2023 will be remembered as the year my reading mood was all over the place. While I have several suspense novels by favorite authors waiting for me, what was I in the mood for? A cozy Harlequin with Christmas in the title. Some folks watch Hallmark movies, I read Harlequins with Christmas in the title. Don't hate the player, hate the game. Anyway, a Medical sounded good so I went diving into my Kindle to find the first one with "Christmas" in the title and lucky day - it was The Nurse's Christmas Temptation by Ann McIntosh. I discovered McIntosh about a year ago and she's quickly moving to the top of my list for comfort read authors. This was a delightfully cozy read - the literary equivalent to a warm fuzzy blanket, a nice cuppa, a crackling fire in the fireplace.
Harmony Kinkaid has lost a lot in a short amount of time: her job, her boyfriend, and her grandmother. Christmas is fast approaching, the first since her beloved grandmother's death, and Harmony is already not looking forward to it when her mother drops the bombshell that she's going to spend the holiday with her new beau and finally meet his family. Harmony doesn't begrudge her Mom's newfound happiness (the woman deserves it) and she does invite Harmony to come along - but she just can't. She wants to crawl into a hole to wait out the holidays and she gets her chance when a temp job on a remote Scottish island falls into her lap. She jumps on it.

What Harmony didn't bargain for is that the Scottish island is considered "the North Pole of Scotland" and every year it's like Christmas throws up all over it. They hold a winter festival every year and it brings in a fair amount of tourism, which the island needs. On top of this? Her new temporary boss is the local "Laird" (a bit of an honorary title given to him by the locals) - Dr. Cameron MacRurie. The attraction is instant for both of them, and very unwelcome on her part. Not only is he her boss, he's a bit of a daredevil - just like her father. He has a long-term health condition, just like her father, and despite that health condition he takes risks with extreme sports with total disregard to life and limb. Her father's death from an extreme sports accident left a gaping hole in Harmony's life, made her mother's life exceedingly harder - nope, a daredevil man is the last thing Harmony needs in her life. So why can't she stay away from Cam?

This is a soft, big-hearted read and just what the doctor ordered. Cam and Harmony both have interesting baggage and spark off each other well. She's orderly and a little uptight. He's devil may care and charming as hell. The island and local village serves as it's own secondary character and the inhabitants add charm and color to liven up the Christmas setting.

The conflict relies heavily on internal angst and the fact that both Harmony and Cam are trapped by their own fears borne out of their respective childhoods - her, the death of her father, him, a mother who coddled him to the point of suffocation because of his Type 1 diabetes. Naturally they can only ignore the attraction for so long, fall into bed, and fall into love - which brings these fears bubbling right up to the surface.

This was a perfect holiday read. Warm, cozy, with enough small town charm to lighten my cold black heart. I really liked our couple and I was rooting for their happy ever after the whole way. McIntosh is definitely a newfound favorite.

Final Grade = B

A sweet and charming, if slightly forgettable, contemporary romance that I enjoyed more for its lush and lived-in worldbuilding than for the romance at its heart. I appreciated the accuracy and detail in the medical aspects of the book, which can be a pitfall for authors in the Medical line. I'd certainly pick up further books by McIntosh, and look forward to seeing where she goes next.

Not bad, not great.
I personally could have done without all the medical words that I fought to NOT look up. They didn't add to the story at all in my opinion. That being said I loved Harmony and Cam. The CI ladies just added to the joys of the season. Harmony and Cam both had their struggles with the holiday due to memories past. Losing loved ones is never easy.

Holidays without of grandmother won't be the same for Nurse Harmony Kinkaid. To keep her mind off the holidays she does go to a Scottish island to work temporarily for Dr.Cameron MacRurie. Both never expected to fall for one another, there is also the problem with him being a daredevil that keeps her wanting to keep her distance.

If your are looking for a book set around the holidays to get you in the festive mood you'll like this book. As the holiday seasons are approaching you'll want to load your holiday tbr list with something that gets you in the festive mood but doesn't take long to read and is enjoyable and I really do think this book will fit the bill. I enjoyed getting to konw the characters, see how they work together in the work place and seeing the romance that bloomed between the two. Overall this was a pretty good book I really enjoyed it.

I loved this book. Harmony escapes the city and her grief over her grandmother's death by taking a job on a remote Scottish island. With her mother spending Christmas with her new boyfriend, Harmony has zero Christmas spirit and plans to lose herself in her work. Having recently ended a two-year relationship, men are also off her wishlist. But all her plans are thrown off-kilter by her temporary boss.

I loved both Harmony and Cam. I ached for Harmony because she was so unhappy. She missed her grandmother fiercely and felt cast adrift by her mother's plans. But she has a good heart and refuses to make her mother feel guilty about moving on. I found it interesting that she stepped so far outside her comfort zone to take this job. She is a woman who likes her life stable and logical, and she doesn't like change. Much of her attitude stemmed from the loss of her father when she was a small child. He was into many different extreme activities and died doing one of them. She doesn't understand how anyone can put their lives at risk for something so ridiculous.

Cam is a doctor who lives a full and adventurous life. Diagnosed with diabetes as a child, he suffered from a fearful and overprotective mother until his doctor grandfather taught him how to manage his disease. Since then he has thrown himself into anything that caught his interest, from medical aid work to skydiving. At home on MacRurie island, he cares for the health needs of the islanders in between his adventure trips.

I loved the first meeting between Cam and Harmony. She witnessed one of his daredevil stunts as she arrived on the ferry and was dismayed to discover that he was her new boss. Though she was immediately attracted to him, she couldn't hide her disapproval. Cam was puzzled by her reaction to him but bowled over by her beauty. I loved his cheerfulness and how he tried to make things better by talking about Christmas. This only made things worse as she shuts down any holiday talk too. She's determined to do her job and nothing else.

I enjoyed the development of their relationship. Cam is pretty easygoing, which is a good thing, as Harmony can be very intense. Used to big city doctor's offices, Harmony doesn't quite know how to deal with the more laid-back attitudes of Cam's practice. Some sparks flew as Harmony's intensity and occasional bossiness ran up against Cam's easier way of doing things, but eventually they developed a good working relationship. That quickly grew into friendship as Cam learned more about why Harmony was so prickly. The attraction between them continued to grow, with both trying to resist it. Cam, because she worked for him, and Harmony because she couldn't see a future with someone like him. Eventually the sparks grew out of control, and they decided that enjoying each other for the time they had would be okay.

Of course, the connection between them was more than just physical. I ached for Harmony as she realized that she had fallen for him, but couldn't bring herself to accept his lifestyle. Her fear of losing him the same way she lost her father wouldn't allow her to take a chance. Cam, too, realized he'd fallen hard for her, but wasn't sure he could give up something that was such an intrinsic part of him, even for her. A conversation with her mother gave Harmony a different perspective and something to think about. I loved Cam's big moment at the end, and the thought and effort he put into it showed the depth of his love for her. I loved seeing what could happen when two people accept each other for who they are and find that love can overcome any obstacle.

The vividness of the descriptions of the island made me feel as though I was there. From the crashing waves during Cam's rescue of the boy, where I could almost feel the iciness of the water, to the descriptions of the Manor in all its Victorian beauty, I easily pictured each setting. I also loved each of the Crafty Islanders, with their individual quirks. It was fun to see them embrace Harmony and pull her into island life. I especially enjoyed the part each of them played in Cam's surprise for Harmony.