Mini-Review: Merry Christmas, Baby

Merry Christmas, Baby (Lucky Harbor #12.5)

by Jill Shalvis

Blurb:

Wild child Chloe Thompson can't believe how much things have changed. She still can't get enough of her sexy husband Sawyer, but he seems to prefer working to thinking about impending fatherhood. So tonight, a very pregnant Chloe is escaping her troubles at the town Christmas party.

Sheriff Sawyer Thompson hopes surprising Chloe at the party will give him a chance to set things right. But as the snow begins to fall and the wind rages, he wonders whether he can make it back in time. While mother nature conspires to keep Sawyer and Chloe apart, an unexpected arrival will require them to kiss and make up . . . and ring in the happiest holiday Lucky Harbor has ever seen.

Themes: Holiday, suspense, finales

Rating: 3 stars

Heat Rating: 

Review:

What a way to end a series that has kept us all entertained and brought us to a small town full of characters and intrigues.  I was sad to learn the series was ending, but when this unexpected novella popped up on my radar, acting as a sort of epilogue for the series, I knew I just had to read and review it.  While it was pretty short, there were lots of laughs, sweet reminders of love, and the forever knowledge that love can get us through it all as long as the relationship grows with the lovers. 

The story revolves around the holiday party for the town and Chloe’s determination to attend, even if she has to go alone, hauling her pregnant ass out into the world without her husband.  There has been a bit of distance between Chloe and her husband Sawyer, since the new of two becoming three was shared.  But while she has her own fears about becoming a mother, her greatest fear is of losing Sawyer with this new development in her life.  Sawyer has been dealing with the changes in his own ways, but he reminds her quickly that they are meant to be and he will stand by her no matter what.

I loved seeing the rediscovery of the love between Sawyer and Chloe, getting to see all the other characters that have come together throughout the entire series, and knowing that this town has found its stride and will always come together for one another. There is love, laughter, and fun as we learn all about Chloe’s fear and the challenges of a free spirit settling down and starting her own family.  I was not surprised that I loved this short story, being that I have always loved anything by Shalvis, but I was surprised just how invested I became in Chloe and Sawyer finding their way again.  Ending the series with this story was a stroke of genius and though I wish it wouldn’t end, it ended on a high note for sure.  Farewell Lucky Harbor!

*eARC provided by publisher (via netgalley) for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review.  No compensation was provided.