Review: Holiday at Magnolia Bay by Tracy Solheim

Holiday at Magnolia Bay


Southern Born Christmas, #1
Tracy Solheim


Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Tule Publishing Group
Date of Publication: October 20, 2014
Number of pages: 98

Available at the following retailers:
Amazon

When Navy SEAL Drew Lanham sees Jenna Huntley rising out of Magnolia Bay, she reminds him of the goddess of the sea, but he has to ignore her siren’s call as he’s home on a brief leave trying to recover from a devastating mission where he lost a teammate.

Jenna’s more interested in protecting and studying Sea Turtles and building a local hatchery than in men; except when she first locks eyes with Drew, she realizes he just might be the one man who can pull her out of her lab and into his bed to celebrate Christmas Magnolia Bay style.

I am a huge fan of Christmas-themed books, so when I saw this one on Netgalley I had to give it a shot.  It seemed to have all the things that push the interest button for me: Christmas, Navy SEAL, female scientist, Southern story, intriguing animal. And all of those things are present, including an eccentric older matchmaking character (aren't those so much fun?).

My biggest problem with this story is that the bulk of it takes place in September, not December.  The HEA scene takes place at the Christmas Flotilla Parade, but to me, that's not a true Christmas story.  To me, a Christmas story has a plot line that revolves around Christmas. This story could have been told substituting any major bash and would have worked. But that's my hang up. Otherwise, this was a good solid story. I liked the characters, they were fully fleshed out and believable. Jenna and Drew as a couple balance each other out, with plenty of steamy scenes. Plus Baby Sea Turtles! Who doesn't love baby sea turtles? Overall this was a 3 star read.