Meet the Author
Robert Tate Miller was raised in the North Carolina mountain town of Hendersonville and began writing at an early age. He began his writing career with homespun essays of small town life that were published in such publications as Reader's Digest, The Christian Science Monitor and the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series. He moved to Los Angeles in the late 1980s and wrote hugely successful family-oriented telefilms for NBC, ABC Family and the Hallmark Channel. Robert lives in Northridge, CA..
About the Book
Title: The Christmas Layover
Author: Robert Tate Miller
Publisher/
Publication Date: Entangled Bliss; November 12, 2018
Format/Source: E-ARC; Publisher via NetGalley
Genre: Contemporary Romance
The weather forecasters said the snowstorm would miss the eastern seaboard. They were wrong. When Ally Henderson’s flight from Southern California to finally marry her fiancé in New York City on Christmas gets diverted to the tiny Midwestern town of Bethlehem, she’s desperate to get back in the air and to the Big Apple. But with all the airports closed, she’s forced to rely on Midwestern hospitality to wait out the storm.
Living with a welcoming stranger is one way to spend a snowed-in Christmas, but when she meets the local diner owner, the kindhearted and surprisingly sexy Jake, sparks fly. Only, Ally’s a big-city girl with big-city dreams, and Jake will always be a Bethlehem boy.
Author: Robert Tate Miller
Publisher/
Publication Date: Entangled Bliss; November 12, 2018
Format/Source: E-ARC; Publisher via NetGalley
Genre: Contemporary Romance
The weather forecasters said the snowstorm would miss the eastern seaboard. They were wrong. When Ally Henderson’s flight from Southern California to finally marry her fiancé in New York City on Christmas gets diverted to the tiny Midwestern town of Bethlehem, she’s desperate to get back in the air and to the Big Apple. But with all the airports closed, she’s forced to rely on Midwestern hospitality to wait out the storm.
Living with a welcoming stranger is one way to spend a snowed-in Christmas, but when she meets the local diner owner, the kindhearted and surprisingly sexy Jake, sparks fly. Only, Ally’s a big-city girl with big-city dreams, and Jake will always be a Bethlehem boy.
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Excerpt
“Let me get this straight,”
Ally said. “You sneak over here every December 22nd and build a snowman in the yard?”
“Pretty much,” Jake said.
“Each year I have to wait a little longer because Maddie’s bedtime keeps
getting later.”
“But what if there’s no
snow?”
“Yeah, we did have that
problem a couple of years ago. Luckily, I have a buddy who works at Echo
Mountain Ski Resort. I drove two hours one-way to load up my pickup with
manmade snow. Had more than I needed, so I spread the rest in the yard.”
Ally smiled. How sweet
that he would go to all that trouble.
“Does Maddie know you’re the
culprit?” Ally asked.
“She pretends she doesn’t,”
Jake said. “Though I did catch her peeking out the window one night several
years back. To be honest, I think she enjoys the fantasy more than the
reality.”
“Don’t we all?” Ally said.
“So,” she added, “let’s get started.”
Jake swung open the gate. “I
like your attitude.”
He retrieved a canvas bag of
supplies that he kept hidden beneath the porch steps, explaining that he stowed
the bag at his sister’s so that he’d have the materials on hand year in and
year out when he stole over in the night to do this snowman-building deed. As
she worked side-by-side with Jake constructing the surprise snowman, Ally
noticed that he seemed a bit chattier than usual. She liked it. He was getting
more comfortable with her.
“So anyway,” Jake said,
“when this all started, Maddie was into Bob the Builder. That’s why she
named him Snowman Bob. One year, I put one of Mom’s wigs on him just to test
that, and she still called him Snowman Bob.” Ally laughed as she packed some
icy snow onto Bob’s mid- section. “Been doing it every year since she was four.
And, tomorrow morning, she’ll wake up, remember what day it is, run outside
and...here he’ll be.” Ally stepped back and took in their joint venture. They’d
been at it for about a half hour, and she thought they’d done a pretty fair
job.
“I bet this one’s the best
yet,” she said.
“Yeah,” Jake said. “And it’s
all because of you.” “Oh really?” Ally asked. “Are you patronizing me?”
“Maybe a little,” Jake said.
“Well, that won’t do.” Ally
picked up a clump of snow and flung it at him. “That’s what you get.”
“Oh, it’s on now!” Jake
said. He went to retaliate, quickly packing some frozen snow into a ball, while
Ally worked furiously to beat him to the punch. Ally’s shrieking laughter
echoed down the street, bouncing off the houses.
“You’re going to wake the
whole neighborhood,” Jake teased.
“It’s your fault,” she said.
She picked up another handful of snow and plopped it on his head, then let out
another cackle of laughter that reverberated down the block.
“Nice,” Jake said. “Real
nice. How would you like it down your back?” Jake grabbed a chunk of ice.
“Don’t you dare!” Ally said.
She made a halfhearted attempt to avoid capture, but Jake grabbed her around
the waist as Ally laughed so hard she could barely catch her breath. “Jake, you’d
better not! Ahhh! That’s cold!” Jake managed to slip a chunk of ice down her
collar, and Ally felt the freezing cold against her bare skin. As she squirmed
trying to dislodge it, Ally realized that, for the moment, at least, her
troubles were miles away. She felt girlish and euphoric. So, this is what
fun feels like, she thought.
The snow battle lasted no
more than a couple of minutes, but Ally felt like she’d had a real workout. If
there had been ringside judges, she felt she would have held her own, gotten a
split decision at the very least. Jake had just as much snow on him as she did.
The bout ended like some
clichéd romantic comedy with the participants tumbling into the snow, Jake
ending up on top of her, looking down into her face, which Ally could feel was
pink with flush. Her head rested on the firm snow, and she could feel the cold
on her exposed neck. They were both laughing and breathing hard, and then Ally
realized they were all alone and face-to-face. She felt calm and happy as she
looked up into his sea-blue eyes. He’s got specks of brown in his pupils,
she thought. She also picked out a few light freckles high on his cheeks that
she hadn’t seen before.
His eyes were locked on
hers, searching. She could sense him wanting to kiss her, and she felt a sudden
warmth rush through her. Ally recognized it instantly. Desire. She wanted that
kiss, wanted his lips on hers. She wanted to reach up and grab him by the lapel
and pull him down to her, but, instead, she waited. It was his move.
In The Christmas
Layover, Robert Tate Miller did an amazing job of depicting the magic of the Christmas season. The strategic names of people and
places such as Noel and Bethlehem respectively, the heartbreak, the newly formed friendships, the fresh fallen snow, and the holiday baking with family and
friends added to the Christmas magic. I also loved the depiction of the
close-knit community members who supported Jake and Ally as they struggled with
their pasts and feelings for one another. All of these elements helped
set the tone of the story. And needless to say, I was hooked from page one. It
was simply the most heartwarming Christmas story I’ve read
this year!
I’d definitely recommend
this book to readers looking for their next holiday read.
Rating: 5/5
I received a copy of this book from the publisher for this review.
Giveaway
$25 Amazon Gift Card
