Review: Bright Lights, Big Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews

 

Bright Lights, Big Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews

Publication Date: September 26th 2023 by St. Martin's Press & Macmillan Audio

Pages: 288

Audio Book Length: 8hrs 8min

Narrator: Kathleen McInerney

Source: Publishers

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Librofm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Kerry Tolliver and her older brother, Murphy are headed to Greenwich Village to sell their Christmas trees since their father suffered a heart attack. It’s a Christmas tradition, going on for over thirty years and one that keeps the family farm afloat. She isn’t looking forward to living out of their rustic camper with no working bathroom, but she wants to help the family while she’s in between jobs. Kerry doesn’t count on becoming attached to the little, tight-knit community or falling in love, but these things happen when you least expect it.

This little corner of New York city came to life, bustling and charming. The Tolliver’s Christmas Tree stand sounded like a lovely oasis of pine and all things Christmassy in the middle of their little neighborhood. Kerry’s artistic knack stepped things up with twinkling lights and her handmade wreaths, which sounded gorgeous!  

Bright Lights, Big Christmas was a heartwarming, low drama holiday story!  Found family and choosing a life that makes you happy was at its center. This is the perfect, must add read for the TBR for the winter/holiday season!

I alternately read and listened to Bright Lights, Big Christmas and I recommend either version. Kathleen McInerny brought the characters to life, her southern and New York accents sounded authentic, and her performance enhanced this lovely story immensely! I listened at my usual 1.5x normal speed.

4 Stars

Book Description:

From Mary Kay Andrews, New York Times bestselling author of The Homewreckers and The Santa Suit, comes a novella celebrating love and the warm, glittering charm of the holiday season.

When fall rolls around, it’s time for Kerry Tolliver to leave her family’s Christmas tree farm in the mountains of North Carolina for the wilds of New York City to help her gruff older brother & his dog, Queenie, sell the trees at the family stand on a corner in Greenwich Village. Sharing a tiny vintage camper and experiencing Manhattan for the first time, Kerry’s ready to try to carve out a new corner for herself.

In the weeks leading into Christmas, Kerry quickly becomes close with the charming neighbors who live near their stand. When an elderly neighbor goes missing, Kerry will need to combine her country know-how with her newly acquired New York knowledge to protect the new friends she’s come to think of as family,

And complicating everything is Patrick, a single dad raising his adorable, dragon-loving son Austin on this quirky block. Kerry and Patrick’s chemistry is undeniable, but what chance does this holiday romance really have?

Filled with family ties, both rekindled and new, and sparkling with Christmas magic, Bright Lights, Big Christmas delivers everything Mary Kay Andrews fans adore, all tied up in a hilarious, romantic gem of a novel.

Review: The Santa Suit by Mary Kay Andrews

 

The Santa Suit by Mary Kay Andrews

Publication Date: September 28th 2021 by St. Martin's Press

Pages: 224

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Audible | Goodreads 

My Thoughts:

After her divorce, Ivy Perkins wanted a fresh start and so she buys Four Roses Farm from an online listing, sight unseen. When she arrives, the farmhouse is a bit more neglected than the pictures led on, so Ivy’s got her work cut out for her. Thankfully, she’s got the help of the ruggedly handsome real-estate agent, Ezra. At first it seems like Ivy isn’t all that grateful for the help and not particularly excited to carry on the Christmas traditions of the original family. However, while cleaning out the clutter Ivy finds a Santa Suit with an old letter tucked into the pocket, setting her on a mission that will change her life.  

I couldn’t blame Ivy for her feelings after getting her history. After being hurt by the two people she loved most in the world it would be hard to trust again. Plus, Christmastime had been a painful time of year for her, but all that starts to change as she accepts help and makes friends. Ezra was a sweetheart, showing up and helping even when Ivy was a bit prickly at first. Underneath that guardedness was a heart of gold and I loved how her mission made it impossible to keep to herself. Instead, Ivy got tangled up with others in the little town, a happy side-effect. Of course, she got more than a bit tangled up with Ezra, too, and I was all for it!

I just loved the idea of an old farmhouse: original wood trim and floors, fireplaces, built-ins, and a wrap-around porch. Four Roses Farm sounded so lovely, albeit a little neglected, and I’d move there in a heartbeat!

The Santa Suit was a charming novella full of winter/holiday ambiance: old-fashioned Christmas lights, fragrant pine tree, steaming hot cocoa, playing in the snow, and a heartwarming romance! There seemed to be a little meant-to-be magic involved, a couple of twists, and I loved how everything came together at the end! 

4.5 Stars

Book Description:

From Mary Kay Andrews, the New York Times bestselling author of Hello, Summer, comes a novella celebrating the magic of Christmas and second chances in The Santa Suit.

When newly-divorced Ivy Perkins buys an old farmhouse sight unseen, she is definitely looking for a change in her life. The Four Roses, as the farmhouse is called, is a labor of love—but Ivy didn't bargain on just how much labor. The previous family left so much furniture and so much junk, that it's a full-time job sorting through all of it.

At the top of a closet, Ivy finds an old Santa suit—beautifully made and decades old. In the pocket of a suit she finds a note written in a childish hand: it's from a little girl who has one Christmas wish, and that is for her father to return home from the war. This discovery sets Ivy off on a mission. Who wrote the note? Did the man ever come home? What mysteries did the Rose family hold?

Ivy's quest brings her into the community, at a time when all she wanted to do was be left alone and nurse her wounds. But the magic of Christmas makes miracles happen, and Ivy just might find more than she ever thought possible: a welcoming town, a family reunited, a mystery solved, and a second chance at love.