Snow Place Like Home
A Christmas Novel
by Lacey Baker
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Pub Date 10 Oct 2023 | Archive Date 10 Nov 2023
Thomas Nelson--FICTION, Thomas Nelson

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Description
Ella Wilson has avoided home and the holidays for nearly a decade. For her, the season is plagued by a jinx that’s brought nothing but painful memories: her mother’s death nearly two decades ago, her fiancé’s abandonment last year, and now the loss of her job as an art curator. But without work to occupy her, home is exactly where Ella has ended up. And somehow, she’s also been roped into planning the town’s Christmas tree auction—side by side with her first love.
Seth Hamil knows that home is where the heart is, and for him, it’s always been the sleepy community of Bellepoint, Pennsylvania . . . and for a while in high school that included Ella Wilson. Since then, he’s been married and widowed and has spent the year throwing himself into his career as a music teacher and trying to keep his wife’s memory alive, starting with the church fundraiser she launched to support local kids. So, despite their history, Seth isn’t about to let his wife’s vision for the event be easily dismissed by Ella’s temporary presence and big-city ideas.
To find a way to work together, the two strike a deal: Ella can incorporate her splashy ideas into the auction if she will allow Seth to show her why Christmas is about more than decorations. Soon both begin to wonder whether fate has brought them together for a fresh start—and if Christmas wishes really can come true.
Available Editions
EDITION | Other Format |
ISBN | 9780840716774 |
PRICE | $17.99 (USD) |
PAGES | 304 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews

Ella was raised by her aunt after the death of her mother when she was ten years old. After Ella left for college, graduated, and had her own home in Philadelphia, a couple hours away, her aunt encouraged her to come home for a visit, and now ten years has gone by, and Ella had not yet gone home.
Ella is the Curator at an art gallery in Philadelphia that is closing, resulting in the loss of her job. When Aunt Addie called this time inviting her to come home for Christmas Ella agreed to come. Until recently, Ella had also been engaged to Ben, who announced he accepted a job in another county, broke their engagement and left. Ella had put away, what she considered to be childish things, such as Christmas and never celebrated the holiday again, as an adult. She was also avoiding any kind of a relationship with men.
Once again settled into her childhood room, Aunt Addie convinced Ella to come to a meeting at church with her. Ella had also avoided church for the past ten years. The meeting happened to be about planning a Christmas fund-raiser. Seth, her former high school crush, was in the meeting. Seth was a widower, whose wife had died the previous year. Ella and Seth wholeheartedly disagreed on how to proceed with the fund-raising efforts so they were quickly assigned to be a team of two of take charge of this important Christmas season activity. Seth was determined to bring back a love of Christmas into Ella’s life. From there it was a bit of a roller coaster for both Ella and Seth as they learned to work together.
This heartfelt, delightful story has an interesting cast of relatable characters, as well as numerous unexpected situations. It is perfect for the Christmas season.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

This is such a warm and comforting Christmas read for me. It is the perfect second chance small-town holiday romance that I crave. So good.
I just reviewed Snow Place Like Home by Lacey Baker. #SnowPlaceLikeHome #NetGalley
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Thank you NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
I absolutely ADORED this book. If you love Hallmark movies, Christmas, and sweet, fluffy romance novels, this one is for you.
Ella is such a beautiful character. She is an art lover with a kind streak that runs deep, but plenty of feisty banter and attitude. She is dealing with a lot of grief based trauma and over the course of the book she begins to heal.
Seth is also dealing with grief after he loses his wife…he also deals with the guilt of wanting to move on without betraying the memory of his wife.
The relationship is beautifully written, I love the focus on family and small town values and honestly, who doesn’t love a fluffy Christmas romance?! Beautiful.

Absolutely fantastic plot! Could not put the book down once I began reading it. Cannot wait for it to be released. I will recommend it to everyone I know!

Snow Place Like Home is a Hallmark movie in your hand. Such a beautifully written story about coming back home when you feel defeated, and leaning on family to help you. Such an enjoyable read with all the Christmas feels.

