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theespressoedition's review
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Cue up your favorite holiday playlist.
Grab your mug of hot cocoa.
Put an extra log on the fireplace.
Set out a plate of gingerbread cookies.
And snuggle up by the Christmas tree.
Love Always, Christmas is about to put you in the most festive mood ever.
Anyone who knows me knows that in my world, Karen Schaler is the absolute Queen of Christmas. I've said time and again that I'm not sure anyone will ever be able to exceed her when it comes to spreading Christmas cheer. This story is yet another example of how wonderful her books are during the holiday season.
Normally, I go into Christmas books with a bit of a lower expectation for them. I'm not anticipating more than Hallmark-worthy cheese and romance with a side of predictability. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the depth and emotion in Love Always, Christmas. There was a lot more to this story than meets the eye and I enjoyed every minute of it (even when I felt a few tears splash my cheeks on occasion).
This book really gave me all of the found family vibes I crave during this season. Not only was the protagonist someone who I could relate to quite a lot (as a social media manager and blogger) but I absolutely adored all of the secondary characters as well... down to Rudolph the Australian Shepherd!
The concept of the "Love Always, Christmas" list was so creative that I actually got distracted halfway through my read. I wound up searching for local holiday events and towns to visit with my own loved ones. I wound up sitting with my husband for several hours, planning our own list for the season! Thank you, Karen, for inspiring us!
Now, as much as this book had fantastic emotional depth, I will say that it is a Christmas romcom, so insta-love is very much a part of the story. It was the first time I had actually been able to recognize this in a book and it made me giggle every once in a while. However, I do believe in "love at first sight," so I really can't judge if someone bonds with another over crushed gingerbread men and a good glass of Bordeaux. This romance was adorable and lighthearted and honestly perfect for a holiday read!
I couldn't have asked for more in my first Christmas book of the season. It was so heartwarming and constantly brought a smile to my face. I honestly can't wait to reread it each year as I do with Karen's other festive books. Oh, and I can't wait to get started with all of the great plans on my Love Always, Christmas list!
Grab your mug of hot cocoa.
Put an extra log on the fireplace.
Set out a plate of gingerbread cookies.
And snuggle up by the Christmas tree.
Love Always, Christmas is about to put you in the most festive mood ever.
Anyone who knows me knows that in my world, Karen Schaler is the absolute Queen of Christmas. I've said time and again that I'm not sure anyone will ever be able to exceed her when it comes to spreading Christmas cheer. This story is yet another example of how wonderful her books are during the holiday season.
Normally, I go into Christmas books with a bit of a lower expectation for them. I'm not anticipating more than Hallmark-worthy cheese and romance with a side of predictability. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the depth and emotion in Love Always, Christmas. There was a lot more to this story than meets the eye and I enjoyed every minute of it (even when I felt a few tears splash my cheeks on occasion).
This book really gave me all of the found family vibes I crave during this season. Not only was the protagonist someone who I could relate to quite a lot (as a social media manager and blogger) but I absolutely adored all of the secondary characters as well... down to Rudolph the Australian Shepherd!
The concept of the "Love Always, Christmas" list was so creative that I actually got distracted halfway through my read. I wound up searching for local holiday events and towns to visit with my own loved ones. I wound up sitting with my husband for several hours, planning our own list for the season! Thank you, Karen, for inspiring us!
Now, as much as this book had fantastic emotional depth, I will say that it is a Christmas romcom, so insta-love is very much a part of the story. It was the first time I had actually been able to recognize this in a book and it made me giggle every once in a while. However, I do believe in "love at first sight," so I really can't judge if someone bonds with another over crushed gingerbread men and a good glass of Bordeaux. This romance was adorable and lighthearted and honestly perfect for a holiday read!
I couldn't have asked for more in my first Christmas book of the season. It was so heartwarming and constantly brought a smile to my face. I honestly can't wait to reread it each year as I do with Karen's other festive books. Oh, and I can't wait to get started with all of the great plans on my Love Always, Christmas list!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Abandonment, and Emotional abuse
jennastopreading's review
hopeful
lighthearted
2.0
Thank you to the publisher for making an ARC available to me via Netgalley!
Libby is a social media manager attempting to keep her parents house in her family, but is struggling to come up with the funds to do so. Trying to keep herself busy so she can ignore the sadness that comes with a Christmas season without loved ones, she's working on her first big project since starting her business, featuring "Christmas Kitty" - a cat known for going viral with Christmas content. In the process of making this video for a company, she finds an unopened letter from a mystery friend of her late mother, and decides to travel to the nearby small town that shows on the return address.
This was the third book I've read by Karen Schaler, and sadly, my least favorite for a lot of reasons. For starters, here is what I DID enjoy about this book:
1. I loved all the Christmas vibes. If you want a book heavy on the Christmas content (with everything from Christmas carol cell phone ringtones to a dog named Rudolph), then this one will hit the spot.
