ARC Review: Tessa & Weston: The Best Christmas Ever by Abbie Emmons
Tessa And Weston: The Best Christmas Ever
Series: 100 Days #2
Author: Abbie Emmons
To Be Published: November 1, 2021
208 Pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: October 11-22, 2021
Jessica’s Rating: 5 stars
Book Description:
It’s Tessa and Weston’s first Christmas together, and Tessa is determined to make it the best holiday ever. But when her estranged mother shows up with a suitcase and plans to stay for two weeks, Tessa’s hopes are shattered.
Bitter from the past and still holding a grudge, Tessa is in no mood to give her mother a second chance. The holiday season may be a time of reconciliation with family, but Tessa believes her mother will never change. Why get close when she’s just going to leave again? Tessa realizes there is only one way to save this Christmas: avoid her mother as much as possible.
With the best intentions in mind, Tessa chooses to not tell her mother about Weston’s disability. But when they meet face-to-face, Tessa is mortified and ashamed by her mother’s insensitive remarks. Weston begins to think he is the real cause of Tessa’s shame. His old demons resurrect to haunt him with doubts: What if, one day, Tessa stops loving him because of his disability?
Determined to prove his love for her, Weston makes it his mission to be the best boyfriend ever and works to reunite Tessa with her mother. Meanwhile, Tessa plots elaborate ways to avoid “mother-daughter time” at all costs. One scheme leads to another, until Tessa finds herself tangled in a web of deceit — and, worst of all, lying to Weston.
When the secrets between them force Tessa and Weston to face their greatest fears, they must confront the inescapable question: Is true love worth the risk of heartbreak? Is it ever too late to forgive and start over?
The Best Christmas Ever is a heartwarming holiday follow-up to 100 Days of Sunlight by Abbie Emmons. You’ll love this touching story of forgiveness, family, and first love.
Jessica’s Review:
I don’t tend to read Christmas romances, but when the author gave me an opportunity to read an advanced copy of Tessa and Weston’s continuing story I had to read it: I mean this is Tessa and Weston!!!
Picking up after 100 Days of Sunlight which I just adored, Tessa and Weston’s first Christmas together is very quickly approaching and then the unexpected arrives in the form of Tessa’s estranged mother. She also wants to heal wounds and Tessa wants nothing of it.
T&W (Tessa and Weston) is a short novella sequel that focuses on everything it needs to while giving you all the Christmas feelings that Christmas stories have. T&W will definitely put you in the Christmas spirit. It deals with family, forgiveness, and the joys and pains of young first love. After this second novel with Tessa and Weston, I want to read even more of their story and to see them mature and grow into adults with each other.
After two years from the publication of 100 Days of Sunlight, T&W comes as an unexpected, but most welcome surprise filled with lots of sweetness. This is a clean first love/romance story, with some minor foul language.
Do yourself a favor and pick this one up on November 1st! I had not even finished my advanced copy and clicked that pre-order button. As with 100 Days, the cover of T&W has small images that reflect the story you are about to read. I cannot wait to have my copy to put next to 100 Days!
Pick both novels up if you have not read either one and get ready to fall into the Christmas spirit! Get some cookies and hot chocolate to snack on as you read! And just maybe I will start reading some Christmas romances one day soon…
Tessa and Weston: The Best Christmas Ever is highly recommended! Many thanks to Abbie Emmons for inviting me to be a part of her ARC Team for this upcoming release!
#Diverseathon2021: 100 Days of Sunlight by Abbie Emmons
100 Days of Sunlight
Author: Abbie Emmons
Published: August 7, 2019
315 Pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: July 8-15, 2021
Jessica’s Rating: 5 stars
Book Description:
When 16-year-old poetry blogger Tessa Dickinson is involved in a car accident and loses her eyesight for 100 days, she feels like her whole world has been turned upside-down.
Terrified that her vision might never return, Tessa feels like she has nothing left to be happy about. But when her grandparents place an ad in the local newspaper looking for a typist to help Tessa continue writing and blogging, an unlikely answer knocks at their door: Weston Ludovico, a boy her age with bright eyes, an optimistic smile…and no legs.
Knowing how angry and afraid Tessa is feeling, Weston thinks he can help her. But he has one condition — no one can tell Tessa about his disability. And because she can’t see him, she treats him with contempt: screaming at him to get out of her house and never come back. But for Weston, it’s the most amazing feeling: to be treated like a normal person, not just a sob story. So he comes back. Again and again and again.
Tessa spurns Weston’s “obnoxious optimism”, convinced that he has no idea what she’s going through. But Weston knows exactly how she feels and reaches into her darkness to show her that there is more than one way to experience the world. As Tessa grows closer to Weston, she finds it harder and harder to imagine life without him — and Weston can’t imagine life without her. But he still hasn’t told her the truth, and when Tessa’s sight returns he’ll have to make the hardest decision of his life: vanish from Tessa’s world…or overcome his fear of being seen.
100 Days of Sunlight is a poignant and heartfelt novel by author Abbie Emmons. If you like sweet contemporary romance and strong family themes then you’ll love this touching story of hope, healing, and getting back up when life knocks you down.
Jessica’s Review:
OMG, 100 Days of Sunlight knocked The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue out of my #1 read for this year (my double review with Kim is here.) Though we still have plenty of time left in 2021, I was not expecting this when I started reading this book: It made me cry! Addie LaRue came very close, but this one did it to me! I have had this book since the beginning of the year and was able to get it read for June’s prompt for #Diverseathon, which is a main character that is disabled. In fact, in 100 Days we get both characters with a disability: One whose blindness should go away and another who lost his legs.
100 Days deals with grief through loss, acceptance, recovery, hope, and multiple types of love. Both Tessa and Weston are our narrators and the book takes place in present day and also Weston’s past with him losing his legs. At the beginning of the novel Tessa has already been blind for 21 days and she is an angry and scared girl. Her sight is supposed to return around 12-14 weeks which is 98 days, but what if it doesn’t? She is also dealing with her loss of independence. She is a poetry blogger, but how is she to continue when she can’t see? Her grandparents try to help by placing an ad in the paper for help and in the picture comes Weston. He asks Tessa’s grandparents not to tell Tessa about his missing legs and Tessa treats him as anyone else: terribly.
Over time the two connect and grow close. Both are determined, yet stubborn and also scared. Weston is conflicted: Should he tell Tessa about his lack of legs and be treated differently once her sight returns or vanish from her life afterwards?
OMG, I had so many emotions reading 100 Days. Weston took so much from “Angry Tessa” but he understood her feelings. Over the course of the novel you really grow to care about both characters and want a happy ending, but not sure what will happen. And I totally started crushing on Weston- I have a book boyfriend! I don’t think I have been able to say that for a long time.
I absolutely loved this novel, and it is a debut novel by indie author Abbie Emmons. And the cover is just gorgeous! Every object shown on the cover has a meaning that we see over the course of the novel.
This novel would work for those ages 12 and up and is on the mild side of language and thematic elements.
100 Days of Sunlight is 1000% recommended!
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#Diverseathon201:
For full details on this year long readathon, please click here.
And don’t forget about the awesome GRAND PRIZE at the end of the year. Click the link here for that information.
July’s host is Kesara at readswithkesara over at Instagram. She is having a giveaway of One book valuing up to $20 from the Book Depository or Amazon (for US based winner) Be sure to check out her Instagram for full details on that giveaway.
Be sure to check out her YouTube Channel!
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Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK