Home Sweet Christmas

Wishing Tree #2

by Susan Mallery

With twinkling humor and heartfelt Christmas spirit, two friends find love in a town called Wishing Tree…

Until Camryn Neff can return to her “real” life in Chicago, she’s in Wishing Tree to care for her twin sisters. She’s not looking for forever love, not here. But handsome hotelier Jake Crane is a temptation she can’t resist, so she suggests they pair up for the season. No golden rings, no broken hearts. At his side, she sees her hometown through Christmas-colored eyes. The cheer is cheerier, the joy more joyful. She thought she had put her future on hold…but maybe her real life was here all along, waiting for her to come home.

New in town, River Best is charmed by Wishing Tree’s homespun traditions and warmhearted people. When she’s crowned Snow Queen, she’s honored but wary. Dylan Tucker, her king, seems like the stuff of sugarplum dreams, but she can’t shake the feeling that he’s hiding something big. As they perform their “royal” duties—tasting cookies, lighting trees—Dylan’s good humor and melty kisses draw her to the brink of love. But she can’t let herself fall until she uncovers his secret, even if her lack of faith means losing him forever.

SM Brand-New Story

Genres: Christmas, Romance, Holiday, Fiction, Audiobook, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance

400 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 4, 2022

About the author

#1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery writes heartwarming and humorous novels about the relationships that define women's lives—family, friendship, romance. She's best known for putting nuanced characters into emotionally complex, real-life situations with twists that surprise readers to laughter. Because Susan is passionate about animal welfare, pets play a big role in her books. Beloved by millions of readers worldwide, her books have been translated into 28 languages.

Critics have dubbed Mallery "the new queen of romantic fiction." (Walmart) Booklist says, "Romance novels don't get much better than Mallery's expert blend of emotional nuance, humor, and superb storytelling," and RT Book Reviews puts her "in a class by herself!" It's no wonder that her books have spent more than 200 weeks on the USA Today bestsellers list.

Although Susan majored in Accounting, she never worked as an accountant because she was published straight out of college with two books the same month. Sixteen prolific years and seventy-four books later, she hit the New York Times bestsellers list for the first time with Accidentally Yours in 2008. She made many appearances in the Top 10 before (finally) hitting #1 in 2015 with Thrill Me, the twentieth book in her most popular series, the Fool's Gold romances, and the fourth of five books released that year.

Susan lives in Washington state with her husband, two ragdoll cats, and a small poodle with delusions of grandeur. Her heart for animals has led Susan to become an active supporter of the Seattle Humane Society. Visit Susan online at www.SusanMallery.com.

Reviews

[Kim ~ It’s All About the Thrill · Rating 5 out of 5]

That’s it!!! I am packing up and moving to the town of Wishing Tree ! 🌲 I am absolutely in LOVE with this book!! Huge shoutout to @hqnbooks @htpbooks for this gifted copy!! 🥰 Pub date is this coming Tues!! 10/4! Seriously… you will want to add this to your holiday reading list!! 🎄🧣 ⛄️

This small town had my heart ❤️ from the very first page! Can I crawl into this book and live?? Please?! 😂 Not only was the town full of all the right feels… the characters were all so likable! ❤️

Ultra wealthy Helen is determined to find a wife for her son Jake… um trust me.. hottie 🔥 Jake probably doesn’t need her help..😂 .. anyways🤷‍♀️… Helen launches Project Jake’s Bride 👰‍♀️… and let the fun begin! I adored Helen and LOVED her mettling!! 😉

What else did I love??? How about a Snow ❄️ King 👑 and Queen 👸…Cookie Tuesdays?? 🍪 A heartwarming story of a family coming together after the loss of their mother… a rescue dog 🐕 named Tinsel… Jake Crane 🔥… Okay.. I admit I may have a new book boyfriend..😂 I am a bit obsessed with Jake..🤫🤷‍♀️

I really couldn’t have loved ❤️ this book anymore. I closed the book and felt so… good … it’s such a fun, heartwarming story that just made my heart happy!!

