When Jules Evergreen lands in trouble at the North Pole and gets shipped off to Snow Hope Island for ninety days, he never expects to take up the cause of the forgotten toys waiting for new homes. Falling for his new boss is not on the agenda either, but his heart has other ideas.
Felix Winterson has grown up on Snow Hope Island and now runs the place. He isn’t thrilled when party boy Jules arrives, and Felix tries hard to ignore the man’s charms. He has other problems, anyway. For years he’s tried to get Santa to look at the growing inventory of damaged toys in the warehouse, to no avail.
When Jules comes up with a plan to save the toys, the men find themselves working closely together. As Christmas Eve looms, there’s a lot at stake. Can they save Snow Hope, convince Santa to rescue the toys, and fall in love all at the same time?
When Santa sends Jules Evergreen to Snow Hope Island for 90 days, his hope is Jules will settle down, return to the North Pole, and find his place. What Jules finds is an attractive boss, Felix Winterson and a never-ending inventory of broken toys. When Jules comes up with a plan to present to the big guy, will he realize what has been missing in his life and find a place with love at Snow Hope Island?
I must admit that the premise had me intrigued when Operation Toy Rescue crossed my path and when I read it, the story far surpassed what I expected. Let's face it, who doesn't love the Island of Misfit Toys part of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer? Don't get me wrong, Operation is not a re-telling of Rudolph but one can't help but have flashes of nostalgia when Felix shows Jules the warehouse of damaged toys. Now I won't go into Jules' plan for the toys or what happens when the plan is put before Santa but I loved watching him finally finding his place in the world. Not every elf is made for the 9 to 5 of toy making that is required at the North Pole😉😉.
Sarah Hadley Brook has created a lovely holiday tale that is an entertaining blend of Hallmark-ish rom-com and Spirit-of-Christmas fantasy that will make you smile, laugh, and warm your heart. Operation Toy Rescue first and foremost entertains but it also reminds you that Christmas isn't about being perfect and sometimes the imperfections in life(and toys) can make everything fall into place. You'll notice I didn't make much mention of the connection between Jules and Felix but the blend of heat and sweet is pretty spot on. Definitely a gem you don't want to miss.
RATING:
He was surprised that no one else was in the building yet. Unless they were upstairs in the loft, or locked away in an office. He thought he’d seen Eve’s coat hanging from a peg up front.
Jules opened the laptop and logged in, ready to get started. He really wanted to take that trip to the warehouse with Felix and the quicker he finished logging things in, the quicker that could happen. As he carefully opened a rather large box, he heard a door open and turned to see Felix, Eve, and Zuzu hurry out of Felix’s office. All wore a look of panic and his heart jumped.
“What’s wrong?” he asked as Eve grew closer.
“The Big Guy is coming for a visit three days before Christmas! We just found out. He never does this. Never, Jules.” Her voice rose as she spilled the news.
Jules glanced at Felix and caught his eye, holding it for a moment. “Isn’t Santa coming a good thing?” he asked, confused.
“We don’t know. He never does this. Never,” Eve reiterated.
“She’s right. He doesn’t. What if he wants to make major changes? Or move us to the North Pole?” Felix asked.
Jules crinkled his brow. In his mind, moving to the North Pole would be great. Felix would be closer to Jules. “You don’t want to live at the North Pole?”
All three of them looked at him in shock, their mouths gaping open.
“What?” he asked.
“The North Pole is headquarters. It’s chaos,” Zuzu explained.
Okay, I’ll give them that. But there were good things, too.
“But you’d be closer to ...” he flicked his gaze to Felix and felt his cheeks heat up. “The main operation,” he finished lamely.
“But we like it here. Our island is beautiful and we’re like a family. What if we’re torn apart?”
“I don’t think Santa --”
“You don’t know, Jules,” Eve broke in. “Maybe he thinks we don’t do enough to help these toys.”
Felix was vigorously nodding his agreement, so Jules shut his mouth and sat down in front of his laptop, considering the possibilities. He finally glanced back up, his lips curving up into a small smile as he eyed all three. “Then I guess there’s only one thing to do, guys. We need to show Santa how important the island is to children all over the globe.”
“How do we do that?” Eve asked quietly, her brow furrowed.
