When up and coming rock climber Dallas Turner heads home for his mother’s wedding, he never thought that his old high school crush would be staying there as well. Emery Bliss had been a morning news host and had been fired and rocked by a scandal when she broke up with her cohost and a sex tape of the pair had been leaked onto the internet. Since it was recorded without her consent, and only she had been fired from the show, she made the tough decision to sue both the station and her ex. Attempting to distance herself from Los Angeles and the fallout, she headed back to her hometown of Silver Springs.
Trying to get her life back is hard, but Dallas is there for her no matter what. When friendship turns into more, neither are prepared for the feelings that come.
This is book 7 of the Silver Springs series, but you don’t have to read the series to enjoy the story. I have read book 6, but none of the others and I never felt that I needed to read the rest. Don’t get me wrong, I WANT to read the rest because I do love this series, but I didn’t need to read the others first.
I do love Dallas, his backstory is one of horror that he hasn’t been able to overcome. Truly, I don’t think one can overcome what happened to his mom and sister when he was only 6, but he has a fierce protective streak when it comes to those he cares about. Even though Emery has been dealing with the loss of her job and the releasing of a tape that she had no knowledge about, she still tries to be there for her mother financially, and she steps in to help wherever she can. The romance that blooms between these two broken people is so beautiful, I was rooting for them right from the beginning. Of course the writing is excellent, Ms. Novak is a master storyteller. There’s a wonderful cast of characters, and the story is great. Perfect Christmas tale full of love and romance.
**I received an ARC of this story from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

A California Christmas is a holiday romance novel about starting over, new beginnings and discovering joy during the festive season.

Going in, I didn't realize this was book 7 but Novak has a great way to writing that you don't have to read a series to feel and love the story. Emery and Dallas are likeable characters, giving the story depth that makes it grab your attention. The only part of this book I didn't like was a plot point felt like a double standard and those are tough for me to forgive as a reader.

This is not the kind of book I'd normally pick up but I really enjoyed the set up and the characters. It was nice to read a love story!

It's been a long time since I picked up a book by Brenda Novak. I adored her Whiskey Creek series, but had yet to try out this Silver Springs one. I couldn't resist A California Christmas' blurb and the fact that it was a holiday novel -- those are some of my favorites from Novak.

A California Christmas ended up being a good read for me, but not great. Dallas and Emery's love story was sweet, but there wasn't as much depth to them as I wanted. That made it harder to connect to them. I wish I had gotten more of their teenage backstory. I also probably shouldn't have jumped into this series so far into it. I just didn't have enough of background information on the many of the characters to make this a completely smooth reading experience for me. 

Another thing that was hard for me was that I was expecting a cute holiday romance. This book cover, title, and blurb screams holiday novel, but it wasn't really a true contemporary holiday romance. It had a big romantic suspense element going on. There were some cute holiday moments peppered in, but I wanted more.

Even though this book wasn't quite what I was expecting, it was an entertaining read. I have a feeling fans who have read the entire series will enjoy it much more than I did.

For fans of Lifetime Christmas movies, this book is for you. When Emory, a news broadcaster, loses her boyfriend and job, she seeks refuge at the home of an old friend. While at the home of her friend Emory connects with Dallas.


Emory and Dallas are attracted to each other,but will their complicated pasts get in the way of what they both want.

Told from the point of view of both Emory and Dallas. It was an interesting plot with romance, mystery and family drama intertwining.

If there is an author I can depend on its Brenda Novak, I really needed a Christmas story right now and this was so it. While this one didn’t technically have a lot of Christmas romance hallmark moments it still hit the spot.

Both characters were going through hard times and were learning how to preserve. I’m not sure who’s journey was harder but I definitely related more towards Emery than Dallas, I think maybe more because she was female and I would be horrified if that happened to me.

I loved Emery’s care taker nature even though she has been through a lot she wants to be there for everyone else. She really wanted Dallas to lean on her, but he just wouldn’t open up. Her relationships that she built in this small town are more blood than some of the blood relationships she has. I may have to go back and read some of the previous books because I’m jumping in the middle here but the love of this little family shines through.

