I received an advanced copy of Write Before Christmas by Julie Hammerle from Entangled Publishing, LLC after volunteering to write a review on Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I was drawn in by the quirky cover art and book description, and the story did not disappoint. This is an adorable story about Matt, a writer whose recent book-to-screen television adaption launched his career into the public eye on a level he isn't all together comfortable with. The resulting writer's block leaves him crumbling under the weight of a deadline.

Then he meets Dani, a newly single Mom who happens to be looking for a new direction for her own career. The universe places these two lead characters in each other's paths, both needing something from the other, albeit temporarily.

As the story progresses, both characters have to learn more about themselves in a few weeks than they have over their entire lifetimes. They are both mid-forties, and neither one wants to mess around anymore.

I loved the honesty of this book. There were parts that felt a little brash, and rushed, but I liked the perspective that two 45-year old lead characters brought to the book. I am used to reading romances about twenty-somethings, so the more mature narrative was refreshing. The characters stayed very consistent throughout the story which is something I really appreciated. Matt was an introvert who struggled with interpersonal relationships, but kept pushing himself to try harder at everything he does. Dani is a sweet, caring Mom who just wants what is best for everyone around her, though she is trying to navigate the new waters of self-care and self-reliance as her daughter goes off to college. Even the secondary characters were well thought-out and made sense.

I won't give away too much, but I was very happy with the romance in this book - it is totally PG. Though the characters discuss some more scandalous topics, the book leaves out any smutty details. Don't get me wrong, I love a good smut book, but I also love a Hallmark approved love story, too, and Write Before Christmas delivered just that to all audiences!

There was nothing profound or deeply emotional about this story, but it was well written and warm and fuzzy. I give it 4 stars and a job well done!! Great little read to get you in the mood for Christmas!

Matt is an author stuck in a writer's block. Like George R.R. Martin, he's penned a series of books that were adapted into a successful TV series. Now he's on a deadline to produce the last book before the last season of the TV series starts filming. But he's out of inspiration, and the TV people want dragons. Matt is against dragons.

Dani is newly divorced and looking for a job. She gets hired to feed Matt and cater for his premiere party while trying to create an Instagram presence to market her foodie ideas. One things leads to another and they have a passionate fling. But their relationship is on a deadline too: Matt is going to leave town after a few short weeks.

I liked the scenes with Dani's family, the writing plotline and the way the chapters were structured based on the proximity of the deadlines. The romance part didn't give me a lot of feels but this is a well written and nicely edited book and I was actually thinking of reading the next book that is excerpted at the end.

I read an ARC that I got via Netgalley and these are my voluntary opinions, free of charge.

I received an advance copy of, Write Before Christmas, by Julie Hammerle. This is a cute romance story. Th characters are nice, the setting is nice.