Christmas from the Heart
by Sheila Roberts
USA TODAY bestselling author Sheila Roberts takes readers to the charming, snowbound town of Pine River in this irresistible holiday romance.
Sometimes you need to look beyond the big picture to see what really matters
Olivia Berg’s charity, Christmas from the Heart, has helped generations of families in need in Pine River, Washington, but this year might be the end of the road. Hightower Enterprises, one of their biggest donors since way back when Olivia’s grandmother ran the charity, has been taken over by Ebenezer Scrooge the Second, aka CFO Guy Hightower, and he’s declared there will be no more money coming to Christmas from the Heart.
Guy is simply being practical. Hightower Enterprises needs to tighten its belt, and when you don’t have money to spare, you don’t have money to share. You’d think even the pushy Olivia Berg could understand that.
With charitable donations dwindling, Olivia’s Christmas budget depends on Hightower’s contribution. She’s focused her whole life on helping this small town, even putting her love life on hold to support her mission.
When Guy’s Maserati breaks down at the edge of the Cascade foothills, he’s relieved to be rescued by a pretty young woman who drives him to the nearby town of Pine River. Until he realizes his rescuer is none other than Olivia Berg. What’s a Scrooge to do? Plug his nose and eat fruitcake and hope she doesn’t learn his true identity before he can get out of town. What could go wrong?
Momma Says: 3 stars⭐⭐⭐
Christmas from the Heart was an okay small-town romance, but it didn't quite live up to its potential. It does have its moments of levity, and there were some sweet scenes between the characters as well. In fact, I could easily see this one playing out in a made for TV movie on the Hallmark channel. That said, the story is more drawn out than I felt entirely necessary, and I ended up skimming part of it, especially when the story started to lag. Some of my disappointment can be attributed to my feelings about Olivia. Try as I might, I just couldn't warm up to her. She was irritating and came across with one of those 'all about me' attitudes.' I understand that she was trying to build funds for her nonprofit, so it was really all about the people she could help, but her attitude left something to be desired. The nonprofit was important to her as well as the people depending on it, but she was just plain rude when she didn't get what she expected. In my experience, you don't 'expect' a donation, you ask for one and hope for a good return. You certainly don't school those who donate even if it's way less than you think it should be. I assume the back and forth between Olivia and Guy was meant to be witty banter, which is usually something I like, but Olivia's snark just left a bad taste in my mouth. Surprisingly, I did like Guy even if he was a little self-absorbed. Then we come to the conclusion of this romance, which should be the big work it all out, exchange I Love Yous, and fall into the big kiss. The problem is that after all that buildup and the lengthy storyline, the conclusion felt a lot rushed. The secondary characters and their interactions with Guy are what saved this one for me. The ladies at the fruitcake competition, Morris and his jealousy, even Olivia's dad. These secondary characters stole the show. There quirky and fun, and I loved reading about them. In the end, the romance just didn't work for me. It's hard to get behind a romance when you don't like one of the characters involved. I did like the other parts of the story, and Roberts does a good job with the small-town feel, so I ended up somewhere in the middle.
Christmas from the Heart was an okay small-town romance, but it didn't quite live up to its potential. It does have its moments of levity, and there were some sweet scenes between the characters as well. In fact, I could easily see this one playing out in a made for TV movie on the Hallmark channel. That said, the story is more drawn out than I felt entirely necessary, and I ended up skimming part of it, especially when the story started to lag. Some of my disappointment can be attributed to my feelings about Olivia. Try as I might, I just couldn't warm up to her. She was irritating and came across with one of those 'all about me' attitudes.' I understand that she was trying to build funds for her nonprofit, so it was really all about the people she could help, but her attitude left something to be desired. The nonprofit was important to her as well as the people depending on it, but she was just plain rude when she didn't get what she expected. In my experience, you don't 'expect' a donation, you ask for one and hope for a good return. You certainly don't school those who donate even if it's way less than you think it should be. I assume the back and forth between Olivia and Guy was meant to be witty banter, which is usually something I like, but Olivia's snark just left a bad taste in my mouth. Surprisingly, I did like Guy even if he was a little self-absorbed. Then we come to the conclusion of this romance, which should be the big work it all out, exchange I Love Yous, and fall into the big kiss. The problem is that after all that buildup and the lengthy storyline, the conclusion felt a lot rushed. The secondary characters and their interactions with Guy are what saved this one for me. The ladies at the fruitcake competition, Morris and his jealousy, even Olivia's dad. These secondary characters stole the show. There quirky and fun, and I loved reading about them. In the end, the romance just didn't work for me. It's hard to get behind a romance when you don't like one of the characters involved. I did like the other parts of the story, and Roberts does a good job with the small-town feel, so I ended up somewhere in the middle.
❃❃ARC provided by NetGalley and HARLEQUIN - MIRA
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