“By developing a kick ass plan to get these ‘inadequate toys’ into the hands of kids,” he explained, using air quotes. It was really just expanding what he and Felix had talked about last night. But calling it a plan made it feel more real. More promising.
Again, they gaped at him. Well, all but Felix. He was grinning. Happiness filled Jules’s chest and his heart raced as he grinned back, warmth spreading through him. Their gazes held and Jules felt like Felix was peering inside of him. Like he was seeing the real Jules. Not the guy that always screwed up. Not the guy that only thought of himself. But the one that finally -- finally -- wanted to do something worthy. Something that would bring others joy.
“Jules is right. We need to work together to show Santa we can handle the responsibility of taking care of the toys on this island. To prepare them for new homes. To convince him to take them with him on Christmas Eve.” Felix straightened his shoulders as determination flitted across his face and hope flashed in his eyes.
Jules couldn’t look away. The man was beautiful in every way.
Jules opened the laptop and logged in, ready to get started. He really wanted to take that trip to the warehouse with Felix and the quicker he finished logging things in, the quicker that could happen. As he carefully opened a rather large box, he heard a door open and turned to see Felix, Eve, and Zuzu hurry out of Felix’s office. All wore a look of panic and his heart jumped.
“What’s wrong?” he asked as Eve grew closer.
“The Big Guy is coming for a visit three days before Christmas! We just found out. He never does this. Never, Jules.” Her voice rose as she spilled the news.
Jules glanced at Felix and caught his eye, holding it for a moment. “Isn’t Santa coming a good thing?” he asked, confused.
“We don’t know. He never does this. Never,” Eve reiterated.
“She’s right. He doesn’t. What if he wants to make major changes? Or move us to the North Pole?” Felix asked.
Jules crinkled his brow. In his mind, moving to the North Pole would be great. Felix would be closer to Jules. “You don’t want to live at the North Pole?”
All three of them looked at him in shock, their mouths gaping open.
“What?” he asked.
“The North Pole is headquarters. It’s chaos,” Zuzu explained.
Okay, I’ll give them that. But there were good things, too.
“But you’d be closer to ...” he flicked his gaze to Felix and felt his cheeks heat up. “The main operation,” he finished lamely.
“But we like it here. Our island is beautiful and we’re like a family. What if we’re torn apart?”
“I don’t think Santa --”
“You don’t know, Jules,” Eve broke in. “Maybe he thinks we don’t do enough to help these toys.”
Felix was vigorously nodding his agreement, so Jules shut his mouth and sat down in front of his laptop, considering the possibilities. He finally glanced back up, his lips curving up into a small smile as he eyed all three. “Then I guess there’s only one thing to do, guys. We need to show Santa how important the island is to children all over the globe.”
“How do we do that?” Eve asked quietly, her brow furrowed.
“By developing a kick ass plan to get these ‘inadequate toys’ into the hands of kids,” he explained, using air quotes. It was really just expanding what he and Felix had talked about last night. But calling it a plan made it feel more real. More promising.
Again, they gaped at him. Well, all but Felix. He was grinning. Happiness filled Jules’s chest and his heart raced as he grinned back, warmth spreading through him. Their gazes held and Jules felt like Felix was peering inside of him. Like he was seeing the real Jules. Not the guy that always screwed up. Not the guy that only thought of himself. But the one that finally -- finally -- wanted to do something worthy. Something that would bring others joy.
“Jules is right. We need to work together to show Santa we can handle the responsibility of taking care of the toys on this island. To prepare them for new homes. To convince him to take them with him on Christmas Eve.” Felix straightened his shoulders as determination flitted across his face and hope flashed in his eyes.
Jules couldn’t look away. The man was beautiful in every way.
Author Bio:Sarah Hadley Brook lives smack-dab in the middle of the Heartland and is the mother of two wonderful young men, as well as two cats. During the day, she works in the nonprofit world, but reserves evenings for her hobby-turned-passion of writing, letting the characters she conjures in her mind take the lead and show her where the story will go. When not working or writing, she can be found reading, working on dollhouses, trying her hand at new recipes, or watching old movies and musicals. In her ideal world, Christmas would come at least twice a year, Rock Hudson and Doris Day would have costarred in more than three movies, and chocolate would be a daily necessity. She dreams of traveling to Scotland some day and visiting the places her ancestors lived. Sarah believes in “Happily Ever After” and strives to ensure her characters find their own happiness in love and life.
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