There are two things that Ruby Dhanji loves with her whole entire heart: Christmas and anything to do with the UK. For Ruby, the holiday season means joy, generosity, and warm memories with her late mother. And now she’s on the verge of realizing the dream she and her mom always had: moving to England and opening a cozy inn. The only problem, Ruby needs some hotel experience first. 
 
Rashid just doesn’t get all the holiday hype. But when he meets a woman dragging home a Christmas tree alone from the Winter Market, he has to offer to help—even if he soon finds Ruby adores all the things he dislikes. When Ruby discovers that Rashid’s family owns a luxury boutique hotel chain in Britain, she offers him a proposition: she’ll help him give his young nieces an amazing Christmas if he’ll facilitate an introduction to his family. 
 
As Ruby and Rashid get closer, she realizes that the great big grump loves his large, eccentric family fiercely. And when their friendship turns to something more, she’s afraid she’s falling for someone weeks before she moves across the Atlantic, and she’ll soon have to decide which dream she wants to chase. 

~Standalone~

This story may contain language, violence, and/or sexual situations intended for an adult 18+ audience.

Title:  A Little Holiday Fling
Series:  ~Standalone~
Author:  Farah Heron
Published:  October 21, 2025
Publisher:  Forever
My Rating:  4 stars

A Little Holiday Fling is a standalone Christmas Romance full of grumpy/sunshine personalities, laughter, holiday magic, and making the difficult decision (or is it really) leading toward what you suddenly aren’t so certain is most important to you now.  There are always possibilities, and Ruby and Rashid are about to realize just how complicated their lives have become once they start their agreement.  But complicated isn’t always bad; it’s simply different from what was expected.

I adored Ruby.  She’s an uplifting person, with a dream in her heart and the resolve and the patience to see it come true.  She just didn’t expect that dream to take the shape of a grumpy man who adores his family, and perhaps, secretly loves the holidays more than he lets on.

It took me a little longer for Rashid to win me over, but his obvious love for his family hides deep in this proud grump’s heart.  Together as a couple, they work.  Opposites attract, the other half of a person’s heart, grumpy vs sunshine… however you want to describe it, their chemistry works well as we’re drawn into their discovery of just how much they matter to each other.

I enjoyed my time in their world.  Their story is well-written, engaging, emotional, with laughter mixed with tears, and tough life choices to be made.  I loved Rashid’s sometimes out-of-control family and how easily Ruby fit in with them.  Some issues are dealt with in a compassionate fashion, allowing us to see that not everything is picture-perfect, even in fiction.  I’m not surprised at how well the author handled these things; she’s always (in my opinion) represented events in her characters’ lives with compassion and empathy in any of her books that I’ve read.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley, and I sincerely thank the author or publishing house for their trust.  It is my choice to leave a review, giving my personal opinion about this book.*

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