I only finished it because it was ARC from Netgalley!
I wasn’t a fan of either of the characters besides Marigold.
The story was just okay. It wasn’t anything memorable.
I loved the snowy setting of Jackson Hole. I’ve been there in the summer time, but now I would love to go during the winter. It sounds lovely.

I'm a sucker for Christmas, lovely snowy scenes, books, and horses. That's what lead me to "Christmas at the Ranch" although I wondered if reading it during a warm, Alaskan summer day would dim my Christmas spirit. Nope. In fact, I found it one of the better, uh, Hallmark moments I've had with Christmas books. Although the dialogue tended to be a bit contrived at times, I like the setting, Samantha and Drew, and her mom through her virtual connections with her. And, oh, yeah, the horses, cared for by Bruno, who seems to be a bit of a jack-of-all-trades at Drew's family ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Samantha is a mess as the book opens. Although the successful author of a book series featuring a feisty, danger loving heroine, Samantha is anything but brave. She's scared of, well, everything. Her imagination weaves even the most common happening, such a turbulence on a plane, into a probably disaster. The good thing about that particular fear is that it leads her to meeting and opening up to Drew. He keeps her secret, that she isn't some female dare-devil, from his father, who turns out to be her publisher, and the story begins.

I won't detail the plot as much of it depends on surprise, such as the mystery of Drew's mother. But, because of not just the need to keep up the pretense of being brave but her attraction and trust in Drew, Samantha finds herself doing things way, way out of her comfort level, not to mention showing real bravery when needed. Of course, there are complications in the relationship, traditional Hallmark Christmas movie stuff, but despite her initial fears, she seems able to make friends easily and fit into the setting. Her love of horses was one of the big draws for me, being a horse crazed girl from way back. Toss in mentions of "Black Beauty" and "My Friend Flicka" and, well, it sent me back to memory lane. Both were used in constructive ways, btw, not just toss away mentions.

Oh, and then there is the diary but, no, not telling. You need to read the book. I found it an easy, enjoyable read that moved right along. As Drew's father, Arthur, mentions at one point, life sometimes gets in the way and you lose touch with what you have, so here you have a delightful romance all tied up in Christmas ribbons with horses and books and snowy vistas throughout. Enjoy!

Thanks #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for inviting me to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to meet Samantha and Drew. I thoroughly enjoyed it and the chance to pet a few horses.

Before I get to the review, I want to say a quick thank you to NetGalley and the publishers over at St. Martin’s Griffin for giving me access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Christmas at the Ranch is about a somewhat agoraphobic author who is forced to go to her publisher’s winter house in Jackson Hole, Wyoming for a week long Christmas party. On the way there, she complains to the airplane passenger next to her about her job, her boss, her inability to live up to the image of her main character. Only to find out that he’s her boss’s son. Will he keep her secrets? And will she find more than just Christmas cheer at the ranch? Christmas at the Ranch comes out on September 27th and is available for preorder now.

I know that a lot of people are going to really enjoy this book. It has the Christmas setting and cheer that everyone is looking for when the holidays come around. However, I found that there was too much happening in too few pages. There is a work related plot that never gets fully resolved, a romance plot that is convoluted when our main character starts to fall for someone who’s already engaged, an absentee mother getting brought in, and our main character’s parents keep lucking into IG influencer moments while they travel around Europe and call to check in on the main character. It’s a lot for just over 300 pages. I think the book was trying to do too much. I think the author does a great job with the setting and getting the reader to feel dialed into the holidays and the ranch. But I don’t think it makes up for the lack of depth in the storylines the author creates. I think this could make a really good holiday movie for Lifetime or something like that.

Overall, this was a good way to kick off my Christmas in July. I can see the holly and the mistletoe already. This is a great read for anyone who wants the maximum drama in their Christmas romances.

Anita Hughes is a must read author for me. I love the way that all of her books makes you feel as though you're in the setting. A feel good book with the right amount of romance, drama, and warmth. This will be a great addition to 2022 holiday reads.

I could have done without the subplot of Sloane, though I do think it brought a new dimension to the main character, as you witness her struggles throughout the book.

Thanks Netgalley for the eARC! Can't wait to add a copy to my shelves.

