I adored reading Wrapped Up in Christmas Joy by Janice Lynn. It is a wonderful Holiday read. I am giving it four stars.

This is the second book I've read by Ms. Lynn. Her stories are very Hallmark-like with lots of snow and Christmas in them. This one is a little slow in parts, but I did end up liking it a lot more than her previous book (Wrapped Up in Christmas) which was also set in Pine Hill, Kentucky. Both books feature a group called Quilts of Valor who award homemade patriotic-themed quilts to military members. I really liked the quilting aspect of this story a lot. Quilting books are a lot of fun.

Audiobook Notes: I tried to listen to this book several times but it just didn't click. This time, I alternated segments of listening with segments of reading the story from my Kindle copy, which I purchased myself several months ago. I liked the story a lot better when I read it off of my Kindle, and I think that has to do with the audio narration. Both the male and female narrator (mostly the male, though) had a lot of enthusiasm when reading, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. But the feelings of guilt and isolation that Cole is trying to work through after serving time overseas with the military felt like it was more serious then the audiobook made it sound. It isn't a bad audiobook by any means, but I couldn't really get into the story with the amount of perkiness and enthusiasm coming through the audiobook. I would recommend reading this one from a book rather than listening to the audio version.

Title: Wrapped Up in Christmas Joy by Janice Lynn
Narrators: Alexander Cendese and Rachel L. Jacobs
Length: 8 hours, 17 minutes, Unabridged
Publisher: Dreamscape Media, LLC


I received an audiobook for review from publisher via NetGalley. I had already purchased a digital copy of this book for my Kindle. Thank you, Hallmark Publishing for the audio copy!

Thank you to Negalley, Hallmark Publishing, and Dreamscape media for my ARC copy of "Wrapped Up in Christmas Joy" in exchange for an honest review. 

I listened to the audiobook of this one this holiday season! Thankfully due to the two POV (each main character) they had two narrators, one male and one female. Both narrators did a great job, but hearing them imitate the other in their own take on a masculine/feminine voice was a bit hard to stomach at times.

I am a huge fan of all things holiday, and all Christmasy romances books, and movies. I was looking forward to this one, but unfortunately for me it felt flat. For such a recently published book, the characters were not modern whatsoever. The male main character was an ex-military man who was so concerned over his macho ego, and pride, that it got in his way constantly. The female main character was a classic caregiver who devoted all of her time to church, fundraising, and was ready to change her man to get him down the aisle.

I really wish I had more happy things to say about this one, but it was hard to get involved in their romance, to me it felt antiquated and toxic. I had wished the male MC had taken time to process his PTSD and make steps toward therapy etc., where also I'd hoped the female MC had been a stronger woman on her own, and had stood her ground more when around her love interest.

Loved this Hallmark Christmas story. Sweet Sophie is a quilt shop owner who accidentally reads the journal of a veteran who is the new hunky fireman in town. He is so embarrassed that she read his journal and get the idea that she doesn't feel bad for him. 

He is convinced that he is not good enough for her and that he doesn't deserve any love. I loved how much Sophie is determined to show him that he is wrong and doesn't stand down or get scared of her feelings. Such a great Christmas story about finding forgiveness of yourself and letting people see the good in your heart and let them love you.

Such an uplifting small town romance. Reads like a Hallmark movie. Packed full of love and festive cheer. I just loved it.

I loved the readers of this book.  There were 2 readers - one male and one female.  Especially liked that when the story was told from the male point of view, the male was reading and the female read for the female points of view.  This was a light Christmas read that I really enjoyed.  The story was about a woman that owns a quilting store and a firefighter who is a former soldier.  He continually views everything she does as being done out of sympathy for him and doesn't believe that he is deserving of anyone's love.  The story is well developed and of course like any romance, you can predict the ending but getting there was still enjoyable.

A great christmas book to read when I couldn't be with family this year, It brought the spirit of christmas to me in another way. The perfect heartfelt book for the holidays.

Janice Lynn coins the term heartwhisperer. Wrapped in Christmas Joy aims for emotion and the rest just falls into place. From brokenly beautiful to willfully inspiring, Cole and Sophie cast a spell that refuses to be broken. Falling in love has never seemed so easy, even as your heart is falling apart.

