Delightfully sweet, undeniably cute, and humorously Christmassy, yet despite my hopes, this book failed to stir any emotions within me. Oh, how I yearned to adore it!

Alternatively, it could be the familiarity of the storyline, which resembles countless others I've encountered. The ubiquitous presence of an ex, two attractive main characters, and the meddling but endearing family members—all too Hallmark Christmas for my taste, lacking that unique spark.

Maybe it's just me, or perhaps it's the narrative style—written in third person and present tense, not my preferred choice. The timing could also be a factor; I began reading this book when I longed for sun instead of snow, with spring finally gracing us with its presence.

In any case, despite my initial excitement, this book left me wanting, and I couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️

Wrapped with a Beau is the perfect holiday read! This book was super cute, and just a little bit spicy (actually more than I anticipated, but I didn’t hate it!) This book definitely felt like a cozy Hallmark movie with some added steam!

The story follows Elisha who is working in her hometown as a film liaison. She is currently working on securing the perfect holiday house for a 50 year sequel film to a very popular and iconic Christmas movie. However, the beloved owner of the home recently passed and her nephew Ves, who now owns the home, definitely does not have the Christmas spirit! Elisha has to win him over in the hopes to be able to use the house in the new film.

I loved the dynamic between Ves and Elisha! They had quite the rocky start, but had a pretty strong connection and chemistry after that. My favorite thing about them was reading Ves’s POV because he is so confused by his emotions and he experiences a lot of healing throughout the story.

I also love the small town vibes! All of the side characters were unique and interesting. Everyone stood out and had that typical nosy small town neighbor vibe, but I eat that up every time.

Read this book if you like:
Small town romance
Christmas vibes
Slow burn
Dual POV

A 3.5 book for me. Cute holiday story and I could see the potential but it was a little bit difficult for me to connect with the characters. It is a nice easy read and would be great for the holiday / cozy winter season. I really like the setting (Piney Peaks) sounds so cute and did give me Hallmark vibes and the premise of the book. Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Group for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Like a lot of holiday romances, this one read like a Hallmark movie (in a wonderful way), but with a bit more spice to it. The main characters had great chemistry and the backdrop of the movie setting was a lot of fun. This was a really enjoyable read for anyone looking for a classic holiday romance!

Elisha, a film liaison, is determined to revive her town. So when she has a chance to film a sequel to Sleighbells, she finds herself tangled in a charming predicament when she clashes with the handsome Ves over the historic Christmas house.

With frosty attitudes and warm hearts, they embark on a journey that proves love and the magic of the season can melt even the chilliest of hearts. This is one of our favorite romance Christmas books of 2023. #gifted

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Group for a copy of this book. Overall this book was a cute Christmas/holiday romance. I really liked that even though it was based around Christmas, it didn’t just revolve around Christmas. The 2 main characters growing relationship I enjoyed reading about in the book. Also, the town of Piney Pikes is a holiday town I would want to go and visit around the holiday time.

I would recommend this book!!

This book was a little too slow for my liking. I just couldn’t get into the story line or connect with the characters like I thought I would.
It took me forever to get through the book and had to force myself to actually finish it

The Facts: Opposites attract, holiday romcom, grumpy vs sunshine, slow burn, fake dating.

This might be my fav Christmas book cover ever. It's just so cute. I love it. Ves, the grumpy Scrooge, inherited the Christmas house, and Elisha wants to film the sequel to a Christmas movie. While this was a lighthearted read, there were some heavy moments in here, which made the book even more enjoyable. I see this as a book that I will read every Christmas!

*4.5

This was adorable!! I love a fun small town holiday romance. It was cute to see Ves open up and see that people can really love him and that he can choose his own family. I love that he was accepted by the town and that they all wanted him to stay. Elisha and Ves were great together and I need bonus content of them.

I received an arc through netgalley.

This was cute and Christmasy but I just couldn’t connect with the characters. It took me way too long to get into this story and I had to push myself to finish this one.

This was such a fun cozy very kind of Hallmarkesque Christmas romance. I really loved both Elisha and Ves, they were both witty and fun characters to follow. Elisha is such a strong and confident woman and Ves is a great counterpart to her. I also loved the idea of the book main plot was about a movie being filmed in the town. I found this and all of the descriptions of the buildings and houses to be a great way for the town to come alive.

Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of "Wrapped with a Beau" by Lillie Vale in exchange for an honest review.

