Very sweet, quick holiday read that gave Hallmark vibes. Despite the characters being in their late 20’s, it felt YA. Still an enjoyable, festive read.

A likable Christmas romance—if a little slow. It might not have been my favorite book, but was cute at times, had a solid premise, and ultimately, a good ending.

I’ve never read this author before so I went in blind, and while I initially enjoyed the book, I felt it begin to drag at around the 40-50% mark. The characters needed a single, clarifying conversation, and I found it frustrating that they didn’t even attempt it. Add to that the over-description of the places, traditions, and people in Evergreen, and I felt myself begin to wonder if I should keep reading. Instead, I began to skim.

I’m glad I did. I think I would’ve regretted not getting the end of Christmas at the Ranch, and by scanning pages and reading mostly dialogue and a few paragraphs here and there, I was able to follow along as Emory and Tate stopped faffing about and starting communicating.

So, like I said. Not my favorite but far from the worst book I’ve read (this week LOL) and sure to find a reader in someone who doesn’t mind a slow burn, a helping of regret and remorse, and a beautifully painted if unnecessary portrait of small-town life.

Grab your cozy socks, hot chocolate and warm blanket! This book is the perfect read for a relaxing day. All the hallmark movie vibes! Not full of Christmas so you can read it anytime!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Everly Oakes is having the worst December imaginable—her father is facing scandal, her car breaks down in a blizzard, and she finds herself stranded in the very town where she once left her heart behind. What she doesn’t expect is to be taken in by the Wilder family and suddenly face-to-face with Tate, her first love, during the most magical season of the year.
Julia McKay perfectly blends small-town coziness, holiday traditions, and the emotional pull of past love rekindled. The chemistry between Everly and Tate is undeniable—tender, fiery, and deeply nostalgic. Add in snow-covered ranch settings, festive holiday spirit, and a few unexpected twists, and you have the perfect Christmas escape.

What happens when the past meets the present? Can you get past the past to embrace the future? Or will the past forever hold you back? All of this and more is discussed in Christmas at the Ranch.

In the story, we meet Emory and Tate. Their past told through the 18 year eyes of Emory through her journal. Emory and Tate met when they were on the precipice of starting a new adventure in their own lives. Emory looking in journalism school and Tate wanting to expand the ranch him and his dad owned and worked. But through a series of misunderstandings and choices, Emory and Tate spend 10 years not speaking and letting the past hang between them. Until Emory runs from a family scandal and ends up back in the town of Evergreen Lake. Where her and Tate that their first fateful meeting. Not only is Emory running from something, she also seems to be running towards something. That something - finding herself and love. But the family scandal that send Emory running has scandalized the small town too as the scandal hurt one of their own. As the story continues we watch Emory and Tate dance around their past unwilling or, perhaps, unable to talk about it. To take the opportunity to see where the other one stands. They tiptoe and stomp all over each others feelings. Completely misunderstand each other. But in doing so they start to see the other person and more importantly themselves. Emory is not the scandal that rocked her family. Tate is not defined by the tragedy that happened to him as young adult. What unfolds is a beautiful story of love and self discovery. A story of learning to see people for who they truly are and maybe not who we thought they were. A story about learning to see the past, but not let it define you. And a reminder that if you don't ask the question, you'll never know the answer. So what happens when the past meets the present? It's anyone's guess. But in this case, it spells love.

My only gripe with this book would be the length of time for the characters to actually decide to have a conversation and stop hiding behind assumptions that are colored by the past. I do wish that the characters had worked through their issues much sooner and we could have spent a bit more time with the happy couple. But this story was fun, heartwarming, and it has horses - you can't go wrong there. I would definitely recommend if you are fan of closed door romances and love a good happy ending. Or if you are a fan of Hallmark Movies. The setting, the Christmas vibes - it's all there to get you ready for the holiday season with your loved ones.

**I received this as an arc**

This book is adorable. It feels more like a winter story than a Christmas story, but it’s a cute read. No high stakes, not high in romance (though there is a spicy scene late in the book), and just snowy small town vibes.

Such a sweet, sweet story. I really liked this one, I felt so touched reading it because it was a light and short romance novel.
May be typical or boring to some but I felt like I read this at the right time and that it gave me what I needed, it is forgettable, but gave me an amusing time. I recommend reading it if you want the time to pass by or to forget the reality you’re in for a moment like I did.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange of a honest review.

This book is a sweet, heartwarming holiday romance that feels like it was plucked straight out of a Hallmark movie. The setting is cozy, the characters are charming, and the festive atmosphere makes it the perfect seasonal read. The story is light, predictable in the best way, and filled with all the tropes Christmas-romance lovers crave... family gatherings, small-town charm, and a dash of holiday magic. It’s a quick read that could have easily worked as a short story.

If you’re a fan of Hallmark holiday movies and want a feel-good read to pair with a mug of hot cocoa, this book will be right up your alley.

