This book was so, so good. It touched a special spot for me, as I was estranged from my mother for many years, and so many aspects of the book mirrored my own experience. I loved it! Also, I really want a fancy Scotland Christmas now!

One More For Christmas
Sarah Morgan



Sarah Morgan might have found the mother of all dysfunctional families for her latest holiday novel where secrets, choices, consequences and regrets rule the day and where the women in this family are in desperate need of a holiday miracle. Festively set in the magical Scottish Highlands with all the enchanted holiday trappings including snow, firesides and even a herd of reindeer readers will find themselves lost as this master storyteller weaves her own magic solving her characters myriad of problems. Each one of her fabulous players is spectacular but there are a few standouts like Samantha who hides her vulnerability behind a tough wall, Brodie who is not complicated at all but is the most genuine of Sarah’s characters and then there’s the wee dynamo that is Tabitha the Energizer Bunny of four year-olds. This is a must read for fans of Sarah, for those who crave charming unforgettable holiday tales and anyone who loves a well told story.

As the result of an accident and just maybe a bit of a Christmas magic a truly dysfunctional US family gets the rare opportunity to spend Christmas together at a Scottish Highland Estate and gives a grieving Scottish family a chance to save the home they love.


Gayle Mitchell thought she had it all, a highly successful entrepreneur, business-woman and author. But it took a fall to show her that what she was really missing was her two daughters.
Samantha Mitchell and her sister have been estranged from their mother for five years and she prides herself on being nothing like her mother, well she is the CEO of a successful holiday travel company, and she has relationship issues, but that’s it. And to prove it, unlike her mother who thought Christmas was frivolous and too commercialized she loves the holiday. Only this Christmas she’ll be spending the holiday with her whole family including her mother while investigating the possibility of including an honest to God Scottish Highland’s Estate on her firm’s holiday venue list.
Ella Mitchell loves being a mother and a wife and gladly gave up her teaching job temporarily to do just that. A job she knows her overachieving mother would look down her nose at, but then her mother has never approved of any of her choices before. But when the opportunity arises to spend Christmas in Scotland she knows her entire family has to make the trip and maybe just maybe it can be the start of healing a family who has been tragically torn apart.
The McIntyre family of Scotland suffered the tragic loss of their beloved Patriarch and on their first Christmas without him are forced to spend it with strangers.

One More For Christmas is a lovely tale of families and forgiveness and redemption. It’s also the story of how one’s past affects one’s future decisions, but also of how it’s hard to understand someone’s choices when you don’t know their story. And, finally, how as parents, while looking back we might regret past decisions, they might have been the best we could choose at that time.

In Sarah Morgan’s heartwarming tale, Gayle Mitchell has an experience that offers up a come-to-Jesus kind of moment, which causes her to reach out to her estranged daughters.

Gayle was an emotionally distant, demanding parent with little time for frivolity – including Christmas, which was honestly just heartbreaking to imagine. Samantha and Ella are particularly close siblings because of it and have created their own Christmas traditions over the years. Gayle’s attempt to patch up her relationship with her girls by trying to join in their Christmas festivities inadvertently sends them all to Scotland, where Samantha needs to preview a Scottish estate for her holiday travel business.

The family they stay with in Scotland also is going through a bit of turmoil after the death of their patriarch leaves the family estate in a precarious financial situation, so along with a bit of romance, there’s also family tensions as the individual members come to terms with what opening their house up to strangers will mean to them.

Gayle is a particularly vividly drawn character, and the relationship she has with her daughters is quite poignant. Emma is more forgiving and open, but Samantha shares similarities with her mother, whether she realizes it or not, and their relationship is more of a tightrope. While each of the characters grow and change over the course of the story, Gayle’s is most pronounced and gratifying.

With a moody, lush Scottish winter setting in a remote estate, big emotions, wonderful dialogue, One More For Christmas is just a lovely story that shows the sacrifices of motherhood, forgiveness, and the bonds of family.

I really loved this holiday title! I've found myself looking forward to a new Christmas novel by Sarah Morgan every year. She has a great way of weaving in different POVs and drama at a great pace. I definitely would have read and enjoyed a whole story about Samantha and Brodie though. Really good and highly recommended!