I enjoyed the overall story, but the narration was not great with this audio version. Great topics covered, but a little longer than necessary.

I'd like to start by acknowledging some confusion. The book I listened to, and downloaded to the NetGalley app was not what was described on the page. This seems to be the case for others as well. Overall, the story was nice and pretty much on par with what I expect from Hallmark, and this comes from a girl who plants herself in front of the tv to watch holiday movies starting November 1 and doesn't move for two months. In other words, I love all things holiday and watch a lot of great and terrible movies / read a lot of great and terrible books. This book falls squarely between the categories. If you are a huge fan of the rural, country Christmas movies, this book is for you. I enjoyed "the butterflies" and their meddling ways and found the meet-cute pretty believable. The only holdback was just how repetitive the descriptions were. I don't know how many times I heard how innocent she was, but it was far too many times. At the end of the day, I probably won't add it to my rotation, but it's far from the worst I've ever heard.

Wrong Book, But Showcases Story Well

When I saw this audiobook at one of my favorite book review sites, I wanted to check it out because I love Christmas romances, and this one sounded intriguing from the book description. I had read the author's Christmas book last year and had mixed feelings about it but wanted to experience her writing through an audiobook to see if I liked it more. Unfortunately, when I downloaded the audiobook, it was not for the one described on the book review site. Rather, it was for the previous year’s book, the one that I had read and wasn't particularly wild about. I informed the reviewing site but decided to listen to the book anyway. I'm glad I did. I actually had a better experience of this story—Wrapped Up in Christmas, not Wrapped Up in Christmas Joy—as an audiobook compared to as a “reading” book. I liked the different voices the narrator used for the characters. It really set the book up as southern, something I hadn't heard in my own mind as I read the book. Because I was able to listen to this book rather quickly, I felt like I got a better sense of Bodie’s personal growth arc and the romantic arc as he became close to the heroine as he helped her out. In the audiobook, they both come across as so kind and decent, even if neither has a strong sense of self (especially our poor hero!). It sounds silly to say, but I certainly enjoyed this as an audiobook more than I did as a digital “reading” book. I still do wish, however, that I got the book I signed up for!

UPDATE: I was able to get a review copy of the actual book that the audiobook was supposed to be. Here's my review of the real book:

Lovely Christmas Romance

As a romance reader, I'm a total sucker for the wounded hero trope, so this series is right up my alley. In this book, both the hero and heroine are decent, relatable characters. I am a nurse who has seen some suffering from PTSD, and I think the author did an excellent job showing the inner thoughts and personal demons the man had to slay. The interaction between the couple was so awkward for so long, but completely understandable, and I could feel the pull between them—even when they were denying it. I love the idea of the Quilts of Valor. A lovely Christmas story that delivers the feels you want a holiday story to have.

Title:  Wrapped up in Christmas Joy
Author: Janice Lynn
Read by:  Alexander Cendese; Rachel L. Jacobs
Publisher: Hallmark Publishing / Dreamscape Media
Length: Approximately 8 hours and 17 minutes 
Source: Review Copy from Hallmark Publishing / Dreamscape Media through Net Galley.  Thank-you!  

Sarah Smith has inherited her aunt’s beautiful home, and she dreams of making it into a bed and breakfast by Christmas.  Her aunt was like a mother to her, and her friends, fondly called the Butterflies, are still around keeping tabs on Sarah.  Sarah lives in the small town of Pinehill Kentucky.  As part of her aunt’s group of friends, she loves to make quilts, especially quilts of honor for soldiers overseas.  Bodie Lewis has returned from military service and is looking for the woman who made the quilt that helped to keep him together after a tragedy.  He is surprised to not find an old lady, but a beautiful young lady who mistakes him for a handyman answering her ad.  He decides to stay and help Sarah out as she helped him.  Will Bodie tell Sarah the truth?  Will Sarah get her bed and breakfast open in time?  Will the two find Christmas spirit and love?

If this sounds like a good Hallmark movie, it is because it is from Hallmark Publishing.  I enjoyed listening to this audiobook.  The narrators were good with a slight southern accent and the story was a nice clean romance, with a lot of Christmas joy.  I really loved the Butterflies.  They provided great comic relief and I loved their care for Sarah.  I also always love a good story where an old home is getting fixed up.

