Cover Image: On Christmas Avenue

On Christmas Avenue

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

Love this one! Ginny Baird always writes a great holiday story and this one is right up there! This little holiday story packed with plenty of fun character, holiday cheer, and of course a romantic subplot. This book would be perfect for holiday reading! It is cozy, sweet, and full of holiday magic. I love the cover, its cute and romantic and fits the book perfectly.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book. I rated this book 5 stars. I am very late with my review I know but like I was always told better late than never. I started this book yesterday and got so involved in it that I finished it today, less than 24 hours after starting it. I gave it 4.5 stars but had to round up for Goodreads. The story grabbed me instantly and i found myself falling in love with the characters, the location and of course the season. Ginny Baird is a new to me author but I look forward to reading more of her books. The writing style appealed to me greatly. She didn't have unwasted narrative and the conversations were either laugh out loud, interesting, or grab a tissue for the tears. This was a fabulous start to 2024 as my first book of the new year and I hope that this is a good sign for my reading this year. If you like somewhat predictable Christmas romances with a good plot, this is one you should try.

Was this review helpful?

I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

Was this review helpful?

I love a good Christmas romance. This one is no exception. With typical Hallmark-y feels, this was a wonderful and enjoyable read.

Was this review helpful?

A delightful Christmas story full of fun and holiday cheer. Evan, the grumpy sheriff meets Mary, the sunny Christmas planner, and doesn’t stand a chance against her. This is the perfect book to provide holiday cheer along with a sweet romance.

Was this review helpful?

Thanks to NetGalley and Hallmark Publishing for the review copy!

"On Christmas Avenue" by Ginny Baird is a true Hallmark story. Exactly like you would expect it to be. Sweet, cute and with lots of beauty. Moreover, the story is set during Christmas.

Evan is the county sheriff, and he knows that the small businesses in Clark Creek have a hard time. However, he does not want to hire a Christmas Consultant. His mother, who is the mayor, thinks it is the best solution for their town. This results in a holiday parade, which everybody seems to love the idea of. Everybody but Evan.

I can not say this enough; this is such a sweet story. You can not help but smile through most of the story.

One might ask for more action in the story, but I would argue that it is the characters, who carry this story. They are cute and sweet and well developed, so we do not need more action than that. It is cute and cozy read, and that is enough.

If you love a true Hallmark story with a little twist of Christmas, "On Christmas Avenue" by Ginny Baird is a lovely story for you to read.

Was this review helpful?

What an absolutely delightful simple Christmas novel. Very clean so if you prefer PG novels this is great for you. I love small town romances and this was perfect for it. Evan and Mary had a lovely story and an impossible task which completed the novel!

Was this review helpful?

This book was super cute. It had what my heart craved a cute small Town romance, a Christmas parade, with elves and reindeers, and Santa Claus. My list can go ON and ON. I loved the family chemistry. And It had all the small Town vibes, people caring for their community. I want to live there

Was this review helpful?

I don’t think that you can ever go wrong with a Hallmark book! Evan and Mary were so sweet together and I was rooting for them the whole time! If you are looking for a lighthearted, sweet romance than this is definitely for you!

Was this review helpful?

This book is truly sunshine and Mr. grump so if you are into that type of thing you might like this book.
See we have Mary who has been hired by the town of Clark Creek to find a way to get the city out of debt and make it prosper all before Christmas. How is Mary going to do that? By finding some way to spread some Christmas Cheer! As Christmas is her favorite time of year she is perfect for the job and comes up with a parade plan to bring people to Clark Creek from near by cities.
Then we have Evan who is the town Sherrif and is a bit anti-Christmas it seems. He doesn't think hiring Mary is a good idea and that it will just cause Clark Creek to go even more into debt. This is understandable, but as these two work together to try and make the parade happen. Mr grump might turn that frown upside down due to Ms.Sunshine.

