It will take a Christmas miracle for two very different souls to find each other in this perfectly festive fairy tale of New York!

Hopeless romantic Eva Jordan loves everything about Christmas. She might be spending the holidays alone this year, but when she’s given an opportunity to house-sit a spectacular penthouse on Fifth Avenue, she leaps at the chance. What better place to celebrate than in snow-kissed Manhattan? What she didn’t expect was to find the penthouse still occupied by its gorgeous—and mysterious—owner.

Bestselling crime writer Lucas Blade is having the nightmare before Christmas. With a deadline and the anniversary of his wife’s death looming, he’s isolated himself in his penthouse with only his grief for company. He wants no interruptions, no decorations and he certainly doesn’t appreciate being distracted by his beautiful, bubbly new housekeeper. But when the blizzard of the century leaves Eva snowbound in his apartment, Lucas starts to open up to the magic she brings…This Christmas, is Lucas finally ready to trust that happily-ever-afters do exist?

Click on title below for direct Amazon buy link:                                                Miracle on 5th Avenue

MY REVIEW:

Eva Jordan has been extremely busy in recent months, working at Urban Genie, the new business she and her friends, Paige and Frankie, started.  While her friends have managed to find their happy-ever-afters, Eva is lonely.  Though she believes in love, maybe it’s just time to have a no-strings fling and some fun.  As soon as she completes her current project, she’ll work on that.  Currently, a friend and client has commissioned Eva to decorate her grandson’s home for Christmas while he is out of town.  Eva loves Christmas, and intends to throw herself into this project wholeheartedly.

Successful crime author, Lucas Blade, has encountered a problem he never had before – writer’s block.  His deadline is rapidly approaching, and his publisher is anxiously waiting, but there are no words.  None.  Lucas decides to return to his home without letting anyone know he’s there.  He doesn’t want his family to hound him with Christmas invitations.  Lucas hates Christmas – three years ago his wife died at Christmastime.  When Eva enters his home, intent on setting up Christmas cheer, Lucas tackles her, thinking she is an intruder.

Eva and Lucas get off to a rocky start, to say the least.  He wants no company, especially a happy, Christmas loving Pollyanna.  Eva is determined to complete the job she’s been paid for, whether Lucas wants it or not.  The choice is taken out of their hands, when a nasty snowstorm makes it impossible for Eva to leave.  Then the strangest thing happens – Lucas finds himself inspired by Eva, and begins to write furiously, using her as his character inspiration.

After their initial antagonism wears off, Eva and Lucas realize they have a sizzling chemistry.  Eva is ready to start that fling she has been thinking about, but Lucas is more reluctant.  He knows that Eva believes in love, and he wants no part in that kind of pain ever again.  Inevitably, passion wins out, and they begin a scorching affair.  Everything is wonderful, until Eva falls in love, and can’t stop herself from telling Lucas, who wants no part of it.  Facing Lucas’ rejection of her feelings, Eva decides to end the affair, leaving him desolate, and herself heartbroken.

I love Sarah Morgan’s writing.  Though I’m not a huge fan of contemporary romance, I’ll read her books, which always seem to flow along so effortlessly, that I’ve sat and read the whole book before I even realize it.  Her characters are real, and sometimes flawed, as Lucas is in this story.  He had a deep love for his first wife, but the marriage had serious problems, which left Lucas wary of an emotional entanglement.  He’s still appealing, vulnerable, and, oh, so sexy.  Eva is also a very likeable character.  I admired her strength in being able to walk away from a painful situation, yet I wished she had just been a little more patient.  Still, author Sarah Morgan penned a wonderfully romantic and satisfying conclusion to MIRACLE ON 5^TH AVENUE, which I’m happy to highly recommend.  The whole FROM MANHATTAN WITH LOVE series makes for excellent, heartwarming reading.