This was a wonderful emotional Christmas story about healing family relationships. It was well written with very complex characters full of strengths and flaws. The characters felt like good friends at the end of the book. I loved watching Gayle transform from a female scrooge to a loving mother, grandmother, and good friend. I also liked watching the daughters learn to let go of the past and try to embrace their improved relationship with their mother. This book addresses issues of physical and emotional abuse by a spouse, learning to be self-reliant, starting over, parenting skills, family relationships, overcoming pain and resentment, being successful, and expanding friendships. I would highly recommend adding this book to your Christmas TBR list!
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Romance for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Once upon a time there was an author, who shall remain nameless, who I read every Christmas. Then I discovered some of her personal beliefs were a little unsavory to me and thus a big gap was opened in my holiday reading repertoire. Entrée Sarah Morgan, who I discovered last year, and who writes a Christmas book every year. Her books more than filled my empty spot because they are even better than aforementioned nameless author's. Morgan's books are romantic, witty, unique, and best of all... her characters are individuals with different personalities. The heroines in each book are not the same (oh, cheap shot at other romance authors.) Morgan has a big back catalog that I'm looking forward to reading over time.

Anyhoo, when One More for Christmas became available to me, I snapped it up. It sat on my Kindle for a couple months and I wish I had read it sooner because it was fantastic. What was refreshing to me was that this book was not simply a romance story, but more of a family story. As Ella and Samantha are reunited with their mother, Gayle, they find the whole family suddenly in Scotland for the holidays. Removed from their every day lives, the family has ample time and space to try and heal past wounds and, what's more, Samantha has time to find a love interest after a disastrously awkward breakup (this plot point alone was worth the read!).

At the same time, the family who owns the Scottish estate where they are staying is also experiencing some growing pains. After the patriarch of the family passes away, mother, brother, and sister, are left to find a way to keep the estate running on ever-shrinking finances. In fact that is why Samantha and her family are there, to check out the place to see if it would appeal to Samantha's boutique travel agency's customers. And oh it does- the setting was gorgeous from the home to the tiny village, from the snow to the reindeer. I'd certainly book a trip there if it were real and in the budget!

While it was refreshing to have the romance come second string, I do wish there had been more since the couple had such great chemistry. I loved that Brodie wasn't your typical buff highlander in a kilt, but rather a nerdy yet handsome guy who was adorable. I cannot overstate how ADORABLE he is.

All in all this was another fantastic Christmas book by Sarah Morgan and I am looking forward to catching up on her past novels while also looking forward to new. If you like a cozy holiday story, this is definitely one for you.

Two sisters who had a hard childhood both reacted in different ways to the hard times they had, but through it all they found solace in each other. Samantha is the older sister and from her childhood has put all of her focus into her career as she books dream vacations that create unforgettable holiday experiences. She doesn't let any one close other than her sister and finds work success to be the true measure of her self worth. Ella is the younger sister and love and family are the most important thing to her. She has decided to be a stay at home mom and put her husband and child first and go in the most opposite direction from her childhood. Their mother has her own story and I don't want to spoil as those details come out in just the right way and illuminate how these girls have become the adults they have and one Christmas season will change everything.

I love that this author allowed each woman the chance to tell their side of the story throughout the book. To switch between each woman and see from their perspective, the reader gets to see their true intentions and understand why they do the things they do. A mother daughter and sister love story where these three women can learn to love each other's past and present and the gifts they each bring to the table.

A sweet story that could happen at any moment in time, but has something extra when it takes place in Scotland during the Christmas season. This is another one of those stories that I wouldn't mind seeing on the Hallmark or Lifetime channel really soon!

One More for Christmas is another engaging holiday read from Sarah Morgan. Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for the chance to read this digital ARC.

When an accident lands successful CEO and bestselling author Gayle Mitchell in the hospitals close to Christmas, she begins to examine her life's choices and realizes the life she worked so hard to curate for herself is missing the most important thing: family. It's been five years since she last saw or spoke to her daughters Samantha and Ella but Gayle is determined to put that horrible fight in the past and use the holiday season to bring her family back together. Having never celebrated Christmas with their mother when they were kids, Samantha and Ella are shocked when their mother invites herself to join their Christmas celebrations. But this impromptu Christmas celebration just might be what the Mitchell women need to make their family whole again.

