Thank you to the publisher for making an ARC available to me via Netgalley!

Libby is a social media manager attempting to keep her parents house in her family, but is struggling to come up with the funds to do so. Trying to keep herself busy so she can ignore the sadness that comes with a Christmas season without loved ones, she's working on her first big project since starting her business, featuring "Christmas Kitty" - a cat known for going viral with Christmas content. In the process of making this video for a company, she finds an unopened letter from a mystery friend of her late mother, and decides to travel to the nearby small town that shows on the return address.

This was the third book I've read by Karen Schaler, and sadly, my least favorite for a lot of reasons. For starters, here is what I DID enjoy about this book:

1. I loved all the Christmas vibes. If you want a book heavy on the Christmas content (with everything from Christmas carol cell phone ringtones to a dog named Rudolph), then this one will hit the spot.
2. The small town of Holly Peak seemed picturesque, just like in a quintessential Hallmark movie.
3. The dog, Rudolph, seemed like a great pal to have.

Unfortunately, the joy of Christmas writing was not enough to carry this story for me.

For starters, the dialogue in this book was absolutely brutal and redundant to read. I get that Karen Schaler is known for writing Hallmark movies and that those are known for cheesy, over the top sugary sweet speaking characters, but this was absolutely excessive. The back and forth between Libby and Adam would go on for full pages with nothing accomplished. In one instance, they told each other "Thank you!" back and forth (for the same thing) for 6 paragraphs. SIX. PARAGRAPHS. Again, I understand that these are supposed to be unrealistically nice characters, but this was painful. I was so bored that my eyeballs glazed over. I think what Schaler was trying to write as "banter" just read as bad conversation for me.

The romance in this book was such a slow burn that I gave up hope. I thought they were going to be just friends. But it's Hallmark-y, so certainly the two main people are going to get together, right? It took far too long and was SO awkward getting there. The flirting reminded me of conversations I had with my middle school crushes.

Libby's job as a social media manager/entrepreneur could've been presented in a really cool way, but instead, it fell absolutely flat. Almost all references to social media were obnoxiously incorrect to the point that I wanted to throw my kindle across the room. The amount of times she talked about how important hashtags are had my eye muscles strained from how far my eyeballs rolled into the back of my head. It felt like her entire career was riding on hashtags and that she really thought she could save a company from doom with the perfect one. Maybe I'm jaded after spending 4 years reviewing books on IG, but if social media is going to be talked about in a book, this was not the way to do it.

And lastly - the Christmas themed pasta mentioned was the final straw for me. Broccoli in red sauce? I'm done.

Perhaps I'm just not the target audience as someone who prefers books to be more realistic, but I like to think that I'm relatively decent at suspending any expectations that this style of novel is supposed to be believable. All in all, this totally missed the mark, and I can only hope my next Christmas read in 2022 is a better fit for my tastes.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Libby is not looking forward to the holidays after losing her mom. When going through her mom's things she finds an envelope that will take her on a journey that she did not expect. While on her journey she meets Adam who stirs feelings inside her. This was a good holiday romance.

This book is overflowing with Christmas spirit. The author describes everything in such fine detail that I feel like I’m there experiencing it for real. I felt bad for Libby. Holidays are so hard when you are grieving the loss of a loved one. Libby gets to experience the true meaning of Christmas though. I felt really good after reading this book. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

This is a delightful Christmas read that will give you a feel good experience and leave you feeling satisfied. The story is just a lovely read that feels like a Hallmark movie in book form. It's a great pick me up when you are having a bad day.

The characters are well written and do develop over the course of the story. The meet cute is definitely original and provided some fun moments in the story. I will be buying this for my library.

I got this in exchange for a honest review. I recommend this book as well as the others Karen Schaler has written. She knows how to show readers a good time.

This is a feel good Christmas read that works perfectly. It is just what you want form a book of this type and genre. There is family, love, friendship and secrets. It is a story that pulls you into the life of Libby and how she copes with all that is happening in her life.

And she really isn't in the Christmas spirit when the book begins but things do change along the way. There are secrets to be revealed, a community that pulls together and supports each other and their town and there is a bit of mystery thrown.

This is a book to immerse yourself into in the lead up to the festive season.

I absolutely love Karen Schaler's Christmas books and this one is great! Hallmark-y feel, READ NOW!!

Great new Christmas Story from Karen Schaler. As Libby fights to save her childhood home she finds an old unopened Christmas card addressed to her mother. She finds it leads her to the next small town and there she finds Christmas magic, some family and a handsome town manager.

This is a charming Christmas story involving so many emotions of the season.

Loneliness during the holidays from loss of Libby’s mother, her only remaining relative, humorous meeting of a new neighbor’s son, Adam, to finding a mysterious 25 year old unopened Christmas card that was her mother’s that contained a mysterious photo, to the adventure of trying to find the unknown person in the picture are some of the emotions.

Along the way, she finds that Adam lives in Holly Peak, the town where she is trying to find the unknown person in the photograph and he ends up helping her.

Adventure, new-found family, love and a new joy of Christmas are all elements that make this a very delightful book.

Thanks to Hawktale Publishing and NetGalley for the advance copy of this sweet Christmas book. I highly recommend that lovers of Christmas book add this to their must read list.

