Three Christmases
Author: Kat & Stone Bastion
Reviewer: VampBard
Rating: A+
What I’m Talking About:
Three Christmases is the final full novel in Kat & Stone Bastion’s wonderful serial series No Weddings. To say I adored this book is an understatement. Sexy and sultry, with an undercurrent of conflict, the story kept me engaged and turning page after page, looking for the emotional release Kat & Stone have built into the series. I found it. And damn, was I happy with the outcome.
I knew this dynamic writing duo wouldn’t leave me hanging with this title. In following the slow-burn relationship of Cade and Hannah through these well-crafted novels, I have grown to love these characters. I found myself rooting for their relationship like a cheerleader on speed. Each turn of events tore me up. Ultimately, however, the ride the Bastions take their readers on with the story of Cade & Hannah’s relationship is realistic, heart-warming, and filled with real-world connections that shook me in a way that few titles I’ve read this year have managed.
With Cade taking a job that would keep him a continent away from Hannah, I knew things would be rough. I snagged my box of tissues and settled in for the ride, trusting the Bastions to make it all better in the end. I felt every qualm Cade had about his separation from Hannah, each moment of doubt about his decision to not be by her side on a daily basis.
Conversely, I was angry on Hannah’s behalf. This isn’t something expressed in the book, though, I was upset because Cade made such a life-changing decision without consulting her. They’re supposed to be partners, a team…right? I felt, however, that Hannah was right to react the way she did—I would have done the same. But what niggled at me all the way through the book was why Hannah didn’t express her true feelings about the situation. Oh, tricky one, Bastions! By the end I got it. And it made the wonderful resolution that much more powerful for me.
One of the points of conflict in Three Christmases was about Hannah’s biological father. I want more info about this whole situation. I’m a detail-oriented reader, and I’m cool with the way the plot resolved, but I naturally want more backstory with more details. What I wouldn’t give to see a small scene with Hannah’s mom, and the reasons why she made the decisions she did. I think this is an important point, as it shaped Hannah into the person she was.
The magnetism between Hannah and Cade was intense. And combustible.
“His answer was a sudden kiss, hot and demanding. Then he slowed his pace, becoming tender, teasing. My body heated from the inside out, and I melted into him. It wouldn’t have mattered if I’d held a weapon or not. His touch stripped me defenseless.”
I think the most important thing I took away from the fourth title in the No Weddings series was that life sometimes throws us curve balls. When you love someone, you catch ‘em best you can. All that ‘if you love someone, set them free; if they come back, they’re yours’ stuff. And sometimes, the past sneaks up to bite us in the butt. If we don’t dwell on it anymore, it loses its power over us. Even when it comes to things that worm their way into the present, although we thought they were issues of the past, they can throw us for a loop—but they can’t break us.
“Every single moment of the here and now was what mattered.”
I have loved every minute of the No Weddings series, and I look forward to the novella, For Valentines, due out after the first of the year for my final Cade and Hannah fix.
My Rating: A+ Personal Favorite
About the Book:
As the holiday season approaches in this fourth book in the No Weddings Series, Cade Michaelson strives to be better at balancing work and love, and Hannah Martin’s growing ability to trust is put to the test.
Lust and friendship brought us together, but with the increasing demands of my two businesses, Hannah’s thriving bakery, and our successful event-planning company, stability becomes my focus.
Then a once-in-a-lifetime career opportunity takes me to the West Coast, and everything goes into a tailspin.
Laughter, love, and excitement fill our lives, but Cade refuses to settle into the wonderful bliss we’ve found—he wants spectacular fireworks and an unshakable foundation. Driven like no one I’ve ever met, Cade insists a dream job across the country will be better for our future together, but I worry about whether we can survive the present apart.
When intimate time diminishes…and lives get more hectic…
Will a little bit of faith be all that it takes? Or will the sacrifice to get there be too great?
Release Date: November 17, 2014
Publisher: self-published
Series: No Weddings #4
ISBN: 978-0692023815
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Format(s): paperback (294 pages), e-book
Book Source: Author
Purchase Info:
Three Christmases (No Weddings #4)
Reviews in the Series:
No Weddings by Kat & Stone Bastion (No Weddings #1)
One Funeral by Kat & Stone Bastion (No Weddings #2)
Two Bar Mitzvahs by Kat & Stone Bastion (No Weddings #3)
I sometimes like it when characters do things like, make decisions without discussing it will the other partner. Not because I like that people do that, but because people do in fact do it. It is real life. I like it when characters aren’t perfect and react the way people I know would react, especially if they learn from it. Not that in real life people learn from it, but because I hope that people will.
I totally get that, and agree. When I get invested with characters and have emotions on their behalf, mmmhm. Drawn in 🙂
Thank you for the wonderful review, Vampbard. We are truly humbled and honored by your kind words. We’re thrilled you adored the book and pleased to know how much the stories affected you. <3
We hope you love For Valentine's as much. Things will be heating up a little. Or a lot . . . 😉
~ Kat & Stone
Ah, there you go with the punctuation again, Kat!