As usual, Sarah Morgan does a wonderful job weaving four unique POVs together to deliver an emotional exploration of family relationships and the importance of moving on from the past. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Samantha and Ella's POV's but I had a lot of trouble with Gayle's POV because she's not an easy character to like. Learning about her past did help me understand her character better but I still didn't like her very much by the end of the novel.

To be honest, I would've loved an entire novel focusing on Samantha and Brodie's relationship. They were both such interesting characters and I really enjoyed seeing how they both brought out the best in each other.

CW: mentions of an abusive relationship (abuse occurred while the character was pregnant), car accident resulting in death of a character's parents.

This is a wonderful Christmas book filled with heart and a magical winter landscape. Gayle Mitchell might be the best at giving advice, expect for when it comes to her own family. After an accident, she tries to reconnect with her two daughters who she's been estranged with for five years. With Christmas just around the corner, she thinks it would be perfect to spend the holiday together. However, her daughters, Samantha and Ella, love Christmas and the thought of spending it with their mother seems like a surefire way to kill their holiday spirit. Whether they want it or not, they are off to Scotland to spend the holiday together and hopefully mend the bonds that have broken over the years.
Holiday novels have a tendency to get too sappy and this novel avoids those pitfall. The well-developed story line of a mother reconnecting with her estranged daughters could happen at any time of year while the Christmas setting adds a special atmosphere to the novel. The author brings the Highlands to life to the point that I want to book a trip to Kinleven. At the same time, the each character experiences personal growth and there's even a little romance. This is a well-rounded novel that's perfect for the holiday season.

I do enjoy Christmas stories, and this one from Sarah Morgan was a well written, family drama with Christmas bringing an estranged family together. This story sheds light on a problem that many family's face, a divide between a mother and daughter.

Gayle and her two daughters, Samantha and Ella, have not spoken in five years. The last time they were together there were some nasty things said on both sides and now it is too late to apologize, so they think. When Gayle has a spell and ends up in the hospital, her daughters are called to come. There is some tense moments as Gayle doesn't even know that Ella is married, let alone that she has a child. It is decided that they will spend Christmas together getting reacquainted, and making amends, but that Christmas will be in Scotland.

As the story progresses and you find out more about the women's past, my heart broke. Gayle seemed so in control of her life, but she has some major baggage and a lot of decisions were made based on that. Samantha is a lot like her mom, outward in control but a mess inside. Ella is the most together of the bunch and I loved her. Throw in a Scottish estate, a handsome, nerdy Scot and
a wonderful Christmas setting and you have an amazing Christmas story. As the women realize that being open and honest will help bring them together they unburdened themselves and began to work together. Romance also comes into play and helps to thaw Samantha, but it does not overpower the family story. There were some Christmas activities, snow and reindeer, and Christmas baking, but it was honest conversations and helpful books that made this family come together for a wonderful Christmas together. My main complaint was the length of the chapters. Wow, they were really long in some cases, so when I thought I would just finish this chapter before going to bed, it kept me up a lot longer than I had planned. I recommend this one to those who enjoy a good family drama, a Christmas story, and a wonderful setting. I was gifted a copy of this book upon request. The rating and opinions shared are my own.

This was my second Sarah Morgan book, and I enjoyed it very much. It was a Christmas story, but more than that a family story. The writing and pacing were good, and it was a nice escape during the presidential election. Thanks to the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this title.

Christmas themed fiction is a cozy warm place to go hide from reality right now, and One More for Christmas is an excellent addition to the blanket fort. Gayle Mitchell hasn’t had any contact with her daughters in five years, her staff don’t even realize that she has family. She’s an empowerment guru and consultant with a self-improvement best seller, but an accident and the resultant concussion have her reconsidering some of her own decisions. Samantha and Ella Mitchell are both Christmas fanatics, and having the mother they never managed to make proud join their festivities sounds like a recipe for disaster. When an attempt to get out of having Gayle join them for the holiday results in a family trip to the Scottish Highlands, everyone is tense.

