Rating: 3.75 stars
Buy Link:
Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novel

 

Jonathan Thomas is only in Sunset Surf to watch over his aunt’s tea shop while she’s on an extended honeymoon. He needed the escape from a bad breakup, and he wants nothing more than to fit into the town. It’s full of quirky people and quirky shops. But the bar across the street, run by Forrest Wilde, is the bane of his existence. Or at least Forrest is. The man is never serious, always throwing bad pickup lines at Jonathan, and is definitely a player.

When Jonathan gets hit on the head by an ornament falling off Forrest’s tree and suddenly starts seeing flashing lights, as well as into people’s minds, Jonathan is convinced Forrest some how cursed him. Forrest has no idea what Jonathan is talking about, but sets out to help Jonathan grant the wishes he sees in order to hopefully break the spell.

Delivering food, clandestine meetings to get sold out toys, and a little bit of petty larceny just bring the two men closer together. The more time they spend together, the more Jonathan sees that perhaps Forrest is serious about his constant flirting and bad pick up lines. Jonathan likes Forrest, but he’s scared of getting his heart broken again. But the closer they get, the more Jonathan realizes that granting his own wish, and keeping Forrest forever, might be the only thing to stop the spell and get them both their happily ever after.

Let me start by saying that I was, perhaps, not the right audience for this book. It’s told in third-person present tense, which doesn’t usually work for me. On top of that, this story is filled with ridiculous characters, over-the-top puns, and outrageous flirting with very bad lines. It’s not really my type of humor and, as such, I didn’t find it as funny as it was meant to be. So while it didn’t work as well for me, I know there are a lot of readers out there who will wholly enjoy this book.

And I did like it. Ignoring the parts that made me cringe—which again, was just person preference—I liked the blooming relationship between the MCs. Jonathan had his heart broken in the worst of ways and he’s desperately trying to find his place. It takes him the story to realize is that he’s found it. Especially once he starts to let his walls down and let Forrest in. Forrest, though his humor didn’t appeal to me, had a huge heart and was very sweet. He wants nothing more than Jonathan to realize he’s serious about wanting him and making a life together. There were moments in this book that melted my heart, and the way they interacted when they were being their truest selves was really nice to see. Their relationship progresses nicely, and has a believable and sweet conclusion.

Of course, there’s a series of madcap adventures as the two men go about granting these wishes Jonathan sees. Some of them are as simple as delivering food. Others are more complex. If you’re a fan of over-the-top silliness in a romcom, you’ll definitely enjoy this.

While it didn’t work perfectly for me, I can see the appeal for a lot of readers out there. It’s silly and sweet, and the magic of the holidays, and a little bit of real magic, make this story one endearing in its own way. If that kind of thing works for you, I wouldn’t hesitate to tell you to pick it up.