Fifty years ago, "Sleighbells under Starlight," aka the BEST (totally not Hallmark) holiday movie OF ALL TIME was filmed in obnoxiously quaint small town Piney Peaks. Since that time, the movie has become a nostalgic classic; so much so that now a filmmaker wants to produce a sequel, featuring the same iconic home featured in the first movie. Homeowner Maeve was all for it, but then she passed away.

Maeve's friend and neighbor Elisha Rowe (Elisha's family home is across the street) has moved back to her precious hometown and she's working a film liaison, facilitating the movie production. Except that Maeve's great-nephew and heir, Ves, arrives to take possession of the place. He just wants to clean the house out, sell it ASAP, and get back to his life as a writer in NYC.

Elisha and Ves naturally clash. First there's a case of mistaken identity (she mistakes him for a burglar and attacks him with a plastic candy cane. Yes, it's as silly as it sounds). Then there are differing visions for how the house should be managed. But being two unattached adults with good chemistry, they work out their differences in time for Christmas miracles.

I'll come straight to the point on this: it's basically a Hallmark movie in novel form. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. If you like light, fluffy, improbably adorable stories, this will work for you. It's adorable. There are a few attempts to make things a little more realistic: he's having career troubles AND he has some seriously toxic family. But for the most part, this book is like a bubble bath for the brain. Fun, frothy, maybe leaves you smelling like candy canes afterward.

I didn't love the writing style. I'd finally settle into a reading groove, and then I'd hit something like this: "Because Bentley, Elisha's ex-fiancé, has just swanned into the pub with a woman's hand tucked into the crook of his flannel-clad elbow, the classic red-and-black plaid Elisha always loved but he refused to wear back when they were dating. The diamond sparkling on the woman's finger almost distracts from the glint of her gold wedding band."

How many ways did this trip me up? Well, the tense, for one. I don't love first person, present tense. But also "...with a woman's hand tucked into the crook of his flannel-clad elbow..." I *know* that this is supposed to mean that he's there with his new wife, but I keep picturing a weird, dismembered hand, just resting there on his arm. The rest of the woman isn't actually mentioned until 3 paragraphs later. All that seems to matter here is that she's got the rings that Elisha never got.

It wasn't a terrible book. It wasn't exactly to my taste, but I can definitely see readers enjoying it. Like I said, if you want a book equivalent of a Hallmark movie, this is absolutely an option. Something to read and relax with. Something that won't stress you out. I recommend this for readers who love quaint small towns, hot chocolate aficionados, and people who put up their Christmas trees before Thanksgiving.

Elisha Rowe, a film liaison, aims to revive her hometown with a sequel to a beloved holiday movie. To secure the filming location, she falsely claims permission from the new owner, city boy Ves Hollins. Sparks fly as they clash, but the holiday spirit and unexpected chemistry may lead to a heartwarming twist in their plans.

This book had some fun moments. The town felt super similar to Hallmark but some of the plot didn’t feel as tender. I loved the character development of Ves, he was definitely the best part of the book! I also loved that he had multiple reasons for loving the little Christmas town other than just her. I found it difficult to connect with Elisha though. It almost felt as if she didn’t have anything to offer except that she was the town’s sweetheart because she grew up there. Overall, cute little holiday story of finding love and family.

Perfect for you if you like:
Small town Christmas charm
Finding home
Opposites attract

Similar to:
Nick and Noel’s Christmas Playlist by Code Hall
Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison
A Winter in New York by Josie Silver (currently reading)

⛔️chapters 35, 39, 41 & 44 contain explicit romance scenes (open door)
⚠️explicit language, sexual content, dysfunctional family

★ ★ ★ | 🌶.5

18+ | Check TW

!! POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD PROCEED WITH CAUTION !!

*A special thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for early access to this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.*

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Christmas books in September? Sign me up.

This book was a very cute, almost Hallmark-y, story about two people that could not be more different. It’s a small town romance with a slight fake dating trope that is loaded with Christmas vibes and imagery that makes you feel like you are standing right in the middle of Main Street. I just wish I connected with it more.

The first half of the book had me invested. I liked the grumpy-sunshine dynamic between Elisha and Ves. The banter was really good in the first half too. But I just wasn’t as into the second half. There wasn’t really a climax when it came to them getting together. They just kind of agreed? Even the smut felt anticlimactic.

It was also a little predictable, though most Christmas based romance novels are. I just wish there was more dimension in the plot. Like, the movie is a huge plot point, but we don’t really get any substantial background on Maeve and Damian and their parallels between Ves and Elisha. Which is something I would have loved to read.

And considering the length, it got a little repetitive.

