Author: Karen Schaler
Publication: William Morrow, trade paperback, 2018
Genre: Fiction/Romance
Dutifully, albeit gritting her teeth, Haley goes to Holly Peak Inn (presumably somewhere in New England) where Ben Jacoby, a kindly widower, tries to instill a love of Christmas in his guests. His son, Jeff, an architect from Boston, has taken the week off to help his father with the Christmas Camp and because he is hoping to persuade Ben to sell the unprofitable inn and relocate near him. Jeff doesn’t appreciate Haley’s disdain for Christmas traditions but there is an immediate chemistry between them that both unnerves Haley and makes her yearn for his approval. When Haley forgets about the pressures of work, she enjoys the lively group of characters enrolled at Christmas Camp, the two Jacoby men, and even begins to enjoy the holiday activities Ben organizes. However, her growing friendship with Jeff is threatened when Haley, using her small business expertise and enthusiasm, develops a plan to help Ben keep the inn. Can Haley achieve her career dreams, find the spirit of Christmas, and perhaps some true love as well?
Audience: Fans of chick lit and holiday romances – what, you didn’t know that was a thing?
My Impressions: This is a pleasant if somewhat saccharine romance that feels like a Hallmark movie, which is not surprising because (a) the author has written original screenplays for Hallmark and Lifetime Christmas movies and (b) this is actually going to be a TV movie. What saves the book from an endless parade of angels and Christmas cookies (not that I am in any way anti-cookie – some of you know that my first word was cookie and I have used it frequently ever since) are the appealing characters: Ben, who misses his deceased wife and preserves the inn’s Christmas Camp in her memory; Jeff, who is judgmental but cute; inn guests including teens who rival Haley in their impatience with Christmas traditions; and Max, an endearing golden retriever who likes to wake up Haley at dawn, leash in mouth, hoping for a walk. I wanted to check in myself!Haley is portrayed as a soulless workaholic who freaks out when she is separated from her phone, and this seems extremely unfair. She knows she will need to create and pitch her vision of Tyler Toys right after she returns to work and Christmas Camp keeps its participants busy with cookie making and holiday decorating from dawn to dusk, which her boss knew, so it is reasonable to stress about the pending assignment. Cute Jeff is offended when she gets distracted by her phone but wouldn’t anyone if she (a) cared about her job, and (b) was about to be sabotaged by a coworker while she is on a mandatory vacation. Although her boss had Haley’s well-being in mind (and wound up being right, I suppose), he reminded me of the men who tell you to smile when you are not in the mood and feel more like kicking them. And what’s wrong with being committed to your job? No one criticized Jeff for dashing to Boston on a work related errand but every time Haley tries to check her email she offends everyone in sight. People need jobs to afford these fancy inns!
Still, it is a cute story and I would definitely watch the movie (air date does not seem to exist yet) or spend a few days at this inn – especially if the attractive innkeeper is included.
Purchase Links: HarperCollins * Barnes & Noble * IndieBound * Amazon
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Thanks for being on the tour!
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