The Christmas Catch by Toni Shiloh
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Book Overview:
The Christmas Catch by Toni Shiloh is a sweet faith-based Christian second-chance holiday romance about Bebe and Jahleel. Bebe is a divorced single mother to her daughter Hope and has recently relocated to her hometown of Peachwood Bay. She’s working to reestablish her life after her husband’s infidelity. By chance, she runs into Jahleel a professional football player after he arrives home following his knee injury during his game.
This triggers feelings and memories for both as they reminisce about their past romance and how it ended due to Jahleel wanting to focus on pursuing a career in the NFL leaving Bebe heartbroken and confused. As the two work through their past disappointments and emotions, a fledgling friendship emerges. However, Jahleel realizes he wants more than friendship and indeed wants a second chance with Bebe.
Bebe is hesitant to give her heart away due to Jahleel choosing the NFL over her before and the trust issues she has from her past marriage also play a factor in her inability to fully trust herself with him. Will the two be able to work through past hurts to build a healthy and thriving relationship in the future?
Book Review:
I found The Christmas Catch to be a sweet holiday romance despite my initial misgivings regarding the chemistry between Bebe and Jahleel. Over time I began to see how much the two cared for each other and how Jahleel was committed to righting the wrongs of his past and proving that he was committed to Bebe for the long haul.
I appreciated how communicative and open they were with each other and there wasn’t any miscommunication between them. They were able to openly and honestly talk about their concerns and misgivings which is refreshing to see a romance novel not rely on miscommunication to further the plot.
Additionally, there wasn’t a third-act breakup. As I said they confronted issues head-on and didn’t focus on false assumptions about each other which was refreshing. I also appreciated how joyfully Jahleel stepped in to be a positive father figure in Hope’s life especially since her birth father wasn’t an active part of her life.
I loved the holiday themes present in this story from the sleigh rides, baking Christmas cookies, a Christmas movie marathon night, and the Christmas ball. These events captured the magic of the season beautifully.
Other elements of this story that I enjoyed included Bebe’s and Mae’s friendship. I appreciated how close they were and how Mae was capable of being honest with Bebe and encouraging her to step out of her bubble and live her life. I also enjoyed seeing the dynamics between Jaleel and his father. Historically, they had a history of not getting along due to his father’s overbearing approach to his faith and desire to have Jaleel step into his shoes and pastor his church. Seeing how this relationship evolved throughout the story was quite beautiful.
When it comes to the writing and structure of the story I felt it was well-paced and that every element made sense for the ultimate conclusion. And it was super realistic and relatable for a second chance romance which I’m typically not a fan of but this one was lovely.
And while there was no spice in this story and it focused on the Christian faith and its principles I felt its inclusion was a nice addition that was realistic without being overbearing and added a beautiful element to the story and romance.
As for the ending, I felt it was superbly done and crossed all its T’s and dotted every single I. And as I mentioned before I’m so happy there wasn’t a third-act breakup and Bebe and Jaleel were able to work through their differences healthily and positively. If you’re in the market for a super sweet holiday romance without spice and don’t mind religious references to the Christian faith this is definitely the one for you!
