Simply Angela : The Trouble with Christmas by Debbie Mason

Resort developer Madison Lane is about to lose the one thing she loves most in the world—her job. Dubbed "The Grinch Who Killed Christmas," Madison spoiled a deal that would turn quaint Christmas, Colorado, into a tourist's winter wonderland. Now the citizens want her fired but the company gives her one last chance, sending Madison to the small town to restore the holiday cheer.

For Sheriff Gage McBride, no hotshot executive from New York City is going to destroy the dreams of the people he loves. But one look at this beautiful woman and it's his heart that may be broken. In just a few days, Madison causes more trouble than he's had to deal with all year. He can't decide if she's naughty or nice, but one thing is for certain—Christmas will never be the same again...

Series: Christmas, Colorado #1 | Publisher: Forever | Genre: Contemporary Romance | Source: Publisher | Rating: 4.5 Cups

Challenges Read For: - Literary Pickers: Monitor/Screen

I requested this book and the third book (It Happened at Christmas) when Forever re-released them and they never arrived. I assumed they ran out of copies or missed my request. Then, a few days ago, the UPS driver was knocking on my door apologizing because a package had somehow managed to get stuck under his seat and he’s been driving around with it for quite some time. Needless to say, I was ecstatic when I opened the package and found my two missing books. So, I fixed a nice pot of Winter Spice tea and joined the loveable residents of Christmas, Colorado.

I loved this book Madison and Gage were perfect together, even if they needed a little convincing to get there.

Here’s what’s going on. Determined to keep her job, Madison Lane is determined to prove to the citizens of Christmas that their town isn’t the right choice to build a winter resort. She intended for it to be a quick business trip, but when she crashes her car into the town’s sign, her plans get extended. And now that the local sheriff has caught her eye, she’s wondering if maybe she should extend her trip a little longer. As a single father with a meddling Aunt, Gage has enough on his plate but there’s something about Madison that calls to him, even when she’s unintentionally causing trouble.

Gage and Madison were great together and often found themselves in interesting situations seeing as Madison causes trouble wherever she goes and Gage is the sheriff.

While there was an attraction between Gage and Madison, they took things slow and I enjoyed that. They’ve both been hurt before so they’re both a bit cautious figuring out where they stood and how to proceed.

The only thing that put me a bit off was the odd relationship between Gage and his ex-wife. I know they have kids and he was trying to stay on friendly terms for them but he really needed to get a handle on things and set things straight.

Having read a few of the latter books in the series, I knew I liked the zany citizens of Christmas, especially Nell and her meddling ways—she always makes things interesting and I’m never sure what she’ll come up with next. It was nice have a proper introduction to the town and seeing it for the first time.

Overall, this book just made me love the series even more and now I’m even more eager to catch up on the parts I missed.