I really really really wanted to love this book. It just fell short for me though. I can’t really pinpoint the reason why, I think it was just overall the book didn’t deliver. Maybe because I read her other book “A Magical New York Christmas” and absolutely loved it and was expecting the same response to this book. I just didn’t get it though. I almost felt like I was reading it just to finish and not really see how it ended. It bums me out so much that I didn’t love it.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was such a cute Christmas read! If you’re looking for a simple, predictable, but cozy read during the holidays then I would definitely recommend this one

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of Christmas at the Ranch by Anita Hughes.

I really enjoyed this book. It's a Hallmark movie in book form for sure. The characters are easy to like and the story sucks you in. There was really good character development and I appreciate that the author had them grow and change due to the love they experienced with each other. Plus I love a good happy ending in books!

Christmas at the Ranch was a great quick read. In this book we meet Samantha who is an author writing Sloan Parker books. Almost every chapter of this book opens with her having a new idea for an upcoming book. After a breakup, she stays in her New York apartment and never wants to leave, especially never wants to fly. She gets an invite to a Christmas party by her publisher that she can’t turn down, the only problem, she has to fly to Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

She ends up going and on the plane and sits next to a man named Drew. He helps her get through the flight and then later learns he’s the son of her publisher, Arthur. He has a fiancé that comes to the ranch and becomes close friends with Samantha. What will happen when Samatha and Drew start developing feeling for each other.

I really loved this read. After going to Jackson Hole last summer I felt myself back there again. If you have never been there you will feel like you have been there. There are so many different parts of this book that keeps you wanting to know more. The author did a great job with these characters and the story. I really fell in love with these characters and the story.

“There’s nowhere as beautiful as Wyoming in the summer.”

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of this book.

3.5 stars!

I should preface that I'm not a big fan of Hallmark, but I can enjoy a good romance novel if it's more than just romance. Now, I didn't know that the author Anita Hughes has written for Hallmark until after I finished Christmas at the Ranch. And I'm quite happy to say that CATR did not read like a gag–inducing Hallmark movie. Now, it was still a bit corny and cheesy, but it was still cute. That's not to say that it didn't follow the trend of a typical Hallmark movie, because it did, but it was still cute. I can definitely say that I liked CATR, but I can't say that I loved it.

Okay, maybe it's just me, but I feel like romances aren't as strong on the world building front. That being said, I really liked how AH described the quaint, little town that is Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It just gave off small town Christmas vibes, and I really liked it. I don't think I really have that much to say on Jackson Hole, but I definitely enjoyed the Christmas vibes.

So, in terms of characters, there's basically the MC, her love interest, and a couple other side characters. Some of them I liked; others, not so much. The side characters aren't significant enough to mention, especially because I don't feel strongly about any of them. Overall, though, I feel like every character could have used some more (or different) characterization.

Our MC, Samantha, is a writer and a hypochondriac. She reminds me of Sophie from One Charmed Christmas by Sheila Roberts, but perhaps worse. Sophie was a bit annoying, but Samantha was more than a bit annoying. Like, I get that some people are hypochondriacs, but I'm not a major fan of reading about them; I'm just not a major fan of whiny MCs. Sorry.

Anyways, Samantha's rather whiny, and she grated on my nerves. I can't remember that much more, as Samantha wasn't entirely memorable and it's been awhile since I read CATR. :\

While I could stand Samantha, I absolutely hated Sloane. Sloane was the fictional character from Samantha's books. She was mentioned so much, and all I got was that Sloane would solve the mystery, sleep with some random guy that she "fell in love with," and then leave. I don't need this mentioned to me every single time she's mentioned! I don't. It's repetitive, and it's annoying.

I didn't mind Drew. He was perhaps the most normal person in the entire book. Still, he could have used some more characterization.

This is a romance novel, and the whole plot revolves around Drew and Samantha. However, the little trips the whole group went on around were very interesting to read. But what was most interesting to me was the "mystery" of Drew's mother. Don't get me wrong; the romance was rather good — a bit of an instalove, but c'mon, this is essentially Hallmark — but I cared way more about the non–romantic subplots.

Again, this is a romance, so the most important relationship is obviously Samantha and Drew's relationship. Still, Samantha's relationship with her editor and friend Charlie (and his wife) is really sweet. The other relationships throughout were nice too.

