This is another story set in Darling, VT, part of the series by Donna Alward. In this book, we are re-introduced to the characters from the other book and one new one. George is a veteran who has not adjusted well to life after his military experiences in Afghanistan. George has been homeless and a drifter of sorts since he returned stateside. In the earlier book, George befriends the owner of the Ladybug Gardening Center, who helps him find a job, a place to live and get his life back on track. However, George is still troubled by his war experiences, in particular the day his best friend, Ian, died. George has never forgiven himself for Ian’s death—he did not take care of Ian as he had promised Ian’s family before deployment. Things come to a head when Ian’s twin sister Amy shows up in Darling, looking for answers and insights about what happened to Ian. Because of his PTSD, George never visited Ian’s family after returning but “fell off the grid” instead. Amy’s mere presence upsets George terribly, mostly because she revives the hidden memories of Ian’s death, the way he let Ian’s family down and the troubled times George went through after his war experiences. Though not really the case, George also blames himself for Ian’s death, so has made his life miserable because of that. However, after getting a job at the garden center and a place to live in Darling, George appears to be turning things around, until Amy arrives on the scene searching for answers. She has rented a place in town for two weeks, and hopes to have her answers when she returns to her job and life in New York. Things do not go exactly as planned, however. From the start, Amy and George have an attraction to each other, begun years ago before George and Ian even deployed, during a visit with Ian’s family. Neither Georg nor Amy is sure this relationship is a good idea, but are powerless to stop things from developing. Throughout this time just before Christmas, the pair dances around the relationship, as it steadily grown deeper. However, there are any obstacles to overcome, including a history George wants to keep hidden, Amy’s endless interest and questions about her brother and their opposing personalities and life styles.

In this novella, Donna Alward has brought home the realities of PTSD (which she also did in earlier, with the introduction of George) and how difficult it is to cope with life when having PTSD. The chemistry between George and Amy was not strong at the start, but, in this short novella, it grew stronger with each page and event involving the pair. I enjoyed watching the relationship grow, which really brought out the Christmas spirit in me. Though it is still several weeks from the holiday, I am more than ready now for everything to begin. Likewise, I enjoyed watching the friends George has made in Darling help him work through his difficulties, supporting him in every way possible. The author has made me want to move to Darling or some small town and forget the way things are in a big city. I think this is a good read for the holiday season and will appeal to readers looking for something short and sweet to bring out the true meaning of the season. I received this from NetGalley to read and review.

A sweet, poignant story about second chances, love and forgiveness.
George and Amy had great chemistry and made a very cute couple. Both had their own baggage but George really needed a nudge from his friends and Amy to confront his past and look to the future with hope and confidence. His story is quite poignant as he hadn't had an easy life to begin with but now struggles with PTSD and guilt after the death of his friend, Amy's twin brother.
I really enjoyed reading their story and felt that the pace of their friendship and romance was very realistic.
It is a short story but very well written. It didn't feel like a novella as the story was so well fleshed out and complete.

An excellent read. I couldn't put it down.

George's story in the first book in this series was one of the more enjoyable parts of the series for me and I'm glad he got his own book. This story is quick and short but the message is very powerful and moving; it really captures the essence of Christmas as a season for new beginnings and will leave you in a reflective mood. 

George Reilly returned from war a broken man who had lost everything, weighed down the horrors he witnessed and the guilt that he came back alive when many of his friends did not. After years of aimless drifting, he found a part of himself with help from the Gallaghers. Now with a job and a roof over his head, it's time to face his past, even if not by his own choice.

 Amy Merck has mourned her brother for the last fifteen years, but losing him also cost her one of her close friends and now that she has found him, she is determined to get the answers that have eluded her for so long. 

For George, reliving his past could destroy all the progress he's made and set him back by a lot, but it's also the only way he can move on. While Amy understands this, she also needs closure and is willing to give him all the time he needs.

This story is a tear-jerker and will have you rooting for George and Amy to finally find healing for the wounds that have been bleeding for so long even as they find love along with the healing and closure they need. My only complaint is that the story was not long enough to do justice to the emotional depths it plumbed.

I am a huge fan of Donna Alward’s books and I adored the Darling, VT series, so when this book popped up on my Kindle, I fell upon it with glee and devoured this fantastic novella in a single delicious sitting!

In the last year, George’s life has changed dramatically for the better. The former homeless veteran went from a man with nothing to live for to a valued member of the Darling community, who had accepted him with open arms and made him feel welcome. George now has a job he loves and a home of his own, but he continues to be haunted by dark shadows from his past that are preventing him from moving forward and that continue to hold him hostage. When Amy, the sister of one of his old comrades, turns up at Darling, VT, George finds himself having to confront his past head on. But the last thing he was expecting was to find himself falling head over heels in love with Amy.