Occasionally, One More for Christmas feels a bit over-the-top, with a bit too much drama and not quite enough space for all the characters. That being said, it’s a Christmas novel - I read it for low-stakes high drama and a schmaltzy happy ending, not in-depth exploration of the human condition. If you’re looking for a holiday romance specifically, this might be one to skip: there’s definitely a romance novel storyline, but the focus is on familial relationships. If you’re looking for a Christmas escape and dreaming of snow, it’s a solid choice.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

This story is all about family and healing the rifts that keep family apart, and celebrating the strength and togetherness of a family that works together. There is a bit of romance as well, but family is the focus, not the romance.

Gayle is strong and determined, but also completely out of her depth when it comes to her adult daughters. All she has ever wanted is to provide them with the skills to keep them safe and to shield them from her past. But instead she has driven a wedge between herself and her daughters, giving the impression that she is cold and rigid.

Samantha is protective of her younger sister, but also of her own heart. She hides behind a cool, businesslike exterior, unconsciously mirroring her mother in keeping her true self behind a wall. Not even sharing her true feeling with her beloved sister, Ella.

Ella is all feeling and love of life. She is secure in her marriage and motherhood, but vulnerable to what she perceives as her mother's judgement and coldness.

After Gayle suffers an accident and seeks reconciliation with her daughters, they journey to Scotland for Christmas and find another family who is processing their own share of heartache. Together the two families help each other to find what they need the most, understanding, love and connection.

Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher {Harlequin, HQN} through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to Net Galley for giving me an advanced copy of this book. This is not my first Sarah Morgan book and it definitely won't be my last. She is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors!! This holiday book delves into the feelings and animosity that can occur in a completely disfunctional family and what holding back truths can do to relationships. I loved this book from the start to the finish. Both families in this book have struggles to deal with and both eventually find ways to deal with their struggles and come together to enjoy the holiday season. The relationships in this book are not unlike what many families are probably dealing with and it is lovely to read how each member of each family find their way to solving their issues and reuniting into a stronger family unit. All of the Sarah Morgan books that I have read so far are about family dynamics and this book is as well. She has a way of developing strong characters, yet vulnerable at the same time. You will fall in love or hate with each character but by the end you will fully understand each character and be cheering them on. This is an extremely enjoyable holiday read!!!

Review featured at www.books-n-kisses.com

3.75 Hearts Samantha and Ella make up for their childhood Christmases each year when they get together for the holiday. But this year their mother shows up who they have not had contact with for 5 years.

This story is not the sappy sweet story of holiday romance. This is a story about family and the drama that comes with the relatives. Gayle wants to make up for all the neglect the girls dealt with in their childhood but the girls aren’t sure what Gayle’s motive is.

This story is about love, family and reconciliation. It is told in each person’s words so you see what each woman is going through and feeling.

Very well written and emotional.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This is going to be a review in which I feel like I’m floundering around. Typically I love Sarah Morgan books. She has a great sense of humor, her writing is stellar, and her characters come alive on the page. The last two are definitely true in One More for Christmas, but the humor seems missing–although I do have to say that her characters treat situations, mostly, with good humor.

It took me thirteen days to get through this book, which, as a book blogger, is a real set-back. The first few chapters I sailed through and then something went flat and I felt reluctant to return. Two days ago I pinpointed what the issue was for me. The book is excessively “talkie”–at least for me. 400-plus pages of characters talking about their feelings, their pasts, all the things they’ve done wrong. Perhaps I’m just in the wrong mindset to read this. Please don’t get me wrong. The writing and the dialogue were great, for the most part. But I felt mentally fatigued slogging through all the talk.

The beginning starts with a bang almost literally as self-help guru Gayle Mitchell, a best-selling author, clonks herself on the head with one of her awards and is only semi-conscious as her colleagues discuss what a single-minded, unpleasant individual she is. Ah, shades of Scrooge.

Gayle, realizing what people think of her, reevaluates her life and decides that she must reconcile with her daughters before it’s too late. So she begs to spend Christmas with them, although a Christmas from the past left a foul taste in her mouth and left her without any Christmas spirit.