I seriously can’t get enough of @susanmallery books!! I want to read her entire backlist!! Do you have a favorite that I should add? I adored The Christmas Wedding Guest last year. ❤️

❤️❤️❤️ Is this on your holiday TBR? Do you ever just want to crawl into a book? THIS TOWN!! I LOVE it!! What is your favorite cookie?🍪 I could totally get onboard with cookie Tuesdays!! 😉

[Jonetta · Rating 4 out of 5]

the setup…
Camryn Neff came to Wishing Tree from Chicago two years ago to care for her ailing mother and help with her much younger twin sisters, Lily and Victoria. Her mother subsequently died right before Christmas and this year Camryn wants the holidays to be special for her 15-year old sisters. Jake Crane is now living in town permanently and is general manager of his family’s resort hotel, the flagship of their enterprise, but his mother, now widowed and a little bit lonely, wants grandchildren. Helen begins Project Jake’s Bride to help move things along and she’s got Camryn topping her list. Dylan Tucker, Jake’s best friend and surrogate brother, isn’t immune either. Helen is resurrecting the town’s annual Snow King and Queen and she’s rigged it so he’s going to be the King. River Best, a computer security expert with her own business, was selected as the Snow Queen and he was immediately taken with the lovely woman who would be his partner through the holiday season. She shares his attraction but her shyness may get in the way.

the heart of the story…
While Camryn and Jake form a breezy and fun friendship in their shared goal of thwarting his mother’s plans, they still can’t avoid how truly attracted they are to each other. It doesn’t take long for him to bond with her sisters, especially when they rescue a cute little Chihuahua found in the snow on his mother’s property who they decide to call Tinsel. Jake’s no longer interested in a casual relationship but that’s all Camryn is up for since she plans to return to Chicago once the twins graduate from high school. I found this aspect of the story hard to swallow as she’d formed quite a life in Wishing Tree and there wasn’t anything to really return to for her to have dug her heels so strongly into the notion. Otherwise, I enjoyed everything about their relationship. Dylan is much clearer about his intentions towards River and that was refreshing. However, he’s hiding quite the secret about his circumstances and, knowing that River had serious trust issues, he makes some boneheaded choices. Otherwise, their romance was lovely and the Snow King and Queen roles served them well in developing a deeper relationship.

the narration…
There were so many fun moments in this story and Tanya Eby’s performance made them come to life. I loved how she voiced the banter between Camryn and Jake, his friendship with Dylan and their conversations with the meddling Helen. It was a wonderful listening experience.

the bottom line…
I love it when the relationships work without a lot of contrived conflicts and we were gifted with two in this story. Despite my annoyance with Camryn’s determination to keep a return to Chicago as goal and barrier to accepting a deeper commitment with Jake, the journeys of their developing relationships were mature and natural. Both couples were well suited and their life experiences brought added richness to their stories. Friends and family, along with little Tinsel, made for a magical holiday story.

Posted on Blue Mood Café

(Thanks to Harlequin Audio for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.)

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

HOME SWEET CHRISTMAS was a super cute Christmas romance where a meddling widowed older mother wants to set her son up with a bride, and has been interviewing potential candidates. One of the candidates, Cameron, nicely warns Jake off about his mother’s meddling. Of course they wind up falling for each other anyway. This had all the perfect notes of Christmas cheer, including an adopted dog, two cute sisters Cameron is raising, a wrapping paper business, and lots of nice family dinners. There are several side stories going on as well, River and Dylan being one of them and I loved them too. Would definitely read more books by this author! 5/5 stars.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Home Sweet Christmas by Susan Mallery is the second book of the contemporary romance Wishing Tree series and is of course set during the Christmas holiday season. As with a lot romance series the Wishing Tree series changes main characters from book to book so they can be read and enjoyed as a standalone if choosing to do so.

Camryn Neff moved back to the small town of Wishing Tree to raise her two younger sisters and had always planned on moving back to Chicago when the girls were old enough for college. However, when Camryn gets asked to a meeting with the handsome Jake Crane’s mother she doesn’t expect to find she’s a candidate in Helen’s find a wife for her son campaign.