Dallas is holding so much pain in and I just wanted him to let it out so much. His family rallies around one another and you can see that from the beginning. He doesn’t think he needs it but he does. I adored his commitment to keeping Emery safe and sound. I wished his character had developed more throughout the book instead of kind of all at once. However he is such a good guy I’ll forgive him for it.

Thank you to Brenda Novak, and Harlequin, for a copy in lieu of my honest review.

*** I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review ***

I LOVED A California Christmas! I mean it kept me up to like 4 AM a couple nights! Brenda Novak has a gift of really drawing the reader into the story and relating to the characters. This is the story of Emery and Dallas as they are reconnected in Silver Springs over the holiday season. I adore the characters in this series (though I've only read #1, #2, and now #7 so far). Overall, this is a story of perseverance, family, friends, and love. I would highly recommend this book if you're looking for a sweet, engaging holiday read!

I really enjoy Novak's books but this one just didn't hit it for me as I found myself hesitating to continue to pick it up. Overall it was a cute story, but not exactly what I hoped. Thank you netgalley for this arc

A California Christmas is the 7th book in the Silver Springs series by Brenda Novak. I've really enjoyed reading many of Novak's hoiday tales in the past but A California Christmas fell flate for me. Generally, when a holiday tale comes along in the series the author gives you enough back story about others surrounding the main characters, or even the main characters themselves. I found myself getting annoyed because the author assumed I knew things that I did not SO, with that said, I wouldn't recommend this book unless you've read the others in the series. That said, and this is such a personal quirk, I cannot read and engage with any character named "Dallas." Seriously, that's a great name for a city and it's a great porn name but it is not a great name for a character who doesn't work for the Chippendales. This one was not for me.

Emery is invited to live with a friend's family while she is decompressing from being the target of revenge by a former boyfriend. He releases a video that destroys her career and self-esteem. Dallas is back home for his foster mom's wedding and the holiday. He is an up and coming solo climber that uses his career as a means to survivor's guilt. He finds himself drawn to Emery and wanting to fight for her. Emery just wants it all to go away, but with his encouragement decides to go ahead with the wrongful termination suit. The sparks fly despite each of them trying to hold them back. Will this trust they find in each other bring them the second chance they deserve or will old wounds disrupt this fragile new beginning?

I loved this book!! Great story!! Love this series!! Hope she writes more books to this series!! One of my favorite books by this author!! She is one of my favorite author's

Title: A California Christmas
Author: Brenda Novak
Genre: Romance
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Up-and-coming TV anchor Emery Bliss can’t imagine anything more humiliating than the sex tape her ex revenge-posted online. That is, until it causes her to lose her job on top of her self-esteem. Seeking solace—and anonymity—in Silver Springs, Emery isn’t looking to get involved with another man anytime soon. But when she’s thrown back into contact with Dallas Turner, she sees something that his many detractors have missed.

Being home for the holidays and his adoptive mother’s wedding isn’t where mountain climber Dallas feels most comfortable. Thanks to his troubled childhood, he’d rather be on a rock face alone than trying to connect with people. Emery, however, makes him want to overcome his past…somehow.

Both Emery and Dallas had been planning on a quiet, solitary Christmas, but the sparks between them are lighting a fire strong enough to last—possibly forever.

I thought this was well-written and I enjoyed the small-town setting, but I did have some issues with the characters. Both Emery and Dallas came across as childish and petty. Emery was the victim of something awful, but her texts were manipulative and dishonest, and I didn’t care for that. Dallas…had some issues—understandable ones—but he showed zero growth during the course of this novel. None.

Again, this was well-written and I enjoyed the read, but I found the characters mostly-unlikable.

Brenda Novak is a bestselling author. A California Christmas is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Harlequin/MIRA in exchange for an honest review.)

(Blog link live 10/30.)

Obviously, Brenda Novak is a great writer and she's back with a good, festive story.

While I really liked A California Christmas, I felt it had some issues. First of all, Dallas was a little overbearing. He kept taking over situations, when asked to or not. On the other hand, maybe someone needed to bc Emery decided it was a good idea to meet a random guy from the internet at a bar, alone, at night....

There was also mention of a climbing friend who didn't answer his phone, but that friend never comes up again. I as sure that friend would have suffered an accident making Dallas realize the seriousness of his climbing profession, and ultimately what is important to him, but nope. That friend just disappears, so I'm not really sure why the scene was in the book. maybe an editing mistake?

