The Bright Side of Christmas by Morgan Elizabeth is live!

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Wren King is the one person in town everyone can rely on: need someone to watch your kids? She’s got it, you deserve a night off! Want a five dozen cookies for a bake sale? Call up Wren; she loves to bake. As the small town of Holly Ridge’s sweetheart, she’s always available to help, even if it leaves little time for herself along the way.

But this holiday season, it’s ramped up to the next level. As her first year as the head of the decorating committee, a title she inherited after her grandmother passed away, she’s determined to make it the best and brightest year Holly Ridge has ever seen. A bigger festival, decorations on every possible inch of town, and, of course, more lights. Who cares if she’s tired and worn down? She can sleep in January. Christmas only comes but once a year, after all.

Adam Porter moved to Holly Ridge in search of peace and quiet. As a well-known songwriter with writer’s block, he’s hoping a sleepy small town will be the perfect place to find his inspiration and write again. The problem? He hates Christmas. This year, he’s hoping to hide away in the small town, avoid Christmas completely, and write the next big hit by the New Year.

Unfortunately, when he tells his new next-door neighbor, Wren, that he has no plans to decorate his home and thus threatens to break a sixty-year tradition in the town, a battle of decor ensues. As the season progresses and Wren becomes increasingly determined, Adam remains steadfast in his conviction that nothing will make him enjoy the holidays.

Definitely not his sunshiny neighbor, who is convinced she has enough holiday cheer for the two of them.

5 Absolutely Incredible Stars

Sometimes you just need a Christmas romance with all of the spice and spoon to make you feel better, am I right? I’m definitely right. And there is no one better to deliver the holiday feels and spice and incredible moments then Morgan Elizabeth. She is the new queen of Christmas in my opinion, and I have not only loved reading each and every one of her books that I’ve had the pleasure of reading, but I have thoroughly enjoyed reading her holiday romances. And as someone who is fairly new to reading holiday romances, I could not have been happier with what I got in this book with Adam & Wren along with what I’ve been able to experience in every other book by this author. She truly just brings the magic and life and vibrancy and effervescence of everything to her characters and to their stories. She combines the perfect level of spice, heart, and swoon in a way that you just can’t help but love.

And this book was no different.

The Bright Side of Christmas has it all. It is a grumpy, sunshine romance, about a man trying to find the spark in his music career and how he comes face-to-face with the girl next-door who is bound and determined to bring Christmas joy to everyone around her, even him. These two give off the best banter, they have an enemies to lovers vibe that will give you life, the forced proximity nature of the set up of this book and just the holiday joy of it all, will just have you giddy with what they give you. You have Wren who loves Christmas, personifies joy and just wants to help, but she is also overrun and overworked because she can’t say no, and she cannot for the life of her tell people that she needs help. (Eldest daughters, we are SEEN in this book.) She is her own queen of Christmas, and when her new neighbor is bound and determined to take part of nothing with Christmas, this is where she steps in. What starts as a little war between neighbors and Christmas decorations, soon becomes something so much more than these two bargain for.

This book is full of Christmas shenanigans, decorations, reappearing, and disappearing, a little blackmail involving a nutcracker, and just so much more Christmas fun. Wren is bound and determined to show Adam that he should see the joy in Christmas. And he is bound and determined to show this woman that she can say no, that she needs to take care of herself, and that if she won’t do it, he is ready and willing to help her out in that department. You see Adam is brought to this town to regroup and find his spark. As a songwriter who is struggling, he’s in this little town, trying to find what was lost. But what he soon finds is a crazy, wonderful neighbor who really wants him to put up some Christmas lights. And while he has no interest in doing that, he certainly has an interest in her. You will just love getting to be with him as he finds the spark and the joy of it all right along with Wren, as he’s brought back to life by the banter and spark that grows exponentially between them, and as he is there expressing his own vulnerability while helping her realize that she can say no, and that taking care of herself is just as important as taking care of others.

These two definitely push each other‘s buttons in the best way, but they also see each other in the most honest in real way. I think that’s what I loved most about this book and it’s honestly what I love about the way this author develops her characters. They’re all just so real. They’re real complicated people who communicate, who problems solve, and who figure it out together. Sure they have bumps in the road, sure they have moments of miscommunication or moments where they feelings are hurt or moments where they make a mess up, but they’re always true to themselves and each other. They’re always adults having hard conversations when they really matter and being vulnerable when it’s truly needed.

