own, and add extra colour to the story. It is book 3 in the First Comes Love series, but can be read as a standalone.

My thanks to author Camilla Isley for a free digital copy of this book to review. ( )