Review of In Love By Christmas by Cari Lynn Webb #InLovTour

On Tour with Prism Book Tours

Welcome to the book tour for In Love by Christmas, the fifth book in the fabulous City by the Bay series by Cari Lynn Webb. I had the opportunity to read this latest installment and I'm sharing my thoughts with you below. Be sure to visit other stops on the tour along the way for even more thoughts and fun. And of course, check out the great giveaway at the end!

In Love by Christmas(City by the Bay Stories #5)

By Cari Lynn Webb
Contemporary Romance
Paperback & ebook, 384 Pages
December 1st 2019 by Harlequin Heartwarming

This Christmas, two worlds collide

…under the mistletoe!

All Theo Taylor wants for Christmas is a profitable year-end and a flawless wedding for his sister. Hiring beautiful but unknown designer Josie Beck is a huge risk, especially when the Taylors’ reputation is at stake. Josie is sweet, kind and impossible to resist. But is Josie about to destroy Theo’s perfect wedding plan…or is she the answer to his heart’s secret Christmas wish?

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**My thoughts**

I was so excited to come back to the City by the Bay series. And having it be a Christmas book was an added bonus, for sure! 

I love Josie. She grew up in the foster care system, never having a set of parents to call her own. She has had to forge her own way through life all by herself. Most of the time while she was growing up, people were telling her she couldn't do anything. But thanks to one woman, Mimi, she learned that she could do what she wanted if she set her mind to it. And what she wants to do is be an exclusive clothing designer. Her specialty is wedding dresses. And she will fight for what she believes in doing.

She is hired to work on Adriana's dress. Adriana is the sister in a very high profile family. Landing this gig could really launch Josie's career. Adriana also knows what she wants out of her wedding and trusts Josie to handle it, but her family keeps getting in her way.

I cannot stand Adriana's mother. She clearly has issues from way back in her past, as she always has to be the center of attention and literally steals ideas from her own daughter. She also seems to like to tell everyone else what to do. And right now her focus is on finding her own fiance so that she can get married by Christmas, even though the focus is supposed to be on Adriana.

Theo, Adriana's older brother, isn't much better through a lot of the book. It took me a really long time to warm up to him. He is also business-minded and image-oriented. He also keeps getting in the way of Adriana's dreams for his wedding. And then he wants to remake Josie and her business, because he has his own idea of how she and her business should be. That kind of behavior makes me absolutely CRAZY.

But Josie is able to look past all of this and sees something deeper within him. And as we get to know Theo a bit more and he thaws out somewhat thanks to his fascination with Josie, we are finally able to see some of it, too. So he is able to redeem himself.

So this definitely was not my favorite installment of the series. Yet I was engrossed in the drama of the family's antics and was determined to see Josie rise above it all and be a success. And I was looking forward to the entire Taylor family learning how to listen to others and not always think of themselves. Some good life lessons for that family.

I'm still looking forward to coming back to the City by the Bay in the future and touching base with all of the characters again. Thank you to the author, publisher, and Prism Book Tours for the advance review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Other Books in the Series

About the Author

Cari Lynn Webb lives in South Carolina with her husband, daughters and assorted four-legged family members. She's been blessed to see the power of true love in her grandparent's 70 year marriage and her parent's marriage of over 50 years. She knows love isn't always sweet and perfect, it can be challenging, complicated and risky. But she believes happily-ever-afters are worth fighting for. She loves to connect with readers. Visit her at her website.

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Tour Schedule

Tour Giveaway

1 winner will receive a $50 Amazon eGift Card & a stocking filled with The Return of the Blackwell Brothers five-book series, a Christmas ornament and candy (if an international winner, will receive the eGift Card and ebooks of the Return of the Blackwell Brothers series)

Open internationally

Ends December 11, 2019

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