For fans of Anita Hughes, Christmas arrived early in Aspen. Leaving NYC behind for the holidays, Caroline travels to Aspen to solve her mother's last mystery. A mailed letter leaves instructions to meet by Santa's mailbox on New Year's.

Still reeling from her mother's death two months prior, this seems like an unexpected gift and Caroline wants to unwrap the truth. From the first night, things take an surprising turn and readers will delight in the charm of the characters and the picturesque surroundings. Will Caroline discover Annie's secret or 'drop the ball' on final memories?

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for the early edition of 'Christmas in Aspen' in exchange for an honest review. I'm fan of the author's of work and this novel rings in the special memories of the season.

First off, a big shoutout to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for hooking me up with an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest take.

Diving into this book, it was my first time with this author. While I totally vibed with the setting and the big themes, the writing style didn't quite hit the mark for me. I mean, I wanted to root for Caroline and her love interest, but it felt like they were missing that spark, you know? And don't get me started on how some plot points felt a bit forced, like they were trying too hard to make a point.

The dialog felt a tad awkward. Honestly, getting through this book felt like a bit of a slog. But hey, it wasn't all bad. There were some cool moments sprinkled throughout. Overall though, while I can see the potential, it didn't quite hit home for me.

There is a nice holiday story year but I kept losing interest with the writing style and the dialogue felt awkward to me that I just couldn’t stay focused on the story to read it.

With that said it was a fun holiday read that fits well with all the Hallmark Christmas movies that we all love ever year and it’s worth a quick read over the holidays.

Thanks to NetGallery and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Although I thoroughly enjoyed Christmas in Aspen by Anita Hughes, it is not your typical holiday read. It’s full of so much emotion & depth & I loved every second. I will definitely do a reread of this one during the holiday season. Think the best of the best Hallmark movie you’ve seen- I hope this one becomes a movie!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press|St. Martin’s Griffin for the ARC copy of this book.

I received this book from the publisher for honest feedback. The opinions stated on this review are strictly my own.
I really like this story line from the beginning.
Caroline and Daphne had lost their mother to cancer a couple of months prior to Christmas. Caroline was still struggling and Daphne had met the man of her dreams and planned on getting married as soon as possible. Caroline was not happy about this.
Caroline found a letter in her Mother's things from a man telling her he'd met her in Aspen on New Years Eve. Caroline didn't know who this might be but she had to find put. Caroline, Daphne and Luke all ended up in Aspen for Christmas.
Many surprises and love around the corners.
Definitely recommend for a few good Christmas story.

This was a sweet story about a daughter whose mother has passed away and she decides to grieve at her mother's cabin over the Christmas holiday. Instead, she finds a letter addressed to her mother from a secret lover who vows to meet her in front of Santa's red mailbox on New Year's in Aspen, Colorado. Caroline wants to find out who this mystery man is so she changes her plans and heads to Aspen.

While in Aspen, she meets her own mystery man. Caroline has never wanted love and only had flings to keep her life simple but she might just want more with this particular man.

There is so much more to this story but I will let you read to find out what happens and whether or not Caroline gets her happy ending.

I was given an arc copy of this book and I willingly offer my honest review.

I received a free copy of, Christmas in Aspen, by Anita Hughes, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Caroline Holt did not originally plan to have Christmas in Aspen, it was supposed to be London. In mourning after the death of her mother, she finds letters to her mother from Aspen. There are a lot of secrets in this book. This is an nice holiday read, not your typical feel good read though.

This book was so sweet and cozy! I can see this playing out on Hallmark or Lifetime come Christmastime. A career woman is drawn to fulfill her mother's mysterious connection with someone and end up meeting a someone herself! This is a short read, pretty predictable, but sometimes that's just what you want in a little romance book! Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin for a copy of this book for an honest review.

IThis was the first book I have read by Hughes. It was fabulous! I only wish there were another chapter or two as I did not want the book to end. I am not sure if Hughes does sequels, but Christmas in Aspen definitely deserves one!

This story is the perfect holiday read at Christmas time or actually anytime!
I could have sat in a beach chair and enjoyed this wonderful book.
There is some mystery, love, friendship, romance and lots of holiday cheer as the main character, Caroline heads to Aspen, Colorado to look for a man who wrote a letter to her late mother expecting to meet her at the Red Mailbox on New Years Eve.
Caroline feels she owes it to her mother to provide an explanation and some closure to this gentleman who thinks her mom will be in Aspen.
She has no idea who he is and if he will be there, but she is determined to find out and set the record straight.
The journey begins and I loved it!
Thank you to @NetGalley and to @St Martin's Press for this ARC and allowing me to read and provide my own review.
Well done!

