A Light in the Window by Jolyse Barnett

Jade was a very frustrating character to read about, and Ben is way too good for her. Honestly, I only liked the golden retriever and ended up not finishing this book.

A Nice Light Holiday Romance
As the only daughter in her family, Jade does what is expected of her, pursuing her mother's goals for hers instead of her own. Ben has just ended a five year relationship with someone who was as far removed in appearance and personality from Jade as possible.

***Spoiler Alert***
When she was young, in a very “13 Going on 30” move, she ditches her best friend, boy next door Benji, giving up all their adventures and caving under peer pressure to conform to the cliquish girls at school to dispel rumors about her.

But now he's back home and so is Jade, but just for a visit. He's still just as attracted to her as ever and he feels she reciprocates. He's waiting for her to decide. Will she decide to go her own path and buck expectations? She has some big decisions to make about her future. go away to school or stay in New York State with Ben for a different kind of future. A tough decision that women have had to make since they began to own their own futures, but when love is a factor the decision is usually no contest.

Although I am very late in getting this out, my original copy was provided by the author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ARC was originally provided under the title A Light in the Window now known as Christmas Light.

Jade Engel is back in her hometown, just for a month, and hooks up with her childhood friend whose pre-teen heart, she'd so callously broken twenty years ago...But soon the friends-with-benefits agreement starts chafing.


Is a bitchy heroine a new norm in the contemporary romance category? Because you can be strong and independent without being bitchy. The problem was, Jade wasn't strong or independent, since everybody treated her like a doormat and she let them. She even ruined her friendship with Ben back in school because she was worried about what others thought.
So, since she was obviously unable to make decisions, let everybody dictate her life (she was thirty and still obeyed her mother!), and almost ruined her and Ben's love lives the second time around, no wonder she was bitchy.

Poor Ben for having to put up with her...And doing all the work in the end.