A great festive read.

Lila is at fireside cabins for a pre-christmas break with her best friends. She meets Theo in the coffee shop he runs. She loves Christmas and can't believe that Theo doesn't - she get closer to him as she tries to change his mind, but he is keeping secrets from her.

Christmas at Fireside Cabins was my first book by Jenny Hale, and it did not disappoint. I actually went in with expectations of a fluffy holiday romance, and this was much more. Lila's past made my heart ache, and Theo's personal journey was such a test of their bond.

The location description was charming, and there was some great sassy banter that left a smile on my face. Once in a while, the troubles of their past seemed a tad too dramatic to get wrapped up that quickly - that would be my only negative.

Overall, it was an unexpectedly strong personal journey for both, with some holiday warmth, strong friends, a found family, and the sweet happy every after we all want at the holidays.

My first exposure to Jenny Hale’s writing was A Christmas to Remember (5 Stars), so I had high expectations for this book. Unfortunately it missed the mark a little for me.

Lila Evans is living in Nashville working at a dead-end job after her musician boyfriend dumped her. Having no family of her own due to the death of her parents, she has created one with three friends who live in her apartment building. She and her friends are about to embark on their annual holiday trip and this one may be their last as life circumstances are moving their lives in different directions. Lila has made all the arrangments to stay at the Fireside Cabins.

When the group arrives in the small, quaint town of Pinewood Hills, they get off to a rocky start at the only coffee shop in town and meet Theo Perry, the curmudgeon proprietor. Subsequently they make it to their destination only to be disillusioned by the disrepair of the resort, which was advertised in glowing terms and fantastic pictures. After they meet Eleanor Finely, the kind-hearted octogenarian owner, they decide to abandon their plan to demand a refund and stay.

The story focuses primarily on Lila and her longing for connection and a place to belong. I enjoyed most of the characters that populated the town, including Rex, a charmingly precocious 5 year old. However, the character development of Lila’s friends was a bit shallow and tangential. What kept me engaged were the descriptions of the town and the holiday events, which were so evocative of the holiday spirit.

I had difficulty with two elements of the book. First, the storyline with Theo and his mysterious family/business issues, coupled with Eleanor’s problems, seemed overly dramatic and drawn out. It was a challenge not to see Lila as a flaming codependent in all her efforts to fix things for everyone. My second issue concerns how quickly all the problems were resolved in the last few chapters. After pages of emotional angst, I felt everything fell into place too easily.

The author has written a total of eight Christmas novels. Based on my experience with these two books I will definitely check out the remaining six.

My thanks to the author, Bookouture and NetGalley for providing the opportunity to review a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a lovely and charming book! I just can’t get enough of these Christmas books! This one needs to be made into a movie!

Christmas at Fireside Cabins is such a feel good Christmas romance. Christmas is tough for Lila now that she’s usually alone. Her and her 3 best friends plan a girls trip every year but this year things end up a little differently. Lila ends up finding herself alone, again. While at Fireside Cabins she meets the elderly owner, Eleanor, and instantly befriends her. The local coffee shop, Coffee, is owned and operated by Theo, a real life Scrooge. Lila’s big heart and Christmas spirit change the entire town set in the Tennessee hills and the transformation is amazing. If you’re looking for a warm hug from your book -definitely check this one out!

Jenny Hale has done it again- she made me fall even more in love with the bad boy and the holidays. :-)

Lila and her girlfriends have set off on their friendship Christmas extravaganza- and they've gotten themselves into more than they can handle. The cabin they've rented is more rustic than they could have imagined, and life just keeps getting in the way.

A little lost and lonely, Lila makes friends with the Fireside Cabin proprietor, Evelyn, and the two strike up a friendship and a recovery plan; to restore the Fireside Cabins to their original glory. Mix in the small-town feeling, and the coffee shop "bad boy" and you've got the perfect recipe for a holiday book.

Realistic characters, romance, and Christmas all add up to the perfect read. I LOVED this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture. As it reads on Amazon: An absolutely heart-warming and feel-good festive romance. So true. But I think sweet should be in there somewhere. It really is all of those and for me very sweet. All that yummy sounding food and the way the story unfolded. I really did enjoy reading about Lila and Theo and all of the friends to both. Loved how their relationship blossomed. All the characters were very likable. Would love to read more about Lila's friends Edie, Piper, Charolette, and Eleanore (old lady I was not fond of that term) and Theo's friends Trudy, Rex and Judd. Read more about them we can read more about Lila, Theo and baby William and see if Theo's mom did make an appearance.

When the world is in turmoil you want a book that is pure escapism and that is exactly what this is.

“Never judge a book by its cover” they say but it was the cover and the title that made me choose this book without even reading the blurb.

From the start I could tell that this was going to be like a warm hug in a book. It has all the ingredients for a winning festive read including some great female friendships as well as the obligatory love story.

I felt like I could imagine exactly what the locations were like and it was like I was watching a film version in my head.