I am slightly confused though.  As I went to post this review, I keep seeing descriptions of a different story.  I checked and this is the book title and author that I downloaded from Net Galley, so I think it is correct.

Overall, Wrapped up in Christmas Joy is a delightful Christmas audiobook which is perfect for fans of Hallmark type movies.

Sophie Davis finds a soldier’s journal in a box of items that were donated to her church. She feels a connection to the soldier because her father was a veteran and struggled with his own memories. 

Cole Aaron was a Marine and has traumatic memories from his time in the armed forces. He wants to protect others, so he becomes a firefighter in Pine Hill, Kentucky. He accidentally left his journal in a box of things he donated to a local church – the one that Sophie found. When she tries to return it to him, he tells her to “trash it.” 

The two are drawn together by various things: volunteering for their community, work, common friends. Sophie wants to help him with his troubles; Cole doesn’t want anyone to pity him. Sophie also makes quilts to honor veterans and wishes Cole would let her make a quilt for him. 
 
This book included two of my favorite things: quilting and stories about firefighters. It was inspiring, but not too religious. It was also sweet and had a satisfying ending. I gave it 5 stars! 

Sharen (Allylu)

3.5 stars

The story I would give 4 stars to but the narrators I would give 3 stars to, so I’m averaging it out at 3.5 stars. 

This is clearly a Hallmark book - I could visualize scenes in my head as though it were a movie on the Hallmark channel. This is a sweet Christmas story of a former military man with a past he doesn’t want to think about (making him feel he doesn’t deserve love or happiness) and the quilt shop owner who sees the good in everyone. Cole let’s Sophie know in no uncertain terms he doesn’t even want a friendship with her. But when they are forced to work on a toy drive together to collect donations for children who wouldn’t otherwise have a Christmas, sparks start to fly - no matter how much they both try to resist them. 

The problem I had with the narrators was that I didn’t like either of their voices. Then, instead of having the male only narrate Cole’s part and the female narrate Sophie’s, they would each narrate both characters. The guy especially grated on my nerves when he tried speaking in a female voice. 

Overall I liked the book, I just would have preferred to read it instead of listening. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Hallmark Publishers for the audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion.

Janice Lynn gave me a beautifully crafted romance that for me was very predictable. The holidays made is special and sweet. the romance was what one would expect. I loved the characters but it followed a receipe of how to make a romance. Sophie and Cole find their way to each other via his personal journey. This was touching and it felt private at the same time.

I enjoyed this feel good novel. The male narrator was my favorite and I think his viewpoint was more fun to read and listen to.  Told in alternating viewpoints, each narrator did a great job at differentiating voices.
The book focuses on two people who seem made for each other but neither is looking for a relationship commitment at this moment.
Sophie is a young woman dedicating her loyalties to community service and giving back to military veterans. One of her main projects is quilt making.
The focused upon male protagonist is recently separated from service and doesn't want to relive those memories or retell them to anyone. He still wants to be of service, so joins the fire department. Being the new guy, they volunteer him to play the Santa role.  This role leads to other opportunities and crossed paths with Sophie. 
The secondary characters are also a hoot.

Some sections may have been a bit repetitious but not annoyingly so.
Now I need to read Sarah and Bodies story!

Unfortunately, this was not the book for me, and certainly not the Christmas story I was hoping for.  It's sweet and feelgood, but just a little too Hallmarky for my taste.  And yes, I realize that it's by Hallmark Publishing, but this was the first I'd tried one of their novels.  I've determined they are most likely not for me!

This book had all the makings to be the perfect Hallmark Christmas read, but it fell short for me. It is a very sweet and romantic Christmas book. The book starts off very tense, but it quickly eases away. There were some fun moments in this book. It was a cute book, and I would recommend it if you like Christmas romance books!

Sorry, I thought I would not be able to listen and review this title, but t still appears on my bookshelf on my NG app, It may be due to me sampling the start of the narrator.  I will update my review once I finish listening to it (over my holiday break).

thank you

Wrapped Up In Christmas Joy by Janice Lynn Review

This is a predictably sweet and romantic Christmas novel.

It's the perfect audio for when you don't have time to sit and read or watch a movie. Instead you can listen and enjoy a Holiday Hallmark movie.  I also enjoyed the slow burn romance between Sophie and Cole.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hallmark Publishing for this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.