All I Want From Santa is a re-release of a sweet Christmas story by Lisa Jackson. It is centered around a widowed single mother and a divorced single father who meet and start questioning what they want out of life. The dynamics of their growing relationship really pull at the heart strings. Oh, and there is a precocious four year old who has asked Santa for two things; a puppy and a new daddy.
Veronica (Ronnie) Walsh is a widow. Her husband Hank died in a skiing accident three years ago and left her to be a single parent to their young daughter. Her daughter keeps her busy as does her job as part of the rescue team at the ski lodge. She also runs a warehouse business on the side. She is a very independent woman and devoted to her husbands memory. So it is surprising to her when she meets Travis Kegan and can feel the spark between them.
Travis and his teenage son Bryan are new to Cascadia, Oregon. They move into an old ranch house right next door to Ronnie and start renovating it. Bryan doesn’t want to be there and is your typically angsty teenager. He is also upset that his mom practically dropped him off in his father’s lap so that she could move to Paris, especially since they did not have the best relationship. Previously, Travis focused more on his work and less on his family thus leading to an estrangement with his son and his wife walking out on him which led to a divorce. This time he is determined to make it right with his son and help him turn things around and get away from bad situations. This is a very intense father/son dynamic.
The relationship between Ronnie and Travis is sweet but does require a little bit of suspended belief at times. As I mentioned, this is a re-release and some of the things that happen throughout are a little dates. For example; Walkman’s, landline phones, and a discussion on “women’s work” As a reader, this kept taking me out of the story. The chemistry is there, it just felt like it was written at another time (which I guess technically it was). And the relationship moves rather quickly and some complications are resolved with the standard character acting out, family discussion, and forgiveness technique. It is an old favorite to use and I guess you don’t have to fix what it is not broken.
All I Want From Santa is a light, easy to read, love story with a Christmas background. For the most part, the characters were fleshed out and relatable. I just wish the romance and conflict had also been fleshed out more. However, if you like light contemporary romance with a holiday background, you might want to check this one out.
Rating: 3 Stars
**I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**
welcome to the zoo! 