This was a cute Christmas story about loss but finding happiness again. I love the city girl coming to the small town element and discovering how wonderful a small town can be. I'm from a small town and the sense of love in the community is so spot on! The main characters were great and I really enjoyed this one! It's like a hallmark Christmas movie!

Ally is on her way to NYC to have the wedding of her dreams when a snowstorm derails her plans and becomes the start to lot of revealed bad news. While the plane is grounded in a small town Bethlehem the passengers have to wait for the news to get back on track they will stay with host families. She didn't expect to like the town, make new friends and maybe even fall in love in this small town but the storm will pass and she will eventually have to go back to where she came from.

You know what this reminds me of every cheesy hallmark movie out there but I can't help but love this book all the more. I loved getting to know the characters and seeing the type of things this small town had to offer. I loved that connection between Ally and Jake and that it was a clean sort of romance. I loved the connections being made between people as well with making news friends and this was just a sweet book to read. If your a fan of cheesy christmas hallmark movies but in book form where its not just that one hour and a half fix, and really gets into the story and characters then you'll want to pick this book up.

Ally is on her way to her own Christmas wedding! She’s ready and looking forward to marrying Tim, and continuing to build their yoga studio together. Due to a blizzard, her flight, with all passengers and crew, is grounded in Bethlehem! Unfortunately, this little town has only 1 inn, and it’s under renovation! So the townspeople put everyone up in their own homes. Ally is welcomed to Jake’s mother’s home. Jake has an aversion to Christmas after losing a love 4 years ago. Ally discovers her fiancé never planned to marry her, and then she finds out he’s taken her money and stopped paying their bills, etc.

The relationship of Jake and Ally was long and somewhat frustrating to watch. But with true miracle of small-towns and Christmas, they work through their issues to find the true meaning of love and Christmas.

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and Entangled Publishing. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely.

Wonderful story! When a blizzard strands the passengers of an airplane, an entire town opens their homes to the passengers. Great story!

I was really enjoying the first half of this book. I thought the premise was like a really cute Hallmark movie. I was liking all of the characters as well as the small town Christmassy atmosphere.

Then, the second half started to frustrate me. For one thing, it took forever for the main characters to even kiss for the first time. And the plot was focusing on the side characters way too much for my liking. I found myself literally skipping over pages to get to moments between Jake and Ally, the people I actually cared about.

So, I was going to give this a 3 or 3.5 stars when reading the first half, but after reading the second half, I had to downgrade to a 2.5 stars.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and I am voluntarily reviewing it.

This was just so adorable. I totally loved the premise of this story. The back of the book told of a city that opened it's residents' homes to a flight that was diverted during 9/11. I guess I really never stopped to think about situations where planes are diverted to small towns happening. In this story it was due to a snow storm though. I just loved the Christmas themed second chance romance. Both Jake and Ally had a fantastic story. I was able to read it in an afternoon. I really hated to put the e-reader down, it was so enjoyable.

This book was written in a dual POV format. It helps me as a reader to understand the characters' actions so much better. I highly recommend this story to anyone. This is a wonderfully clean Christmas romance that you will want to read over and over. It will play like a movie in your mind.

An adorable Christmas story that feels perfect for the season.

Ally is traveling from Los Angeles to New York for her wedding when a storm forces her flight to be diverted to the small Colorado town of Bethlehem. Her life and plans quickly take some unexpected turns, but she and her fellow flight passengers are taken in by the town.

She meets Jake, proprietor of the local diner and feels a connection with him, but with her life up in the air she's not sure what to do next.

Christmas is one of my favorite times of year and I am a big fan of books that take place during this season. Robert Tate Miller has put together a sweet tale that feels just like a Hallmark movie with characters you'll love.

The Christmas Layover was a really cute holiday read with a lot of heart, compassion and small town charm. I really enjoyed it. l absolutely adored the great mix of character personalities and the dynamic between Jake and Ally. Overall, The Christmas Layover is the type of book that makes you want to cuddle up in a toasty blanket, grab a mug of hot cocoa and lose yourself for a couple hours in a nice little story.

A charming Christmas tale of love after loss. Ally's plane to her wedding destination is diverted due to weather. When she comes across information that could shatter her entire world, she must decide how to proceed. Jake runs the diner in town and has a heart-breaking past.
I admit, I wanted to slap Ally quite a bit in the beginning of the book, as she came across ungrateful. Watching the two characters try to overcome their obstacles in life, whether it be current or past, was uplifting and truly a magical story for the holiday season!

