Only for the Holidays: Cuddle up with a cosy happy-ever-after this Christmas!
The Spanish Love Deception meets The Holiday in this fake dating YA romance about a city girl and country boy’s lives colliding at Christmas.
City girl Tia Solanké is dreading the festive period. She’s on a break with her boyfriend and the last thing she wants to do is spend Christmas away from London. Arriving at Saiyan Hedge Farm, Tia takes an instant disliking to it. She falls in horse manure, is chased by sheep and the Wi-Fi sucks. How is she meant to stalk her ex now and concoct a foolproof plan to win him back?
Country boy Quincy Parker and his family run the farm, and this year they’ve been selected to host the biggest event in the town’s calendar – the Winter Ball. Preparations are underway, and Quincy is working around the clock to make it a success. The only problem is, he’s told everyone he has a date to the ball, when in reality that couldn’t be further from the truth.
At first, Tia and Quincy don’t see eye to eye, until they realise they both have something to gain by pretending to be a couple. But when a snowstorm threatens to cancel the Winter Ball, their fake relationship is put to the test. Will Tia and Quincy be able to keep up the pretence and save the day, or will real feelings get in the way?
Q&A with Abiola Bello
Why did you want to write Only for the Holidays? (And is that a different reason from why you wanted to write Love in Winter Wonderland?)
To be honest I just thought the concept would be fun to write. I’m a city girl I don’t like the countryside and the two worlds colliding, fake dating element is alway funny to read. Love In Winter Wonderland was more about writing a Black love story at Christmas because I hadn’t read one before.
What would you like readers to take away from your book?
Knowing your worth when it comes to relationships. Really seek out that person that you deserve to have and don’t overlook the nice guy!
Do you have any Christmas traditions you’d like to share?
I’ve kind of put my Christmas traditions in my books like we watch Home Alone every year, our food is a mix of British and Nigerian but we open presents on Boxing Day which I know is weird. I think my parents got sick of us badgering them when we were kids that they made up the rule and for some reason we still do it.
Love in Winter Wonderland
Will Trey and Ariel find their happily ever after in this hopelessly romantic love story?
Trey Anderson is popular and handsome, and he works at his family’s beloved Black-owned bookshop, Wonderland. Ariel Spencer is quirky, creative, and in need of a holiday temp job to cover her tuition for The Artists’ Studio. An opening at Wonderland is the answer . . . and the start of a hate-to-love journey for Trey and Ariel. When Trey and Ariel learn that Wonderland is on the brink of shutting down, can they get over their differences and team up to stop the doors from closing before the deadline?
Abiola Bello is a Nigerian-British, prize-winning children’s/YA author who was born and raised in London. She wrote her first novel at the age of eight and experienced her first taste of ‘being published’ after winning a school poetry competition at the age of 12.
instagram.com/abiolabello/
@ABelloWrites
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