ARC Review: Christmas At Two Love Lane by Kieran Kramer

Title: Christmas At Two Love Lane

Author: Keiran Kramer

Release Date: October 3, 2017 (ARC)

Publisher: St.Martin’s Press

Category: Sweet Contemporary Romance

Type: Digital/Paperback

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Kieran Kramer’s Website

Blurb:

The best gift of all is the one you share with someone else. . .

From the moment he strode through the iron gate and into the offices of Two Love Lane on a crisp December day, it was obvious that Deacon Banks was something different. He wasn’t a Charleston native, not with that adorable Yankee accent. And unlike the usual client at the elegant matchmaking agency, he had no interest in finding a woman to marry―just a few no-strings dates while he was in town.

Macy Frost takes her professional services very seriously―how could she not, when she’s rumored to be a direct descendant of Cupid? Tech entrepreneur Deacon says he’s just trying to make his social-climbing aunt happy by being seen out and about with a few prominent beauties, but Macy insists she can make her client fall in love…for real. And Deacon can’t help but think she might be right. As charming as the palmetto trees and magnificent harbor may be, it’s the beautiful, breath-of-fresh-air Macy who’s become Deacon’s favorite part of the scenery. But can the hopelessly romantic Southern belle stop trying to fix him up and just let Cupid do his work on her own heart?

Favorite Line:

“Are you saying your nephew is humble, slightly nerdy, and not rich?”

“No. He’s none of those things. You’re so lucky.”  ~  Fran

Dialogue Highlight:

“Don’t leave your candle,” Macy said. “I’ll come down and finish Tiffany’s for her and fend off her sister so you can finish yours.”

“Whew. Thank you.”

“I’m glad to help. And sorry it didn’t work out with Tiffany. You can always reschedule.”

“Nah,” he said. “No way do I want to come between two sisters. And she’s made it clear she’s done.”

“All right.” Macy tried to sound like the disappointed matchmaker. But deep inside …she was glad.

And wouldn’t you know it? She loved making candles too.

But Deacon was better at it.

“Sorry,” he said, on their walk back home.

“No, that’s okay.” Macy’s candle—Tiffany’s, really—was lopsided. She brought it home anyway. She’d give it to Tiffany next time she saw her.

“How’d you do that?” Deacon asked. “I mean, it was sitting on a flat table, like mine.”

“I have no idea how it happened. Something went …crooked.”

“It’s hard to mess up candles,” Deacon said.

“You’re impossible,” she said back.

“But I’m a good candlemaker. I’m going to ask Tiffany’s sister if I can do bubblegum flavor next time.”

They arrived at her door.

“Candles don’t come in bubblegum flavor,” she told him.

“Mine will,” he replied.

“It can’t happen,” she said.

He got extra close to her. “Sure it can.”

She sighed. “You need to back away.”

“You really want me to?”

“Everyone across the street is looking at us. A whole bunch of tourists.”

“So? They’ve never seen people kiss before?”

“We’re not—”

And then they were kissing, each of them holding their own candles in a bag. And in that kiss was such longing and wishing and frustration and hot, carnal desire that when a police siren was suddenly heard, Macy was sure someone was coming to arrest them for a public display of affection of the highly erotic kind.

She gladly would have gone to jail for that kiss.

Excerpt: (from ARC – content could change)

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“I know I said I wasn’t interested in finding out more about you. But I’ve changed my mind.”

“Just like that.”

“Yes.”Click-clack-click-clack went those boots.

“No explanation?” This walk down Broad Street was the best thing he’d done in weeks. The sun was out, he was with a beautiful woman, and all was well with the world. After lunch he’d worry about business.

She shrugged. “I want you to hire me.”

“You do?”

She nodded. “But on my terms. I want a shot at finding you your soulmate. I know time is short. You’re here a month?”

“Leaving New Year’s Day. So less than, actually.”

Her chin came up. “I think I can do it, even if you don’t. Everybody has a soulmate.”

“Do you?”

“Somewhere.”

“Ah.” They kept walking. “On what basis do you believe all this stuff?”

“I just know.”

“Woman’s intuition?”

“Perhaps.” She chuckled. “But there’s more. I’m good at what I do. I see connections other people don’t.”

“You’re very interesting, Miss Frost.” Understatement of the year for him. “But my answer to your proposition is no. N-O, no.”