Otherwise, there was tons of suspense and I felt the heat from this couple. Tons of sexual tension and some nice sexy time scenes. I like that they continued to be honest with each other, and can we give a shout out to Brenda Novak for writing some realistic sex scenes??? The scene where Dallas admits that he almost came before Emery and that it was a struggle for him. That he almost didn't make it and had to try really hard was awesome. so true.

Emery Bliss is a Los Angeles television news anchor with a promising career ahead of her. It all changed in an instant when a disgruntled ex-boyfriend uploads a sex video he secretly taped and ruins her professionally and personally. She returns to Silver Springs where she grew up, in retreat and hiding out at Aiyana Turner’s home who graciously offered her help. Christmas is fast approaching and all of Aiyana’s sons will be home for the holidays, the first time she’ll have them in the same town in years. That includes Dallas, a professional mountain climber, who had a crush on Emery back in high school but is a confirmed bachelor because of the demands of his career. However, his decision to help Emery regain her confidence and footing is threatening that choice.

What happened to Emery is called revenge porn (or nonconsensual pornography) and there are laws against that in many states, including California. I appreciated the educational aspect included in this story as so many women are victims of this kind of assault and may be unaware that there is recourse. Dallas focused on Emery standing up for herself, going above and beyond in doing so. He didn’t try to have all the answers, just being that rock when she needed one and getting her to reach out for legal assistance. That aspect of the story was fascinating and was the foundation for their developing relationship. It was a slow burn and needed to be, which suited my sensibilities.

I don’t know what it is about this series but I’m forever hooked and drawn into the stories. Watching Emery stand up for herself and recognizing Dallas’s merits was empowering. There were other issues going on involving Dallas’s biological father, Emery’s parents and her former job. I liked how it all connected with both characters’ growth and enlightenment. There’s also a nice surprise related to Aiyana that was an added bonus. This was a wonderful story for the beginning of my holiday season. Even though there are many uneasy moments, the strength and resilience of this family seems to always override the conflicts. I switched to the audio format after the first book and am still enjoying the narrator. She’s a good storyteller and delivers a strong performance.

Thank you to Harper Collins for sending me an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I walked into this book knowing two things: it was part of a series I hadn't read (this is book 7!) and that it was probably going to be similar to a Hallmark movie...and I was fine with both of these! I like reading romantic fluff - it's a great way to break up more dramatic reads and they are a guaranteed happy ending. And that's exactly what California Christmas ended up being.

Cute, Fluffy Story
When you pick up a pick with "Christmas" in the title, you should definitely know that you're goingt o be getting a sweet, fluffy romance that takes place during the Christmas season. And I love it! I love Hallmark and Lifetime holiday movies and I've really enjoyed books in this genre. Who doesn't love a guaranteed happy ending? I've read books like this in the past and always enjoy having a little holiday romance to dive into (even if I'm reading this a few months early). We know Emery and Dallas are going to end up together, so what's going to happen along the way to stump their romance before this can happen? The fun is in finding out!
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Not Enough Character Depth
A lot of this book felt very surface, especially when it came to character personality and decisions. I always have a hard time explaining what was missing when I read a book, but character depth was a big one here. We barely get to know Emery and Dallas before their story is done. I would've loved a flashback of them in high school, since the story begins with Dallas remembering where he knows Emery from. Maybe a little more time spent building each of their personalities would've helped - Emery and Dallas are very basic characters, which is weird because Dallas has such an intense history and Emery is going through so much public shaming. But I never felt like we really got to know either of them...

Interesting Career Choices
Ok, this might be really random to a lot of people, but I really like the career choices for these characters! My husband loves bouldering and we've probably watched Free Solo and Dawn Wall at least 6 times each, so I thought it was fun that Dallas is a free solo climber. Likewise, Emery's career choice as a news anchor was really important for her storyline and obviously reminiscent of other sex scandals where the woman is shamed while the man is applauded. I would've really liked to see more from this aspect of their lives though - we don't really see Emery actually ever deal with his bosses. What happens with the lawsuit? Do they ever apologize? What about her ex? It felt very forgotten by the end of the book.

