RELEASE DAY REVIEW: Convincing Christmas – Elle Brownlee

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Jamie Crane, the ambitious young mayor of Hollingsford, Minnesota, is facing a holiday season like no other. His small town has been unexpectedly entered into a high-stakes reality TV Christmas competition, and with only days to prepare, Jamie must scramble to invent traditions out of thin air if he wants to keep Hollingsford in the running, which he isn’t sure he does. As if that pressure wasn’t enough, his first love, Jordan Miller—the boy-next-door turned successful lawyer—returns to town, stirring up memories of their secret teenage romance.

Once inseparable during the holidays, Jamie and Jordan have since gone in different directions—Jamie driven by his desire to improve his hometown and Jordan determined to leave his rough upbringing behind. But as they navigate the chaos of holiday events, old feelings resurface, and Jamie is faced with two dilemmas: keeping his town’s dignity intact on national television and deciding if he and Jordan are meant to be together after all.

Mayor Jamie Crane discovers that his town has been selected for Such a Small Town Christmas, a seasonal show and very popular. The show was declined in the return letter but unfortunately it was never sent an acceptance letter was instead.

Hollingsford, Minnesota is a small town that isn’t decorated for Christmas, no ornaments, trees or lights and now Jamie has to come up with videos to present for the events in question. His only hope of ending this nightmare is to put something together and hope the town is eliminated. Wishful thinking because they find themselves nominated to continue.

While all the craziness is going on Jamie’s past love Jordan Miller shows up and neither man confesses to who they are. Jamie suspects it is the young man from his childhood who visited for a few days every Christmas RJ and who he loved and never forgot.

One event after another is keeping Jamie from losing his mind, planning filming and hoping that each event will be the last. Jamie is trying to create holiday events from thin air while trying to accept the teenage boy he fell in love with is back.

Thankfully with the help of some of the townspeople the ideas keep coming and decorations that Hollingsford never put up are now appearing. While other towns have been prepared for months Hollingsford is not as lucky, but Jamie doesn’t want to give the town a bad reputation by not giving it his all.

This was a fun story watching as Jamie and his helpers try to create events and while Jamie tries to decide it Jordan and him have a chance to reconcile. A heartwarming story of creating Christmas magic and a story of second chances.

This is the perfect book for a fun Christmas story filled with wonderful characters and a small town who never gives up.