This was a brilliant read. As soon as I started reading this book I just knew I was going to love it. Highly recommended

I ended up struggling with Hale's writing style, I don't think she's the author for me. I can't pinpoint the issue but I just cannot get into the stories how they are written.

Christmas novels are perhaps the greatest thing about the holiday season. They never fail to bring me joy and put me in a festive mood, and It Started With Christmas is absolutely no exception to this rule. I loved the premise of the story, and the execution was perfect. From the characters to the plot and everything in between, It Started With Christmas is the perfect holiday romance novel.

Just absolutely love d loved this story, just what Christmas is all about. Love, family, sharing good times and bad together. Not to be missed great plot pulls you into it
Loved the writting style fab read

I love Jenny Hale's books and have read them all. This one was ok but I've read better of hers. The storyline was good and I loved Holly's character. I understand it's hard losing someone of your family but i feel it got a little tedious reading about her pappy. I can't wait for Jenny's next book and I'll certainly be looking out for it. Thank you for accepting my request.

I have immensely enjoyed reading this book. Its well written. Will definitely recommend. I am glad I was given access to this arc.

Jenny Hale rarely fails to deliver and once again she has produced an easy to read Christmas book. Sadly I didn’t get time to read it in the lead up to Christmas, so had to take myself back a few months. The main character Holly is likeable and he Nana is one of the most important people so she decides that her Nana and her will spend Christmas at their family cabin in Nashville.

As usual Hale manages to perfectly set the scene of the cabin and I could imagine it in my mind clearly. However, when Nana and Holly turn up at the cabin it seems a guest has overstayed due to the weather and the introduction of the character Joe is made. Joe and Holly hit it off and it seems that this could be a potential date for Holly, but that idea is soon dashed when she realises he is due to get married.

The only thing I would say is that people can be critical saying the story is predictable and so forth, but in honesty I kind of like the fact that you are getting a Romance type Christmas book, it’s kind of what I have come to expect. The addition of Joe’s wife to be Katherine, Holly’s school friend Rhett who is now a global star and a few others you get a real feel for the people living close to the cabin.

To be fair, towards the end I actually wasn’t sure what the author was going to do with the ending but actually what did end up happening was absolutely perfect. This was an enjoyable read, although yes it’s a little detached from reality (but that suits me fine) and is the perfect read on a wet and miserable day.

Holly is looking forward to Christmas this year and going back to her Nana's log cabin for the first time since her beloved grandfather died. They are in for a surprise though when they arrive in the middle of a snowstorm and find that the man who had been renting the cabin has been snowed in as the airport has closed. Making the most of or they tell Joseph that he can stay and start the Christmas preparations. Then there is another surprise for Holly her teenage best friend Rhett, now a big singing star, is in town and wanting to pick up where he left off......... but how does she feel about him and what about her growing feelings for Joseph!

A lovely festive story where the path of true love obviously doesn't run smoothly and Holly has a lot of decisions to make, but I loved her character and that of her Nana and the hiding of the Christmas gifts was a lovely touch

This was just what I was in the mood for. It was cozy and Christmassy. I loved it. Thanks to Netgalley for an e-arc of It Started with Christmas in exchange for an honest review.

brilliant read by a new author which i am always a little unsure off but i was glad i did. I read it all and enjoyed it fully....I loved the setting, the characters and the storyline....

I read this book during Christmas and it's the perfect book to put you in the holiday spirit. It was filled with fun characters and a bit of unexpected romance. One of the main themes of the novel is the importance of family and being with people who love and appreciate the real you. If you can't be comfortable with the ones you love, how do you expect to live a happy life?

A classic Hale story, this novel was sweet and filled with fun surprises. It even made this Southern California gal wish for a White Christmas! Although it was based during Christmas, the story of family and love is a good read any day of the year.

This is a pretty good holiday romance. As usual, Holly McAdams is spending the Christmas holiday with her family in their cozy cabin in the hills outside of Nashville. However, things are a bit different, not to mention complicated, this year. Handsome, wealthy Joseph Barnes, who has been renting the cabin for the past few weeks, ends up stuck there due to a snow storm—and he will probably end up spending the holiday there. To make matters worse, the charming musician who was once Holly’s best friend and the man who broke her heart, is back in town. Thrown into close proximity with both, Holly realizes the time has finally comes for her to face her past and her feelings and figure out what to do. The memories and secrets they all share only complicate matters for all involved.

