A Bad Boy for Christmas by Jessica Lemmon

A Bad Boy for Christmas (Christmas Fiction)

by Jessica Lemmon

Faith Garrett's down a fiance, an apartment and a dream honeymoon in the tropics. At least she has a job but she hadn't counted on working-and living-at a soon-to-be-opening Bed and Breakfast. Or playing house with sexy landscaper Connor McClain.

After escaping out from under his father's thumb, Connor looks forward to his work being simple. Then Faith stumbles into his life and, shortly after, out of her bath towel, and "simple" doesn't define the fiery attraction burning between them.

When Connor agrees to fill the role of Faith's pretend fiance, the lines between fantasy and reality blur. The fragile bloom in their hearts takes root and blossoms...into an unexpected emotion neither of them is ready for: Love.

Reviewed by Cocktails and Books on

3 of 5 stars

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This review was originally posted on Cocktails and Books

In a Bad Boy for Christmas, we meet Faith and Connor; they are coworkers who have a good flirty relationship going on. Faith is still recovering from discovering her fiancée was cheating on her and having to move home with her mother. She has recently moved back out on her own and doesn’t want a relationship. Connor is a veteran with a mile wide protective streak and an attraction to Faith. When we first meet our couple, they are still in the flirty stage and he is determined to respect her boundaries.

I enjoyed how Ms. Lemmon set up the transition for these two from friends to lovers. It was a gradual transition that allowed us to get to know both characters better, but there was enough action that it didn’t feel slow. While the couple didn’t have traditional dates, there was still the impression that Connor was courting Faith.

After the transition to lovers, there were times when the story seemed to lack a little but for me. Connor and Faith spent a lot of time being intimate with each other, but the actual relationship building wasn’t always there. In this stage of the book, I related to and liked Connor much more than Faith. I spent a lot of time wanting to reach into the book and shake Faith because she didn’t seem to realize what a great guy she had.

There were several other times in the book that I was really frustrated with Faith for letting her own fears stand in the way and potentially hurt Connor. The conflict in the story felt a little manufactured, but I could understand where Connor was coming from. Even with my frustration with Faith, I rooted for her when she and Connor managed to sort things out to get their happy ending.

A Bad Boy for Christmas is the third book in a series and at first that doesn’t seem to be an issue with understanding the story or the other characters involved, but about halfway through the characters for the next book in the series are brought to the forefront and it seemed a little out of left field for me as I have not read the previous books in the series.

Overall, I enjoyed a Bad Boy for Christmas and am curious to read the earlier books in the series and well as titles coming out in the future.


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  • 27 September, 2015: Reviewed