Overall, this was a cute story but it was missing any real depth, even taking into account that this is a "holiday" book. I definitely would've like to learn more about these characters so that I would feel more connected to them. I'd recommend this to anyone who has read the rest of the series (I'm interested to know what the first 7 books are like!) or to people who like an easy holiday romance to enjoy.

A perfect story for the holiday season. Strong characters and a romance that's both sexy and sweet. There's just the right dose of suspense. I couldn't put it down. Emery is one of my favorite characters in this series. Dallas grows so much throughout the story you can't help but root for him. Reading a Brenda Novak book is like visiting old friends. This one is a heartwarming journey of hope and triumph. I can't wait for the next one!

I am loving Harlequin's Christmas books this year! This was a great addition to their lineup. I loved the storyline and adored both Emery and Dallas. If you are looking for a feel-good holiday romance, look no further!

Free solo climber Dallas Turner has a messy past. He climbs to escape, to free his mind. Going home to New Horizons ranch for his adoptive mom’s wedding (and Christmas) the last person he expects to see is Emery Bliss, his high school crush. Emery was Little Miss Perfect back then and she’s gone on to a successful career as a TV anchor… until her spurned co-host posted a sex tape and Emery was the one who got fired for it. She’s hiding out at New Horizons, trying to figure out how to pick up the pieces.

There were some really odd things about this book that just made it fall a bit flat for me. Emery not getting to be there at the final confrontation to catch her tormentor, with Dallas teaming up with her ex instead? Some dude called Brian who Dallas talked to only on the phone being the one to give him the Words of Wisdom he needed, rather than his loving mom Aiyana? Then there was a weird Chekov’s Gun which never went off, when Dallas called another free climber he’d been coaching to check on him and the guy didn’t answer his phone and never called back… I really thought that one was going to be either, they guy had suffered a serious fall and Dallas would feel guilt, or the guy would call back and rave about Dallas’s coaching abilities, making him think more seriously about his possible purchase of a gym. Instead, it was raised, dropped and never mentioned again, meaning it breaks one of the cardinal rules of writing… if a scene doesn’t advance the plot, it doesn’t belong in the book.

Dallas as a character reads a bit like the author watched Free Solo and developed a massive crush on Alex Honnold (namechecked several times in this book) and decided to write a hero heavily based on him, but with added Tragic Backstory. I was honestly horrified when Aiyana made the decision not to tell Dallas that his real father, the man who murdered his mother and sister, was out of jail and looking for him because she didn’t want it to ruin HER wedding… and surely, parole boards talk to victims before deciding whether to let violent criminals like that go? Or advise them that they ARE going to be released? It just felt like there was too much going on. Like the revenge porn plot against Emery wasn’t enough for the story, so Dallas just HAD to have major stuff going on too? Oh and Emery’s parents are undergoing a messy divorce and her grandmother has dementia… it got to feel like misery p*rn at one point and it really detracted from the romance, because it’s hard to believe in a happily ever after when all that stuff is going on and not all of it gets resolved at the end.

I’ve enjoyed some of Brenda Novak’s books before but this had too much suspense plot and other stuff going on at the expense of actually developing a romance between the two leads. It’s not terrible, but it really missed the mark as far as I was concerned. Three stars.

Overcoming lost especially when young is challenging. Dallas lost his mother and sister in one day after his father shot them both. Twenty plus years later he is one of the eight boys that Aiyana has raised as one of her own. In this return to Silver Springs we catch up again with Aiyana in this storyline she's finally getting married to Cal(met both characters in previous Silver Spring novels) and all of her boys have or about to return home. Dallas is surprised to see Emery in his mother's kitchen since he had a crush on her when they were teenagers. He finds out her ex-boyfriend did revenge porn on her and now she's out of her job and feeling desolated and is camping out at Aiyana house till after Christmas. At first Dallas and Emery are friendly with each other where he decides to help her get back to what she loves most her anchor job. They eventually become loves both have convince themselves this affair will only be for the holidays but of course during their time together they both realize this is more than seasonal love affair. Love seeing Aiyana finally getting married and enjoyed seeing glimpses of previous characters we have met. Ms. Novak is able to blend realistic tragedy where the hero/heroine overcome to find love with one another. Review on goodreads and amazon.