River Best works with Camryn and is new to Wishing Tree and looking to make more friends and get to know more of the town. When it’s suggested River run for Wishing Tree’s Snow Queen she is completely out of her comfort zone but onced crowned River doesn’t mind a bit spending time with her new king, Dylan Tucker.

Last year I was lucky enough to get a copy of The Christmas Wedding Guest by Susan Mallery and I absolutely fell in love with the town of Wishing Tree and it’s inhabitants so of course I was excited to read Home Sweet Christmas. Just as the first book Home Sweet Christmas pulled me into the story immediately and I had so much fun with the double romance involved. Both couples involve have their own personalities and paths to their relationships so that makes the pages turn even faster waiting to see if there would be a happily ever after in store for them. Another great holiday read to add to this series and I’ll of course be waiting to see what comes next in the small town.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.com/

[Jenn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mallery is back with another entry in her new Wishing Tree romance series and things are heating up. River is making a home in Wishing Tree after moving there to see her sister settled. Except for the cold, everything is going great. But she's a little nervous when she's crowned Snow Queen. But luckily, the Snow King is there to make sure she's okay. Meanwhile, her friend Camryn has returned to Wishing Tree to take car wife her sisters after their mom died. She's doing really well taking care of them a d running the family's package wrapping business. But her stay has a timeline. She's determined to move back to Chicago in three years when her sister go to college. So, she's not looking to date anyone. But Jake (and his mom) might have something to say about that.

Y'all. These people are idiots. I can't even rant about specifics because spoilers. I actually tried, but I can't be vague enough. This book was so frustrating. I don't think I'm going to read any more of Mallery's series books. They're all exactly alike and the characters are generally stupid.

[Karen J · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️’s

Not one of my favourite Christmas reads but still cute and entertaining.

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

["Avonna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Check out all my reviews at: https://www.avonnalovesgenres.com

HOME SWEET CHRISTMAS (Wishing Tree Book #2) by Susan Mallery is a contemporary holiday romance that returns readers to the charming small town of Wishing Tree and features two couples and their journey to their holiday romance HEAs. While this is the second book in the series, it is easily read as a standalone, but I can recommend the first book, The Christmas Wedding is also a wonderful read.

Camryn Neff returned to Wishing Tree last October to takeover the family business and care for her young twin sisters and their terminally ill mother. After the death of their mother, the holidays were ignored, so Camryn is hoping for a much happier season for her and her sister this year. She is putting her future on hold, but wealthy hotelier, Jake Crane just may have other plans for her. Is Camryn willing to reach out for what she wants or will fear destroy her future?

River Best is new in town. She has always had difficulty connecting with people and is more comfortable with her computer, but the small-town traditions and friendly people of Wishing Tree have her wanting to be more connected. When she is crowned Snow Queen for the holiday season, she is wary, but the Snow King, Dylan Tucker puts her at ease. Dylan’s good humor draws her in, but River lacks trust from being hurt in the past and she knows Dylan is hiding something. Could the secret tear them apart?

I want to move to Wishing Tree! This is the second time I have opened a book and fallen into the story of Wishing Tree with all its Christmas themed stores and special inhabitants and not wanted to leave. Ms. Mallery gives the reader two memorable HEAs in each book in this series. The sex scenes are all behind closed doors. The secondary characters are all special and as believable as the heroes and heroines. I love each dog featured in the books, too. This book has heartwarming characters that make you feel good about falling in love and the holidays even though you must go through a bit of heartache to get there.

I highly recommend this book, the first book in the series, and this author!

[Donna Yliniemi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book but the characters would rather just sleep with the men for recreation instead of building a relationship while at the same time that is what they wanted. Both main female characters broke up with the men in their lives for stupid reasons. I almost quit but I came back and finished it. If you want a novel set at Christmas that is the only thing going for it.

[Teresa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Where to begin listing the things I hated about this book?

Everything is happy, fine and shiny for about 85% of the book, then there’s a 180 degree turn which is immediately resolved by an instant change of heart of the characters coming from who knows where in the last 5% and afterwards they live happily ever after. What kind of pacing is that?

