Wednesday, September 23, 2020

Review - - A Heartfelt Christmas Promise

A Heartfelt Christmas Promise
by Nancy Naigle
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: September 29, 2020
Reviewed by PJ
 

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.

PJ's Thoughts:

Much like the Hallmark Christmas Movies I fill my DVR with every winter, A Heartfelt Christmas Promise is a sweet, charming, small-town romance that had me dreaming of the scent of pine trees in the air and rich, sugary cookies in the oven. It's a story of life choices, starting over, forgiveness, slowing down enough to rediscover the joys that have been there waiting for you all along, and realizing it's never too late to give love a chance.  

Naigle has brought the town of Fraser Hills to life, along with her citizens. She has me wanting to drive into the mountains to try the banana pudding at the Blue Bicycle Bistro, pick up a bouquet of flowers at The Stalk Market, sing along at the Christmas Parade, hang out with an enterprising teen while sampling a piece of fruitcake at Porter's (and I don't even like fruitcake), snuggle an adorable, mischievous Lab puppy (with a very big best friend), share a cup of coffee with the goodhearted folks who call Fraser Hills home, talk Mike Marshall into a wagon ride pulled by his magnificent Percherons, and meet the woman who saved a town and discovered everything she didn't know she needed in the most unlikely of places.  

If you enjoy charming, heart-tugging, Christmas romances set in scenic mountain towns, with lively townspeople, adorable animals, a business in peril, more than one romance brewing, and, of course, happy endings all around, pick up a copy of Nancy Naigle's A Heartfelt Christmas Promise


15 comments:

  1. I love the cover. This has been on my wishlist for awhile.

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    1. It's such a charming read. Really put me in the Christmas spirit.

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    2. Thank you! I love that cover too. I hope you enjoy the story. PJ, thanks so much for the lovely review.

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  2. Sounds very good thanks for the review
    Penney

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  3. I agree, a lovely Christmas story. I like reading Christmas books often, cause it makes me feel cheerful.

    Thanks for the lovely review.

    I hope everyone is taking care and staying safe.

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  4. I loved this book. I was with Vanessa about the fruitcake but even they made me want to try some.

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  5. I love Nancy's books and they are Hallmark-ish all the way!! Sounds good!! Thanks for the review PJ.

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    1. Thank you, Eileen. I sure appreciate y'all helping spread the word about this one. I can't believe release day is Tuesday!! Finally!

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    1. Thank you. I hope you'll give it a read. That town is so inviting, and Mike and Vanessa are such a great match.

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  7. By the second sentence I was thinking Hallmark movie. It sounds like the perfect, relaxing, holiday book and we could certainly use that right now. I half expect to see Hallmark pick this book up and have the movie ready for Christmas next year. Thank you for the review.

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    1. Fingers crossed. They have it, and so does another movie studio. I'd love to see this one make it to the screen, but I hope y'all all still think the book is better ;) Hugs and happy reading.

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  8. This looks like a great holiday read! I am one of those people who likes fruitcake, but I bake it from scratch.

    Nancy Naigle's "Evergreen" stories have been adapted for Hallmark movies.

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    1. Yum!! My mother-in-law used to make the best holiday fruitcake. I miss her and that cake so much. I love my fruitcake with lots of nuts too. I hope you love this novel. It was really fun to write.

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