A worthy meet cute ✔️
Secondary characters that bring the story to life ✔️
The title lived up to the heartwarming theme ✔️
Those are just a few reasons I enjoyed Lacey Barker’s Snow Place Like Home, a small-town Christmas romance with a faith foundation. The new-to-me author created a sweet tension between the main characters, Ella and Seth. Gotta love a cute meet-cute, both types. The first one caused Ella to act like a tart when Seth crossed paths with her after many years away.
Enough about the main characters. I simply loved Auntie Addie, especially when she mentioned Ella’s “sharp” suit! “Sharp” appears in the vocabulary of every seasoned black woman when giving a compliment, and I could just about hear her saying it. Auntie Addie gave great words of wisdom and was a strong pillar of faith when Ella needed it. Kudos, Ms. Baker, for creating such a vivid supporting cast.
This author also brought music to life in a way that each piece played a role in the story. Maybe I’m going overboard, but I have a thing for Christmas, and the music was a mood.
My only criticism is that I am hungry for 7up Pound cake and all the other goodies mentioned in Snow Place Like Home, but Lord, I don’t need them. Someone, reach out to the Hallmark Movie channel! This one is warm and fuzzy on all accounts.
Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for giving me an ARC copy of this book to read and review. All of these thoughts and comments are my own.

#SnowPlaceLikeHome #NetGalley
Hallmark novel wrapped in a beautiful cover. This novel did not disappoint and was a great Christmas read!!!
thank you to NetGalley for an advance reader copy. This opinion is my own.

I could feel the pain of Ella, Christmas had become hard, but was so glad she aquiesced to going home to her aunt.
This is a story that is filled with faith, long friendships, and building new relationships. I loved how this young woman was rather tricked into using her talents, and thus earning some well needed funds for her town.
We are also given a young man, he is still very much hurting from the loss of his wife, and is coping with his teaching and his dog! These two know each other after attending school together, but they never figured to be working together for the good of the town!
I loved how all of this works out, maybe not how you expect, and yes, there are surprises, but this is a sweet Christmas read!
Be ready for some beautiful Christmas decorations, some healing, and some sweet romance!
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Thomas Nelson, and was not required to give a positive review.

So by now reading my other posts it should be known I love a good holiday theme book. Also adding a love story to it well I’m in. I absolutely fell in love with the couple and their back story. I completely understand the sadness of loss of a parent close to the holidays and it just made me want to read more

Does anyone have that ache, when you smile for so long that your face hurts after a while? That's how I felt during this book. I loved this book so much, it is so beautiful, cozy and so fluffy, it makes your insides warm. That's how I can describe it.
There was no part in which I felt bored or where I wanted to rush or skip a paragraph to get to the good part, everything about it was good and interesting. This is the first book I read with a witch trope, so no question I am going to take a look at Linsey's other books because I think I found a great author.
It was quite hilarious as well. Penelope cracked me up, I think she's my favorite character.
I would definitely recommend this to anyone who's in a reading slump; as it is not a long book and it's not on the heavy side, it has this warmth that makes you feel so joyous.
I am very grateful to Netgalley and Linsey Hall for providing me with a copy of this.

This story has “made for TV” written all over it! It is an inspirational story that will draw you in from the first chapter. Ella Wilson and Seth Hamil are the stars, and they are the perfect characters who highlight this story of loss, recovery faith, and family. Belle pointe, Pennsyvania is the perfect setting for this Christmas-themed story that is guaranteed to restore your belief is all things Christmas.
The side characters, Aunt Addie, Ella’s friends, Seth’s family and fraternity brothers support Ella and Seth in every possible way. The Epilogue is a testament to their support as our couple experiences a beautiful HFN.
There’s Snow Place Like Home is a well-written, entertaining, and inspirational story that I highly recommend.

This book had me remembering why I love Christmas! The story gripped my heart and pulled all the right strings. It's not very often that a story has me crying, but I was so overwhelmed with happiness that I couldn't stop the tears from flowing.
Ella and Seth both had so much depth to their characters that you feel like you personally know them. The author took the time to make you really feel every one of their emotions! The characters along with the story had me reflecting inward at my own grief, relationship, and faith.
The book flowed nicely and was written very well. I will highly recommend to everyone!
Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an eARC! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was a good story. Ella got laid off from her job as a curator in an art gallery that closed. She went home to the small town she lived in with her aunt after her mother died. She left right after high school and never went back. She planned on having Christmas with her aunt and look for jobs at the same time. She ran into Seth who she knew slightly in high school but they had never dated. It turned out they both liked each other but were too shy to do anything about it. Ella didn't like Christmas as she thought the holiday was jinxed for her. Seth was determined to change her mind. The story shows how you can learn to love again if you just let yourself.
I got this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review