Room at the Inn for Christmas by Mary Connealy

Title: Room at the Inn for Christmas (Second Chance at Star Inn)
Author: Mary Connealy
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Christmas
Length: Novella
Publisher: Swerve
Release Date: October 25, 2016
Source: NetGalley
Rating: 3
Heat Rating: 1
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Welcome to Heywood, Oregon where three lost women find healing, hope and love under the bright light of the town's old Star Inn this Christmas season.

Amanda Star’s father always wanted her to come into the family business, and run the majestic old Star Inn with him but she had bigger plans. She’s a high-powered executive in the multi-national Halston hotel chain. One more promotion—which she expects to get by Christmas—will make her the youngest vice president in Halston history and she’s got her sights set on the CEO job.

Then she inherits the Star Inn. With no time to be away from her job, she impatiently rushes home to list the beautiful old bed and breakfast for sale. Now that she’s here she’s swamped with sweet memories and keen regret. Her father has made the inn a safe haven where weary travelers can get away from their hectic lives, and Amanda, working 10-hour days and living on coffee and antacids, desperately needs that safe haven.

As Amanda struggles against the lure of home, she also is reunited with an old classmate: Anthony Carter, a handyman with a guarded heart. Hurt before by a woman who saw his contentment and pleasure in building and living on his own land as a lack of ambition, Cart reluctantly finds himself drawn to a woman who wants so much more than a man with callused hands and sawdust in his hair. A woman who came home for Christmas and badly needs to stay. With the help of Angel Rafferty, the front desk clerk and a lifelong friend of Amanda’s parents, can Cart help Amanda realize the hospitality industry is far more than spreadsheets and bottom lines in time for Christmas?

This is one book in a series that are all centered around the Star Inn. This one seemed like the perfect place to start with an introduction to the Inn, it's family, and the town of Heywood. And it was a great place to kick off.

This story starts off on a roll with Amanda returning to clear up her father's estate after his death. She's a big city girl that's always on the go. When she runs into her old crush, Anthony, she's in for quite a surprise. Not just because he's hot as all get out and seems genuinely happy to see her (at least at first), but his appearance is the first in a string of lies that begin to unfold.

Now, I won't be giving too much away when I say that Amanda is about to find out that pretty much everything she heard after she moved to the city about her hometown and family was all lies. Really big lies. She is perfectly devastated and confused, her reaction was everything it should have been. But Anthony doesn't really buy it. Why didn't she come see for herself, or call, or something.

Eventually the two find their way through the sea of lies and come up with a reason for why they were told to her. I really really really didn't buy the reason. None of it felt right, and they even admitted that they were just guessing. But it threw a hole into the story that I had a hard time getting out of. I kept going back to "why?" And I never got an answer that seemed even remotely believable to me.

I've already dove in to the next books in the collection. I'm excited to see what happens at the Star Inn this holiday season.

**This book was received in exchange for an honest review**

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