Claus and Effect by Piper Rayne on November 14, 2023
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, Fiction / Romance / Holiday, Fiction / Romance / Military, Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy
Pages: 200
Format: eBook, Paperback
Source: Purchased for review
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Two strangers who couldn’t be more opposite find themselves on an unexpected cross-country road trip days before Christmas where whatever can go wrong, does.
He’s an Army Ranger.
She’s a baker.
He’s organized and ridged.
She’s messy and carefree.
He doesn’t do relationships.
She’s following her heart.
His family chat blows up his phone.
She just buried her last living relative.
The holiday season doesn’t seem so jolly as they venture from one mode of transportation to the next. But, they have to become friends and rely on each other if they’re going to survive all the obstacles thrown their way.
As the miles grow shorter, vulnerabilities are shared, and by the time they reach their destination, neither one of them is sure what they really want for Christmas anymore.
Plane, bus, and automobile, add in egg nog, sugar cookies, and Santa in wet suit….this was a Christmas road trip romance I loved! ~ Sharon – Simply Love Books
I am always up for a road trip romance so I was excited to read Claus and Effect by Piper Rayne. This book was a comical, crazy, and sometimes OTT Christmas romance, but I did enjoy it. An airport meeting, a ticket issue, a big event, and an unintentional road trip made this a unique holiday story.
Tessa has had a rough year, losing her great uncle and last living relative and having to close her NYC bakery for lack of customers she’s feeling pretty down but when a psychic tells her to head west and the guy she recently dated has asked her to go to Oregon with him for the holidays which she declined, it felt like a sign. She just had not idea that he was not the guy or the adventure it would take for her to get there.
Heading home Tre never expects to notice a woman in the airport or for that woman to accuse him of stealing her seat on the airplane but she does. When he ends up delivering a baby on board with her help and then their diverted plane is grounded for weather; a series of circumstances has them driving from Minnesota to Oregon but getting there is not so easy.
I loved how different these two were and while I wasn’t a fan of the meet hate (because it wasn’t a meet cute) and I get they were trying to set up a grumpy/sunshine kind of vibe but for me it didn’t work for me, but once they were forced to travel together I loved the banter between Tre and Tessa. They slowly shared bits and pieces of their lives with one another and let their shields down and began to appreciate one another. I especially loved that Tre clued in fairly quickly that Tessa feared being left behind and worked to assure her he wouldn’t do that to her. Tessa listened to Tre and worked to make sure he enjoyed the trip even if it did cost them some time. While Tessa was more open than Tre, that also fit their personalities.
Along the way there are some interesting mishaps, some crazy small town shenanigans, and of course only one bed. Once they get to Oregon, a major plot twist that even I didn’t see coming which is very unusual. Honestly, I loved this one.
About Piper Rayne
Piper Rayne is a USA Today Bestselling author duo. Our goal is to bring you romance stories that have "Heartwarming Humor With a Side of Sizzle, (okay…you caught us, that’s our tagline). A little about us… We both have kindle’s full of one-clickable books. We’re both married to husbands who drive us to drink. We’re both chauffeurs to our kids. Most of all, we love hot heroes and quirky heroines that make us laugh, and we hope you do, too.