A short and sweet holiday story to get the reader in the mood for the upcoming Christmas holiday. Wonderfully written.

Loved Holly and Sean. Holly has returned home after her parents left her mother's Christmas Shop to her as they have retired to Florida. Holly has never liked Christmas but her childhood friend, Sean hopes to change her mind. Sean owns the local restaurant after his parents have died. Sean has always had a crush on her growing up but were very different. There is an instant chemistry between the two but Sara tries to fight it because she is there only temporarily unless Sean can change her mind.

This is the second book in the Hamilton collection, originally published in the Kissing Santa Claus anthology. A fun short read that is perfect for this holiday season.

I really enjoyed reading Donna Kauffman's lovely, romantic and well-written Christmas novella.

Holly Bennett has returned to Willow Creek after her parents' unexpected retirement to Florida. They left her to deal with Santa's Workshop, the Christmas-themed store that had been their life's work.

Anticipating Holly's return is Sean Gallagher, who has known and had an unrequited crush on her since high school. He thought she was so poised and sure of herself that she wouldn't give him the time of day.

"What I didn't know, and was too chicken to find out...was if the one person who seemed completely unaffected by me would return my interest...or turn me down flat. I didn't want to risk the rejection. Not with you. It would have mattered."

Sean is determined to take advantage of this second-chance opportunity. I absolutely loved Sean and how he fought for the relationship, especially upon learning he had been the focus of Holly's adolescent fantasies too.

"I already lived with the regret of not pursuing you once. I don't want to make that mistake again."

Sean knows what he wants and won't let Holly give up on them. He is supportive and helps her see all the possibilities for the future.

The book is part of Kauffman's three-book Hamilton Christmas series but can be read as a stand-alone. Now, I need to read the other books!!

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

4 Star review of Lock, Stock and Jingle Bells by Donna Kauffman
I love any story that is centred around my favourite holiday of the year, Christmas and is a time for family and friends to get together;
I love everything there is about the holiday season, the decorating, the carols, the cooking, the shopping for the presents for family an friends and honestly, I would love to have been in Holly Berry Bennett’s position.
Holly hates Christmas, despite the fact that her mother absolutely adores it and even runs a Christmas novelty store. When her parents decide to retire early, Holly is given the store and she is not to happy. When her old friend Sean (whom Holly had a crush on) decides that he is going to help her turn her feelings towards the holiday season around he has not idea what he has started.
Unbeknownst to Holly, Sean had also had a crush on her so now he decides to see what “sparks” are between them.
This was a fun , quick read filled with the holiday spirit which will get you ready for Christmas and one I really enjoyed.
I received this book in exchange for an honest review from the publisher through Netgalley.

Holly hates the yuletide season more than ever since she inherited her mother’s Christmas novelty store, but her childhood pal Sean’s determined to warm her up - to Christmas and to him. When they uncover a diary concealing secrets involving both their families, this could be the Christmas that changes their lives forever...
Reprinted from a previous anthology, I remembered this story about halfway through. It is much better having read the first in the series and I'm wondering why the publisher didn't just release all three novellas in one book.

Three stars
This novella came out September 25
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

As usual a wonderful book by Donna Kauffman!!
Lock, Stock and Jingle Bells is the story of Holly and Sean and how love can truly help you find your way.

Enjoyed this story however I am not sure that the title was appropriate. I don't really think it had much of a holiday theme. The story was a good one showing how Holly dealt with the things that were thrust upon her. I did get a little lost in the diary story - perhaps it could have been a bit clearer? Overall though enjoyed the book.

I received a free eARC through Netgalley. This novella was originally published as part of an anthology. This is book two of three in the Hamilton series.
Holly Berry Bennett may have a Christmas name, but that in no way implies she is a fan of the holiday. Quite the opposite in fact, especially having grown up in a store dedicated to all things Christmas. Holly has been living in London but has returned home for the holidays after her parents decide to up and retire out of nowhere, leaving Holly a store she in no way wants.
Sean Gallagher is quite happy to see Holly back in town. They’ve known each other their whole lives and, unbeknownst to each other, shared a mutual attraction. Neither thought they stood a chance back in high school so they never pursued their crush. Sean’s not about to let the opportunity slip through his fingers.
While Sean is interested in Holly, he tries to be a friend first having had his own course in life altered and can relate to what she is going through. Holly and Sean are an enjoyable couple and share humorous moments together.
Although this can be read as a standalone, the family mystery from the first book in the series, Unleashed, continues in this story.

