By: Nancy Naigle
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin, and NetGalley for the ARC of the book!
Sheila goes to Chestnut Ridge for a few weeks in December to visit her friend Natalie and to help Natalie enter her tree into the Christmas Tree Stroll contest. Chestnut Ridge is a small town that is cozy and loves Christmas. Everyone knows each other and they go all out for Christmas. Sheila falls in love with Chestnut Ridge the more time she spends there. It certainly helps that the town’s fire chief, Tucker, has also taken an interest in Sheila. He’s is not only the fire chief, but he heads volunteers efforts for those in need, especially a family of four who loses their home to a fire. Sparks fly between these two, but Sheila is only visiting.
There were aspects of this book that I really liked. There was a huge sense of community in this book. I loved seeing neighbors and friends come together to help support the family that lost their home due to the fire. I also liked all the other volunteer opportunities and donations that were talked about in this book. It wasn’t all about flashy presents given to loved ones, and that was really heartwarming. The two sounds really cute and it’s a town that I would love to visit during the holidays.
There was also the aspect about Sheila’s mother having Alzheimer’s and that was really honest and real, but the author handled how difficult that would for a person very well.
I really wanted to feel more between Tucker and Sheila. I just never felt their connection. I never felt their spark or their chemistry. Their relationship felt very two dimensional to me. Maybe because I was so into the other aspects of the book that this felt like the throw away story line.
But, if you’re looking for a warm hearted, cozy read, then this is the book for you!
This will be out on October 8, 2024. You can find it here.
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