Both of the female leads were annoying af. Camryn is on and on about wanting to settle down and starting her perfect family life and when a guy tells her he loves her, her natural reaction is to break up with him? Just to change her mind again 5 seconds later and accepting his proposal (which btw why would he do that after only 4 weeks of knowing this girl and being treated like a convenient sextoy?)
River on the other hand is the „introverted but cool hacker girl“ who did wrong in the past (so so bad that the FBI had to be involved), comes clean and all - then goes back to committing crimes just because she is suspicious of her bf instead of maybe talking to him? Immature?

The male counterparts on the other hand were less insufferable than the girls, but still. Something felt way off and they also suddenly and out of nowhere realized how to solve their internal struggles they’ve been dealing with for years and now everything is fine just because they FeLl iN LOvE. I mean come on.

The timeline starts around Thanksgiving when both of the couples basically first meet each other and by Christmas one of them is suddenly engaged? Does this happen irl? I get it‘s supposed to be a cozy, christmassy, happy story, but that was just too much.

I also thought that the grief Camryn and her (15yo) twin sisters were supposed to still be dealing with was handled badly. By which I mean barely at all. Just because a year has passed since their mother has died, they now have the time of their life during Christmas season?
This again just shows how superficial the characters were built. I didn‘t feel any connection and there was a severe lack of depth.

And don‘t get me started on the dog and her five dog beds.

All in all I was bored and simultaneously annoyed by this book. The only good thing it has going is that it is set around Christmas time.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars. I really like the cover of the book and the town of Wishing Tree is very cute and Hallmark-y, but I ended up being pretty underwhelmed with this. There are two different romance storylines to follow, which made it seem like it would be a faster pace, but instead it just made the book feel like it was dragging on way too long. I liked both of the male leads, but the female leads were challenging at times. I especially thought River was way too overdramatic. I also didn't like how they treated her introverted ways like a disease that needed to be cured.

[Danielle B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jake's mom, Helen, is on the hunt for a wife for her son, called Project Jake's Bride. Helen is desperate for a grandchild. Cameron is asked to be a contender, but she wants no part of it. She is busy with raising her 14 year old twin sisters and working on her own business. Her new friend, River, becomes the Snow Queen of Wishing Tree and soon finds herself falling for Jake's friend, Dylan Tucker. Will these couples figure out what they really want and find love?

The town of Wishing Tree is so nice. Everyone is friendly and helpful! This was a super sweet holiday read filled with romance and humor. There were many times I laughed and found a smile on my face. I highly recommend HOME SWEET CHRISTMAS. It's the perfect holiday read. Susan Mallery knows how to tell a great story and I have not been let down yet!

This review will be posted to my Instagram (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.

[Briann · Rating 2 out of 5]

❄️ Camryn and Jake’s reactions to Helen’s meddling in the beginning were severe underreactions, especially when the book opens with Helen basically out of nowhere asking about Camryn’s fertility.
❄️ Very heteronormative. No one thought that maybe Camryn, Jake, Dylan, and River might want to remain single. Or maybe they were gay or lesbian. No, they had to get married and had to have children. Even if they wanted to get married, they might not have wanted to have children
❄️ River Best = a terrible name
❄️ River basically plagiarized Penelope Garcia’s backstory from Criminal Minds
❄️ I’d fall in love with Dylan pretty quickly if I knew he spent over $10,000 to give local kids books for Christmas. I was swooning reading about it.
❄️ Favorite store = Nothing to Do With Christmas
❄️ I HATED all the conflicts:

