Suzanne St. Michelle has just arrived in Credence, Colorado where she is staying at a cottage on the ranch of Joshua Grady. From the get-go these two butt heads, Suzanne being the bubbly city type while Grady is the guarded country boy. However, through a series of events the two end up pretending to be a couple while Suzanne's parents come to visit for the holidays. What follows is a whole slew of holiday traditions and stereotypes that can't help but put you in the Christmas spirit. Amy Andrews does a splendid job of describing her characters and the town of Credence. I believe that this book isn't the first in the series simply based on some of the things that are said about Suzanne's friend, but I don't feel like I missed out on anything by not having read the first book. None of the characters in this book are boring or undeveloped, and the two main characters especially have distinct personalities. The dialogue in this book contained more swearing than I am personally comfortable with, and there were times when I felt that the conversations were a little unrealistic, especially with Suzanne's parents. I also had a hard time following along when Suzanne referred to her muse as a separate person, and the many lines where Suzanne tried to argue with her muse kind of lost me. Overall, this book contains more Christmas traditions than I've ever seen before in a movie or book, and the romance between Suzanne and Grady is filled with the right amount of tension and desire. This is a great book for anyone who wants a romantic story that will help get them in the holiday spirit, just be prepared to want cookies while reading it. ** Thank you to BookishFirst and Entangled Publishing for a free copy in exchange for an honest review. **

I know it's only the end of September, but my Christmas loving heart is very happy after reading The Trouble with Christmas. This is my first book by Amy Andrews, but it definitely won't be my last. She created a small town I really want to visit and a place I need to celebrate Christmas. Suzanne needs a change of scenery and moves into the cottage of a ranch in Colorado. Being an artist is great, but her muse has gone missing. Hoping to find some creative juices and spend Christmas the way she wants for once, she starts her journey. Rancher Joshua Grady is anything but happy when a strange woman comes to rent the cottage at the ranch. He's happy with his life without too much attention and just wants to be left alone. Christmas is especially hard for him, so he's not in the mood for any extra drama. Their lives come together quicker and unexpectedly. Suzanne is determined to save her parents' marriage, which means she needs Grady to hop on her story. Having a fake relationship and the most outrageous Christmas ever, a lot happens in just a short period of time. Both of these characters were amazing. I loved reading about Suzanne and her struggling to find her muse and when she does, it's not what she was expecting at all. Then again, all she wants is to be her own artist and have her first real Christmas. She's quirky, but so much fun! Grady is in many ways a scrooge, but a lovable one (even though he tries to make this impossible). There is still a lot of hurt he needs to deal with, but it's fun seeing him lower his walls as he gets to know Suzanne during their fake relationship. The Trouble with Christmas is a fast read that sucks you in from the start. I loved the chemistry between Suzanne and Grady even when they were both denying it being there. Pretending to be in a relationship causes plenty of moments that make you laugh out loud and The Trouble with Christmas put a big smile on my face. Even though this story happens in a short period of time, it's the perfect story to have around the holidays! Add a great cast of characters and a setting that makes me want my own cabin! I can only imagine sitting in front of the fireplace with a good book watching the snow fall. All I can say, is that this book has definitely put me in a Christmas mood and I'll be counting down the days. I hope Amy Andrews writes more books like this one!

The Trouble with Christmas by Amy Andrews has: ☃️Fake Dating 🌻Sunflower artist with bite 🦡Grumpy cowboy recluse 🎅Matching ugly Christmas sweaters 🐢Zoom All Suzanne St. Michelle wants is to find her muse and to enjoy an over top Christmas full of lights, holiday sweaters, and silly ornaments, a Christmas her artsy NYC parents usually avoid like the plague. Hiding out in a cabin on a Montana ranch seems like the best place to do both, but her cabin comes with a side of grouchy, Grinch-y rancher. Joshua Grady is just fine avoiding most people in his small community, besides his nosy Aunt and Uncle. His Aunt and Uncle who just saddled him with an unwanted tenant during the most difficult time of the year, Christmas and the anniversary of the car accident that took the lives of both his parents and his first love. And not only is Suzanne too chatty, too nosy, and too friendly, she's also too gorgeous for her own good and making Grady feel things. Things he hasn't felt in many years. Suzanne is also having trouble as her muse seems to only want to paint Grady. And when Suzanne's parents' decide to come to her for Christmas, she accidentally makes up a relationship with the very man who she can't get out of her head to try to stave them off. Grady is horrified Suzanne has been painting him and that she's told her parents they're dating. Oh, and that he's Christmas's number one fan. Great. Agreeing to her scheme only if Suzanne will give up her paintings, Grady finds himself falling under Suzanne's spell, ugly holiday sweaters and penis cookies and all. Absolutely delightful, the kind of raunchy Christmas romance I want and need. Andrews writes delightfully fun stories and I just ate this one up. The lingering grief issues Grady faces are not overwrought and perfectly blend in with the humor and heart. PLUS this is really steamy, and I loved how these two just had so much sexual tension, so much. They argue and their heat just melts off the page. Yum. My favorite kind.

Christmas is never too early, no sir. This book had all the elements I love most in a romance story, and I honestly think they all were executed amazingly. I laughed out loud, and felt frustrated at times with the characters, so I was always entertained! Tall dark and handsome love interest fake rancher boyfriend That’s him on the cover, for crying out loud, so of course I had to mention him. Grady gets his own POV chapters so he’s a really important part of the story. He’s got his own grudges against the holidays so when on top of being a major nuisance, Suzanne also comes and makes his cabin something Christmas threw up, well, he’s not too happy. And this is where all the fun begins. He’s always so ticked and something, and I do appreciate that consistency because it just makes it all the better to see him little by little start letting people in. Suzanne, the legal art forger Suzie, the artist that paints Grady’s head on a cherub’s body No, I’m not making this up. Trust me, you’re going to laugh so much throughout this story! Suzanne’s character was really likeable. You know that due to a lot of internalized shit we tend to judge our female characters harsher than we do male characters. Because either they’re too meek, or too snarky, or bland, or mean. But Suzanne just felt like a real person to me. She was just herself, struggling to find her inspiration, and being the kind of person who gets into a really complicated mess because of one single lie. Ahem, super relatable. She’s really chatty and such an extrovert, while Grady is withdrawed and would probably be satisfied with never having to step out of his ranch ever again. Between the two, they manage to balance each other out, and I love when that happens in a story. I’m so happy I got to read this one!

Thanks to Entangled Publishing for sending me a review copy of this book. This does not affect my opinions about the book. I knew I was going to enjoy this and I did! I do love myself some surly fake rancher boyfriend 🤗 The only thing I could say that it has going against it is that maybe it takes a tad too long to really get going? Maybe it was just me. But I was having so much fun with these characters! Full review to come soon!