2. The small town of Holly Peak seemed picturesque, just like in a quintessential Hallmark movie.
3. The dog, Rudolph, seemed like a great pal to have.
Unfortunately, the joy of Christmas writing was not enough to carry this story for me.
For starters, the dialogue in this book was absolutely brutal and redundant to read. I get that Karen Schaler is known for writing Hallmark movies and that those are known for cheesy, over the top sugary sweet speaking characters, but this was absolutely excessive. The back and forth between Libby and Adam would go on for full pages with nothing accomplished. In one instance, they told each other "Thank you!" back and forth (for the same thing) or 6 paragraphs. SIX. PARAGRAPHS. I mean, I under that these are supposed to be unrealistically nice characters, but this was painful. I was so bored that my eyeballs glazed over. I think what Schaler was trying to write as "banter" just read as bad conversation for me.
The romance in this book was such a slow burn that I gave up hope. I thought they were going to be just friends. But it's Hallmark-y, so certainly the two main people are going to get together, right? It took far too long and was SO awkward on the way there. The flirting reminded me of conversations I had with my middle school crushes.
Libby's job as a social media manager/entrepreneur could've been presented in a really cool way, but instead, it fell absolutely flat. Almost all references to social media were obnoxiously incorrect to the point that I wanted to throw my kindle across the room. The amount of times she talked about how important hashtags are had my eye muscles strained from how far my eyeballs rolled into the back of my head. It felt like her entire career was riding on hashtags and that she really thought she could save a company from doom with the perfect one. Maybe I'm jaded after spending 4 years reviewing books on IG, but if social media is going to be talked about in a book, this was not the way to do it.
And lastly - the Christmas themed pasta mentioned was the final straw for me. Broccoli in red sauce? I'm done.
Perhaps I'm just not the target audience for this read as someone who prefers books to be more realistic, but I like to think that I'm relatively decent at suspending any belief that this style of novel are supposed to be believable. All in all, this totally missed the mark, and I can only hope my next Christmas read in 2022 is a better fit for my tastes.
Libby is a social media manager attempting to keep her parents house in her family, but is struggling to come up with the funds to do so. Trying to keep herself busy so she can ignore the sadness that comes with a Christmas season without loved ones, she's working on her first big project since starting her business, featuring "Christmas Kitty" - a cat known for going viral with Christmas content. In the process of making this video for a company, she finds an unopened letter from a mystery friend of her late mother, and decides to travel to the nearby small town that shows on the return address.
This was the third book I've read by Karen Schaler, and sadly, my least favorite for a lot of reasons. For starters, here is what I DID enjoy about this book:
1. I loved all the Christmas vibes. If you want a book heavy on the Christmas content (with everything from Christmas carol cell phone ringtones to a dog named Rudolph), then this one will hit the spot.
2. The small town of Holly Peak seemed picturesque, just like in a quintessential Hallmark movie.
3. The dog, Rudolph, seemed like a great pal to have.
Unfortunately, the joy of Christmas writing was not enough to carry this story for me.
For starters, the dialogue in this book was absolutely brutal and redundant to read. I get that Karen Schaler is known for writing Hallmark movies and that those are known for cheesy, over the top sugary sweet speaking characters, but this was absolutely excessive. The back and forth between Libby and Adam would go on for full pages with nothing accomplished. In one instance, they told each other "Thank you!" back and forth (for the same thing) or 6 paragraphs. SIX. PARAGRAPHS. I mean, I under that these are supposed to be unrealistically nice characters, but this was painful. I was so bored that my eyeballs glazed over. I think what Schaler was trying to write as "banter" just read as bad conversation for me.
The romance in this book was such a slow burn that I gave up hope. I thought they were going to be just friends. But it's Hallmark-y, so certainly the two main people are going to get together, right? It took far too long and was SO awkward on the way there. The flirting reminded me of conversations I had with my middle school crushes.
Libby's job as a social media manager/entrepreneur could've been presented in a really cool way, but instead, it fell absolutely flat. Almost all references to social media were obnoxiously incorrect to the point that I wanted to throw my kindle across the room. The amount of times she talked about how important hashtags are had my eye muscles strained from how far my eyeballs rolled into the back of my head. It felt like her entire career was riding on hashtags and that she really thought she could save a company from doom with the perfect one. Maybe I'm jaded after spending 4 years reviewing books on IG, but if social media is going to be talked about in a book, this was not the way to do it.
And lastly - the Christmas themed pasta mentioned was the final straw for me. Broccoli in red sauce? I'm done.
Perhaps I'm just not the target audience for this read as someone who prefers books to be more realistic, but I like to think that I'm relatively decent at suspending any belief that this style of novel are supposed to be believable. All in all, this totally missed the mark, and I can only hope my next Christmas read in 2022 is a better fit for my tastes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Car accident
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