REVIEW: Miracle on 5th Avenue by Sarah Morgan

In Miracle on 5th Avenue (From Manhattan with Love #3) by Sarah Morgan, Eva Jordan is used to her best friends and co-partners in their concierge business Urban Genie, Paige and Frankie, teasing her about being a hopeless romantic. She can’t imagine being any other way. When she shows up at the gorgeous penthouse apartment she is supposed to transform for the holidays and the cynical owner, crime writer Lucas Blade, is still there…well, things don’t get off to a good start. They clash immediately but he eventually allows Eva to do the job his grandmother hired her to do. What wasn’t in the plans was to fall in love with the enigmatic widower. Especially considering his dreary views on love.

“The fairy tale isn’t Prince Charming or magical unicorns. It’s love. What I want is to love someone, and for them to love me back. For me, that’s the fairy tale.”
“Love isn’t what you think it is.”
“It isn’t what *you* think it is. Love isn’t a curse, Lucas, it’s a gift.”

Lucas was hoping to hide in his apartment unnoticed so he could finally start writing the book that he just can’t seem to begin. With a deadline closing in fast and a blizzard raging outside, he never dreamed an effervescent blond would show up in his apartment and spark not only his interest but an idea for his novel. Lucas insists Eva should stay with him for fear of her getting hurt in the snowstorm. But as they get to know each other, he wonders if he just doesn’t want to lose the warmth and peace she brings to his grief-filled home. He’s still not so sure his grandmother didn’t have ulterior motives when she hired Eva to decorate and cook for him, perhaps hoping they would fall for each other. If that was her intent, then she succeeded, because Lucas suddenly realizes he can’t imagine letting Eva go.

“So you weren’t discussing how to seduce me with my grandmother?”
“I love your grandmother, but if I want to seduce a guy I don’t generally take advice from someone in their eighties.” She studied him for a moment. “Does your libido need help?”
Not since he’d met her.

What fun! I’m really loving Sarah Morgan’s From Manhattan with Love series and Miracle on 5th Avenue was a great addition. Not only did it have the perfect amount of holiday warmth, but we also got to watch as two people with polar opposite personalities fell reluctantly head over heels in love.

“Your honesty scares me. It’s going to get you into trouble.”
She gave him an impish grin. “I’m planning on it. I’ve written my letter to Santa, confessing that I intend to be a really, really bad girl this Christmas.”

This has been such an enjoyable series so far and I’m glad that Eva and Lucas’s romance was everything I had hoped it would be. I like a good opposites attract story so this fit the bill for sure. Eva turned out to be just as bubbly, savvy, and as hopeless a romantic as I figured she would be from the previous books. But what surprised me and what added more depth to her perky character was her grief over the loss of her grandmother. She was quite lonely and was having difficulty moving on. That sense of loss is what I think really connected Eva and Lucas. Well, aside from their physical attraction of course. The fact that he had lost his wife a few years before meant that he understood where Eva was coming from emotionally.

As you would expect from the pairing of a cook/business owner and a crime fiction writer there were sparks galore when it came to their dialogue. It was comical, sexy, intelligent, and downright cute at times. Lucas and Eva had a tendency to butt heads about a lot of issues but I felt like their underlying principles and beliefs were similar. And I think that helped once they figured out they were in too deep emotionally to back off. They had become friends during their time together so taking things a step further, while scary, was inevitable. I do have to mention that Lucas’s grandmother Mitzi makes some appearances here and we even got her POV for a bit. She was a hoot to get to know better and I loved how she wanted the best for both Lucas and her close friend Eva.

With a meet-cute befitting crime writer Lucas, and a sweet grand gesture in the final pages that brought Eva’s dreams to life, I think Miracle on 5th Avenue will be a winner with romance fans. Whether you read it as a standalone or as part of the series, you won’t be able to resist this charming story.

Book Info:

Publication: November 29th 2016 | HQN Books | From Manhattan with Love #3

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?