One Complicated Christmas by Mika Jolie is a sweet, second chance, Christmas romance. It tells the story of Joe and Sasha, college sweethearts, who were separated for six years because of unforeseen circumstances. Joe’s sudden departure, lack of explanation, and his failure to communicate broke Sasha’s heart. Six years later during the Christmas season, she decides its time for her to let go of the past. So she checks into a Bed and Breakfast in Yeti, Vermont, which appears to the perfect place for healing a broken heart and taking skiing lessons, only to come face to face with the source of her heartbreak.
“You know it’s love when your feelings don’t leave even if the person does.”
This quote by the author aptly describes Joe and Sasha’s journey in finding their way back to each other. Their unexpected reunion revealed that distance and time had no effect on true love. Old feelings bubbled to the surface, but fear and anger on Sasha’s part had the potential to destroy it all. I could not blame for feeling the way she did.
I understood the reasons for Joe’s sudden departure, but I had a hard time accepting his failure to communicate with the woman, whom he considered his heart and soul. Six years of heartache, pain and misunderstanding could have been avoided if trust and communication were present in their relationship.
Personally, I believed he got off too easily. I thought he needed to do more groveling. However, I have to admit it was evident he had matured since then and he made an effort to make up for his mistake.
I enjoyed the Christmas feeling that the story elicited, warm, and fuzzy. The story that unfolded was heartwarming, sweet and predictable.
I was a little disappointed with the lack of reference to Jamaican Christmas practices. Sasha’s mom is Jamaican, so it would be natural for her to teach her about her heritage and culture, but this was not reflected in the story.
Conclusion/Recommendation
One Complicated Christmas is a story about forgiveness and second chances. An enjoyable read and one I would recommend to readers who are fans of second chance and Christmas romance.
About Mika Jolie
Mika Jolie is the bestselling author of the Martha’s Way series. She lives in New Jersey with her Happy Chaos—her husband and their energizer bunnies. A sports fanatic and a wine aficionado, she’s determined to balance it all and still write about life experiences and matters of the heart. Let’s face it, people are complicated and love can be messy. When she’s not weaving life and romance into evocative tales, you can find her on a hiking adventure, apple picking, or whatever her three men can conjure up. She loves to hear from readers.
Nadene's addiction to reading began at an early age, when a family friend gifted her a copy of Wuthering Heights. From that moment she was never without a book.She will read anything as long the material is compelling enough to hold her attention. She gained many experiences through the pages of the books she had the opportunity to read.She created this blog to share her love of books with like minded individuals hopes that in sharing reviews of the books read visitors to the blog will discover their next addictive read. When not reading, Nadene enjoys cooking, listening to music and watching television.
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Love the cover and this sounds like it delivered on holiday feels. I am with you on the traditions. i would have found that cool to learn a little.
I’ve been reading lots of feel good Christmas stories, and watching them on Hallmark and Netflix, so I’m going to need to add this one too! Hugs, RO
new author. I might have to check it out
I enjoy a good second time romance and this looks cute. Predictable is okay in my book if I can’t stop turning the pages.
Bring on those Christmas tales. Thanks Nadene this looks good and of course my fave second romance too 🙂
Another festive read to add to my growing collection. I love Jill and Nora’s books so I will have to check this one out. Great review.
Oh yes, six years of silence does require some significant groveling. What a gorgeous setting for their second chance. That is interesting that there was no mention of her mother’s heritage as part of her traditions b/c that would have been neat.
I do like my second chance romances so I’ll keep this one in mind.
A bit too bad for the references but it looks good
I love a good second chance romance. This sounds like a great shorter read. Great review!
new author for me – looks tasty
Great review. Sorry some things didn’t work for you.
Great review I absolutely love Christmas romance books and this one looks and sounds like my kind of book that I would love to read during the holiday season. I’m really glad you fully enjoyed reading this book, thank you so much for sharing your awesome post.