Title: Black Tie Christmas
Author: Jo Michaels
Genre: YA Sweet Holiday Romance
Editor: Tia Silverthorne Bach with INDIE Books Gone Wild
Publication Date: November 27th, 2018
Seventeen-year-old Evelyn Hart is a broken shell of her former self. She can’t even talk to the cute barista in the mall who asks for her number without having a panic attack afterward. Barely holding herself together, she heads to the Caymans with her family for a little pre-Christmas trip, needing time to focus on her future career as an artist.
All is well until they check in at the hotel, and Evelyn comes face-to-face with the boy from the mall, Adam. Believing she has a boyfriend, Adam tells her he just wants be friends, and she agrees. They spend their entire vacation hanging out together.
Falling in love wasn’t in her plan, and now, she has no idea how to tell him about the lie—or the incident that left her in pieces—because she’s terrified he’ll run. So, Evelyn lets him return to New York without saying a word.
All she can hope for is understanding from Adam and a little Christmas magic to help her open her heart to someone once again.
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Ocean
waves rolling over one another and birds cawing with the rising sun
drove Evie out of bed the next morning. Someone had opened the sliding
glass door, letting a light breeze blow through the room. She stretched,
rose, and stuck her feet in her flip-flops to check it out. When she
pulled back the curtain, she spied her parents cuddled together in the
hammock a few feet away. They were mumbling to one another and stealing
kisses now and then. Rather than disturb them, she went to the bathroom,
brushed her teeth, and put her bathing suit back on, topping it with
shorts and a tank.
Loudly
clearing her throat before she stepped into the small yard, she
plastered on a smile and pretended she hadn’t seen anything.
“Good morning!” Her mother grinned but didn’t disentangle herself from her husband. “Sleep well?”
“Like the dead. You?”
“Same. Benjamin up yet?”
“No. He was pretty tired last night. I’ve never seen him go to sleep that fast.” Evie laughed. “You guys going to breakfast?”
Her
parents exchanged a look before her dad shrugged. “Do you think you can
fly solo this morning? We’ll wait here for your brother to drag himself
out of bed.”
“Er… How do I pay and stuff? Do I need money?” Evie asked.
“Nope. Everything’s included,” her mom answered.
“Okay.
Do you guys have anything planned for today?” Wondering if there was
anything for teens, specifically, Evie stuck her thumbnail between her
teeth.
“Not at all. Go. Have some fun. Check in with us now and again via text, okay? Every few hours?” Dad asked.
“I
will.” She turned to leave but called back over her shoulder, “You guys
can go back to canoodling now. See ya later!” After grabbing her small
backpack and stuffing her phone inside, she marched out the door,
determined to find something fun to do.
Hi, I'm Jo. Let's forget all the "Jo Michaels is blah, blah, blah" stuff and just go with it. I'm a voracious reader (often reading more than one book at a time), a writer, a book reviewer, a mom, a wife, and one of the EICs at INDIE Books Gone Wild. I have an almost photographic memory and tend to make people cringe at the number of details I can recall about them and/or their book(s). My imagination follows me around like a conjoined twin and causes me to space out pretty often or laugh out loud randomly in completely inappropriate situations.
I have a degree in graphic design, and my journey to the end was one few students who begin that program ever complete. However, this was one case where my memory and OCD tendencies helped me. Graduation was one of the most amazing days of my life. But, my most amazing day was when my now husband proposed. Every little girl dreams of being Cinderella someday, and he pulled off the proposal of fantasies.
At the risk of sounding cliché, I'm going to let it out there and say how much I absolutely adore the man I'm married to. Along with my children, he's my whole world.
I've lived in Louisiana, Tennessee, and Georgia, but I've had my feet in almost every state. Traveling is something I adore, and have plans to someday see the Mongolia I've written about in Yassa.
One of my favorite things is hearing from fans! You can find me on social media most any day of the week. Connect! I'd love to hear from you.
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