Samantha and Drew's relationship was as believable as any Hallmark movie relationship. Also, they "fall in love" in under a week. And maybe I'm a cynic, but that seems a little hard to believe. Believability aside, their relationship was really cute. I thought they brought out the best in each other.

I think, in terms of prose and pacing, both were quite good. I think that AH has a good writing style and that her writing flows off of the page nicely. Pacing was also good, and nothing really dragged.

Overall, I rather liked CATR, but it wasn't my favorite romance, let alone book, ever. And, after writing this review, I've decided to round down to 3 stars instead of up to 4. Also, I know my review is rather harsh, but I'm also very, very picky when it comes to romances. So, if you're someone who likes Hallmark movies and/or cute, fluffy, and light romances, CATR is more likely going to be more up your alley. And, one last thing, as someone who recently joined the 1D fandom, I found the reference to Harry Styles quite funny.

3.5 stars!

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Major thanks to St. Martin's Press for the free eARC in exchange for an honest review

#ChristmasAtTheRanch #Netgalley

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Full review posted to Goodreads!

This book was an absolute pleasure to read. Anything by Anita Hughes is actually. I highly recommend this book.

I almost decided to DNF this book because of the lazy exposition, the stilted dialogue, the way that the story would just randomly stop while the main character wrote a story in her head (I did not care about Sloane Parker and I wish less time was dedicated to that...). Also, it felt very weird to me that Samantha, the main character, was so aggressively anti-Instagram and social media and kept trash-talking it as something only annoying young people use, just for her own parents to be the ones who use it in the book? Also, the way the app was described, it felt like no one involved in this book had ever opened Instagram before.

I thought the story itself would have been engaging enough if it wasn't for the way that everyone talked paragraphs at a time, just to convey a bunch of information. I also didn't think Drew and Samantha had any chemistry at all, which was a shame, because I liked them both as characters. I was looking for a fun and light and easy romance read, but this one felt bogged down by the dialogue and the exposition.

I love Christmas stories. This would be a good Hallmark movie. This is an easy and fast read. It’s predictable but then again, most Christmas books/movies are and I’m ok with that. Put some Christmas music on and enjoy this read.

Saddle up for an adventurous read for both the protagonist and the characters she creates. Samantha writes thrilling reads yet is scared to venture outside her Brooklyn apartment. When an invitation is issued from the head of her publishing company, Samantha realizes it's a required RSVP.

Little does she know that instead of heading to Connecticut, she's traveling to Jackson Hole where her high-flying adventures will be put to its test. Will this last-minute gift unwrap her fears or set her spirit free?

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for the early edition of Christmas at the Ranch in exchange for an honest review. At first, I found Samantha to be annoying. Everything scared her and the only time she was brave was in her books.

As the story progresses, her complex and confusing relationship with Drew, secrets revealed in a hidden diary and escapades that she grudgingly joined made her a likeable character. As her confidence grew so did my interest in the novel.

"Life is an adventure, the best we can do is hang on and enjoy the ride.” (Christmas at the Ranch)

I was so happy to turn on some Christmas music and read this early copy of Christmas At The Ranch (thanks to NetGalley) with a bag of Lindt truffles, just to make it feel extra Christmassy in May. I love Anita Hughes, especially her Christmas books, but I was so disappointed by this one. Samantha is an author who is scared of almost everything, but gets invited to an exclusive Christmas party thrown by her publisher, Arthur, at his ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It would hurt her career if she didn’t go, so pushing her fears aside, she went - only to fall for the ranch owners son, Drew. The problem is, Drew is engaged to Beatrix. Beatrix looks perfect on the outside but she’s just as insecure and lonely as everyone else. I actually thought she was pretty sweet, and I felt bad for her that Samantha was falling for her fiancé, because we all know that in these types of romance books, the main protagonist is going to end up with who she wants. Plus, Beatrix quickly befriends Samantha and she just lets her think she’s her friend, all the while she wants Drew for herself. Samantha also is so fearful and negative about everything that it kind of brings the holiday spirit down just a bit. As a writer, she has created a fictional character named Sloane (I think Sloane is who Samantha wishes she could be) but I didn’t care for that so I skimmed over the Sloane parts. Also, what kind of mother just leaves her child for such a stupid reason?! And then is just easily accepted back into the family 30 years later like “haha oh I’m back, wow that was a long bathroom break, what’d I miss?” There were plenty of Christmassy elements that made me keep reading but sadly the second half was even more outlandish.

