The Santa Suit becomes its own character in this charming Christmas story with all the hallmarks of a Mary Kay Andrews book! Ivy Perkins purchases a farmhouse in a small town with plans to renovate the house and as a fresh start for herself. Ivy founds an old Santa suit left by the previous owners. Through her renovation projects and a note left in pocket of the Santa suit we met the townspeople and experience the magic of the Christmas season. This book was a delightful read.

THE SANTA SUIT by Mary Kay Andrews is a delightful and charming holiday novella that celebrates the magic of Christmas and second chances. Still reeling from her recent divorce and the loss of the successful business she helped build, Ivy Perkins decides to leave Atlanta behind and make a new start in a small town in the mountains of North Carolina. She buys an old farmhouse sight unseen and when she arrives with her dog, Punkin, she soon discovers that the farmhouse is in desperate need of many unexpected repairs. Lucky for her, her realtor lives nearby and turns out to be both very handsome and handy at fixing things. On her first night in the house, Ivy discovers an old velvet Santa suit on a closet shelf with a crumpled note inside from a young girl asking for a special Christmas wish. Intrigued by the note, Ivy and her new friends try to unravel the mystery of who the girl was and whether her wish ever came true. What follows is a heartwarming and emotional story of how the lives of the characters become intertwined in quite unexpected ways. THE SANTA SUIT is an uplifting story of friendship, love, community and fresh starts and I highly recommend it. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read an early copy.

This was a quick read and one that will get you in the Christmas spirit even in hot weather! I enjoyed getting to know the characters a little bit and wondered what it would take to get a Christmas Stroll started in the little town where I live! Maybe I should get to work and find a magical Santa suit!

This is a wonderful book that takes place in a small town. Ivy doesn’t know what she’s getting into when she buys a rundown farmhouse out in the country. She soon make many new friends and discovers the magic of Christmas. Would definitely recommend this book by the wonderful author Mary Kay Andrews.

This is a charming Christmas story that you will not want to put down. It is a quick read with very likable characters. You will find yourself cheering for their happiness as you feel the snow falling down around you. Another excellent Mary Kay Andrews book!

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for an ARC of this book.

Ivy has bought an old farmhouse in the mountains of North Carolina. She is starting over after going through a divorce in Atlanta. The realtor, Ezra, turns out to not be an old guy, but a contemporary with an old fashioned name. The family of the deceased previous owners left a ton of stuff in the house and while going through it, Ivy came across a fabulous Santa Suit carefully stored in a box. This find is what drives this wonderful emotional story. I loved it so much that I finished reading it in less than a day.

I received a copy of this book to review from St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley and thoroughly enjoyed it.

4/5 ⭐️
Merry Christmas in July!

This book was truly delightful! I absolutely love Hallmark Christmas movies and The Santa Suit was exactly that but wrapped up in a cute, cozy, quick read with a bow on top. I had to fight the urge to light one of my favorite balsam candles while reading. The story was well written, the characters were adorable, and I loved the ending! I devoured this in 2 sittings and I can see a holiday re-read in my future.

What I Liked:
🎅🏻Small town setting
🌲All the Feels
🎅🏻Holiday romance
🌲Punkin 🐶

While you don’t “have” to wait until Christmas to read this one, it will make a great addition to your holiday TBR. Definitely recommend for all of the holiday romance fans that are looking to snuggle up with a good 📚.

Pub Day: 9/28/21 Pre-order your copy now!

Thank you @NetGalley @MaryKayAndrews and @StMartinsPress for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

#TheSantaSuit #MaryKayAndrews #StMartinsPress #HolidayReads #spoilerfree #bookstagram #readersofinstagram #AlisReads #flippin_and_sippin_mn

This was so good. It made me so excited for Christmas time and all the feels. People won’t sleep on this one. I can’t wait to share with everyone.

A truly delightful holiday book! The premise is unique and I loved the characters. This book was brimming with holiday magic! I loved the farmhouse storyline and was cheering for Ivy throughout. The setting was fantastic and brought me all kinds of holiday cheer. A feel good, cheerful, book with a fun cast of characters. My thanks to the publisher for the advance reader in exchange for my honest review!

This is another great Mary Kay Andrews book. This a feel good Christmas novella. I really enjoyed the setting and the characters and the mystery added the perfect touch. My only complaint is that I wish it was a longer story

Adorable Christmas Story. Mary Kay Andrew's doesn't disappoint in this story about Christmas, family, love, and friendship. I didn't want it to end. Heart warming, feel good story that will put you in the Christmas mood.

In Mary Kay Andrews’ novella, The Santa Suit, Ivy Perkins is looking for a fresh start after a divorce from a cheating husband…and best friend. In her mind’s eye, she pictures an old, white farmhouse will be the foundation to her new beginning. She buys such after seeing it, The Four Roses, on the Internet. It’s more rundown than the photo indicates, but Ivy is up for the challenge, starting with painting some rooms.

Her friendly neighborhood realtor, Ezra, is always willing to lend a hand with repairs, and before long, he has a crush on Ivy, who does her best to discourage him…for a while.

When clearing out the closet, Ivy discovers an old Santa suit that the previous owner used to don to entertain the children during the small North Carolina town’s Christmas Stroll. Ivy finds a note in a pocket of the old suit from a little girl wanting Santa to bring her father home from Viet Nam for Christmas. Intrigued, Ivy begins to ask around town about the little girl, and while on this mission, she starts making friends.