Okay, but can we talk about the cover? I want to cut it off and frame it. What a fun holiday read. This was serious catnip for the Hallmark movie crowd. It was so light and easy to move through. A perfect cozy snow day read that you could definitely finish in one sitting. I loved the small town feel and the snowy horse farm vibes—points for accurate descriptions of horse activities. The romance was sweet. I am a sucker for a second chance romance. I hoped for a little bit more of a grand reunion between Emory and Tate. It felt a little slow burn considering they had already a decade apart. Tate was a bit of a lackluster MMC for me—a lot of his actions were dramatic even considering his past, and he didn’t really fight for Emory which was a little disappointing. Even so, I really enjoyed my time and find it to be a perfect fireside cozy winter read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the early copy in exchange for my honest review.

I’m going to say 3.5 rounded up to 4! This was sooo cute! Thanks so much to NetGalley and Penguin Group for allowing me to read this eARC!

Well I can safely say Julia McKay is on my list of auto-buy Christmas Authors! What an absolutely adorable read!!

I loved all of the characters in here and would love to meet more and see this become an interconnected stand alone series!

Emory truly shines as being so relatable and grounded while Tate is everything you want a Christmas Cowboy to be! They make the perfect couple and with any slow-burn I really enjoy not having a drastic third act breakup!

For being a holiday book I was also really surprised at how deep it was. Hallmark could never 😉

My only real “meh” was that I thought the diary entries could have either been a bit shorter or at least helped move the plot along a little more.

Absolutely go preorder this for the cozy reading this year!

This is a cute second-chance romance. I liked the ranch setting, and of course the holiday spirit.
Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for access to this eARC.

I was excited to read this book as I love Christmas books, but this one fell flat. It wasn't Christmas-y at all and was very unbelievable. Two young teens fall so in love in only THREE weeks and never see each other or talk to each other ever again for like ten years are still in love? I don't think so. Also their terminology of "we used to", "we always", no you didn't, it was three weeks! Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you NetGalley, penguin Group Putnam and Julia McKay for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was cute. I love a second chance romance and enjoyed this one but it was pretty slow for me.

I struggled with the “dear diary” parts - they were very juvenile (I know that was the point, she was a sheltered 18yr old writing them) but they pulled me out of the story and I was glad they were only occasional.

I know these are side characters but I just couldn’t handle how her parents seemed to turn into totally different people in a span of 5 days after facing consequences.

Overall this was enjoyable but wasn’t something I was being pulled back to.

“Christmas at the Ranch” is a Hallmark movie waiting to happen. The setting is a beautiful mountain town in Canada. Everly Oakes is a news reporter by profession but has been laid off. Due to a family crisis, she needs to get away from Toronto as quickly as possible. This leads her to a special place from ten years before. A place where she had an unforgettable romance, as well as, heartbreak. In walks, Tate Wilder, who runs a horse ranch with his father. This cozy read will have you pining for a trip north and cheering for our heroine. Must read this holiday season. Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Publishing for this advance read. Pre-order your copy! Comes out September 23rd

While I usually love a good Christmas romance, this one fell a little flat for me. I just didn’t feel the chemistry between Tate and Emory. With it being a second-chance romance, I expected more emotional pull, but Tate’s character revealed so little that it all felt one-sided, leaving me not fully invested in their story.

Emory, reeling after her father’s arrest for financial fraud made national news, runs away from the city to the only place that ever felt like home—the same place where her heart was once broken by her first love, Tate Wilder. In a twist of fate, she ends up stuck in Evergreen over Christmas, forced to confront the unfinished past she left behind. But does Tate still carry a torch for her the way she does for him?

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Group Putnam, and Julia McKay (Marissa Stapley) for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are completely my own.

Charming second chance holiday romance!
When Emily Oakes’ world and family implodes, she hops in her car and starts driving. Emily finds herself back in Evergreen Lake, a small town where her wealthy family had rented a home a decade ago and where Emily had found her first love and first heartache.
Evergreen Lake is a beautiful, Hallmark-like small town, with quirky likeable characters, that goes all out for the holidays. There Emily is reacquainted with Tate Wilder, the boy who broke her heart and circumstances continue to bring them together. There Emily learns to reckon with her past and her family and needs to decide what her next chapter will be, including if she is willing to risk her heart once again.
I’ve always enjoyed this author’s talented and heartfelt writing style, under multiple pen names. This story was no different!
Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for the opportunity to read and review and advanced copy.

Christmas at the Ranch is the first novel I've read by Julia McKay, or any of her pseudonyms, and it's a sweet, slightly sexy, second chance at love romance set in and around Toronto, Canada, and it gets 4 stars from this reader.

