Thank you to Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone, and the team at Avon for the advance reader copy of Snow Place Like LA, a Christmas Notch in July Novella.
I adored A Merry Little Meet Cute and was excited to see Julie and Sierra gifting us this sweet treat of a novella. Luca was a fan favourite and I was so excited to see where his fling with Angel could go. Fans of this series will love this story, as it is a great check-in on beloved characters and a tease of what is to come.
I am a Sierra Simone review team member but remain honest and genuine in my reviews.
After Angel and Luca connected on the set of Duke the Halls and had a whirlwind romance in the literal snow globe of Christmas Notch, Vermont, Luca found himself falling in love. Hard. He’d never been one to believe in fate or true love, but one thing was certain: Angel was his person. He knew it as well as he knew the history of American figure skating. But when Angel left for an art school semester abroad without a word, Luca’s already brittle heart was broken. No one ghosted Luca. Unless he was in a haunted house.
But with the spring semester long over, Angel is back home in Los Angeles for the summer, and unfortunately for Luca, this big town is turning out to be smaller than either of them ever expected.
Check out my more detailed thoughts below…
- Characters: For both Luca and Angel this story picks up where A Merry Little Meet Cute left off, with a movie wrapped and next plans up in the air. Luca returns to LA hoping to keep what started in Christmas Notch with Angel alive, but life has other plans. I was surprised how much of Luca’s character was dominated by self-doubt, but that is why having someone like Angel show Luca what his work was worth was so essential.
- Setting: The story is predominately set in L.A. and actually includes some thoughts on its hustle culture and way of life which were refreshing to see. Rather than another romance that romanticizes the L.A. life. Plus I enjoyed all the cameos from the characters I already loved like Bianca and Sunny.
- Pacing: This will be the perfect quick read for someone who is already a fan of this world. It is not an essential instalment, you can skip this and wait for the full-length book in the fall. If you want a speedy read it is perfect raunchy fun. Just one note, it is a single point of view with a focus on Luca and my preference is a dual point of view. I felt it was hard to know what was going on with Angel and to connect with him.
- Romance: My favourite part of the story was the chemistry between Luca and Angel. They shared so many scenes together that weren’t just deliciously steamy, but emotionally heartwarming. A few of the romantic problems were solved with little conflict but that was the nature of the shorter story. Honestly, they were partner goals!
Snow Place Like LA receives four out of five stars.
You can pick up the story here.
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Thank you again to Sierra, Julie, and their teams for the review opportunity. Thank you for reading and supporting my blog!