Review for All I Want for Christmas Is You by Lisa Mondello

Santa Claus is going to have a rough season... Lauren Alexander is raising her daughter alone. Abandoned by her family for her decision to keep her daughter Kristen, she has done a pretty good job for the last six years. Or she thought she had. That's why she is crushed when little Kristen gives up her wish for a toy or goodie and instead asks Santa for a present for her mother. But delivering Daddies isn't Santa's bag.

But this Santa has a plan...

Kyle Preston knows what it is like to be abandoned too. Luckily he found the support of loving adoptive parents and has turned himself into one of the most successful Real Estate developers in town.

Building a house is easy. Building someone's trust is a whole other story. But a little Christmas magic can make all the difference in the world.

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All I Want for Christmas Is You is a sweet feel good holiday-themed romance that has all the qualities of a Hallmark movie where two likable people who have been burned by love before come together because of a precocious child's holiday wish.  From the moment that wish is made Kyle Preston moves mountains to see that that wish comes true as Lauren fights his unending charm every step of the way in their slightly rocky road to their HEA.

From the moment Lauren decided to keep her baby her life of privilege came crashing down.  She's been on her own since then with no contact from her family and her mistrust of men has kept her life revolving around work and her daughter.  I admire Lauren for the choices she's made and for making it on her own and while I can understand her fear of what Kyle offers those fears became overblown at times.  There's nothing wrong with accepting help but she made it seem like it was a weakness and it just became a silly and stereotypical roadblock to their happiness.

Kyle is the perfect hero, almost too perfect at times.  He's sexy, rich and caring and is ready-made for a wife.  He's great with kids and honorable and is charming enough to make their two sexual interludes sweetly satisfying.  He's had issues in his past, but unlike Lauren, he's moved past the hurts to grab for this chance at happiness.  His scenes with Kristen make him even more endearing and likable.

The secondary characters and the warmth of their familial love enhance the book's holiday theme and present possibilities for any future books.  I normally find the addition of children to a story to be distracting with unbelievable adult speech and actions but I found Kristen delightful.  Her awe of this magical holiday and sudden infusion of family made for some very sweet and tender moments.  The conclusion of the story wrapped the book up with a bow that resolved every issue and made the ending almost too good to be true.  Those wanting a sweetly endearing story to put a smile on your face will find exactly that in this magical Christmas tale.

My rating for this is a B.

*I received this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.