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Christmas at the Happy Valley Motor Inn and Resort
Ho! Ho! Humbug? Is there a cure for the holiday blues? If so, Paula Arnett has yet to discover it. Candy canes and eggnog just aren’t doing the trick this year as she struggles with memories of Christmases past. How can she possibly prepare for a future with the man she adores when so many unresolved questions weigh her down? It's going to take equal parts comfort and joy, a pinch or two of mayhem, along with a heaping helping of love to put Paula in the mood. Is the Happy Valley Motor Inn and Resort up to the task?
476 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 21, 2022
91 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
December 5, 2022
My Happy Escape!
Like favorite movies, I can read the Happy Valley Series over and over again! The characters have become dear friends that I love and cheer for in all their adventures.
They are funny, loving and each one is someone I would love to spend time with enjoying a hot cocoa near the fire pit in the campground or in the kitchen enjoying Cassie’s cooking.
Love, love, love these books and am anxiously waiting for the next!
Like favorite movies, I can read the Happy Valley Series over and over again! The characters have become dear friends that I love and cheer for in all their adventures.
They are funny, loving and each one is someone I would love to spend time with enjoying a hot cocoa near the fire pit in the campground or in the kitchen enjoying Cassie’s cooking.
Love, love, love these books and am anxiously waiting for the next!
November 26, 2022
Christmas at the Happy Valley Motor Inn and Resort
I love these books, and all the quirky characters. What a great story this time too. I won’t spoil it, but I think Dr. Hunky just might be my favorite character.
I love these books, and all the quirky characters. What a great story this time too. I won’t spoil it, but I think Dr. Hunky just might be my favorite character.
June 27, 2023
Good Times Abound
Lots of warm fuzzy feels in this book. Babies, falling in love, proposing. All at Christmas time. A big extended family in small town Texas.
Lots of warm fuzzy feels in this book. Babies, falling in love, proposing. All at Christmas time. A big extended family in small town Texas.
December 17, 2022
True family and friends
This series is great. I was thrilled there was a Christmas book and it offered so much more.
I truly enjoy the relationships in this series, they care for each other and show it.
This series is great. I was thrilled there was a Christmas book and it offered so much more.
I truly enjoy the relationships in this series, they care for each other and show it.
August 19, 2024
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas—well, minus the snow, which rarely makes an appearance in Happy Vale. The heavenly scent of gingerbread, hot chocolate, fresh-baked cookies, and other goodies permeate the air. Decorations are going up all over town, and spirits couldn’t be brighter as friends and family finalize plans to spend the holidays with their extended family at the Happy Valley Motor Inn and Resort. There’s extra reason to celebrate this year: It’s Abby’s first Christmas, and folks are rearranging their schedules to vicariously experience the magic through McKenzie and Jeffries’ daughter.
So, why can’t Paula seem to find her Christmas spirit?
Normally one to lead the charge, our plucky protagonist just can’t seem to shake the blahs this year. Although it isn’t her first Christmas since losing her beloved husband, Cal, he’s heavy on her mind as her relationship with Dr. Mark Fields—aka Dr. Hunky—deepens. Mark has already proposed twice, and both times, Paula has demurred, and for reasons she can’t fully understand. The fact that Cal kept secret his first marriage as well as his purchase of the Happy Valley Motor Inn and Resort, has festered, making Paula reluctant to completely trust anyone again, even the man she is head-over-heels in love with. Even if she can work through her trust issues, she’s not sure that Mark will ever ask again, unwilling to face another humiliating rejection.
What a mess.
Never one to rest on her laurels, Paula throws herself into other community service, participating in a ride-along with Officer Lydia Gray with the Big Lake County Sheriff’s Department. The evening starts out innocently enough, with Lydia receiving a call for a well-check on an elderly resident who lives in seclusion amongst the treasures in her crumbling manor. Her name is Tatiana—Tati, for short. A Russian gymnast in her youth, she defected at the tender age of sixteen but has been widowed since her thirties, afraid to leave her house but always willing to meet new people. She takes a liking to Paula and vice versa, but before long, Lydia and Paula are called away to a robbery in progress at the Tote’n’Go, where Lydia is injured by a gun-toting suspect who manages to flee the scene. Paula is the only eyewitness who can identify him—a fact she suspects he knows. How long before word of Tati’s treasures reaches the ears of the escaped fugitive, dangling a temptation he simply can’t resist?
With a heady mix of holiday blues, inner family turmoil, and larceny, Noyes keeps you flipping pages to discover the surprising connections that ties it all together, introducing delightful new characters to her stalwart cast of fan favorites with just the right blend of joy, angst, and mouthwatering treats to make it all work. Based on what I normally read, I really shouldn’t like this series as much as I do. But with characters crafted with such tender care, it’s nearly impossible not to become invested.
Big changes are coming for Paula and Mark, and—guilty pleasure or not—I’m always up for a return engagement.
So, why can’t Paula seem to find her Christmas spirit?
