The Ex-Mas Holidays

Going home for the holidays prompts a second chance at love in this light but frustrating contemporary from Allison (Second Chance at First Love). Freshly dumped, fired from a high-powered job, and homeless, 20-something Maya Bashir reluctantly returns to her hometown in the Scottish Highlands to move in with her parents. En route, she stops in at a friend’s Christmas party—where she’s shocked to see Sam Holland, her best friend’s twin brother and her own long time crush, working as a naked bartender. Eight years earlier, they were on the brink of starting a relationship. Now they hate each other, and they haven’t spoken since. What happened? From Sam’s perspective, Maya cruelly rejected him; from Maya’s, Sam humiliated and betrayed her. It takes until the end of the book for the real truth to come out. As they work side by side as ski instructors at a local resort, resentment and awkwardness turns to friendship—and maybe something more, if only they could learn to communicate. Allison tries to sell this exasperating lack of communication by emphasizing the leads’ insecurities, littering both of their internal monologues with extreme negative self-talk. Though the premise is cute and moments of humor and tenderness appeal, it’s hard to invest in Sam and Maya’s connection. Readers will be disappointed. Agent: Hannah Todd, Madeleine Milburn Literary. (Sept.)