I love a good holiday romance and was hoping for just that. This story had all the right elements, a picture-perfect setting in the mountains of Wyoming, two characters thrown together but from totally different backgrounds, a bit of a mysterious element. However, it falls flat. Samantha is a famous author of female James Bond type character stories that her social network followers think is a secret reflection of her. Nothing could be further from the truth as Samantha is a woman of many fears and phobias fed by an overactive imagination based on the premise that whatever could go wrong will. Samantha is invited by her publisher, Arthur, to his coveted holiday week long party at Christmas, while she would rather be holed up with her dog in her lonely apartment in New York. As her sales ore plummeting, her editor encourages her to go and enjoy herself. While in flight to her publisher’s ranch in Wyoming she shares a seat with a handsome young man and expresses her true nature and fears. Turns out, the man is the son of the publish and also engaged. Over the course of the forced holiday week, she puts on a good front and grudgingly participates in challenging outdoor activities but fearfully. Samantha is also falling for Arthur’s son, Drew, until his fiancée shows up. Things get complicated. Can Samantha survive this week?
A quick read, the romance was very tepid and not a lot of tension that one hopes for in a romance story. It was very predictable and resolves itself too easily. There was a lot of focus on hearing another story of Samantha’s nemesis in her head rather than developing the story between her and Drew. The resolution at the end was just too pat where it becomes all sunshine and rainbows for everyone. As stated, it had all the elements but fell far short of a really good holiday romance.

Many thanks to #netgalley #christmasattheranch #anitahughes for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Christmas season at a ranch in Jackson Hole - a magical setting for a book, especially one with romance involved. This was a light and easy book to read; very idealistic and with a tidy happy ending. I was truly surprised by the big secret reveal at the end.

However, I must say it was a bit predictable from the start; as someone who reads many romance novels I was hoping for a deeper plot. Christmas at the Ranch was very surface level and cliché, and sometimes seemed almost unrealistic. There were many different parallel stories happening at once (Samantha's parents, Samantha's past and current love interests, Drew's parents Arthur and Diana, etc.); there were some additions to the story that I didn't find necessary to drive the plot forward. I understand the concept of having Samantha being afraid of everything / overwhelmed but I found the constant description of the fears a bit annoying while reading. I also found that there was a lot of dialogue, and "telling" rather than "showing" during scenes. All in all, the book was a little cliché, surface level, and disjointed for me.

Beautifully written.

This is an amazing story about friendships, secrets, letting go of the past and facing your fears. And, finding love when you least expect it.

I enjoyed this book right from the start. Samantha is a popular author, but very few people know about her anxiety issues. It’s so bad, she almost turns down the chance to spend Christmas week at her publisher’s luxurious ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The trip was life changing as she learns to face her fears and makes new friends and even falls in love. She becomes a better version of herself. This book is also filled with a lot of wisdom and great advice.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the ARC!
I had high expectations for this novel as Christmas is my favorite time of year and this book exceeded them! The writing was smooth and flawless, and had me feeling all of the emotions right alongside the characters, including the worrying Samantha had about practically everything. If you're looking for a cliche romance novel that resembles a hallmark movie, this is the book for you!

I was able to read an ARC from Netgalley.

After reading A magical new York Christ and seeing this pop up I was super excited but the story fell extremely flat for me. The magic that I loved so much from that story didn't translate well into this one. Christmas romance is magical but this story was all over the place and too sporadic. I wanted to love it but it wasn't there for me.

The lovely backdrop of the Teton Mountains and Jackson Hole, Wyoming become the prefect locale for and author from New York with big fears who finds so much more that she ever could imagine.
Samantha is perfectly happy living her dog and her small life. She writes espionage novels and the heroine lives the life Samantha shuns. Invited t her publisher’s Christmas party week, she very reluctantly goes only to find herself in Jackson Hole instead of Connecticut as she assumed. Who she meets and how it influences her is the real story in this engaging and delightful novel.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.