Also, I’m normally not one to notice things like first person, second person, and third person when it comes to books. Especially if I’m really into the book. But the third person just felt weird here. Almost clunky.

Overall, I didn’t dislike the book. I just wanted more out of it. I wish the vibe that was created in the first half of the book was maintained throughout.

This is the most Hallmark book I’ve ever read. While I do love, Hallmark, I just couldn’t get into this one. It’s super cliché. It has every Christmas trope under the sun. While it’s super cute and very festive, this steamy stuff felt very out of place. I wish the author spent a little more time flushing out, some of the characters in details and either made the steamy parts fully see me or just took them out.

Wrapped with a Beau hit all the marks for a dual POV cozy Holiday read with just enough steam. Piney Peaks is the location of a beloved Christmas classic romance movie and film liaison, Elisha, has returned to her childhood home to the small town to secure the original home as a site for the anticipated follow up sequel. The hitch in her plan is the previous owner of the home has recently passed away and left the home to her great nephew, Ves, who has no sentimental attachment to he home, the classic film, or the town. Ves is in town to go through the home's contents to list it for a quick sale after the holidays, and Elisha sets on a course to convince her new neighbor Ves of the town's charm in the hopes he will grant permission to use the home for the movie before he sells. Elisha and Ves are your classic sunshine/grumpy opposites with clashing views on the holidays, small town life, and even love. From their hilarious meet-disaster to their sarcastic witty banter, every scene with them together had me laughing. When Elisha's ex-fiancee returns to town, these two even embark on a fake dating scheme that has the town's gossip mill running. Elisha wills her way into Ves's home and heart by peeling back layers of his past to reveal why he's so opposed to holiday magic while Ves challenges Elisha to take risks regarding her career.
Catch your Hallmark vibes by expecting:
Dreamy Snowy dates
Stolen looks at holiday parties
Found Family dinners
Brushed fingertips
Trivia nights
A trip to NYC
A Shared red scarf
A Sleigh-ride romantic gesture
Closet make-out sessions
So.Much.Slow.Burn.Angst.....with eventual
Toe-curling spice

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for my advanced copy in exchange for my review.

This was the sweetest holiday romance. It genuinely put me in the mood for Christmas, which for me to say in the beginning of fall is unheard of! Ves and Elisha gave me Dramione vibes, and I was swooning for Ves. 😍

Elisha and her family live in Piney Peaks, which is a cute small town that’s famous for being the location for the Christmas classic movie, Sleighbells. The house where the movie was filmed (aptly dubbed “The Christmas House”) has fallen into the hands of Ves, a lonely city boy who comes to town to clear out the house and sell it after his great aunt left it to him. Little does Ves know, Elisha is a film liaison on a mission to get the sequel to Sleighbells filmed in his newly bequeathed house. Elisha has a challenge ahead of her trying to break down Ves’s walls, all the while dodging her ex fiancé who has moved back into town with his new fiancee.

I loved the chemistry between Elisha and Ves, and the fact that they actually communicated! The festive ambience and slow burn spicy goodness was right up my alley. ✨

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an arc in exchange for my honest review.*

Another great cozy winter/holiday book! Small town, Hallmark movies, and lots of love. This book was a fun and easy read, and I enjoyed it immensely. I hope you enjoy it as well!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC of Wrapped with a Beau in exchange for an honest review.

Happy Publication Day!


Wrapped with a Beau comes out today! This book was like a Hallmark movie with some added spice. I loved Piney Peaks and the overall Christmas feel. The grumpy sunshine and found family tropes were well done throughout this book and I found myself rooting for Ves even though I hated his character in the beginning. Overall, this is the perfect book to get you in the mood for the holidays.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group for the opportunity to review Wrapped with a Beau. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

—🌟: 4.5
It is a simple fact that I will read anything that Lillie Vale writes. This grumpy/sunshine, opposites attract Christmas rom-com set in a picture perfect Hallmark-esque town is the ideal book to add to your holiday TBR.

First of all, I just loved that this book was dual-POV. Usually I don’t have a preference, but there was something about being able to experience both Elisha and Ves’s perspectives that hit different. Their relationship was so heartwarming, and I loved how Elisha was constantly surprising the surly Ves.

The setting of Piney Peaks was absolutely everything. I always love small towns, and the way that this one is filled to the brim with holiday spirit was nothing short of idyllic.

If you love holiday rom-coms with Hallmark level of Christmas cheer featuring a couple with absolutely crackling chemistry, then this is one you should check out!