Timothy Janovsky

Matthew Prince is a rich kid, and at age 21 after a big breakup, he decides to buy an island. His parents are horrified, hush the whole thing up, and pack him off from New York to a small town in the Berkshires to spend Christmas with his grandparents. There, he meets Hector, a not-as-well-off college student staying with Matthew's grandparents since he can't afford to go home for break, and they immediately get off on the wrong foot. But when his grandparents convince them to work together on a gala to benefit the town's small business association, sparks start to fly.

A mixed bag of a romance for me. I appreciated the portrayal of generalized anxiety disorder GAD, and liked seeing Matthew's progress from being self-absorbed and all about image to being able to have something real. But as I reach the point of being twice his age, it was hard to relate to a couple of college-age kids, especially one with lots of money and little sense, and it was hard to give him grace as a character when I could see plot points coming a mile away. I thought the misunderstanding near the end was a little over the top, but not dealing with GAD myself, I may be selling Matthew short. A feel-good Christmas romance I would recommend to the right reader.… (meer)