In No Holly for Christmas, Brian McAlister is struggling to find his way in life, now that his heart is truly broken over Josie's rejection.  So he agrees to take on a new case (he's a lawyer) and buries himself in his work.  Little does he know that this case will truly change his life.

Holly Cavanaugh Winter is recently widowed and now striving to provide for her girls through her job as a social worker.  While she enjoys her work, the life it is providing is not that life she is used to. It is wearing her down, and she is in no mood for the upcoming holiday season. When she somehow manages to get mixed up in a murder case her life is forever changed, and maybe not for the best...

I enjoyed getting to see Brian again. While I certainly was not a Brian fan in the first book, I felt bad for him.  He seemed to always get the short end of all of life's situations.  He is certainly an interesting character - not really bad, not really good... very real. Which is the main reason why I keep picking up Ford's books - she has a way of writing realistic characters - people you might know.

I also appreciated the pace of the story... it felt like an actual event in someone's life... while they are extraordinary, to say the least, it was still believable enough.

I'm not a fan of the cliche nature of the book.  Nothing surprised me. I know that this is certainly set up for an audience of Hallmark-esque books and movies, but still...

There were some minor details thrown in near the end of the book that helped establish the plot more solidly but they should have been included earlier on to make the story flow better.  It's a minor thing that isn't really noticeable to many, but for the detailed oriented types, well it's something that editing needed to polish a bit.

Heart image of rating
I'm giving this book three hearts because it is exactly what I expected, but my expectations were not high... 

I would certainly suggest this for fans of Ford - it lines up perfectly with her style and audience. If you are a fan of sweet romances that add in a little excitement in the plot, then you'll like this. I would imagine fans of Hallmark movies would love it... as well as those who enjoyed Castle.