Jake and Ally’s Christmas story is incredibly sweet, and includes a lovely supporting cast. Ally’s plane was diverted to a small airport near Bethlehem, CO due to a winter storm. The local residents took in over 200 passengers, including Ally and her seat mate, a very pregnant Noel. Jake’s mother doesn’t drive, so he picked her two guests, Ally and Noel, up at the airport. As Ally experiences a series of life-altering setbacks, her “Bethlehem family” supports her. She also gets to know Jake, who has experienced his own tragedy. While they quickly fall in love, Ally isn’t at all sure that they can overcome the obstacles that stand in their way. However, with the encouragement of some members of the supporting cast, Jake stops Ally’s plane from eventually leaving by driving his truck onto the runway. Fortunately, by this time Ally has realized that her future does belong with Jake.

when ally henderson ends up stranded in bethlehem, colorado in the christmas layover. she is pretty sure her christmas wedding plans are falling apart. this is made even more certain when she learns her fiancé has left her a letter breaking things off and cleaned out their bank accounts. trapped by the snowstorm she has to put all her meditation techniques to work and find her balance.

when she stumbles upon charlie's the local diner run by her host's son, jake nelson, she decides to help him out due to the extra stranded passenger traffic. soon, she's helping him not only in the restaurant but also with helping him recapture his holiday spirit. jake has let his grief for his father and for his fiancée take away his christmas joy. but having ally around changes all of that.

this is a sweet, small-town romance, with lovely supporting characters and that made-for-tv holiday movie feel to it.

**the christmas layover will publish on november 12, 2018. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/entangled publishing (bliss) in exchange for my honest review.

2.5 stars

This book had mild cursing (but no f-bombs) and no on page sex.

I really wanted to like this story, and parts of it were good, but I really, really didn't like Ally. Her inner thoughts were offensive and beyond obnoxious (she magically can judge – and self-righteously find lacking - the political leanings of an entire town just by being in it for 3 minutes!) for so much of the book that by the time she started to have her “epiphany” that I just didn't care. She literally judged Jake for being a small town guy like the snot that she was but totally changed her tune when she realized he wasn't just a diner owner but also a rich man. That it took THAT for her to see him as a worthy human was totally unsurprising but also really terrible. Jake deserved so much better.

That said, the town of Bethlehem and the cast of characters who lived in it, were the best parts of this book and made me wish that the book had been about Noel and her husband just hanging out in town and getting to know everyone. I loved all of the Christmas activities and the entire town. If the book had a decent female protagonist this book would have been a winner.

When life knocks you down you can always choose to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and move on to bigger and better things. This is how Ally and Jake chose to make their life worthwhile. This is a sweet, and very romantic seasonal Christmas story. It is a wholesome story of family, friendship and community. Forgiving yourself is the hardest thing before you can move on. Jake and Ally had to learn to deal with all the tings they thought they had failed at first. With the love of a warm and welcoming community and family they are able to find their HEA.

Ally Henderson’s Christmas is planned to start off perfect. Along with her fiancé Tim, she is scheduled to fly to New York for her wedding and then continue on to a tropical island for the honeymoon. What happens is quite the opposite after a huge winter storm slams the east coast and leaves the plane, passengers, and crew diverted in a small town called Bethlehem somewhere in northwest Colorado.

Obviously, this is another of my seasonal reads. I have read several for this season so far and have enjoyed each one. As a standard, this story has the normal plot features as other Christmas stories and the heartwarming and tear-inducing moments that make stories like these magical and special.

My only negative comment and the reason why my review has three stars instead of four is the use of yoga terminology all throughout the book. Ally is a yogi and studio owner, so I completely understand a few yoga references thrown in. This is what the first half to one-third of the book is. You learn what she does for a living and there are normal, real-life like references to that. At some point, there is a turn and there are so many yoga references! It becomes so redundant and actually begins to lose its meaning in context. Ally references a lot of yoga positions that laypeople who don’t do yoga probably do not know. There are also references to Ally being a yogi or doing yoga for things that don’t seem to actually make sense. Luckily, the story was catching and kept me going so much that every time I came to something about yoga I didn’t think about it as much. The good thing is that the writing is fun, the plot is fun, the story of Ally and Jake is so sweet, and every character you meet in the story you will fall in love with. This is the sort of small town that I want to live in!

If you are looking for a quick Christmas read that is steeped in the season, this book would be a good place to start. Since finishing it this morning, I am going to miss the story and the little town of Bethlehem and all its quirky inhabitant. This book is brand new and being released today and is a steal on Amazon, for 2.99$! Thank you so much for NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for allowing me to read an ARC of this book.

Fantastic read that is full of holiday charm as we learn about new friends, new life, new love and most of all new hope. When a plane full of people is diverted to a small town by inclement weather, the entire population of Bethlehem, Co opens their hearts and homes to them. Ally Henderson is one of the passengers and she has no idea how much her life is about to change.

This book has a wonderful unique storyline with characters that are entertaining and fun. The writing is exceptional and you help but finish this book with a smile on your face. I highly recommend this one.

The Christmas Layover marks my first time reading Robert Tate Miller. In another writing life, Robert was a screenwriter for several Hallmark movies. Thus, I had really high expectations for The Christmas Layover. Sadly, the book didn’t meet those expectations. That isn’t to say the story wasn’t enjoyable and good, because it was. It just didn’t wow and move me like I wanted.

It’s December 20th and Ally Henderson is flying from LA to New York for her Christmas wedding. Everything is going according to plan and she’s looking forward to marrying her fiance Tim, and continuing to run their yoga studio together. Things hit a bump when a winter storm takes a turn, becomes a blizzard, and closes down air travel across the Eastern Seaboard. Blizzard Blast as it’s called, forces Flight 1225 and its 285 passengers and crew to be diverted to small town Bethlehem, Colorado. With so many visitors in town all at once and the only hotel in town closed for renovations, it’s up to the residents of Bethlehem to make the new visitors welcomed for the night.

Jake Nelson is still reeling from Christmases of the past. Christmas use to be his favorite time of year. But four years ago, things changed for him. Just when he was finding happiness again, fate stepped in to turn his world upside down yet again. Since then, Jake has just existed and not truly embraced life.

Ally and very pregnant fellow passenger, Noel are housed with Jake’s mom Peggy. One night becomes four as the storm continues and the community embraces their new friends. In the midst of having a mini-crisis about the weather and her diverted flight, Ally’s world actually turns on its axis. While 1,000 miles away, with no way of getting back to LA, Ally learns Tim doesn’t plan on marrying her. In fact, he has stopped paying any and all bills related to their business and wiped out all of their joint accounts.

“New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings.” In The Christmas Layover, Ally and Jake learn that while life can be cruel, miracles at Christmas do happen. “Love is the greatest Christmas gift of all.”, and this Christmas Ally and Jake will find that all their past hurts have lead them to where they are meant to be.

The Christmas Layover is a sweet romance, full of wonderful and likeable characters. I will admit that there were times when Ally was slightly unlikeable as she was being ungrateful and rude. But I did understand where she was coming from. My heart broke when I learned of Jake’s story. But I swear that he is such a nice, likeable guy. There is this secondary love story that is sweet and amazing. I will definitely read more from Robert Tate Miller in the future.

The Christmas Layover is a heartwarming story that takes place around the holidays in a little town called - yup - Bethlehem. I loved the style of writing and the setting. The story begins when a plane full of passengers has to land in a small town due to a blizzard. Ally, about to get married, and Noel, 8 months pregnant, get to stay with Peggy. She's the mother of a very attractive and sweet diner owner.

If you like a light story, a dash of romance and a Christmas setting, this is the perfect book for you.

This was such a sweet Christmas romance. From the moment I picked it up I was totally enchanted with the small town and all the people in it. A plane headed for New York full of passengers gets diverted to small town called Bethlehem because of a winter storm. I love how the passengers start to become involved with the towns people. The author has done such a great job creating characters that interact so well together. I loved Jake and Ally together. He is there for her a lot during the story and they grow close. This is a really great read that will keep you reading well into the night. If you are looking for a book that will make you all warm and fuzzy then this is the book for you. Thanks Net Galley. I voluntarily reviewed this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this sweet holiday story of insta-love. in a town called Bethlehem! Ally is learning that her fiance, whom she was headed east to NYC to marry at the holiday, not only has cheated on her but cheated her out of her LA business. She meets Jake, who gave up a high powered career in NYC to return home to run the family business. Jake is still dealing with the tragic loss of his fiancee on the very night he proposed to her. Bethlehem opens its hearts and homes to Ally's flight, diverted to the town because of weather on the east coast. Ally is befriended by a very pregnant fellow passenger and both are assigned to stay with Jake's mom. The stranded travelers find themselves drawn to the beauty and small town cheer of Christmas in Bethlehem.

This was a cute Christmas love story. It was very feel good in a small town way. Could be a hallmark Christmas movie! I received this ARC via netgalley for an honest review.