Emory is the 18-year-old daughter of two very well-to-do parents who seem to have never really understood her. When her parents decide to to throw a huge, 3-week-long bash at a mansion in the small town of Evergreen, Canada, Emory is less than thrilled since she hates the noise and the pretentiousness of her family, that is until she takes a late night walk along the lakeshore and meets Tate, a handsome young man, sitting at a bonfire at the edge of the ranch property owned by his father. The two seem to hit it off, and during the time she's there, they seem to totally get each other, but their budding relationship comes to an end rather suddenly, and it takes most of the novel to find out exactly why.

Ten years later, Emory loses the journalism job she worked and studied so hard to get, and soon learns that there's a huge scandal about her father being arrested and jailed after the Ponzi scheme he and a friend concocted. Devastated to learn this, Emory decides to return to the place that gave her such happiness a decade earlier, the charming town of Evergreen, however, her father's notoriety has preceded her arrival, and after one night at the mansion turned inn she's staying at, she's asked to leave in no uncertain terms.

It's while she's leaving that she nearly hits a moose on the road, wrecks her car, and now has nowhere to go and no way to get there--and it's at this point Tate's dad, Charlie, comes to her rescue and offers to have her stay at Tate's cabin--the same one he was dreaming of building 10 years earlier, assuring Emory that Tate's cabin is empty, and that he won't be back for several days. Emory reluctantly takes him up on his offer of free lodging. But Tate returns earlier than expected and so begins this truly heartwarming, heartbreaking, mixed-message laden reunion of two long-lost teenage lovers.

My only issue with this novel is the number of times the author mentions what Tate smells like--pine needles, woodsmoke, leather and horses. While it is a minor issue, I found the repetitive nature of it irritating after the first five times it was mentioned.

Of course, this is a romance novel, so there is the expected HEA ending, and except for the one open-door sex scene, this novel would make an excellent Hallmark movie. It was well-written, I liked all of the characters, except for Emory's parents, and although it's not yet autumn, this was a very charming and cozy Christmas-themed romance novel.

I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you NetGalley, author, and publishers for granting me this ARC in return for an honest review!

-2.75-



I’m gonna be so honest this review is wavering between what I wrote and a 3 star. And let me explain why: there’s nothing bad about it. It’s a cute holiday read. I mean, I can picture myself curling up and reading in a cabin on the snowy mountains. This is THAT type of book. Comfortable and cozy. But it also wasn’t exciting. Everything sort’ve followed a line and the few things that should’ve been a shock were played down and lost any sort’ve excitement. That being said, I did enjoy this book and would reccomend it as a nice book to read around Christmas with a fire burning.


"As soon as he said Emory Oakes was back in town... well, I think I lost my mind a bit.“

But anyway, moving on to the couple of the evening…
Tate & Emory.
Again, there’s nothing wrong with them and I actually do like them but there was nothing special nor anything wrong about them. They were just two kids who fell in and never got over it. I will say, I did expect more from them. Cuter moments, a bigger confession, but at the same time it was clear from the beginning that they were very honest with one another and very clearly had feelings.

ALSO LET ME JUST SAY MYA IS SO GREAT. I LIVED HER SM EVEN THO SHE ONLY GOT LIKE 5 PAGE TIME LOL.
She was just so real and such bestie material I truly loved her.

Anyway, we’re reaching the end and to summarize my thoughts…there’s nothing bad I can say. I would reccomend this book but I wouldn’t reccomend it over others if that makes sense? It got a 2.75 not because of things that pulled the rating down but because there weren’t enough things to pull the rating up.

4.5 stars. Second chance romance is sometimes a hard trope for me but Julia McKay wrote it beautifully. Who doesn't loves a cute small town with amazing people and horses. I loved this romance going back and forth from now to the past. I only wish I had read this at Christmas!!!

Out September 23rd, 2025
Disgraced journalist Emory Oakes flees the chaos of her life in the city—her father’s recent imprisonment for financial fraud and the public fallout that followed—and seeks refuge in the snowy town of Evergreen. It’s the place where she spent her happiest Christmas as a teenager and first fell in love with Tate Wilder at his family’s idyllic horse ranch. Hoping to escape the scandal and heartbreak, Emory finds herself stranded by a blizzard and unexpectedly taken in by Tate’s father, who offers her shelter at Wilder Ranch.

What begins as a quiet retreat quickly turns complicated when Tate returns home early and discovers Emory staying in his cabin. Their reunion is charged with unresolved feelings and the weight of a decade’s worth of silence. As the two navigate their rekindled connection, old betrayals and lingering pain resurface, forcing them to confront the past they’ve both tried to forget. The ranch, once a symbol of youthful joy, becomes the backdrop for a second chance at love—if they’re brave enough to take it.

Set against a backdrop of snowy horse rides, hot chocolate, and holiday magic, Christmas at the Ranch is a swoony, emotional romance that explores forgiveness, healing, and the enduring power of first love. With chemistry crackling between Emory and Tate and the warmth of a small-town Christmas, Julia McKay delivers a heartwarming escape that’s perfect for curling up with during the festive season.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguiun Random house for this ARC!