Christmas Eve love story

Baird (Right Girl, Wrong Side) enchants with a Groundhog Day--style Christmas tale. Orphaned at nine, Annie Jones is accustomed to spending holidays alone, but she hopes this year she'll have something to truly celebrate. She comes into her work as an assistant window designer at Lawson's Finest department store on Christmas Eve expecting to get a promotion, bumping into hunky security guard Braden Tate along the way. She's in for a shock, however, as the bosses instead announce staff cuts in the new year. Disappointed, she heads home, where her cat, Leo, has destroyed the toilet paper once again. It's a frustrating end to a depressing day--and when she wakes up the next morning, she finds she must live it all over again. This time loop repeats 12 times, each Christmas Eve with a slightly different twist depending on the choices Annie makes--but all involving increasingly lengthy encounters with Braden. Baird makes it easy to buy into this familiar premise, winning readers over with the seemingly fated connection between Annie and Braden, a charming supporting cast, and plenty of genuine humor. This clean, heartwarming romance is a keeper. (Oct.)

Annie Jones, lonely assistant window designer at a New York department store, finds out her job might be eliminated due to dipping profits. Her latest creation, a Christmas Eve-themed window display, has failed to impress the owner of the store, and when rambunctious young customers accidentally destroy her work, Annie thinks she is surely going to be fired. But she improvises a new display before the store closes, with the help of handsome security guard Braden, and heads home with dashed hopes of still having a job after Christmas. When she wakes up the next morning, it's magically December 24 again; same thing the next day, and the next. Nudged along by the department store Santa, who seems to know exactly what to tweak in each time loop, Annie is destined to live through Christmas Eve repeatedly until every detail is perfect. With each new Christmas Eve day, Annie learns a little more about her neighbors, Braden, and herself. VERDICT Baird (The Holiday Mix-Up) creates a charming holiday romance in the vein of Hallmark Channel holiday movies. Recommended for libraries with patrons who enjoy G-rated romances.--Nicole J. Suarez