This story seemed straight out of a Hallmark movie: two people who wanted to be alone for Christmas after losing their jobs were each separately asked to stay at the same house. Sheridan lost her apartment and job to her nasty stepsister, But unlike Cinderella she still had a loving mother who welcomed her into her home. Von and Hope’s beach house in Indigo Bay was just supposed to be a place to escape and find peace for a while. Michael and Sheridan’s stay starts off rocky with him trying to find her somewhere else to stay, but they soon spend time together and find joy in each others company. I love Indigo Bay. It sounds like a sweet town with people who care about and look out for each other. I love the wishing tree. I felt for Sheridan and how she put her heart and soul in her job at her father’s art gallery only to have it ripped from her and for him to keep jerking her around. I loved that her mother works with animal rescue and that even though Sheridan was on vacation she kept looking for ways to help the rescue. I would love to be able to travel the world and see so many places without worrying about work and time off. Maybe someday. This was a clean holiday romance with plenty of sweet and funny moments.

Melissa McClone brings us another sweet romance filled with interesting characters, the magic of Christmas and a great couple to root for. Having read most of not all of her previous books, I remember Michael (Mikey) and Sheridan as secondary characters in other stories. They look to have nothing in common on the surface...she’s a planner, he’s more a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants type...but opposites not only attract but are so right for each other. After a mixup has the both house sitting, for the same house, they think avoiding each other is the way to go. Luckily, that just serves to make them spend even more time together. After a maddening and heartbreaking issue with her dad, Sheridan needs the distraction and fun the Michael brings. And he helps himself, as well as Sheridan, by helping her find her Christmas spirit. Honestly, even their inevitable drama isn’t really about them, but a third party. So the reader isn’t forced to choose sides, which admittedly we all probably do in every book we read! I loved Sweet Yuletide so much. It was just the story I needed after a challenging and often very sad year. My thanks to Ms. McClone for writing such a wonderful, happy book.

Micheal (Mikey) and Sheridan’s story is sweet, romantic and a little hairy at moments. These two starting out as strangers and building from there had me swooning. Two people, both at their lowest point in their life find each other and the magic of the holidays does them right. This is a great light hearted holiday escape that can be read at anytime.