Janice Lynn brings us Cole Aaron, a former Marine turned firefighter at the Pine Hill Fire Department. He pulls the winning candy cane and gets to be this year's Santa in the parade. Sophie Davis stops by the Fire Department to bring a journal Cole had mistakenly placed in a box he donated to the church. They both knew that she saw the words he had written about the memories of his time in the military. This leads Cole to distance himself from Sophie who now knows about his failings. Sophie and her sister Isabelle own The Threaded Needle who own a boutique-style quilt shop. The Twenty-Second Annual Pine Hill Christmas Toy Drive ends up having Cole and Sophie work together to garner more businesses to donate their services and to gather the toys to be wrapped and delivered to the children of Pine Hill.

Events keep throwing Cole and Sophie together. Both Sophie and Cole's pasts interfere with their present. Will it color their future or will they be able to get past it?

Janice Lynn brings us along as Sophie and Cole discover more about each other as they keep meeting in town. I enjoyed reading about Cole and Sophie and look forward to another adventure. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I would like to thank NetGalley and Hallmark Publishing for this privilege.

I started this book this afternoon and just could not put it down. I loved it from start to finish.

Cole is a marine who came home from the military thinking he was not a hero and someone that no one could be proud of. He trained and became a firefighter and was glad that no one in this town knew him and knew what happened in the military. He donated some things to a church fundraiser and happened to donate his journal that he wrote his deepest darkest secrets in. Sophie found that journal and read it trying to find the owner of the journal.

A very good book that tugs at your heart strings and makes you wanna laugh, cry and slap Cole all at the same time. A must read and it will put you in the mood for Christmas.

A very sweet Christmas story which would make for a perfect hallmark movie. Likeable characters, a very sensitive storyline handled carefully and a happy ending. What more do you need