Review: 'Cold Feet at Christmas' by Debbie Johnson (2014)

Running out on your wedding shouldn’t be this much fun!
A remote Scottish castle on a snowy Christmas Eve. A handsome husband-to-be. A dress to die for. It should have been the happiest day of Leah Harvey’s life – but the fairytale wedding turns sour when she finds her fiancé halfway up the bridesmaid’s skirt just hours before the ceremony!
Fleeing the scene in a blizzard, Leah ends up stranded at the nearest cottage, where she collapses into the arms of its inhabitant – a man so handsome she thinks she must have died and gone to heaven!
And when Rob Cavelli suddenly finds himself with an armful of soaking wet, freezing cold, and absolutely gorgeous bride on the run, he’s more than happy to welcome her into his snowbound cottage this Christmas…
Debbie Johnson's 'Cold Feet at Christmas', which was released in November 2014 by Harper Impulse, managed to immediately catch my attention with its lovely festive cover. The past year I've had the pleasure of reading and reviewing several Harper Impulse short stories and novels, and their works are always enjoyable, steamy romance reads. So, when I received the chance to review Debbie Johnson's festive novel, I grabbed the opportunity with both hands.
Leah Harvey is on the verge of marrying her long-term boyfriend; she's already wearing her wedding dress when she suddenly finds him getting a bit too close for comfort with one of her bridesmaids. Realising she is about to make the biggest mistake of her life, Leah doesn't think twice and runs away from her own wedding, straight into a raging blizzard. Her car doesn't bring her very far and breaks down, which is how she ends up in a seemingly deserted cottage in the Scottish middle of nowhere. The cottage belongs to handsome but distant businessman Rob Cavelli, who has his own personal reasons for not wanting to celebrate Christmas and prefers hiding in his faraway cottage instead. Leah and Rob can't ignore the chemistry between them, and suddenly their Christmas looks much more promising than expected...
I loved the starting point of this novel; a bride running away from her own wedding around Christmas time, ending up stranded in a blizzard, knocking on the door of a seemingly deserted cottage, where she finds the handsome brooding man of her dreams... I also warmed to both Leah and Rob. Leah is an incredibly feisty female protagonist who finds herself at quite a changing point in her life. Rob is the handsome, silent type who has been through a lot and has to open himself to new experiences. I could understand his motive for trying to push other people away and I wish more pages would have focused on his background story and history, because this really fascinated me. There are a few secondary characters in the book, but none that seem to play a really significant role. I would have loved to have read more about Rob's brother and mother, but I also understand the author's choice for really focussing mainly on the two main characters. 
Unfortunately, the book was not as festive as I had hoped, based on its cover. The story is set around Christmas time, but that's also where most of the festive cheer stops, which was a shame. I have to say, overall, this book left me with slightly mixed feelings; I really liked the plotline and basic idea of the two main characters and the topics the book deals with. On the other hand, I missed the Christmas spirit and I wish more attention would have been paid to the background stories of the characters and the secondary characters. If you are looking for a quick paced, steamy, romantic read with just a touch of festive cheer, 'Cold Feet At Christmas' is your read. If Debbie Johnson decides to write a sequel, I'll definitely pick it up to see where these characters ended up! Rating:

7/10

  For more information about this book: Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Goodreads
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.