Highly recommended for any fans of festive fiction. You will not be disappointed.

Took a while for me to get into this book but once I did I loved it. Some really great characters and a lovely christmas feel good story!

Such a gorgeous festive story with a lovely plot, great setting and Characters. Jenny hale is the queen of Christmas stories to me! They just keep getting better.

Hale produced a lovely read. What began as a girls vacation turns into so much more. Lila and her friends travel to Pinewood Hills only to discover it's not what they thought. The local barrister is a grinch but yet Lila can't seem to leave him alone. I thought the story was good. Lila was a bit too Pollyanna, but that was a large part of her charm. She helps Theo wrestle with us demons. I really liked the ending and How the development and changes has been done. It's a great holiday story full of Christmas magic and hope and family.

I enjoyed this book lovely chrismas novel and i would love to be in one of the Cabins. I look forward to reading more books by Jenny Hale.

I adore Jenny Hale’s cozy festive books so much!
Always based in friendly and welcoming communities that you want to be part of.
I loved the mystery component of the story, wanting to know the secrets that Theo was hiding, and to see what Lila was going to do with her life.
A heartwarming story that was so exciting and entertaining, filled with Christmas cheer and a true community feel.
Perfect to snuggle up with!

A sweet Christmas story, a bit slow to start and sometimes I felt my attention drifting. The setting was gorgeous and I did enjoy it more at the end

This was a quick book, perfect to get you in the holiday spirit. Fireside Cabins and the surrounding town sounds like the perfect vacation spot.
The story was interesting, it did seem to rush towards the end. I enjoyed the story
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

I loved this beautifully written heartwarming Christmas story! Grab you a cup of hot cocoa, a fuzzy blanket and snuggle in for a feel good Christmas story. It has just the right amount of drama and romance to keep you turning the pages. I would love to visit Fireside Cabins! Thank you Bookouture via NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

I received an ARC from the Publisher, Bookouture through NetGalley. This book was full of surprises. When Lila and her friends, Edie, Charlotte, and Piper decided to do a staycation, they booked a week at Fireside Cabins. Once they got there, it wasn't what they expected, but they decided to make the most of it.
They stopped at a coffee shop named Coffee where they meet Theo, who doesn't want to be sociable and is quite grumpy. Lila's friends were called back to work and Lila decided to stay there for the week. So it really made me laugh when Lila, being Lila just ignored his grumpiness and just kept carrying on a conversation, or helping out at Coffee. It didn't take long before a spark was lit in Theo's heart. It was fun to watch those two and I say watch because the book is so well written that as I read the scenes just played in my head ..
Like always it can't be smooth sailing so we have a mystery or two which I found intriguing. At the same time, Lila decided she was going to invest in Fireside Cabins and help Eleanor Finely who lost her husband a few years ago, fix the cabins back up.
The author wrote this book so well that I could see the scenes in my head, I just fell in love with Lila. She was so amazing and although she had no family, other than her friends, she loved people, she took the time to get to know people and really, genuinely cares. I wished I lived there and loved the time I spent getting to know her. Might even have given me the idea that we need more of that right here where I live.

*4.5

Thank you to Bookouture and Net Galley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Christmas at Fireside Cabins follows Lila Evans and her friends Edie, Charlotte, and Piper. These girls are as close to family as Lila has. Every year in December the girls spend a very Christmas filled week together. Lila wants this week to be super special because it’s the last year before her friends all begin a new chapter in their lives. This year they decide to head into the Tennessee mountains to the Fireside Cabins. When they arrive things aren’t as picture perfect as they seemed online and the local barista isn’t the most welcoming person. Even with things seeming a little odd around town the girls settle in and are determined to have the best trip yet!

Christmas at Fireside Cabins was such a good holiday story. I absolutely loved the relationships between Lila and her friends and how much we got to see them together. Yes there is a romance and it was alright, but the best was seeing Lila figure out what she wanted for her life and seeing her take chances. Thus is a warm and heartfelt Christmas story and I recommend it!

As always, All opinions are my own.

Took a bit to get into this one, perhaps too many friends made it hard to keep track of who was who. This is Lila and Theo's story, and once it got going it was hard to put down. Have enjoyed this author's work in the past and this one is not exception. Highly recommend this one if you want a heartwarming story set around Christmas.

CHRISTMAS AT FIRESIDE CABINS was such a fun and endearing read!
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This story really had everything I love in a good Christmas story: hope and joy, found family, love, the perfect cozy atmosphere. This story is about taking risks and falling in love and finding yourself.
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I loved Lila and Theo’s story, and I especially enjoyed the cabins owner, Eleanor. I wanted to give her a big hug the whole time!
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If you need a cozy escape, here it is. It has really put me in the mood to read more Christmas romances. ☺️ I plan on checking out more of Hales work!
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4.5/5 stars. CHRISTMAS AT FIRESIDE CABINS is available October 14, 2020.
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Thank you to the publisher and @Netgalley for sending me an eARC to review!