Overall this book was very sweet. Mary did everything she could and thought of literally almost every possible scenario that could make things go wrong. Did I see the problem happening that caused Mary a lot of tension, yes, yes I did because those type of things just seem to happen in movies, especially Hallmark movies. But that's okay because it was a different type of tension that it made and it made Mary and Evan get creative with how to solve the problem. The entire town and surrounding areas were so nice and really help spread the holiday cheer. Mary just might pull off her impossible task in time.

I was really loving this book and it was almost a four-star read. Until the last 10% where after two weeks of knowing each other Evan decides to ask Mary to marry him so she'll stay in town... That was where this book lost me sadly.

I'll be posting this review on my blog and on Instagram closer to the holiday season.

Was this review helpful?

This is the first Hallmark book I have read and, being a huge fan of books set during the Christmas period, I had hoped to really enjoy this one.
Unfortunately, it wasn't for me and I felt that it was slow moving and unengaging. It was a struggle to finish it.

Was this review helpful?

This was my first foray into any hallmark books and I think they had the same effect on me as the movies do- not necessarily quality work but i feel the urge to consume more because they are a good time, although the books are definitely less enjoyable than the movies. Something about reading a cringe line makes the delivery worse.

Started the read not feeling very immersed and that feeling kind of stayed, it felt like I was watching the scenes through a scarf and I think that is partly because the author just doesn't explain what people look like. Stating that someone has brown curls and big eyes doesn't really equal a character description? I definitely made up what these people look like.

I had so many problems with this book, like with the actual writing of the book. Everything felt so manufactured. From the jokes, to the voices, the romance- it all felt just very disingenuous and we didn’t get to see the romance on the page but were told it was there.

Despite the quality of writing lacking, I really enjoyed the act of reading this book in that I just found the writing and characters so bizarre that I couldn’t help but make so many notes about them, some profound, some just expressing my annoyance.

This romance timeline was just too fast, they don’t even know each other’s breakfast preferences. I just think its always a detriment to the romance and the book to speed things up instead of letting things just develop and leave it there. And this book makes me want to reiterate : people do not need marriage and a child to be happy or for the relationship arc to be complete.

Okay okay, don’t boo me, I know who the intended audience for this book is, but I just think…that this book would be better with a little more…sexual tension alright? Like give me some more yearning, some more stolen glances, some fluttering of things.

I am a lover of hallmark films, I love them, but this book has shown me that some things are in fact too cringe. Will I be reading any of their other releases? Yes, absolutely I will.

Thank you to #NetGalley and hallmark publishing for this review arc.

Was this review helpful?

I'm a total fan of Ginny Baird books. i really liked this book. This was a pleasant book to read and I will read more from her. Liked it all. from start to finish. pure enjoyment.

Was this review helpful?

I had great hopes for this book. The cover and the blurb made me want to read it. Christmas is my favourite time of year. This book should have been a win. Several times i almost gave up on this book, but i perservered till the end. Even though it took me several attempts to get it read.
Small town romances are one of my favourite tropes. This one was a slow bun but Mary and Evan got there in the end. Clarke Creek is a cute town a high point of the story for me. The characters themselves didnt quite do it for me. Hallmark fans will enjoy this book.
ARC received via netgalley. This is my voluntary review.

Was this review helpful?

On Christmas Avenue is a small town, warm Christmas romance.
Evan, the county sheriff of Clark Creek. a small town knows the town can't afford a Christmas Consultant to come in and make the town fancy and plan activities to make a jump start for the town. The town's mayor happens to be in a disagreement and is all for it. You really can't argue with the mayor, especially when it's your mother.
Mary loves her job as a consultant and can't wait to step in and do it especially when it means a successful job means a nice promotion.
Clark Creek has never looked better and the money just seems to be rolling in with Mary's fabulous ideas even though she plans on leaving as soon as this job is over and moving onto her big promotion.
What she doesn't plan on doing is falling in love with the town and especially it's sheriff.
Warm,engaging and fun read.

Pub Date 21 Sep 2021
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

Was this review helpful?

This is very much a Hallmark movie on the page. The book reminds me very much of Hallmark's "Welcome to Christmas." It is a very cookie-cutter romance, that I enjoyed immensely. I would read more from this author.