Just in time for the holidays, The Santa Suit will warm hearts as Ivy warms hers and untangles the mystery of the little girl’s note to Santa.

Mary Kay Andrews, the Queen of Summer Reads, has provided readers with a holiday novella. Andrews, a pseudonym for Kathy Hogan Trocheck, is one of the authors I follow faithfully. A former journalist, she is based in Atlanta with her own hideaway on Tybee Island.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting July 27, 2021.

I would like to thank St. Martin's Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

A delightful, sweet Christmas romance! Ivy has just gone through a divorce and decides to start a new life in a new town. She buys an old farmhouse called The Four Roses that she's only seen a picture of and moves from Atlanta to a small town in North Carolina. There she finds the farmhouse is in need of some unexpected repairs. Also the previous owners have left all the furniture and other things. Her realtor, who lives nearby, provides assistance with fixing some things and helping her find the people she needs in town to help. In a closet Ivy finds a beautiful, old Santa suit and in one of the pockets she finds a child's Christmas wish - that her father return home from the war. This intrigues Ivy and she becomes embroiled in a search for answers about the child and her father, whether he came home from the war, did the child get her wish, where are they now? Quite a mystery. Ivy makes some friends in the small community and even finds her first new client.

This is not a long book; I read it in a day. I enjoyed the mystery and the characters, as well as the small tight-knit community.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press through Netgalley for and advance copy. This book will be published on September 28, 2021.

What a cute, magical story! It ties up neatly at the end with a twist I didn't see coming.
Punkin was my favorite character.
I really like how the flow progresses at a steady pace. The story kept my attention, and I wanted to keep reading.
I'm glad the romance wasn't a priority although it was still more than I like.

A lovely and life-affirming novel describing the beautiful quest a young and lonely woman embarks upon, trying to solve a mystery of a letter to Santa. A great read for the holiday season!

What a cute book - I really enjoyed this one. This is a short story of Ivy, a young divorcée coming out of a six year marriage to a loser who cheated on her with her best friend. Ivy wanted a change in her life - so she bought a farmhouse in NC sight unseen. After moving from Atlanta, she soon realized that the farmhouse wasn’t exactly the same as what she saw online - it looked a little worse for the wear.

Her real estate agent, Ezra, met her at the farmhouse with her key and he ended up helping her with several projects around the house. They form a friendship / bond that was really sweet.

While searching through items the previous owners left behind, Ivy found a Santa Clause and Mrs Clause suits that the previous homeowners wore while secretly playing Santa for the entire town. As Ivy & Ezra wore the suits for the annual Christmas festival, real magic begins to happen that blessed so many people. This really was a sweet book that can easily be read in one day.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. The opinions stated above are mine without biases.

What a great story! I love stories of new beginnings in small towns. This one is perfect with a farmhouse that needs some repair and great characters who become wonderful friends. Then here is the Santa suit and all the mystery and magic it brings to the story. Definitely a heartwarming Christmas story but also just a good story all the way around. I’d love to see MKA do more with these characters. Loved the bits of the story that show the authors self interest like restoring houses and her own dog. Thanks to St Martins Press for offering me the chance to read an early copy.

Newly divorced Ivy Perkins buys an old farmhouse, and finds an old Santa suit in the closet with a little girl's Christmas wish left in the pocket. She sets on a quest to find out who wrote the note, bringing her into the community during the magic of the holiday season.

If you're a fan of heartwarming Hallmark Christmas movies, this book is for you. I enjoyed following Ivy as she pursues a fresh start and picks herself up following her divorce. I especially had a soft spot as a fellow owner of a fixer upper house, and couldn't help but smirk every time something went wrong with her old neglected house.

While she moved to the small town to get away from city life and keep to herself, she continues to make connections and build friendships with community members, including her handsome and handy realtor. This is a quick and easy read with bits of small town charm, Christmas joy, and romance woven throughout.

If you want to get into the holiday spirit, pick this one up when it publishes September 28. Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for my advance copy.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy. I really enjoyed this, and it had a surprising twist I didn’t see coming.

Ivy is recently divorced and wants a fresh new start over. She and her dog, Punkin, decide to leave the hustling and bustling city of Atlanta to a small country town, Tarbuton, in North Carolina to a wonderful farmhouse she instantly fell in love with and purchased it, sight unseen! Discovering it's not exactly what she was expecting and it's needing renovations she gets started on them, herself! Ezra, her real estate agent and neighbor has a bit of guilt and gladly helps her out all he can.

When she goes into town she meets, some friendly people and some don't seem to be fond of her. She does however make a quick friend named Phoebe and connecting with her so quickly she's starting to have hope after all. And she makes a few more pretty quickly.

The previous owners of the home left a ton of stuff behind and while she's going through it she finds a beautiful Santa suit with a Dear Santa sitting in a pocket. The letter is from a girl named Carlette wanting her present to be her dad brought home from the war. With the letters date, Ivy is guessing the Vietnam War and she's curious why it's sitting in there. In researching the letter, she meets a lovely elder gentleman along with a few more people and she starts getting into the Christmas spirit and out the Bah Humbug Grinch spirit she was in.

If you like a good sweet Hallmark Christmas movie, then this book is for you!

I want to thank NetGalley, St. Martins, and Mary Kay Andrews for my copy of it for an honest review.