A Heartfelt Christmas Promise by Nancy Naigle

Book Blog Tour

Book Review

Pages: 349
Published: September 29, 2020, at St. Martin’s Griffin
Genre: Romance Novel / Contemporary Romance / Holiday Fiction

Book Summary

(From Author)

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 Year’s to come.

Rating

4/5

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My Thoughts

The story had an inspirational feeling to it even though it is a romance. Forgiveness, family, love, determination, and finding your niche in a chaotic world. I thoroughly enjoyed Nancy’s writing style. It was easy to read. I was committed to the story by roundabout the fourth chapter. It did start off a bit slow for me, but then picked up and kept my attention. I was rooting for Fraser Hills, Porters, and Vanessa all along. The storyline was beautiful. I enjoyed the Christmas holiday story, snow, fireplaces, horses, and puppies.

I don’t know if the author was going for a theme in this book but I felt like it was forgiveness, starting over, and new beginnings. It brought a tear to my eyes quite often and I had a good chuckle at other times. The story was well written and kept me guessing as to what the outcome details would be. I knew everything was going to work out well but I had no idea how. It was a very good and surprising ending.

Fraser Hills sounds like a beautiful and picturesque place that I would absolutely love to live in. The snow and mountains alone would be a selling point for me. The whole time I had a cozy vibe and it made me feel like it is Christmas already. I enjoyed Vanessa a lot. She is a strong woman that is not without her insecurities. I really enjoyed her change through the story and was glad when she found her balance.

The dialogue was easy to read. There were a few slang words that I didn’t know but it just added to the feel of the small-town story. The characters were also well written. Mike was being a typical hot-headed cowboy and Lilene rushing around and knowing everyone’s business in the small town. I enjoyed all the characters thoroughly, even the irritating ones. Every time that Buck spoke, I could almost see Sam Elliot talking in my head.

Oh my word, I just remembered that Nancy mentions Sam Elliott’s voice in the book and I didn’t get who that was at that point, I just knew him as the guy from ‘Did you hear about the Morgans?’ And I had to Google his name. That means that with me picking that up without knowing the actor’s name (sorry Sam) that she wrote that character very well. This is a stand-alone book and not part of a series. A quick side note…I was a little confused on pages 34 and 35. She talks about her calling Sally and asking that they postpone the buy till after January 1st and Sally agreeing. And then in the next paragraph, she talks about deciding not to call her in case it rewards Sally’s bad behaviour and in case her work deal doesn’t go through. I’m not sure if it was meant to be that way.

I would definitely recommend this book to anybody that would like to have a cozy, holiday season book to read.

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Author Links:

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