This book is an absolute joy.
Heartwarming, hilarious, moving
& intriguing.
I adored every part of it!
The perfect second chance
at romance.
A great Christmas story of love, family & forgiveness.
Wonderful characters & small town charm.
Libby's heart wasn't into
Christmas this year, after recently
losing her mother, who adored
Christmas.
Libby & Adam's chance meeting
led to one crazy incident after another.
After finding a mysterious
unopened Christmas card,
Libby needed to find out who
CeCe is. Did she still live in
Holly Peak?
🎄 RECOMMEND to everyone
who loves Christmas stories!! 🎄

Libby is spread thin in all directions, and everything depends on the Santa Kitty account. Running into her new neighbor's son, quite literally, doesn't go well. He accuses her of not having Christmas Spirit, among other things. Ironic, because her family founded the annual neighborhood Christmas decorating themes. 
This year, her heart's not in it after the loss of her mom, mortgaged to the hilt, and on the verge of losing it all. Plus, the cat won't cooperate. Fortunately, Tammi, her bestie, has her back, and they find a way for Santa Kitty to shine. An envelope in an old family album contains a mysterious photo, and Libby goes in search of a woman named CeCe as she scouts a location for a client. Running into Adam again wasn't in the plan. 
A revelation and family secrets are unearthed the more they dig into the past. Adam's town is vying for the best Christmas in the state, but his reluctance to use social media because it isn't traditional could be his downfall. As Libby and Adam work together, she convinces him using hashtags can benefit the town, while he helps her find answers about CeCe. 
A beautiful story about Christmas and traditions, family, and community. It's going to take a miracle, but this might just be the Christmas saved by hashtags with an unexpected love mixed in.

This is a sweet , feel good Christmas story. The heroine is all alone at Christmas having lost her mother this past year, and now has no family. She wants to just work and skip the whole celebration, but that’s hard to do when her former childhood home sits in the middle of a decorated Christmas tree lane. Finding a 20 year old unopened Christmas card addressed to her mother in the house’s attic she decides to pursue finding the card’s sender in a small town north of her. What transpires after that is a Cinderella fairy tale in a Christmas winter wonderland and Libby’s life will, quite happily , never be the same!

I want to live in the places in Karen Schaler books! Her books about Christmas always make me happy and ready to decorate and drink Hot chocolate with cookies!
Libby has lost her mother and might lose her home. She has put everything into her new media business. Feeling down, she hasn't even decorated on a street where everything is over the top Christmas. A picture found in a box leads her to Holly Peak to find a woman named CeCe. Unfortunately, she keeps running into Adam, a new neighbor, she doesn't hit it off with.
We watch Libby put pieces of her family together.

Thank you, NetGalley and publishers for this wonderful start to the holidays.

Love Always, Christmas, by Karen Schaler, is a sweet holiday tale. Libby Larson meets Adam Thompson shortly after a fly-away inflatable Santa knocks her flat. After Libby deflated this “Santa” in an effort to get away from him, Adam becomes a bit angry with her and accuses her of having absolutely no Christmas spirit!

As Libby and Adam seem annoyed with each other, you wonder if something more will develop by the end of this tale!

Love Always, Christmas is a cute, feel good Christmas story. I especially enjoyed the tensions and interactions between Adam and Libby. The mystery of CeCe was an interesting twist that added to the story. As a Washington native, I would have liked to see more specific references to the area. It's always fun to recognize places in books, and I would have enjoyed more of those moments.

Love Always, Christmas by Karen Schaler. Light heart fun read to get one into the Christmas Spirit. Enjoyed CeCe obsession with Cribbage. I used to play that card with my Dad during the holidays and that scene brought back many memories. The bickering between Libby and Adam did get to be annoying, however, all in all an enjoyable read.
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

Love Always, Christmas; A sweet story filled with one too many cliches which, however, had a sweet emotional ending. I wish I could love it but I wasn't at all surprised with how the story developed.

I absolutely loved this book! Love Always, Christmas by Karen Schaler is the perfect Christmas read. It is a cute, heartwarming, festive holiday romance.

Libby is trying hard to make it through the holiday season. After having lost her mother, her last remaining relative, earlier in the year, Libby is feeling lonely and not much in the mood to celebrate. But she gets pulled in to a situation that calls for a Christmas miracle to save Christmas for a small neighboring town. And in the process of fighting to save Christmas, she finds a few miracles for herself.

This is the first book by Karen Schaler that I have read but I definitely be looking for more. Love Always, Christmas is a fast cozy read you don’t want to miss. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves Christmas, romance, or just plain fun. A great book full of holiday spirit.

Lovely feel good book to read. It was a joy to read. Lovely characters. Great plot. The book was charming. Very well written. I’d definitely recommend this book. Idyllic location that set the tone of the book to perfection. Perfect seasonal book to get you in the mood for the festive season.

This was absolutely delightful. The plot was well-paced and captivating from start to finish. The characters were charming and witty. I highly recommend this fun and quick holiday read! Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book.

If you are looking for a heartwarming, fun, very Christmasy story you have found it in Love Always, Christmas by Karen Schaler. Libby Larsen has a lot on her plate. She is still mourning the death of her mother so her Christmas spirit is at negative one hundred percent. She recently broke up with a guy she worked with because he showed his true colors by taking credit for her campaign which led her leaving the company to start her own. Then she finds an unopened Christmas Card which leads her to Holly Peak, Washington. And then... read it and find out.

This is a well-written, fun, sweet romance. The characters are very likable. I really enjoyed Libby and Adam Thompson's first meeting and subsequent read to their Happily Ever After. There's tons of fun in this super Christmasy story. I was drawn in to this story and felt like I was part of the fun. I love, love, love this book!