☃️ Why would River stop liking Dylan after she found out he had $? If a girl likes a guy before $ and then finds out he has $, she would be thrilled and still in love.
☃️ River breaking into Dylan’s bank accounts (even if she “outsourced” it to another “hacker”) was WAY OVER THE LINE. She should have never done that. And how DARE she act like Dylan has to tell her everything about him when they’ve known each other for less than a month
☃️ Camryn and Jake’s whole relationship was weird. First, Camryn wants to have sex and like friendly meetups (emotional component) with Jake until Christmas. Then, they revise it, so they can continue after Christmas. Then, Jake admits he loves Camryn and probably wants to marry her. Camryn goes through a whole crisis because she didn’t want the emotional component (which makes no sense, cause she introduced the emotional component initially). Then, Camryn freaks out and breaks up with Jake. She’s going through a weird crisis and one little talk with Helen solves it.
☃️ The fact that Helen was able to “solve” Camryn’s Chicago problem and oversimplify it was annoying.
☃️ Camryn telling her sisters she wanted to move back to Chicago after they graduated high school was a severe overreaction on their part. Who cares if she wants to move back to Chicago? She was still keeping the family house and family business. The twins overreacted way too much

❄️ Another Thing: Camryn gets engaged to Jake after only dating him for like a month, at most two months. Terrible.

[DJ Sakata · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorite Quotes:

“Future nannies shouldn’t trash their ex-boyfriends on Facebook,” she murmured, copying several fairly hostile posts. “And wishing his dick falls off is never a good look.”

I’m like a hothouse orchid. Slightly odd and unable to survive outside.

Sadly, you fight like a kid, saying things you shouldn’t. You really need to up your game in the arguing department. There’s a way to do it productively. I’m sure they have online classes.

My Review:

I know it is far too early to start reading Christmas books but when it is Susan Mallery, it really doesn’t matter what the calendar says. I enjoy her smooth, amusing, and easy-flowing style of storytelling as much as I do her lovable characters, they somehow remain endearing even when they are being obnoxious. She has definitely mastered the nuances of small-town living while also being extra crafty and clever deployment of her well-honed skill set to imbue each small hamlet, resident, and tale with uniquely entertaining quirks and precious pets.

[Anita Stauffer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I feel almost bad rating this one star…I listened to this as an audio book. This was just the worst narration, if the writing was good, it was lost in translation because the narrator was so robotic. With that being said, 99% sure the writing couldn’t have been salvaged with a better narrator.

[K L · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh. Why do I keep trying with this author.
Girlfriend owns a gift wrapping store and makes a living?? For realz?
Her twin sisters always speak for each other: “We’re not sad!”, “We feel _____!”. I honestly don’t think there was any dialogue with just one speaking for herself. I don’t even recall their names! It grew very, very annoying.
As I read, I constantly ask myself, “who talks like this??!!” for any character dialogue. People speak very forward and direct. Their inner dialogues are chock full of self actualized revelations that sound like self help books on steroids.
This is not how 30 year old adults actually talk or behave. It feels like this book was written by a 70 year old for 50 and 60 year old women who actually believe this utopian life exists somewhere. Very formulaic: tragedy, pushy grandma, secrets, insta-love.
Aggressively phoned in.

[Mary Jackson _TheMaryReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved going back to Wishing Tree. I was in love with the twins and Tinsel. This was such a warm cozy wonderful Christmas read but it was so much more. The two couples won my heart. Mallery writes books that are like real life everything is not perfect and that's what I loved about Home Sweet Christmas. 5 stars from me and I HIGHLY recommend this gift.

[Bogstoetten Elfie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5 stjerner

SPONSORERET ANMELDELSE

Dette er den tredje bog, jeg læser, fra forfatterens hånd, og jeg er virkelig kommet til at holde af hendes bøger. Hun skriver hjertevarme og humoristiske bøger med en nøje afvejet portion drama.

Selvom denne bog er en toer, kan den nemt læses uafhængigt af den første. Hovedpersonerne i den første nævnes kun få gange i denne bog.

Ligesom i forfatterens øvrige bøger (som jeg har læst) handler det ikke kun om et par, der finder kærligheden, men flere. Jeg fandt det lidt underligt i starten, men jeg må indrømme, at det fungerer rigtig godt. Man kommer til at se den enkelte lovestory gennem andres øjne end blot de involveredes.

De to lovestories i bogen hænger sammen bl.a. pga. venskaberne imellem henholdsvis de mandlige og de kvindelige hovedpersoner. Men den rige Helen Crane spiller også en stor rolle i begge historier, fordi hun ikke kan lade være med at blande sig. Jeg har grinet højlydt af hendes numre.

