Down To You by Addison Kline

Holly Edgemont thought she had the perfect life – a beautiful home, three wonderful kids, and an adoring husband. She never imagined the turn her life would take. Two years later, Holly finds herself divorced and facing a Christmas (her favorite holiday) utterly alone, as her children are going out of town with Holly’s ex-husband, Brant.

Sloane, Holly’s best friend, is determined that Holly have a little fun this Christmas and drags her to a holiday party where Holly meets up with Chris, the best man at her wedding to Brant. Holly is still very much in love with Brant, but finds herself wondering if it isn’t time to start moving on from him.

Two years ago, Brant made the worst mistake of his life. Unable to deal with devastating news, he walked out on his family. He never stopped loving Holly and has tried to reconnect without success. Now he fears he is running out of time. Desperate, Brant plots to make one more grand gesture, in the hopes that he can win his family back.

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I am a sucker for a good romance. Add Christmas to the mix and you pretty much have me hook, line, and sinker. This was not the case with Down To You. I wanted to LOVE this book, but I just didn’t. I loved the idea of the story line and I loved Holly and Brant. I thought their love story was very sweet, but somewhat lacking and underdeveloped.

I was expecting (and wanting) a whole lot more angst. These two people, who are clearly soul mates, spent two years apart, but their reunion was just a little too simple for me. There was no heartfelt conversation during which Brant explains himself and Holly expresses the betrayal she felt. This just didn’t feel right to me. You spend two years apart – pining for each other and miserable – but when you finally reconcile you don’t talk it out? Really? It felt like Holly just shrugged her shoulders and said, “Okay,” and the two of them moved on without addressing the enormous elephant in the room.

The whole story line with Chris also seemed somewhat forced and unnecessarily dragged out. It was clear that he was never really a contender for Holly’s affections and yet he suddenly turns into a creeper who can’t take a hint? His reappearance towards the end of the novel just seemed superfluous. It might have been an attempt to infuse some much needed angst into the novel, but to me, it just fell a little flat.

The saving grace of this book is the ending. Just like any hopeless romantic, I like my romances to end with a happily ever after that leaves me feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. Down To You currently delivers in this aspect. So in the end, this book was just okay for me. If you are looking for a simple, sweet holiday romance, then this will probably be up your alley. If you are like me and prefer your romances to be a bit more complex and angst filled, then you may be disappointed.

*I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.