Welcome Home For Christmas by Annie Rains | Book Review

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.

The bestselling Hero’s Welcome series continues with a juicy Christmas romance, a short novel set in Seaside, North Carolina, where the bustling military base keeps this small town stocked with dedicated, lovable heroes.   Three-hundred-and-sixty-four days a year, Allison Carmichael doesn’t mind being single. It sure beats dating another loser, and it keeps her heart safe. Then there’s that three-hundred-and-sixty-fifth day: Christmas Eve, the traditional time her entire family gathers together—and gangs up on her, demanding to know when she’s going to get married. This year, she swears, is going be different. And that’s why, at a charity auction she’s throwing on-base, she buys herself a man.   Sergeant Troy Matthews insists that he’s not for sale. His time is, though, and he’s happy to donate it. Happier still when he learns the identity of the winning bidder: the redhead with the killer good looks and smart mouth who runs the veteran’s center. Allison needs Troy’s help to fool her family into believing they’re an item, and he’s all too happy to indulge her. But by the time Christmas Eve rolls around, their little charade is working a little too well . . . because Troy’s falling head over heels.
Praise for Welcome Home for Christmas
“A beautiful and funny Christmas romance that will get you in the right mood for the holidays, and will make you swoon.”—Roberta’s Dream World
“A heartwarming, sweet, fun, and well-written story with just enough turmoil to balance all the Christmas cheer. It has a dangerous mystery to solve to give it some spice, it has Christmas family drama like most of us have, it has goodwill and helping hands to spread the love to those in need, but mostly it has steaming hot romance, flirting, amorous play, and romantic moments that melts your heart.”—Books and Spoons 
“Welcome Home for Christmas is a lot of Christmas and cute. A light and fluffy story, with a whole lot of holiday cheer.”—Harlequin Junkie
“Just the type of book to get me in the mood for the holidays. I would love to be smack-dab in the middle of Seaside during Christmas. What a joyous place to be! Annie [Rains] captures that within her writing and shows the remarkable aspects of wonderful moments.”—Reads and Treats
“A sweet, well-written, fast-paced . . . Christmas story with just enough tension and drama to make it an addictive page-turner.”—Lucia’s Book Reviews
“So easy to get into and so hard to put down.”—Romantic Reads and Such
“I cannot even begin to describe just how much I loved Welcome Home for Christmas! . . . This whole series will be one I will always love, but this book I will always treasure!”—Cara’s Book Boudoir
Includes an excerpt from another Loveswept title.

Welcome Home For Christmas by Annie Rains is a bite sized holiday romance novella. The story feels fully developed despite it being under 200 pages. I think that if you’re open to romance novels with a strong military town setting, you will find yourself enjoying Welcome Home For Christmas. Also, although this is fourth in the Hero’s Welcome series, you do not need to have read any of the other books to enjoy this.

Allison Carmichael works at the local Veteran’s Center, on a base in a military town. She’s putting together an auction to raise money for the local orphanage, for Christmas. The plan is to auction off some of the local men in order to help the women whose husbands are currently deployed. Troy Matthews is a military police officer on base and somehow ends up roped into the auction.

Allison ends up bidding on him and decides to have him be her fake boyfriend for a Christmas Eve event held by her mother. Allison’s mother is a psychologist who is really into profiling, so she always finds these fatal flaws with everyone Allison dates and Allison just would rather not go through that rigamarole with someone she cares about.

Of course, based on the cover of Welcome Home For Christmas and every fake date romance story ever, you know as well as I do that sparks are bound to fly between Allison and Troy. And goodness, do those sparks fly. I mean, there’s kissing beyond mistletoe moments. Actually, there’s even some adult times in this book too (hey yoooo). Anyways, so despite not expecting any kind of connection — Allison and Troy are pretty attracted to each other. I thought the chemistry between them felt relatively natural and made sense.

Ultimately, Welcome Home For Christmas by Annie Rains is a fast, adorable read, perfect for cozying up with. I find myself wanting to check out more in Annie Rains’ Hero’s Welcome series after reading this – as I imagine they all have that nice blend of sweet and adult-y.

On a scale of one to Buddy The Elf, how much Christmas spirit does this book have?

Okay, so no one in this book is decorating a Gimble’s after hours. However, both Allison and Troy do really care about the orphans and giving them an excellent Christmas. They do things like fundraise and volunteer to help out. There’s also gifts exchanged, parties, and forgiveness. I think that Welcome Home For Christmas has a special sort of Christmas spirit that is more quiet and less overt than Buddy The Elf.

Other reviews of Welcome Home For Christmas by Annie Rains:

• Girl Plus Books – “There was plenty of humor“

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April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.

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