Welcome to Advent Reads!
This is an event I have had on my blog for several years running now. Each evening I feature a different holiday themed book. Think of it as your Book Advent Calendar! I post a variety of holiday books including romance, children's, middle-grade, mystery, paranormal, and I try to find some that are other holiday celebrations than Christmas too. I hope you will stop by each evening to see what new book I have for you!
Read for: Anticipated Release/ Requested Review/ Netgalley
Synopsis: "A perfect gift that captures the spirit of the season, USA Today bestselling author Nancy Naigle’s A Heartfelt Christmas Promise celebrates the holidays, small-town traditions, and the generosity of love between two lost souls who find everything they ever wanted in each other.
Vanessa Larkin was supposed to be spending Christmas in Paris, France on a business trip she hoped to enjoy as a working vacation. Instead, she’s been assigned to Fraser Hills, North Carolina—home of the Best Fruitcake in the USA—to convert her company’s property into warehouse space and shut down Porter’s, the fruitcake factory. Offering retirement packages and selling locals on new job opportunities may not spread holiday cheer, but Vanessa believes she’s helping secure the town’s future.
Mike Marshall’s family founded Porter’s. For decades, the factory served as the lifeblood of the community until his grandfather sold the business to a Chicago corporation. The sale cost the town its independence—and the Marshalls their family ties. A horse farmer, Mike was never involved with his grandfather’s company, but still felt Fraser Hills lost part of its identity. And as a widower raising a teenage daughter, he’s suffered enough losses in one lifetime. News of the factory’s closing means losing another piece of the town’s legacy.
Far from the skyscrapers and rapid pace of the city, Vanessa finds herself enjoying the easygoing rhythms of rural living. With Mike as her guide, she learns to appreciate the simple pleasures found in shared holiday festivities among friends. Fraser Hills is a town she is growing to love—and Mike is someone she is falling in love with. Now all Vanessa needs is a Christmas miracle to give her newfound friends and home a gift they’ll cherish for many New Years to come."
My Review: I had the good fortune to meet Nancy a couple of years ago at a book convention and have fallen in love with her holiday books. This one hit so many of my buzz words and favorite tropes; small town, horses, dogs, forced proximity, single parent, busy city business person being forced to slow down during the holidays. We get all of that and so much more. I loved that the female lead is the busy business woman, making her way in the corporate world and making it work. I loved the side characters in this book, the overly helpful assistant and nosey older gentleman, the added so much to the story. Mike is so much of what I love wrapped up in a single character, strong, kind of gruff, works hard and loves harder. While some of this book is a bit hard hitting, especially in the current economical times, it is still so uplifting, exactly what we need in the holiday season.
My Rating: This was a mash up of so many of my favorite things into a single holiday book. I was drawn into the story and thoroughly enjoyed it. I give it a rating of Four Paws.
You can find out more about Nancy Naigle and her books (many excellent holiday books to enjoy) on her Goodreads Page or Website.
A Heartfelt Christmas Promise was just released this fall and you can obtain your own copy in print or digital format from Amazon or Barnes & Noble or request it at your local library or bookstore.
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