She gave him the side-eye. He could do the spelling thing too.

“I don’t see the benefits of having a soulmate,” he said. “I mean, there’s Tinder. Not that I’ve used it. Finding companionship isn’t a problem for me if I get lonely.”

“I get that. But there’s more to love than sex.”

“I wouldn’t know.”

“You’ve never been in love?”

He shrugged. “Not more than puppy love.” He was a busy man.

“You must have gotten hurt to be so certain real love isn’t for you. What happened?”

“That’s awfully personal.” Let her feel nosy. Maybe she’d move on to a different topic.

“My interest is entirely professional,” she said. “Everything I can learn about the human condition makes me a better matchmaker.”

“For other people. Not for me. Although the offer is still open for you to line me up some dates.”

“Just tell me why you don’t believe in love.”

“Let’s talk about football. Been to a Panthers game?”

A fire hydrant and a parked red Beemer later, she said, “Mr. Banks, come on,” and cast a glance at him from beneath those thick lashes, her mouth turned up just a little.

Southern girls and their charm! He hated to admit it, but he was a sucker for it. At least her brand of it. “All right, then,” he said. “I’ll tell you why I don’t believe in love. But only if you call me Deacon.”

She laughed. “You can call me Macy. But it’ll cost you. You need to tell me—”

“Why I don’t believe in love,” he finished for her. “Okay, here goes.”

Review:

Macy Frost entertains the idea that she is a distant descendant of Cupid. The story has passed through the family and she is quite a matchmaker – so much so that she owns a matchmaking business with a few of her friends. They even developed an algorithm for compatibility. So when a client who wants dates, but not an HEA walks in, she brushes him off. But something about him makes her want to take the job – the matchmaker within is intrigued and maybe she can find Mrs. Right for the resistant client. Sparks fly and the attraction between the two continues to ignite at every interaction. Macy believes she isn’t cut out for a match, but the algorithm says otherwise. Problem is, a bad situation in childhood has given her a sour taste towards love and even though she matches people for a living, she might not be able to break down her own walls enough to see that her chance is right in front of her. Even if she could, Deacon has a much better reinforced wall than she does.

Deacon Banks – super rich, super hot, super unavailable for a long-term relationship. His Aunt is on his case to settle down, so he agrees – as a Christmas gift to her – to go on several blind dates. Enter Macy’s matching service. Deacon makes it perfectly clear that he likes his lifestyle as is. Except Macy stirs something in him and before too long, all of the “blind-dates” have conspired with him to get Macy to stand in for them each time. Deacon knows he’s feeling something unexplained, more than he’s ever felt for anyone before when it comes to Macy – but admitting just what that is, beyond s couple of phenomenal hookups, is going to be quite a feat. The ramifications of deep feelings are not something either of them are prepared to face.

What a seriously cute book! Set around Christmas time, you could definitely make use of it to help get you in the holiday mood – but I think it would be enjoyable any time of year. I enjoyed all of the excuses and ploys used to force Macy to stand in as Deacon’s date. And Macy and her friends add such an extraordinary amount of Southern charm to this story, you can’t help but wish they were your friends too. I was sucked in to their world quickly and found myself liking all the characters – even the bratty Celia. Aunt Fran was a hoot and George was the kind of friend I’d like to have hanging around. What was funny to me was that Miss Thing emulated the Queen of England, while Aunt Fran had all of the Corgis. My only complaint is that the characters were all introduced so fast with their own little snippets of information, that I almost stopped reading because I was having trouble keeping up in the first couple of chapters. But I stuck it out a couple of more chapters and by then, had switched from confusion in assimilation to necessity in seeing where these characters were headed next. This book contains some sexual content, but nothing graphic or explicit. I would still call it a sweet romance. I’ll tell you what – if any of the restaurants were based on actual places, Charleston just got added to my bucket list. I was hungry the whole time I was reading! If you are looking for a sweet. Romantic HEA, full of Southern charm, quirky characters, and a bunch of holiday cheer sprinkled throughout, you have absolutely found the right book! There might even be a small mystery solved. Ms. Kramer is a mastermind world-builder and this community is one I would love to be able to be a part of!

Kindle version provided by NetGalley/St.Martin’s in exchange for an honest review.