As I write this another thing that probably didn’t help One More for Christmas is the number of different POVs. Now, I steadfastly used to hate books that had more than two POVs, but, you know, when you read and review as much as I do, sometimes you change your mind. Here, however, I felt that the number of different POVs diluted the message as well as diluted characterization. You would think it would help, but sometimes it just emphasizes the fact that Ella and Kristie were given POV chapters and yet we really came away not knowing them as well as we should for characters who were supposedly significant enough to have their own POV chapters. And, Ella’s husband Michael just seems to be on the trip to Scotland in name only since he rarely makes an appearance.

Unfortunately, all of the POV bouncing also means that we don’t really come to know the characters as well as we could/should. If the story had a more limited number of POVs, perhaps just Gayle’s and Samantha’s, I think I would have enjoyed it more. These two were the more dynamic and interesting characters.

This very well could be a your-mileage-may-vary (YMMV) novel. I wanted to love it but just didn’t despite the heart-warming and heart-felt message. I do believe that sometimes we’re not in the right frame of mind to read certain novels and respond to them in the way we normally would. This can be especially true when you need to read and get a review done in a timely manner. Honestly, One More for Christmas is still better than most other Christmas romances out there; it just didn’t fit my expectations for a Sarah Morgan novel.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is the first I have read of this author. I liked Samantha and Ella alot. Thought Michael sounded to good to be true. Brodie to be very charming. Really like Mary, Brodie's mother. i liked her reflecting on the real parts of her late husband. I didn't care for Gayle very much at all. I liked the concept of Samantha's business and found myself wanting to book a trip to Scotland. I enjoyed it for the most part.

I love books at our sisters, and Sarah Morgan did a fantastic job endearing me to these two. She wrote Gayle (the mother) realistically and with a sassy and humorous take. The book didn’t start out as your typical magical Christmas book. There were times I wasn’t sure if a magical Christmas would emerge! But these ladies pulled through, each taking a couple steps toward each other to rebuild their family and celebrate together.

YES to every single holiday book written by Sarah Morgan!! She's very firmly my favorite for festive holiday stories with great character relationships. This story reminds me of a cross between Sleigh Bells in the Snow and A Wedding in December, both of which are previous holiday titles by Ms. Morgan.

This time the story features Gayle and her two grown daughters, Samantha and Ella. Gayle has been estranged from her daughters for the last few years. This year is different, though: they'll all be spending Christmas together for the first time since the girls were young. Samantha's job is what has allowed for this holiday spent together. She owns a company that specializes in finding luxury vacations for wealthy families. Since she has to go check out the location of this resort in rural Scotland, the entire family is tagging along to try out the amenities offered on the property.

Ok, first of all: Ms. Morgan's settings are fantastic. Top notch, every time. This story is set at a family's private-estate-turned-resort up in a snowy, forested, sort-of remote place in Scotland. I loved the scenes out in the forest when the characters found their very own perfect Christmas tree. And all of the snow made the book feel very wintry and festive. I never have snow at my house, so I really love snowy settings.

I felt surprisingly connected to Gayle and her daughters because of some awkward, complicated relationships within my own family. The feelings that Samantha and Ella felt were plausible and felt very real, so the hard work that they all had to put in to move beyond their estrangement was something that I could totally appreciate. Even while the family dynamics were at play, there is a sweet relationship that develops in the story and I loved it. The romance worked really well to break up some of the more serious family scenes scattered throughout the story.

I adored the secondary characters too: the family that owns the property is written so perfectly. The matriarch of that family, Mary, is precious.

Sarah Morgan's holiday stories are literally the thing that I look forward to most about Christmas. I know that she will always deliver stories full of heart and warmth, full of the Christmas season. Her holiday stories are 100% comfort reads for me and I'm always impatient for her next story to release. ALSO: her holiday stories are the books that I reread most in my life.


Thanks to Harlequin and NetGalley for sending me a copy of this book so I can review it here for you guys. These thoughts are my own!

I love Sarah Morgan's writing and this book reminded me why! I loved it so much. I love books about sisters because while the relationships can be complicated, they are some of the best. I highly recommend this book!