Bogen handler om hemmeligheder og løgne, tillid, fællesskab og sammenhold, traditioner, familie og venskaber, penge og dertil hørende problemer, at finde frem til sit sande jeg, at opdage nye drømme og ikke mindst at finde den store kærlighed.

Hvis du er til feel good julebøger, så skal du læse denne bog, og læs da lige etteren: ”Hjem til julebryllup”, når du er i gang.

[Nicola · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first Christmas read of 2022 (yes I know it’s early!) and my first visit to Wishing Tree and what a winner it was. Feel-good, festive and focussing on 2 couples so double the romance, Home Sweet Christmas is full of heart, humour and just the right amount of drama. 4.5 stars.

Copy provided for an honest and unbiased opinion.

[Danielle B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Susan Mallery shines as bright as a Christmas tree in this book! I just loved it! The story begins with Camryn being interviewed to be a part of Project: Jake's Bride and I was instantly laughing at Helen's character. Speaking of Helen -I just adored her! Now, Helen is going to be one of those characters that you either love or you....well, don't but I just wanted to have hot chocolate with her and chat. She's been through a lot and her son Jake is her number one priority.

River is new in town and is crowned Snow Queen -no thanks to Helen. Her snow king, Jake's best friend, Dylan. Dylan is sweet and kind but there's a secret he's been carrying for years. Will people use him? Treat him differently? The last thing he needs is to have all eyes on him.

Home Sweet Christmas is the tale of two budding romances, one questionable -but loving-mother, and a tiny dog named Tinsel. You just can't get better than that. The town of Wishing Tree has my vote any day!

[Brooke Piercy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I bought this book because it was highly rated, but this is not a good book. The writing is pretty bad, each character repeats their motives at least four times, and I didn’t find the characters all that compelling or interesting. I wanted a fun holiday romance book for the season and this was not it.

[mel · Rating 1 out of 5]

y’all this book was so bad 💀💀💀

[Lauren coffeebooksandescape · Rating 4 out of 5]

“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝘔𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦-𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘮𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴. 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘺.”

✮ ✮ ✮ ✮

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was my second fictional visit to the town of Wishing Tree, and I couldn’t complain. The only reason I’ve marked it down to a 4 was because there were a couple of plot flaws towards the end. Specifically it was noted someone was missing at the Christmas concert, but then the next day in a conversation that same person said they were there. Just enough of a flaw to make you go “huh?!”

I was hoping to have this read and reviewed by December so I could recommend you all a brilliant Christmassy read, but life got in the way. So, here we are in January and I have your very first Christmas book recommendation for 11 months down the line! Its a really sweet Christmas romance book that follows two pairs of singles, and will make you feel all the feels!

It was funny, emotional and brilliant in every way possible. Highly recommend for a lighthearted Christmas romance!

[Jennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet Home by Susan Mallory

This book is set in a town called wishing tree and it’s a story about some of the people who live there. Cameron runs her family business which is a gift wrapping store and she of course meets the most eligible bachelor in town. She is recovering from the death of her mother, and is not really ready to commit. There is another woman who is new to the area and her name is River and she meets another very eligible bachelor. Of course the romances have ups and downs, but things will work out in the end. One of my favorite characters was Helen, Jake’s mother, who definitely meddled in his life.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hallmarkie Christmas Tale. This was a solid Christmas tale with a pair of romances in small town Washington State that features a *lot* of meddling by a mother/ "adoptive" mother who wants grandkids. You've got the expected small town charm, the native-who-left-and-came-back part of the couple (for one of the two romances), the out-of-towner (for the other), the successful businessman, the "normal" guy with a major (yet amazing) secret... basically, everything any Hallmark Christmas Romance movie enthusiast expects to see in their stories. And Mallery, as usual, does a solid job of using her 400 ish pages to fully flesh out this story without ever feeling overly long in the process. Truly a solid story well told, and a worthy addition to this series and Mallery's overall catalog. Very much recommended.