Was this review helpful?

If you love small towns and Christmas, you’ll love this book! It fits the Hallmark stories we’ve all come to expect and adore. Mary and Evan are complete opposites who have to work together (of course) and the relationship that follows is fun to see unfold. The way the town rallies around Mary to help is heartwarming and a beautiful example of the holiday spirit. If you’re looking for a sweet, cheery read pick this book up!

Was this review helpful?

Release Date: September 21st 2021

📖📖📖📖📖

Small town Clark Creek is struggling to stay afloat, so when the mayor proposes hiring a Christmas consultant to bring in revenue, everyone is skeptical, especially the sheriff Evan. Mary, the Christmas consultant, proposes a parade as a fundraiser. Will closely working with Evan change her point of view, or will she succumb to the Evans Scrooge like ways?

Ive said it many times before but I love @hallmarkchannel books and movies. They’re fluffy and fun and you always know what you are going to get. @ginnybairdromance is one of my favorite authors, so this book was fantastic. The slow burn between Mary and Evan was perfectly paced and I liked the sub plot of saving the town’s economy. I’m still not convinced that a parade was the right way to go, but I’ve also never had to save a town before so who am i to say? I highly recommend this book!

I received a free copy in exchange for my honest review. All options are my own.

#bookstagram #netgalleyreads #bookrecommendations #hallmark #oncheistmasavenue #hallmarkchannel #hallmarkpublishing #ginnybaird

Was this review helpful?

You'd think by now I've had enough Hallmark Christmas; but alas it always takes me awhile to ween from the festive holiday fare.

This is a cute Hallmark Christmas movie only through the written word. A small town in Virginia (but could be set anywhere) in economic crisis; a wonderful guy that is more Scrooge than Santa in the Christmas spirit department and a city gal that comes in to help save the town and ends up getting more for Christmas than she bargained for.

A fun, put-you-in-the-mood holiday romance/story. A great way to pass the time on a snowy afternoon. If you like the Hallmark movies, this will fit the bill. So curl up with a warm blanket, grab the cocoa & some sugar cookies and enjoy

Was this review helpful?

If I didn't know that On Christmas Avenue is a Christmas romance from Hallmark Publishing, I would immediately be pitching it as the next big Hallmark Christmas movie. I'm hopeful with the Hallmark connection that this will actually happen. It has everything that one has come to love about Hallmark Christmas movies: small town; a main character who is finding with Christmas spirit; a main character who is not in the Christmas spirit; and of course a touch of romance. It was exactly what I needed to help boost my Christmas spirit.

Mary is hired as Christmas consultant for the struggling small town of Clark Creek. She proposes a holiday parade and almost everyone is on board except for the county sheriff. He has concerns that this parade will just add to the problems that are already there. Mary is determined to prove Evan wrong and bring success to the town. And the more time they spend together, the more they see each in a different light.

Mary is such a driven character. She is successful at what she does and enjoys jt. The more time she spends in Clark Creek, the more she falls for it and wants this parade to succeed. I too fell hard for Clark Creek. It just sounded like a cute little town; and I loved the way Mary helped build it up and decorates it. As a character Evan has a tendency to week to hard and not have fun. Meeting Mary forces him to rethink things and possibly do better.

Clark Creek brings you so many interacting characters. There are parents, siblings, children, friends, shop owners, wait staff and so many more. I loved the dynamics between all of them. They made the town feel real and gave it potential for future stories. I don't know If there is any plans for Ginny Baird to continue with stories in Clark Creek but i sure hope so. I actually just found out that the book An Unforgettable Christmas is set Clark Creek. I can't wait to check it out.

On Christmas Ave transforms Clark Creek into a holiday wondering. It is so adorable and filled begging to end with Christmas joy. The romance is also so sweet and contains several cute moments as Mary and Evan are growing closer. Ice skating for the win. Like I said before, I hope that there are more books to check out because I want to visit Clark Creek time and time again. And if you love a good Christmas romance, I highly recommend this one to you.

Was this review helpful?