The tale brings out the importance of family and community, while showing how a person needs to reconcile everything (past, present and future as well as everyone involved). I thought the author did present a somewhat unrealistic picture of Holly, the be-all, do-all girl we all aspire to be which was a bit disconcerting, but the great story did come through despite this. The images she provided of the area were also spot-on, based on what I know of it, and definitely provided a good glimpse of life there. As I said, this is a good story to cozy up with on a wintery afternoon—or any afternoon regardless of weather. The romance is timeless and well-done. Finally, the author’s writing style just invites the reader right in, as is the case in most of her books. I received this from NetGalley to read and review.

*Book provided by the author in exchange for an honest review*

We are always in for a treat when Jenny Hale publishes a Christmas book. I have been a fan of her writing for years and she actually surprised me a little bit with this one, in a positive way of course.

I absolutely adored following Holly McAdams’ story. The relationship to her beloved Nana is very special, I really enjoyed the scenes they shared.
Joseph Barnes is snowed in the cabin and starts spending a lot of time with Holly. He is gorgeous, wealthy and just perfect. He is getting married though and Holly finds herself planning his wedding. Joe and Holly grow closer quickly and they have a real connection and electric chemistry. The situation is not easy though. It gets more complicated when Holly’s best friend Rhett Burton is back in town. He clearly has feelings for her and she is just confused.

The book had surprising elements. It’s a bit different from the usual storyline the author uses and it was not clear what was really going to happen in the end. Of course I kind of knew and wished, but the writing was mysterious and made me think twice about the ending.

This book is the perfect festive read, just snuggle up on the sofa with a yummy hot chocolate or mulled wine, turn on the Christmas lights and there you go. It’s full of feelings and emotions, I had to cry, laugh and just fell in love with the story!

I also think that the title is absolutely perfect for this book.

Magical!

First of all I would like to thank Netgalley and Avon Books for the free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

"It Started With Christmas" was my first Jenny Hale title, but it will definitely not be the last.
I love seasonal reads to get me in the mood for Christmas and this book did just that.
A real cozy Holiday read, with loads of likeable characters, community feel and country atmosphere.
Usually, these kind of feel-good reads are full of clichés and you can see the way the story will turn out from miles away. This one surprised me though, taking a different route which I really liked!

Set in a snug cottage in a small place just outside Nashville, the story of Holly McAdams and her Nanna unfolds.
Both share an incredible bond, but are also still deeply saddened by the death of their beloved husband and grandfather "Papa" three years earlier. Holly used to spend all her childhood Holidays over at her grandparents' cabin and she loved it there. Papa was as a second father to her. She still misses him. Naturally Nanna has been struggling to cope with the loss of her husband and love of her life too, and seems to have lost her zest for life. She hasn't set foot in the cabin since, knowing it will never be the same again. Holly has been taking care of her grandmother with Papa gone. Moving in with her in the bungalow on the outskirts of Nashville and working long hours as a waitress in order to support financially. Then one day Nanna asks her to take her back to the family cabin to celebrate Christmas there. She is ready to return to the place they have so many beautiful memories. Holly knows it's a huge step for her and an emotional one as well. Determined to make things as cozy and comfortable as possible for Nanna, she battles the snow storm outside and sets off to Leipers Fork.
Soon after their arrival, they stumble upon an unexpected renter who is snowed in and unable to fly out any time soon. Joseph (Joe) Barnes is a New Yorker who radiates wealth and success. He is also incredibly handsome and Holly and Joe hit it off right away. Only thing is...he is about to get married
Nanna is not happy with the situation and is eying Joe and his obvious connection to Holly with caution and reserve. When Holly's childhood friend Rhett Burton, now a world famous country artist, also re-appears in Leipers Fork, things start to get complicated….

Story
I always save Jenny Hale for my last Christmas book of the season, but I started it concurrently with the book above. The setup for this one is a little different – the MC, Holly, and her nana head to their cottage for Christmas. The previous renter, Joe, is still stuck there from a snowstorm and the three end up shacking up. Nana was hard to like at the beginning (which is normal for a Hale book), but I warmed to her eventually.

The addition of Rhett returning to Holly’s life and all of Joe’s secrets made for some complicated situation. I don’t mind love triangles sometimes, but this one was frustrating. Rhett represented the childhood-best-friend-turned-potential-lover side and Joe was someone-new-she’s-falling-for-quickly. You learn this pretty early on, but skip the rest of this paragraph to avoid spoilers: Joe is actually engaged and Holly helps him plan the wedding even though they are clearly falling for each other. There’s something weird with his fiancee though and it’s hard to tell how he and Holly could get over this obstacle if they were to get together? Meanwhile, Rhett is in love with her and she’s coming back around to him a little bit.

So, the weird romance and a lot of excessive cheesiness (especially compared to her other books, IMO), meant that this one was not great for me. It just didn’t feel like a nice Christmas book with the introduction of this love triangle. I also didn’t exactly ship her with either of the guys because of the timing of things happening – I’m trying to be vague, but I didn’t enjoy it.

