★BOOK REVIEW★ Miracle On 5th Avenue by Sarah Morgan

I’ll have to start by thanking my friend Geri for introducing me to Sarah Morgan’s books! 

I requested a review copy of Miracle on 5th Avenue after chatting with her about the contemporary romance authors we loved. And until this day, despite her 75 books published, I’m ashamed to say I had never heard of Sarah Morgan before. Maybe the fact that I started reading romance only 4 years ago has a play in this late discovery?

Miracle on 5th Avenue seduced me from the start with its blurb. The heroine sounded feisty and a bit crazy, the promise of a brooding recluse hero—a writer at that!—all wrapped up in Christmas spirit, I was so sold on that story I new it was going to be happy feels all the way!

What I didn’t know is that I would get addicted to Miss Morgan’s book to the point of binging on six ( soon 7 ) of them in a row. That’s right, I’m about to start my 7th novel from this author, that’s how good I think she is, or at least that’s how good her books make me feel.

“I haven’t finished building my snowman. And I never walk away from a man until I’ve finished with him.”

Let’s talk a little about the book, shall we?
Christmas On 5th Avenue is the third and last book in this “From Manhattan With Love” series, and obviously can be read as a standalone. I had no problem catching up on previously introduced characters in the series as the story is pretty centered about the heroine, Eva.

Each book is tells the story of one of three best friends, Paige, Frankie and Eva, all single and working together as event planners in New York.

Eva is this bubbly, lovable, bright and gorgeous woman but completely oblivious about her charms. She believes in fairy tales and happily ever after, but is contrastingly really down to earth and perceptive about life in general.

“Her eyes were kind, her mouth lush and perfectly curved. On the outside she was gentle and sweet. Inside she was solid steel. The contrast might have intrigued him, but right now all it did was aggravate.”

She has this adorable and hilarious way of shooting everything that comes to mind, creating the most awkward and funny moments. I guess she fits the ingenue type heroine perfectly, although I’m not fond of those usually, I was drawn to Eva and can say that I genuinely loved her.

“Had she lost someone and was intent on revenge? Or was she a psychopath with no conscience or emotion, someone incapable of empathy who used her looks as a trap?”

Eva is responsible of the catering side of the Urban Genie app, the event planning and concierge business she created with her 2 best friends Frankie and Paige. And it’s her latest assignment to housekeep and prepare the perfect Christmas in a gorgeous Manhattan penthouse while its owner is off to retreat in Vermont.

Yes, the owner, Lucas Blade—a renown and successful thriller writer is indeed on a retreat… in his own Manhattan penthouse. He told everyone, including his meddling grandmother—the one hiring Eva, that he was taking some time off away and alone.

His last book’s deadline is approaching but he’s suffering the worst writer’s block case ever. And it’s not as if this time of the year was the easiest to get through for him. He lost his wife 3 years ago in a tragic accident and has been leaving a recluse life ever since.

The meet-cute between the morose writer and the candid Eva? Priceless. I loved that scene and the setting of this story so much! I won’t be disclosing everything, but how the hero is going to get trapped in his own apartment with an unwanted guest? Priceless, I’m telling you!

Of course a little dance of ‘I want you but I don’t’ is going to happen and yes predictively, Eva is going to pull the broken man out of his cave, but all the little things leading to that were just a pleasure to read with a lot of laughter and a pent up sexual chemistry simmering.

“He wanted to deconstruct her so that he could decide which traits to give his character.”

I cannot tell you how much I loved that Eva and Lucas were so different. Him a brooding embittered mess of a guy, damaged and detached. Her, a sunny and candid young woman, a dreamer with a will of steel.

And thanks to Sarah Morgan brilliant dialogues and word play, the interaction between those two was extremely entertaining. The hero being a writer, Sarah Morgan regaled us with lots of references to his  work, not only that, but the hate to love you trope worked in perfect harmony with their characters. I loved the building sexual tension resulting from that. It was just perfect.

“Just to be sure she got the message, he held both of her hands trapped in one of his as he worked his way down her body, intent on exploring every inch of her.
She decided he obviously knew a lot about torture.”

Banter, romance and steam made of my first Sarah Morgan’s book a success and all the glimpses in previously introduced characters made me one-click the first two book in this series. (Seriously, the whole series just keeps getting better and better and all 3 books are fab! )

USA Today bestselling author Sarah Morgan writes hot, happy contemporary romance and her trademark humour and sensuality have gained her fans across the globe. She has been nominated four years in succession for the prestigious RITA© Award from the Romance Writers of America and has won the award twice, in 2012 and 2013. RT Book Reviews has described her as ‘a magician with words’ and she won their Reviewers’ Choice Award in 2012 as well as making numerous appearances in their ‘Top Pick’ slot. 

Sarah lives near London with her family, and when she isn’t reading or writing she loves being outdoors, preferably on vacation so she can forget the house needs tidying.