[Therese · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn’t finish this. I wanted to push through since it’s a holiday book but so much of it was cringeworthy that I had to just give up.

[☆ jess ☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

susan mallery books are like a big warm hug !!
i absolutely adored this story and the world of Wishing Tree 🤍

thank you again to Mills & Boon for kindly sending this to me!

[Christie Guillory]

Just as cute as last year's Christmas novel. Home Sweet Christmas was a fast read in a Christmas village with love abounding.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Susan Mallery has penned another Christmas story set in Wishing Tree. This is the second book in the series and although it can be read as a standalone, it continues on from the first book. River has decided to stay and make a home in Wishing Tree after moving there to see her sister settled. She wants to get to know more people besides just her small circle of friends, so they decide to nominate her for Snow Queen. Their goal is that she will get to know more people, and become accepted by more people in town. Her friend Camryn has also returned to Wishing Tree after the death of her mother. She is going to run the family's business, “Wrap Around the Clock,” a store that provides wrapping services with personalized and unique gift wrap, and raise her younger twin sisters. She has no plans to remain in Wishing Tree beyond three years, but plans can change. Jake Crane is a single, handsome hotelier, whose mother plans on finding him a wife. She is actually interviewing ex-girlfriends and setting him up, something he does not want. He and Camryn decide to "date" for the season and get him mother off his back. Meanwhile, Dylan Tucker, Jake's best friend and surrogate brother, is also single and Jake's mother sets him up as Snow King. Will Dylan and River hit it off?

This is a romance with a dual happily ever after. It is full of Christmas magic and fun, so if that is not your cup of tea, you probably won't enjoy this book. It is a story of secrets, self-doubt, friendship, family and all their meddling and romance. The characters are sweet, caring and easy to like. Of course the guys are handsome and swoon worthy. I love how everyone supports each other and doesn't judge based on their past. I have to mention Helen Crane, Jake's mother, town patriarch and gold medal meddler. She loved both Jake and Dylan (her surrogate son that she raised when his mother left town and gave her guardianship) and thought she always knew what was best for everyone, in most cases, she was right. With humour, witty banter and some emotional scenes, Susan Mallery has once again, written a wonderful Christmas romance with great characters, a fun plot and two happily ever afters. The audiobook was narrated by Tanya Eby who narrates most of Mallery's books. I have become accustomed to her voice and even if it is a bit too sweet for me, it fit this story nicely. I highly recommend this one for those looking for a sweet, uplifting, Christmas romance. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book/audiobook upon request. The rating and opinions are my own.

[Natasha Leighton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to admit, I had no idea it was a sequel when I bought this but was pleasantly surprised when I realised I’d read the first book last December🎄

It’s a genuinely enjoyable and heartwarmingly festive romance that (like book one) gives us two romances for the price of one. It follows Reggie’s friend Camryn who, until she can return to her “real” life in Chicago, has returned to Wishing Tree to care for her twin sisters. She’s not planning to find love, until Helen, the mother of Jake (Reggie’s former fiancée) approaches her about being a candidate in her plot to find him a wife—aptly called Operation: Jake’s Bride.

In giving Jake a heads up on his mother’s antics, the two start spending a lot of time together and find themselves growing closer. With him she sees her hometown in a new light, and wonders whether her life was in Wishing Tree all along, waiting for her to return.

River is new to town, so when her friends suggest she run for Snow Queen, River is a little unsure. But after her crowning, the usually guarded and reserved River soon finds herself enjoying all the festivities—thanks in part to Snow King, Dylan.

I loved returning to Wishing Tree and getting to see two heartwarming more romances unfold, I also really enjoyed getting an update on Reggie’s relationship status and to see Belle get herself a doggy playmate in Tinsel the adorably perky chihuahua. I have to admit, I like Jake more here than I did in The Christmas Wedding Guest and loved how patient, supportive and respectful of Camryn’s decisions.

The romance, for both Camryn and River was absolutely lovely and really gives off the best cosy, Hallmark vibes.

If you love a festive romance, I definitely recommend checking this out!