Wintry Setting & Holiday Feels
I was sad to know this book didn’t happen in the same location as many of her others, but the Nashville area romance and Christmassy cabin were a welcome change in the end! The decor and holiday feels are always so strong in Hale’s books, which is why I always save them for last – they’re usually the most holiday-ish as humanly possible! The Christmas feels were strong with this one, for a certain amount of time, especially as some family traditions emerged on Christmas. Unfortunately it did zip over to New Years and beyond, without any major substance.

Overall
One of the things I love the most about Hale’s books is that I can count on them to be formulaic, in a good way, which means I’m not often disappointed. This one did divert a bit from the norm with the love triangle and enhanced cheesiness factor, which was not what I was hoping for. I kept thinking it’d get better but it didn’t really work out that way, unfortunately.

I must not be a Christmas Book kind of girl. Because I am no 0-2.

I did however, love the family aspect of this novel. I loved what Holly was doing/did for her grandmother. But other than that, I didn't connect to, or enjoy the story at all. :(

I really enjoyed this. It was a nice Christmas holiday romance, but it wasnt all "fluff." There were some nice family storylines as well. I could tell rather early on what the proposed direction of the romantic storyline was meant to be, and though I felt a bit impatient getting there, it was still nice to watch unfold. I would read this author again. Thanks netgalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an unbiased review.

IT STARTED WITH CHRISTMAS is the perfect way to spend the afternoon! All of the characters seem very genuine and relatable and I was emotionally invested in them all, right off the bat. Holly stole my heart as a woman with a broken heart with a second chance at love. The story shows how a broken heart not only effects Holly but those around her. Especially Joseph Barnes and the chemistry between the two is not something the reader can ignore. Hang on people! It will be a wild and crazy ride for sure! Joseph is renting out the cabin while planning the final touches for his wedding! Oh yeah!!



While reading IT STARTED WITH CHRISTMAS I felt as if I were right at the cozy cabin outside of Nashville thanks to Jenny Hale’s descriptive writing. The secondary characters are as wonderful as the primary ones and soon you will be thinking of them as your friends. Once I started reading, it was very hard to put down. I truly wanted Holly and Joseph to find their happily ever after. Holly was carrying so much pain in her heart and I just wanted to reach out and give her a really big hug.



IT STARTED WITH CHRISTMAS is a heart warming and beautiful romance novel. It is very easy to establish a connection with Holly and her ex Rhett and I really wanted them both to let go of the past and put it behind them. Do you think that’s possible? I thoroughly enjoyed reading IT STARTED WITH CHRISTMAS . It is funny and heart warming and filled with so many different emotions. There is so much going on in this story, but Jenny Hale does a wonderful job of weaving all the pieces together. All of the characters will have you feeling sad and then giggling on the same page. More than once I wanted to be in that cabin with my new found friends! Once you finish devouring this story, you are going to want to tell everyone you know about this awesome book.



I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bookouture through Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is a lovely story that revolves around the Christmas season. I loved the main character, Holly, from the very beginning of the book. She’s unselfish in her care for her grandmother, and even when she meets the guy of her dreams under seemingly impossible circumstances, she still tries to do the right thing. This book would make a great Christmas movie. It’s sweet, clean, and very well-written. I’ll be looking for more books by Jenny Hale.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Holly is spending Christmas at her family’s cabin with her lovely Nana. This is the first Christmas they’ve spent there since Holly’s Papa died so it’s a difficult time for them and then when they arrive they discover a man there! Joe has been renting the cabin and due to the snow has had to stay on a bit longer. Holly and Joe are attracted to each other and the Holly’s old friend, the singer Rhett turns up and declares he still had feelings for her!

I’m going to be honest and say that this novel wasn’t as festive as I was hoping it would be. There is a build up to Christmas but then it felt like it was over in the blink of an eye. Having said that the beautiful romantic treasure hunt on Christmas morning was so gorgeous and really epitomised the festive spirit. Nana was a wonderful character and seeing her find her way through her grief to re-connect with the happy memories she has of her late husband was so moving.

I found the potential romance between Holly and Joe was really endearing. I really felt their connection and felt sad for Holly when it seemed it wasn’t meant to be. I didn’t warm to Rhett at all though and was hoping Holly wasn’t going to end up with him. It was in the balance for most of the novel how things would work out for her and I did enjoy the uncertainty around her romantic life.

All in all this was a sweet and romantic novel with hints of Christmas running through it. I do love Jenny Hale’s writing and will definitely look out for her Christmas novels in the future.