One Enchanted Eve by Melissa Tagg is a delightful Christmas romance about finding the perfect recipe for love.

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One Enchanted Eve

After years of mistakes and regret, Colin Renwycke finally has a plan: Hone his baking talent at the Denver Culinary Institute and embark on a new career as a pastry chef. If he’s lucky, he might even manage to earn back his family’s respect. But despite his skills in the kitchen, Colin’s a mess in the classroom and his ongoing disasters are proving too much for his prickly instructor. If he loses his spot at the school, he’s out of backup plans.

Culinary school instructor Rylan Jefferson has the chance to reclaim her dream of running her own bakery. But she only has until Christmas Eve to come up with the perfect recipe to impress an eccentric investor. She has no time for holiday parties or family plans . . . and especially not for the unruly student baker who couldn’t follow a recipe if his life depended on it.

But Colin has the one ingredient Rylan needs most—talent. Lots of it. And when he makes a proposal that just might solve both their problems, Rylan can’t say no—even if it does mean traveling all the way to Iowa. It just might be that the snow-covered plains and a charming small town full of postcard Christmas cheer are exactly what her hungry heart needs . . . along with a man who is much more than he seems.

My book review of One Enchanted Eve by Melissa Tagg

Take a bit of baking, a bit of Christmas, a bit of small town charm, a bit of romance and what do you have? The recipe for a perfect Christmas novella by Melissa Tagg. I have loved every book Melissa has written. They really get into your heart, and One Enchanted Eve is no exception. My only complaint is that it is a novella and too short!! I want more, more, more. I guess that is the sign of a good recipe.

Rylan and Colin are characters you’re going to love. Rylan is a stickler for following the rules (recipes), and Colin loves throwing caution to the wind. He is an experimenter and Rylan can’t handle his blatant disregard for following a recipe. She wants to kick him out of culinary school, so to convince her to let him stay, Colin invites Rylan home to Iowa. He says he will help her come up with a winning recipe, so she’ll get an interview for her dream job. Who wouldn’t agree to that?

What she doesn’t know is that she’s also Colin’s buffer. He’s been away from home for a long time and wants to prove to his family that he’s made something of himself. What he doesn’t see is that family loves you no matter what…even when you mess up.

Once again, I want to live in Maple Valley. It is a most charming town with hints of Stars Hollow (you Gilmore Girl fans know what I mean). If there really were a Maple Valley, I’d be packing my bags, and you’ll feel the same reading about this town. You’ll fall in love with the characters as well as the town. I absolutely adore Colin. He’s the perfect mix of “bad boy with a damaged spirit” and “goofy best friend/boyfriend” material. I love that the book has baking in it too! I’m a huge fan of baking shows on the Food Network.

After reading this book, you may be prepared to drop everything and enroll in culinary school to become a pastry chef…or at least YouTube fancy pastry recipes. Buy this book! You’ll thank me!

You can get the first book in this series for only 99 cents below! It’s adorable too 🙂 Be sure to check out all of Melissa’s books. Three Little Words, the prequel to her Walker Family Series, is free! What is better than free?!

AUTHOR MELISSA TAGG

Melissa Tagg is the award-winning author of the popular Walker Family series, the Where Love Begins series and the Enchanted Christmas Collection. (By the way, I love her Christmas collection! Check out my review of one of the books in the series here.) She’s a former reporter, current nonprofit grant writer and total Iowa girl.

Melissa’s recent releases include a 2018 ACFW Carol Award Winner (One Enchanted Noel), an RT Book Reviews TOP PICK (All This Time) and a Publishers Weekly Spring Top Ten Pick (Like Never Before).

Melissa has taught at multiple national writing conferences, as well as workshops and women’s retreats. When she’s not writing, she can be found hanging out with the coolest family ever–not that she’s biased–watching old movies, and daydreaming about her next book. Melissa loves connecting with readers at www.melissatagg.com and on Facebook and Instagram.