Normally one to lead the charge, our plucky protagonist just can’t seem to shake the blahs this year. Although it isn’t her first Christmas since losing her beloved husband, Cal, he’s heavy on her mind as her relationship with Dr. Mark Fields—aka Dr. Hunky—deepens. Mark has already proposed twice, and both times, Paula has demurred, and for reasons she can’t fully understand. The fact that Cal kept secret his first marriage as well as his purchase of the Happy Valley Motor Inn and Resort, has festered, making Paula reluctant to completely trust anyone again, even the man she is head-over-heels in love with. Even if she can work through her trust issues, she’s not sure that Mark will ever ask again, unwilling to face another humiliating rejection.
What a mess.
Never one to rest on her laurels, Paula throws herself into other community service, participating in a ride-along with Officer Lydia Gray with the Big Lake County Sheriff’s Department. The evening starts out innocently enough, with Lydia receiving a call for a well-check on an elderly resident who lives in seclusion amongst the treasures in her crumbling manor. Her name is Tatiana—Tati, for short. A Russian gymnast in her youth, she defected at the tender age of sixteen but has been widowed since her thirties, afraid to leave her house but always willing to meet new people. She takes a liking to Paula and vice versa, but before long, Lydia and Paula are called away to a robbery in progress at the Tote’n’Go, where Lydia is injured by a gun-toting suspect who manages to flee the scene. Paula is the only eyewitness who can identify him—a fact she suspects he knows. How long before word of Tati’s treasures reaches the ears of the escaped fugitive, dangling a temptation he simply can’t resist?
With a heady mix of holiday blues, inner family turmoil, and larceny, Noyes keeps you flipping pages to discover the surprising connections that ties it all together, introducing delightful new characters to her stalwart cast of fan favorites with just the right blend of joy, angst, and mouthwatering treats to make it all work. Based on what I normally read, I really shouldn’t like this series as much as I do. But with characters crafted with such tender care, it’s nearly impossible not to become invested.
Big changes are coming for Paula and Mark, and—guilty pleasure or not—I’m always up for a return engagement.
August 1, 2025
This series needs to be on TV
Seriously (no pun intended) regarding this series, Hollywood, are you listening? This would make a great dramedy. You could make each book into a year. I have it on fairly good authority that book 7 will soon be released, so that would be at least seven years worth of stories, and then you could continue making money when it went into syndication.
All of that aside, I really love this series of books.
Seriously (no pun intended) regarding this series, Hollywood, are you listening? This would make a great dramedy. You could make each book into a year. I have it on fairly good authority that book 7 will soon be released, so that would be at least seven years worth of stories, and then you could continue making money when it went into syndication.
All of that aside, I really love this series of books.
July 6, 2023
For followers of the Happy Valley Motor Inn and Resort series, THIS book brings exactly what we've all been waiting for! Without giving away any spoilers, may I just say that by the time you get to book four of this series, Paula Arnett and her friends feel like family to the reader, and it's always a pleasure to be invited to their world.
February 21, 2023
Great series. wishing for more.
I loved the mystery, intrigue, recovery, and life lessons in this wonderful series. Difficult to find a stopping place, so many nights, I read 3 hours.
I loved the mystery, intrigue, recovery, and life lessons in this wonderful series. Difficult to find a stopping place, so many nights, I read 3 hours.
March 3, 2023
entertaining
Leslie writes stories and characters that are true to the setting of her series. I am right there in East Texas with her characters. I had a hard time putting each book aside, rather than finishing it at once.
Leslie writes stories and characters that are true to the setting of her series. I am right there in East Texas with her characters. I had a hard time putting each book aside, rather than finishing it at once.
April 18, 2023
Another hit from Leslie Noyes. Love is in the air at the Happy Valley Motor Inn and Resort, but mix in a nasty "snarky" guy and things get interesting. Like Ms. Noyes's other books, I could not put this down. Can't wait for the next one.
August 12, 2023
Can't get over how much I love the wonderful characters in Happy Valley Motor Inn and Resort. Loved this Christmas story and the mysteries our characters were involved in. Thank you, Leslie Noyes for writing these stories!
December 12, 2024
Heartwarming and Humorous
Ho! Ho! Ho!
This is a heartwarming and humorous holiday story in the Happy Valley series, though it comes with mysteries and adventures.
The writing is clever and engaging. Various storylines evolve and pve the way for future mayhem.
Ho! Ho! Ho!
This is a heartwarming and humorous holiday story in the Happy Valley series, though it comes with mysteries and adventures.
The writing is clever and engaging. Various storylines evolve and pve the way for future mayhem.
March 31, 2023
I enjoyed this series and hope it continues.
March 26, 2025
Christmas
Consistently good. Book 4 meets the mark in this highly entertaining series. Fun to return to Happy Valley and the growing family of friends.
Consistently good. Book 4 meets the mark in this highly entertaining series. Fun to return to Happy Valley and the growing family of friends.
September 20, 2025
Great read
I just love the shenanigans Paula and her gang get into!
Such a great series, with a bit of romance (quite a bit in this book!), some mystery, humor!
I just love the shenanigans Paula and her gang get into!
Such a great series, with a bit of romance (quite a bit in this book!), some mystery, humor!
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews