One of the reasons I enjoyed this book so much was because the hero was a curmudgeon who didn't want to celebrate Christmas so the town called him "Mr. Scrooge"!!!! Then, he slowly starts to change because of the persistence of a cheerful, animal lover named Rosalie! Their interactions are fun to read and it was a fun story line! I look forward to this new series by Melinda Curtis. Already I like the fun, small town in Colorado! The Matchmaking Widows are especially fun! I definitely recommend it!

Received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

A cute Christmas read about a town manager who's a stickler for the rules ever since being burned and the pet shop owner who wants nothing more than to have a happy Christmas. Throw in a couple of cute dogs and some meddling town folk and it's a good time for holiday cheer.

Sweet short Christmas story

A delightful small little Christmas story with lots of charm and great characters. Obviously, not much character development in a short story, but they were great to discover and not flat. Still a learning curve for both main characters, especially Scrooge. :)
The dogs were a great addition to the characters and helped to warm everything up even more. Some side characters were present and added enough to the story to keep the story running and stay interesting. The story itself was as sweet as a Christmas candy - all I was expecting for a short fun read to get into Christmas mood. I would love to read more from Sunshine Valley.

Sunshine Valley, Colorado has a new town manager, Everett Bollinger. In order for the town to prosper, he needs to cut back on the Christmas festivities. So he has earned the nickname ”Scrooge” throughout the town. This is also the town where the Sunshine Valley Widows Club(the secret Sunshine Valley Matchmakers Club resides. They pick a person to make a match without that person knowing what is happening. This year Rosalie Reyes, a widow and owner of the new Sunshine Pets shop with a Saint Bernard dog named Remy will be the one to be matched. Everett is divorced and receives a surprise, when his ex-wife’s terrier mix dog named Tinkerbell who is a real trip arrives on his doorstep. Mix a town Scrooge, a widowed pet store owner, a Saint Bernard & terrier mix for an adventurous read!!! There was definitely chemistry between Rosalie and Everett but will they overcome their issues to act upon it. They will if the Sunshine Matchmakers manage to succeed. Both the targeted two couple were well fleshed, realistic and relatable main characters. The supporting characters were well written. This is intricately woven story that will delight and entertain the reader. A magical, heartwarming read!!! I volunteered to read The Christmas Wish. Thanks to the author and publisher via NetGallery for the opportunity. My opinion is voluntary and my own.

A short tale of a group of widowed women turned matchmaker. Everett, in town to balance the out of control budget has earned the name Scrooge. His job is to be tough and yet, very few consider the past he is hurting from. Rosalie, angry her husband was shot and killed in the line of duty, pours her soul into her newly established pet shop. Can the matchmakers set these two hurting souls on a path of healing?

A nice, sweet Christmas romance story to begin the Christmas season with.
Thank you to NetGallery, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read and give my honest review about this book.

This novella is a heartwarming story that definitely put me in the Christmas Spirit. The Widow's club (matchmaking club) set their sights on finding a perfect match for Rosalie, a widow who recently returned to town. Everett the town manager and Scrooge is their choice. What follows is a sweet romance as the relationship develops. I highly recommend spending an hour to read this lovely story. Thank to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC.

Everett is a town manager who is fiscally conservative and has earned the nickname of “Scrooge.” In his former position, he was forced to turn in his wife for swindling the city.

Rosalie is the owner of a recently opened pet store and a young widow. She misses her late husband, but might be ready to finally move on.

Can two struggling people, with the help of a nosy bunch of widows, move on and find love again?

Sweet story of the town "grinch" and an eternally happy pet shop owner, both hurt by love. They find each other and fall in love during the Christmas season. A sweet, clean, HEA story

This novella is a quick and easy read. It ended up being a little too cheesy for me and since it is short it doesn't allow time to really care about the characters.

When the town's Scrooge and the lovely widow are in the sights of the love club there is no escape. Everett and Rosalie are complete opposites, but work, as do their dogs. I did enjoy this one, but felt like I was missing a few items. Not sure, but felt like this was part of a series, and therefore so things were expected for the reader to know. Not overly confusing, and didn't feel lost, just felt like a few more details would help. Still though, I enjoyed this one and would highly recommend it. A fun read for Christmas.

This is a super cute Christmas novella that definitely gets you into the holiday spirit. It's a great introduction to the Sunshine Valley series and I can't wait to read more about this small town. For such a short story it has very well developed characters and I loved learning about their backstories. I just wish that it was a bit longer so that we could've had more of a build up of Rosalie and Everett's relationship. This was my first Melinda Curtis novel and I'm definitely interested in checking out more of her books. If you are looking for a wholesome short holiday read I would definitely recommend picking this novella up!

The Christmas Wish is a sweet feel good holiday story. It was very short at not quite 100 pages, and so did not dive deeply into developing characters. It seemed like an introduction. I did enjoy it and thank the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC. I would read more by Melinda Curtis.

Thank you NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for this arc.

A short but very sweet intro / novella to the Sunshine Valley series. Not much character development in 92 pages, but characters were nicely sketched. The story itself might have been a little hokey and re-heated, but so is Christmas most of the time. (Oh Lord, do I sound old and tired?) But it is a very nice way to start off the season.

The Christmas Wish by Melinda Curtis is a Christmas story with Sunshine Valley Widows Club, secretly know as the Sunshine Valley Matchmakers Club at work to find Rosalie Reyes a match. Of course, this is without her asking or taking into account her choice. Everett Bollinger the new town manager would not be her first or last choice. Early on she called him a killjoy, especially during the holiday season.

Fun read that has opposites finding common ground with their dogs they find that they may have much more in common. This is novella in length, introducing the community, the Matchmaking Club and the new series. I can only hope that in each book the characters will have pets.

An ARC of the book was given to me by the publisher through Net Galley which I voluntarily chose to read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was seriously the cutest story, and it will put you into the Christmas Spirit for sure. I like how the author took to broken people and made them feel very much like real people looking for love. I loved all the characters of Sun Valley it truly felt like coming home, they truly felt like I was catching up with friends. I loved Yolanda and Kimmy oh my those two killed me. I hope that Kimmy's story comes out soon I would love to see what antics she's going to get herself in. Remi and Tinkerbell will have you laughing and the craziness. I loved how the author kept this book clean and suitable for all ages. This book was super quick read and you will not be disappointed.

Attempting to work their matchmaking capabilities, the winner of a poker game that the Sunshine Valley Widows Club played has secretly chosen widowed Rosalie Reyes to find love again. This will not be easy, as the gentleman, Everett Bollinger, is thought of as Scrooge, and Rosalie Reyes is still in mourning over the loss of her husband. This novella is a feel-good Christmas story that was fun to read. With the author’s humor, insight into others, and love of pets, I really enjoyed it and look forward to the stories that will be full novels. [I received this book for free through the author and NetGalley.]

4 1/2 STARS!

With the kick-off novella to her brand new Sunshine Valley series, Melinda Curtis delights us all with THE CHRISTMAS WISH. He's sort of the town's enemy ... and she's sort of falling for him!

Rosalie is a sweetly fierce character. She is finally taking a chance on herself and has started up that pet store she's been dreaming of for so long, but she's not about to stand around and watch this big-wig guy in a suit try to run roughshod on her friends, family and town.

Everett is misunderstood. He's trying to do his job the best way he knows how in making the town profitable but he's getting the runaround every way he turns. He knows he came into town with a whole passel of personal baggage on his shoulders, but he has truly grown to like these people and wants what is best for them ... why does he always have to be the bad guy?

I recommend this story to anyone wanting a fast paced, enjoyable holiday read. It's a small town romance with hints of scandal to keep you entertained. I'm looking forward to the first full length novel in the series!

This was an adorable Christmas novella. I loved the small town, the dogs, the romance. There is no steam which was fine.

I will be featuring this book on December 12 podcast of Christmas Books you should check out.

THE CHRISTMAS WISH is a quick introduction to Ms. Curtis’ new series, Sunshine Valley, and while it may be novella length it certainly packs a festive, emotional story into a shorter length full of everything that I love about Christmas Romance. Rosalie and Everett seem like opposite sides of the North Pole when they first encounter each other. Rosalie is getting her new pet shop up and running – Everett has been hired to, well, fix the financial problems of the town and that often makes him the “Scrooge” of this situation. It also doesn’t help him much, at first, that he’s definitely channeling his inner Grinch at just about every turn. Two rambunctious pups, the town matchmakers, and perhaps a bit of Christmas magic will show two people that they are much better together than opposing each other.

I enjoy seeing main characters who are not in the first blush of youth. Rosalie is widowed, Everett is divorced. They’ve both lived life and have their own ideas of what works for them at least. Sometimes love gets a second chance. Falling in love isn’t counted in years on this earth but in the unique feeling that one special person brings to another – and these two could work some magic together if they’d just get out of their own way. There are some serious issues faced in THE CHRISTMAS WISH along with some lighthearted laughter and shenanigans by determined matchmakers. The balance between the two worked well for me. And now I’m intrigued enough to need more so I will definitely be following the adventures to come in Sunshine Valley. I had fun, and would not hesitate to recommend this introduction story to any Romance reader who enjoys a well-plotted story, engaging secondary characters and a couple who simply fit together in spite of themselves… oh, and adorable dogs, cannot forget Tink and Remy!

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*