All the things that can happen in just one week…

Synopsis

All she wants for Christmas is peace and quiet.

All he wants for Christmas is… her.

Losing her job and boyfriend weeks before Christmas leaves Talia feeling more bah humbug than filled with festive spirit. The last thing she needs is Christmas with her chaotic family and Rafe Scott, her brother’s grumpy best friend and long-term star of her hottest fantasies.

Her heart’s deepest desire if she’s honest with herself.

But when Rafe comes along with an offer she can’t refuse—use of his family’s cottage in Scotland in exchange for a date to his company’s holiday party—Talia gratefully accepts. A quiet, wintry escape sounds like heaven and a few hours in Rafe’s company couldn’t hurt.

Until it does.

Fleeing to her Scottish Highland retreat, Talia’s longed-for peace doesn’t last long when a bitter storm brings snow and the one man she desperately wants but cannot have. Now snowed in together for the holiday season, will their simmering attraction keep them warm or will they both get burned?

One Week With You is a steamy contemporary holiday novella containing strong language and sexual scenes.

My review

With Talia losing her job and her boyfriend, all she truly wants is a quiet Christmas and not the usual Christmas spending with her chaotic family.
Luckily her brother’s grumpy best friend Rafe has a family cottage in Scotland Talia can use, on just one condition… to be his date on his company’s holiday party.
Talia agrees, as the prospect to be on her own is too good to let go, and even if she has to endure some excruciating hours with the man who played the main character in her hottest fantasies.  
And then Rafe appears at the cottage and the pair is snowed in together…  

I am not a prude woman, but I can understand that some readers don’t like to read explicit stories. if you are one of them, I advise you to skip this book, as things for sure get heated!
But if you are just like me, and you aren’t shocked by a lot of action in the bedroom as a result of a romantic story, you will truly enjoy this book! 

I have several tropes that I love reading, best friends to lovers, enemies to lovers etc. And as brother’s best friend is also one of them, I just had to read this one.  

From the start I liked Talia, and I could understand her reluctance in admitting to her family how she had lost her job and her boyfriend. I think I would be feeling the same, as it somehow feels like a failure. But I also knew that there isn’t anything to be ashamed for, as why should Talia mourn a job she didn’t truly love, and a relationship that was already reaching its end? 

And I have to admit, even if it’s a bit cringy, I could understand how she always had a crush on her brother’s friend.
Although in her case, there is a history, while for me, it was all one – sided! 😊 

But what I liked reading, was how Rafe has always been part of Talia’s family. He isn’t just a friend, but truly an adopted member, loved as much as one of the other siblings, despite his grumpiness! Because Talia, her brother, and the rest of the family know the real Rafe, the man he truly is.  

And that Rafe is a caring man, who would do anything for those in his inner circle. He doesn’t always show it, but he has a gentle character, he is a person that doesn’t want to jeopardize what’s important to him. For that, he is ready to hide his real feelings about Talia, and what he imagines he wants to do with her… 

Did it come to a surprise reading that Rafe appears at the Scottish cottage? Of course not! Did it shock me that those days just the who of them lead to something “unexpected” yet heated? Of course not! Did it take away any enjoyment from reading it anyway? Of course not! 

This was a rather short story to read, yet it gave you so much back! We see how two characters who have known each other for a long time, finally give in to their feelings. We see how perfectly they match and how much fun they have together and not only between the sheets. As they are on their own, they can give in to the smallest wishes, like go sledging, decorate a Christmas tree with old decorations, or just snuggling together in front of a fireplace.
And I found it sweet to see how encourage each other, to take their future in their own hands.
But we also see how there still are struggles, as there is always the fear of doing the wrong thing, or the fear of just screwing everything up, everything they both have worked so hard for. 

I truly enjoyed reading this book, and I found myself devouring it at a rather fast pace!
The story has everything I expected, love, romance, heated moments, but also the true sense of family, and the heart in general. All wrapped into a beautiful Christmassy, snowy setting! 

This was a new author for me, but I have loved reading this book and now I cannot wait to read even more from her!