Christmas at the Havenwood Diner
Second chances seem possible with a bit of small town holiday magic in Sophie Bueno’s clean romance novel Christmas at the Havenwood Diner.
Alex, a betrayed restaurant group heir who’s been hiding his pain in spreadsheets and hard numbers, is given a yuletide assignment by his magnanimous father: to leave his Chicago penthouse for one month and spend time among some of the company’s rural employees, whose lives cannot be encompassed by statistics. Thus he travels to Havenwood, Colorado, a postcard perfect town. He arrives under a sky “blazed in shades of lavender and rose” and starts work under an assumed name. He is soon humbled by the good spirits and tough work ethics of those at the diner.
Grace, a single mother who’s been working long hours at the diner for two years, is assigned to train Alex. A talented painter who packed her brushes away when her philandering husband left and the bills began piling up, Grace is reticent to give in to the immediate attraction she feels toward Alex. But in a town that “has a way of surprising people,” in particular at Christmastime, fate proves more powerful than either of their misgivings.
Havenwood is not a setting for skeptics or cynics. A place that breathes magic, in which everyone is kind, generous, has sparkling, twinkling eyes, and speaks in a gentle, careful manner, it is idealized—self-consciously so. The book’s references to Hallmark movies and It’s a Wonderful Life prove apropos as cinnamon scents the air and Christmas lights glitter. And while the term “genuine” is overused throughout, the characterization of the book’s sole villain is exaggerated, and a few inconsistencies and instances of repetition arise, there’s sweet cheer to be found in this realm.
The couple’s love story is swift. Though wounded in their past relationships and reluctant to try again, they fall for each other within two weeks; soul mate suggestions, and the loving, unwavering support of their family and friends, make this advanced pace seem probable. The prose, sugar cookie-sweet and whipped cream-light, supports the book’s procession through events whose suspense is somewhat limited by the certainty that all—even medical debts and middle manager corporate scheming—will work out in the end, if the couple just maintains their faith.
In the cozy romance novel Christmas at the Havenwood Diner, an earnest couple works past their differences in the name of love that is “real, honest, and worth every risk.”
Reviewed by
Michelle Anne Schingler
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