In this second book of the Hamilton Novella series we meet Holly, a young woman who hates Christmas for so many reasons. It never helped that her mom owned a Christmas themed store and she was made to help out whenever she could, or that her birthday falls on Christmas Eve. Holly moved as far away as she could as soon as she graduated high school and only comes home during the Thanksgiving holiday. When her parents surprise her with the fact that they are moving to Florida but taking a cruise before they do she is shocked, Holly never thought they would leave the life they had built for themselves. Even more shocking her mother has left Holly her Christmas store to do with as she likes. Is this an early inheritance or an albatross around her neck? Holly returns to figure out just what she is going to do with the store and ends up running into an old crush. Sean is happy to see Holly back in town, he has always felt a connection with her but never had the nerve to do anything about it. Follow along as the two do an age old dance, Sean takes a step forward and Holly takes a step back. Sean is ready to make his move and see just where he can fit into Holly's life, Holly on the other hand isn't sure where her life is headed and isn't sure if she should take the chance. Will they end up dancing together or will Sean be left on the sidelines alone?

An amazingly sweet but passionate Christmas love story with a bit of mystery, this second installment of the Hamilton Christmas stand alone series was just as good as the first.

The second book in the Hamilton Christmas novella length series. This contemporary romance is part of a series but a stand alone as well as each novella has it's own set of main characters. We do meet up with characters in past books for added fun though. A fun holiday second chance romance with small town goodness that makes for a snowy good fun time holiday romance.
Pub Date 25 Sep 2018
I received a complimentary copy from Kensington Books through Netgalley. Thank you. All opinions expressed are my own.

A charming second chance romance. As I don't celebrate Christmas, I didn't plan to read this novella. After reading "Unleashed," I immediately wanted to continue the family secret part of the story. With a last name of Kauffman, I figured this author would not put too much emphasis on all the trappings of the holiday. I was right. Enough so that lovers of the holiday should be satisfied, but not so much that I was deterred from reading the tale. Not a fan of intimate details either, but the author doesn't get too detailed. I know, why am I reading this series of novellas? I enjoy the stories so much that I can overlook the parts I don't enjoy that I know others do. I now have to read the third and final part of this trilogy.

This wonderful Christmas novella by Donna Kauffman brings Holly back to America from her home and job in England to take over her mother's Christmas store. The only thing is, Holly doesn't want it. She's really at a crossroads as to what to do with her life. She thinks she has the store thing all figured out, but the hunky guy who's restaurant is across the street is a complication in a huge, sexy way.
This is a second chance at love trope and a Christmas story. You can't go wrong with Lock, Stock & Jingle Bells. It will warm up your heart and get you ready for snow and Christmas!

Holly hates anything that has to do with Christmas. She was born Christmas Eve, hates it, and on top of it all, her mother ran a successful Christmas and Antique store that has now been left to her to decide what to do with it. Does she keep it open, sell it, rent it out, or just run away?

Holly left at 18 and only came back once a year. Her parents had her later in life, and now that they decided to retire, they sold the house, and left the business to her. She goes back to Virginia to take care of it all. However she never expected to run into Sean Gallagher again. Her childhood crush.

Sean Gallagher had big plans in DC, but then tragedy struck and he had to take over his parents restaurant. He loves it and his bachelor lifestyle. Even though he can have anyone he wants. Then Holly returns, and his crush comes back full force. He has decided in life that there will be no regrets, so he puts himself out there and hopes she reciprocates.

Sean and Holly have a past friendship, and Holly wants to keep it that way since she doesn't know if she is going back to England or not. She has never had the love and support she felt that Sean had. But he takes her into his family and she realizes that she may have found her home after all.

I loved reading Sean and Holly's story. It was a cute story on friends becoming more and finding out a family secret. Does Holly decide it is time to stay home and fulfill her dream? Can Sean get Holly to stay and make them work?

A great holiday short story originally published as part of the Kissing Santa Claus anthology. It's the second of three holiday novellas in the Hamilton Christmas series that are being released individually this season. In this one we get to know Holly Berry Bennett who returns home to decide what to do with the Christmas shop her mother left her, as well as Sean Gallagher who runs the restaurant across the street. Sean always had a crush on Holly but she never seemed to notice him. Now that she's back he plans on making her take notice!

Great read that gives you all the Christmas feel goods! I definitely recommend.

I always pity people that have their birthday on a big holiday. Christmas, Saint Nicholas, … The kind of days that are bound to make people go: “Oh, I’ll give you just one big present, that’s just as good as two smaller ones”. Yeah, no. I wonder that all those people don’t just hate those holidays ànd their birthdays.
In Holly’s case? She actually does. I mean, who wouldn’t, she fell asleep with Santa literally “seeing her as she’s sleeping” every day of her life. And she’s born on Christmas Eve. And her mum has a Christmas store. No wonder she’s spent Christmas travelling Europe and painting for the last couple of years. I mean, with her “security job” in marketing, it’s about the most painting she can get done.
Donna Kauffman does an excellent job of portraying not just the evolution of Holly’s feelings towards Christmas. She only manages to beautifully write out some steamier scenes - I found myself blushing at times (yes, really). At the same time, the romance in Lock, Stock & Jingle Bells is not based on just lust. (Although, let’s be real, there’s a lot of that as well.)
There’s something that most of us can dream away at in that idea of old feelings rekindled. And of course- in finding out that maybe that unattainable high school crush wasn’t quite so unattainable after all! If you’re after a quick (about an hour, for me?) read, featuring all that and covered with some renewed Christmas-believe? Then Lock, Stock & Jingle Bells is definitely the book for you!