Adam and Wren both share those kind of moments in this book just as much along with that spice and spoon and banter that makes them the actual best. It’s that combination that not only makes them real characters you can’t help but love, but that just adds a sense of authenticity to what you get with them. It’s because of that, that you believe in them, that you root for them, and that you know they have to find their way because they are there putting in the work, sharing their feelings, and putting their hearts on the line when it truly matters… And getting to experience that is truly the best of everything.

Suffice to say, I loved Wren and Adam with my whole heart. I loved how they knew just how to get to one another. I loved their crazy kooky banter filled moments together. I loved that they knew exactly how to get to one another, but more than that, I just loved that they really saw each other.

He saw that she was somebody who was so inherently good, but could not say no to save her life. And he wanted to be there with her and show her that she could use her voice, that she could take care of herself and prioritize herself and her well-being. He also wanted to show her that that wouldn’t take away from the care and love of those around her. And she in turn wanted to show him that he could find that sparkle and joy, and that there was more of that to be found. She wanted to show him that there was more to life than just being in your bubble and that sometimes a little bit of joy can go along way. These characters just really saw each other for who they were, and they weren’t trying to fix each other, but they were trying to be there for one another as they figured it all out, as they had those hard conversations with themselves and others, and as they pushed for the things they were meant to find.

These two just got each other. And more than that they loved each other and the quirks that made them them. He loved the way that she looked at Christmas lights. She loved the way he shared his music. He loved getting to see her find her voice. She loved getting to see that joy come back to his life. They both relished in the vulnerability and heart that they brought out in one another, and it pulled them closer and strengthen that connection. They felt in a way that will truly have you melting. The way these characters should see each other, get each other, and fight and show up for each other when it really matters is the best. And set in the backdrop of the small town, with fun characters, and a lot of Christmas spirit and joy makes for a romance that you won’t be able to put down.

I will also just say now that the spice is really spicy in this book and you will be here for it. It adds just another fiery layer to this connection that Wren and Adam share and let’s just say you will never look at a sleigh the same way again. Trust me. But truly getting to be with these characters as they connect on that level, as they make each other feel everything, and as they give into that tension and pull that is so gloriously built and felt between them….is truly everything. It will have you melting on the floor, equally swooning with the words that come out of their mouths, but more than that, it will just have you loving what they share and believing in the two of them with your whole heart.

The Bright Side of Christmas by Morgan Elizabeth was the best kind of holiday romance read. It had all of the Christmas joy and spirit. It had a small town full of incredible characters that I already love and want more of. It had heart and feels and emotion to it, but it also had those fun and memorable moments filled with the antics of these characters. It had just the feel of Christmas that made my heart happy, and it truly delivers the most incredible love story that I could not get enough of. These characters truly show their hearts over the course of this book and watching them fall for each other, watching them equally drive each other crazy while swooning head over heels for one another, and getting to see that tension and spark just come to life was effervescent and vibrant and completely unforgettable.

The way that Morgan Elizabeth combines all of that through her characters and the story in the way, she brings it all to life makes for the perfect holiday read.

I can’t tell you enough how happy this book made me. I smiled my way through every page of this book, definitely blushed quite a few times, but mostly just fell for these characters, what they made each other feel, and what they allowed each other to discover along the way. Getting to be with Adam and Wren as he found his spark again, and she found her voice, as they supported one another in every way that mattered, as they continued to show up with hearts, ready to feel it all, and as they just fell for one another was truly the best. I could not have asked for more in their romance together and I loved getting to see these characters find one another. They felt meant to be in the sweetest, most swooniest way, and I loved it. I loved them. They truly deserve the best and Morgan Elizabeth delivers that in spades in this book with their love story.

Getting to be with these two as they felt what they did, as they poked each other with those Christmas decorations, and as they got under each other’s skin and burrowed so deep in one another’s hearts was absolutely outstanding. It was everything my heart needed, and I can’t say that enough. I just loved every second of this book with them. This is a must read for fans of this author or just fans in general of a good holiday romance. This author perfectly balances the holiday spirit and fun, with an incredible and spicy romance that you won’t forget.

I promise you that.