Talley (A Christmas So Sweet) whips together a tasty holiday blend of sweet romance, lighthearted characters, and a charming small town. High school biology teacher Tory Odom decides to skip Christmas and the reminders of her plans for a holiday wedding, destroyed when her fiancé dumped her. Then she runs into her elderly neighbor's hunky nephew, up-and-coming country singer Kris Trabeau. He's on the road to stardom but takes time out to mend fences with his estranged aunt, Tansy-who raised him after his parents' deaths in a plane crash-and persuade her to move into an assisted living facility near him in Nashville. He also hopes his time in Tansy and Tory's small town of Charming, Miss., will inspire him to write songs. But after ferreting out Kris's intent, Tansy is determined to show her nephew the value of his Mississippi heritage by going all out on an elaborate family Christmas celebration, and soon Tory catches the Christmas spirit again. Kris quickly falls for Tory, and she loves his easy, compassionate manner with the underprivileged kids she tutors. An overgrown puppy adds laughs and a defensive foster child tugs hard at the heartstrings. Written somewhat like the treatment for a sticky-sweet Hallmark TV movie script, this small-town contemporary is long on charm, rich with earnest family values, and completely devoid of explicit bedroom details, which makes it suitable for Christmas-minded readers of all ages. Agent: Michelle Grajkowski, Three Seas Literary. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.