Caroline goes to her late mother's cabin to spend Christmas. she finds a letter addressed to her mother and she decides to investigate. sweet story.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for this delightful, cozy story set in merry, sophisticated Aspen!

While the writing style isn’t for me, I enjoyed the details of the food and atmosphere. Everything tied together quite nicely by the end—wrapped up in a beautiful Christmas bow—but it was with blind faith that I stuck with it. There were many working parts that felt clunky and lacked a cohesiveness and I just wished elements of the story itself encouraged me to trust the process, instead of having to encourage myself.

The message I took away from this book was that some feel they might have to sacrifice their career for love or love for their career but you can have both. Nina chose love, Anne chose her career, Daphne and Luke got both, Savannah and Nick got both, and Caroline ultimately opened her heart to the possibility of having both. BUT….I feel like this could have been portrayed better, especially in the case of Caroline and Max. I felt as though they were being pushed together for the story but there was really no chemistry or a lot of emotionally intimate moments to get us there. Their arguments felt like they came out of nowhere based on their intimacy levels.

Overall, I would recommend this book to a friend looking for an easy, cozy Christmas read!

Christmas in Aspen is my first Anita Hughes book, and I really enjoyed it! The story introduces us to Caroline, an editor, who recently lost her mom and is about to embark on her first Christmas without her. Along the way we are introduced to her sister, her sisters love interest and then when Caroline ends up in Aspen, we meet Max.

The story that intertwines and unfolds includes a bit of mystery, loss, heartache, and a healthy dose of romance. The author does an amazing job of describing the locations included in the book. The descriptions of the towns, and rooms/spaces etc really add to the overall enjoyment of the book.

I'm going 4 stars for 2 reasons. One, I felt like there were a few things that made the book seem NOT modern (description of clothing/outfits), and two, because some of the story line got a little deep and to me, distracted me from the story.

Overall, I would highly recommend this for your holiday to be read lists!

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher: St. Martin's Press and author for letting me read this for an honest review!

A holiday, adventurous, heartwarming story! Gosh I loved how this story took me down a path of coping, love, life, a bit of mystery and the magic of Aspen. I will say there a quite a few things happening in this story: Caroline and her coping skills along with falling in love, Caroline' s sister and love, their mother mysterious love and so much more. I really enjoyed this story.

I could keep up with the pace of the book, the characters and even the timeline! The story kept me intrigued the entire time. I wanted to know what was going to happen! The magical Aspen sounds good to be true. I wish I could go visit there. I could not stop reading this story either. I think it took me about two and half days to read it. It just kept me intrigued!

This is a great holiday story to be read when it comes out in October 2024! Pick it up and you will not regret it!

I liked Carolines story. I also like that she found love and a father. I didn't care for her sister and felt she brought down the storyline.

Christmas In Aspen was a very sweet and heartwarming book. It will give you all the feels- love, joy, and the power of healing. The writing was very good and the characters were well developed and likeable.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the ARC.

A charming story about Caroline Holt, a New York editor looking for her next story. While grieving over her mother's recent death, she's intrigued by a letter sent from Santa's mailbox. This letter takes her to Aspen for the holidays where Caroline discovers her own love story while unraveling new details of her mom's. In her free time, Caroline indulges in reading a stack of letters her mother received from an old writer friend of her own. A perfectly sweet winter break read. Look for it late next fall!

A will they or won't they holiday romance, Christmas in Aspen is another solid read from author Anita Hughes. The writing did feel a bit inconsistent- at times, there felt like there was a dumbing down of characters that wasn't apparent throughout. Overall a pleasant read. Three stars

Book editor Caroline is dealing with the death of her mother when she finds a letter from an admirer of her mother, leading her to Aspen for Christmas. The letter writer asked her mother to meet him on New Year’s Eve at a Santa mailbox. Caroline decides she must find out more about this man, plus it leads her to a handsome guy. However, she has rules about dating and Max may not fit into her long-term plans.

I enjoyed this book, especially the letters that her mother’s late friend wrote. Thanks to NetGalley as well as the publisher for an ARC. This review is my honest opinion.

This book had so much potential but it fell so flat for me.
The characters were one-dimensional. The dialogue was dry. The descriptive writing was lackluster.
Even though it was a good storyline, I found that I didn't really care what happened because I didn't like the characters.
This book is essentially a poorly executed Hallmark movie.