To my utter surprise, this is a sweet little story. I have never read a Harlequin romance before, but am finding them to be quite entertaining. They are utterly formulaic, but that is part of their charm. You know what will happen, so you can relax and just go with the flow. And they all have happy endings. In this fraught time, with tragedy, stress and loss all around us, there is something to be said for simple and familiar. And, also to my surprise, the writing is not bad. I mean that as it says : it is not bad writing. It's perfectly serviceable, and sometimes quite descriptive. I am only reading the "Harlequin Presents" Harlequin novels which always involve European protagonists. Montana cowboys may be equally entertaining, but so far at least, they don't interest me. ( )

Maternity nanny Naomi Hamilton comes to New York City during Christmastime to help her friend Merida Devereux (and her husband Ethan) with their newborn baby, Ava. Naomi is excited to be in NYC, since she has never been out of the UK. On her first night, staying at the Devereux family home, she meets Abe Devereux (gorgeous Manhattan tycoon and brother of Ethan). She thinks he is more beautiful than anyone she has ever seen. They both share a pizza and talk for some of the night. Abe is usually a very private person and considered cold, but he finds himself wanting company on this night, after just visiting his very sick father (Jobe) in the hospital.

The next day (before Merida comes home with baby Ava and Naomi's nanny duties begin) Naomi is ready to do some sightseeing. She is eager to see the tree at Rockefeller Center, look at the window displays, buy a coat at Macy's, feed the squirrels in Central Park... Abe steps in and offers to be Naomi's tour guide of NYC. I loved Naomi's enthusiasm, seeing New York City's sights for the first time. I also liked how Abe offered to show her around. It was out of character for him to take off work and he was surprised that he enjoyed himself so much.

Eventually they share a kiss, but later Naomi discovers that Abe already has a partner (old girlfriend Candace) though he insists they aren't involved anymore, it's only for show, a contract for business purposes. Naomi finds herself falling for Abe.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I really liked Naomi, she was a very sweet heroine. When her mother had Naomi her father left them, never to be seen again, so her mother gave Naomi up and she has been in foster homes for most of her life, with no relatives that she knows of. Abe was the usual HP hero, arrogant, rich, and handsome. He admired his father but he was never very close to him. (Even though Abe started to get closer to him during his time in the hospital.) Abe's mother passed away years ago. She was a very cruel woman and Abe had to look out for Ethan when they were very young.

I liked how the attraction between Naomi and Abe kept growing and it took a while before they made love, so this built up the sexual tension between them. This book was quite festive. I loved the NYC setting at Christmas. I liked the main couple, Abe and Naomi. I also liked old Jobe. It was sweet how everybody surprised Naomi and went all out for her birthday, which took place on Christmas Eve.

A terrific read for the holidays or anytime! ( )