Baby Blue Christmas
By Kristy Tate
ASIN: B077JGFM46
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra
Summary
After the sudden death of baby Jamison’s parents, custody is awarded to both his aunt Sophie Rossi and his uncle Luke Mason. With Luke nowhere to be found, Sophie quits her prestigious job in San Francisco and moves into her sister’s farmhouse in Shell Beach to care for Jamison. After six months, she still struggles to fit into her sister’s capable shoes.
Then Luke Mason resurfaces without explanation and wants to be a part of Jamison’s life.
Sophie resents his long absence, secrets, and interference. Plus, she hasn’t really forgiven him for calling her a sofa when they were in high school.
As Christmas nears, Sophie and Luke’s love for Jamison draws them together, causing them to rethink their plans for the future and redefine their ideas family.
Review
My first foray into the writings of Kristy Tate…and a novella to boot. I am generally not a fan of novella’s but I found Baby Blue Christmas checked off all the boxes – sweet, easy to read, engaging plot and strong main characters.
Sophie and Luke have been named legal guardians of young Jamison when his parents die (Sophie’s sister and Luke’s brother). Luke bails after the funeral, leaving Sophie to be the sole guardian and caregiver. She has given up her law career in the big city and is now living in Jamison’s family home. Then out of the blue – Luke is back in town and he seems to have the intention of remaining present in the lad’s life from now on. That of course translates into Sophie’s life as well.
I enjoyed reading the journey that Sophie took to come to accept Luke’s wish to be involved in his nephew’s life. Of course there is a fun love triangle…entertaining to say the least. And of course Atticus is adorable…. what new single mother doesn’t need a puppy to look after as well?
All I have to say is that I fell for Luke when he made Sophie breakfast and she thought…”it was a really spectacular bowl of oatmeal…”. That certainly won my heart towards Luke. The secrets in each of their lives (which has in the past lead them to be reserved in their relationships) were a surprise but definitely added to the understanding of each character and their motivations with respect to their behaviour. I suspect you will be as surprised as I was. J The secondary characters were developed sufficiently to add to the story and in fact, some played a more crucial role than others and some where just there for levity (I felt).
My only bone of contention is continuity of story. When at the end…it is to be one year later, they have baby Jamie asking Jacob “Are you Mia’s boyfriend?” or “Are you going to marry her? Or “Why wouldn’t he know?” From what I gleaned, Jamie is supposed to be about 2.5 years old…so really these questions seem a wee bit advanced for a young child of that age to ask. I know my 2 ½ year old did not have the vocabulary nor social knowledge to ask these sorts of questions. I could see asking about being a boyfriend…maybe(?)…but not a forward thinking question like “Why wouldn’t he know?”
Other than the last paragraph’s rant, I did enjoy the read. Baby Blue Christmas kept my attention and did provide enough of a back story to be a fulsome read. I shall definitely keep my eyes out for more titles by Kristy Tate.