Lock, Stock and Jingle Bells A Hamilton Christmas Novella by Donna Kauffman published on Sept 25th is a lovely, spicy, sometimes intimate, surely bubbling and very well structured Christmas novella plenty of good sentiments and interesting thematic. I read this eBook yesterday night when I went to bed and I am enthusiastic for it.
Holly Berry Bennett didn't like Christmas. She was born the day before Christmas and they called her Holly; her mother's devotion for this feast meant also a shop dedicated to Christmas; her mother thought that Christmas was everyday and she lived with this philosophy. Holly felt a kind of rejection: she had always seen it with antipathy; the connection with this feast to her tremendously sad. Her favorite Christmas? Going somewhere else, (she lived in London before to return to her native town) considering that she had a passion for painting, for staying relaxed while all the rest of humanity was lost in this final consumerist rush.
In the while her parents decided to take an important decision and so she was back to her old native village that she had left without too many compliments for seeing what to do of her life, and her parents's shop.

Sean Gallagher, cook with great experience was in love for Christmas. He had lost all his most important family members, true, but he always returned home with great joy because their family was a real clan and he has always felt a lot of joy, harmony, friendship, and passion for this holiday.
He notices, arriving, Holly Bennett.

Sean had had a great crush for her; but also Holly loved Sean when they were at high school, although she thought that she couldn't never been taken in consideration because he was a leader, and leaders in general searched for a cheerleader.

Their meeting will be a sign of the destiny, because not only they will clarify their past and current feelings but Holly will help Sean to sorting out a past problems he had, discovering important facts of Sean's family buried in a distant past...

I thank NetGalley and Kensington Books for this eBook.

A lovely story with a very lost and lonely woman and a wonderful family man who has loved her since childhood.
A real Christmas gift.

Lock, Stock & Jingle Bells by Donna Kauffman is the second novella length contemporary romance in the Hamilton Christmas series. This story was originally published in the Kissing Santa Clause anthology but is being republished as part of it’s own Christmas collection. Each book in the series can be read as standalone stories with each featuring a different set of main characters. However, the previous character do make a small appearance for fans of the series.

Holly Berry Bennett is not the biggest fan of Christmas. This is largely in part to her mother’s extreme passion for the holiday which obviously shows in Holly’s own name having been born on Christmas Eve. But also while growing up Holly spent plenty of time working in her mother’s Christmas novelty store and knew her own passion was elsewhere.

However, now in her thirties Holly never expected her workaholic parents to suddenly decide to retire and pass over the family store to her as an early inheritance. Holly had even been living in London all these years but now she finds herself on her way back to America to sort out her future. Worrying about the store the last thing on Holly’s mind was her high school crush, Sean Gallagher, who just happens to run the restaurant across the street and is the first to welcome Holly back to town.

This second book of the Hamilton Christmas series was just as lovely if not more so than the first. Obviously being novella length they are very fast paced and to the point reads with a quick romantic connection. This one added the second chance romance aspect to the story which I enjoyed though so not quite as insta-lovey. Both have had great characters, situations and some humor along the way making them quite enjoyable though so I’d definitely recommend.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

4 - "This might just be my best Christmas ever…" Stars!

Awwww, the second book in Donna Kauffman’s seasonal Hamilton series; Lock, Stock and Jingle Bells gives us Holly Bennett and Sean Gallagher’s story. Second-chance as well, which is one of my favorite romance tropes.

"I’m glad you’re back in town…"

Unrequited love never realized as teens because both of them were too shy to make the first move, is definitely not going to happen the second time round if Sean Gallagher has anything to do with it. Holly was the girl that got away, when she left the US to study in the UK and then never returned.

"I watched you every day for… well, it felt like forever."

So when she arrives in Willow Creek to decide what to do with her recently retired mother’s business; Santa’s Workshop he pulls out all the stops (charm, wit, and hot-fresh food) in the hope of encouraging her to stay.

"I already lived with the regret of not pursuing you once. I don’t want to make that mistake again."

Short, candy-cane sweet and sexy good, Sean and Holly’s story was a great addition to the series, and another really enjoyable seasonal read from an author I love more and more with each book I read by her.

"I love Christmas… I love all that it represents."