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Christmas with Holly by Lisa Kleypas Review

 Happy Wednesday Sweet Friends :)

I pray today finds you all doing well, and I'm so thankful you've taken the time to drop on by The Preppy Book Princess this morning for another book review.

I'm Kirby, and I'm thrilled to have you here on my little bookish corner of the internet.

Life's starting to get a little crazy around here with the many things that the Christmas season brings with it, and I'm sure it's the same for many of you guys.

Other than spending time with Jesus, one of my favorite ways to take a momentary step back from the craziness is to curl up with some wonderful Christmas reads.

I recently had the chance the reread a Christmas story that I remember loving several years back.

I felt a little bit differently about it this time around, and since I never reviewed it on my blog the first time, I thought I'd go ahead and do so this time.

I hope you'll all keep reading down below and join me today for another book review.


Christmas with Holly by Lisa Kleypas:



Source: Bought for Myself

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Publication Date: October 30th, 2012

Genre: Contemporary Romance/Christmas Read

Series: Friday Harbor


Synopsis:


ONE LITTLE GIRL NEEDS A FAMILY
One rain-slicked night, six-year-old Holly lost the only parent she knew, her beloved mother Victoria. And since that night, she has never again spoken a word.

ONE SINGLE MAN NEEDS A WIFE
The last thing Mark Nolan needs is a six-year-old girl in his life. But he soon realizes that he will do everything he can to make her life whole again. His sister’s will gives him the instructions: There’s no other choice but you. Just start by loving her. The rest will follow.

SOMETIMES, IT TAKES A LITTLE MAGIC…
Maggie Collins doesn’t dare believe in love again, after losing her husband of one year. But she does believe in the magic of imagination. As the owner of a toy shop, she lives what she loves. And when she meets Holly Nolan, she sees a little girl in desperate need of a little magic.

…TO MAKE DREAMS COME TRUE
Three lonely people. Three lives at the crossroads. Three people who are about to discover that Christmas is the time of year when anything is possible, and when wishes have a way of finding the path home…

(synopsis from goodreads)



My Review:

I, like I'm sure many others before me, first heard about this story when the Hallmark Channel aired a movie based off of it. I read this book after watching the movie several years ago and had remembered enjoying it. Since I was craving a Christmas reread, I chose to give this one another try. Unfortunately, it wasn't as good as I remember it being, and I wasn't a fan of the fact that it included sex scenes, innuendos, and other objectionable content I could have personally done without.

While the message of the story overall is cute and heartwarming, I personally think this is one of those rare cases where the movie ended up being actually being better than the book was. The setting is idyllic, Holly was adorable, and it had a lovely plot set up from which to go forward with. However, as someone who now mainly reads clean romances and the like, this one wasn't what I was expecting it to be, and as such, it's probably not one I'd find myself rereading in the future.

Unfortunately I need to do better research in the future and remember that just because Hallmark turns a story into a family friendly romance, doesn't mean the book it's based off of will be the same.

Final Rating: 3/5.



Thanks so much for reading guys! Have a great rest of your day :)


This is not a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. The photo does not belong to me, and all rights to the respective owners. 





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