Amy wants to find out the truth about what happened to her brother. With George being her last remaining option to uncover the truth behind her brother’s death, Amy hopes that he can shed some light on her brother’s final days and bring her the closure which she is desperate for. But when she meets George, she is surprised by this fragile yet hardened man and by the feelings which she begins to develop for him.

Will the magic of Christmas give Amy and George the gift of happiness which they so richly deserve?

Donna Alward aims for the heart and does not miss with this searingly emotion, wonderfully poignant and wholly mesmerizing tale that is sure to bring a tear to your eye. Realistic, honest, truthful, compelling and heart-wrenching, Deck the Halls is sheer perfection from beginning to end and should be on everyone’s must-read list this Christmas!

Deck the Halls embodies the true spirit of the holiday season. Donna Alward flawlessly combines the themes of community, charity and love in this poignant holiday story set in Darling, Vermont. George Reilly is one of my favorite characters in this series. George played a pivotal role in Somebody Like You, and his story intrigued me. I was so excited that he was featured in Deck the Halls!

George is a veteran of the Iraq conflict. His best friend Ian Merck was killed in action. The reality of Ian’s tragic death hit George hard; his survivor’s guilt plagued him and sent him into a downward spiral of loneliness and despair. He disengaged from life and lived on the streets until Laurel and Aiden Gallagher took an interest in him and helped him get a job and an apartment..

Ian’s twin sister, Amy Merck, has travelled to Darling to speak to George. Her family needs closure-any details about their son’s death would ease their minds. Amy and George were attracted to each other and shared a few steamy kisses before George’s last deployment. Will George open up to Amy?

George and Amy are wounded souls. Their wounds are not visible, their scars are on the inside. George blames himself for his friend’s death while Amy’s marriage fell apart when she couldn’t conceive. My favorite scene takes place at a holiday fundraiser when Amy and Willow Gallagher have a heart to heart talk. Amy mentions that George doesn’t see that he is a part of the Darling community Willow uses the words strength and courage when she talks about George. This conversation inspires Amy to show George the true meaning of Christmas. The last few chapters of this book are exquisitely written; the conversations are honest, poignant and witty and the charming characters will steal your heart as the community rallies to show one of their own the true meaning of Christmas.

Deck the Halls made me laugh and cry—and most of all it reminded me to give back to my own community. Thank you Donna Alward for a fabulous read! Can’t wait for the next Darling novel

I really enjoyed this book, it was a brilliant story – idea for reading in the run up to Christmas! The characters were great and I loved how they interacted for me it really made the story sop beautiful to read.  A genuinely heart warming story that made me feel warm and cosy inside – 5 stars from me – really enjoyed it!

Alward is one of my go-to contemporary authors and the Darling, VT series has been a favorite. And since the beginning there has been George. We meet him as a homeless man and see his gradual transformation as he begins to get on his feet throughout the series. But George is haunted by something and closely guarded by his secrets and I desperately wanted to know what they were. So when I saw that George is front and center in this new novella I couldn't resist!

It was wonderful to get to know George better in this novella. Hearing his story was heartbreaking and I enjoyed getting a better understanding of how he ended up in Darling. It was impossible not to sympathize with Amy, the sister of George's old friend and Army buddy. I can't imagine losing someone so close and not knowing what really happened. I thought as friends they helped each other begin to heal.

The connection between them developed pretty quickly but I was okay with that because there was a previous connection and I think George felt obligated to answer her questions and seemed ready to take the next step. While I believed in the connection between the two I had a hard time believing that either were really ready for romance. They are both lovely people and I fully believe they needed each other but a full romance just didn't quite feel right.

However, I was able to ignore that issue and just really enjoy this holiday read. After three books getting glances of George's story this was a Christmas gift from Alward to Darling, VT readers.

The author was sensitive to George's troubles with PTSD and offered logical solutions.

A beautiful book about second chances, about guilt and about closure. And it is also a book about a young woman who doesn't give up and who may be the one to help George find happiness again. Even though the people of Darling have tried to help George back on his feet when he had lost his way after everything he lived through, happiness and a real life were still out of his reach.

When Amy finds her way into his heart, you feel with them. You can understand his inability to accept everything that has happened, you understand Amy, when she tries to find out what exactly happened and why George never came back and it is wonderful to see both of them find closure and see how their lives are going to change.

Donna Alward has hit all the right notes with this uplifting Christmas novella set in the small town of Darling, a charming place with colorful and quirky residents. When I read “Someone Like You” the first installment in the Darling, VT, series, a lonely character definitely caught my attention. George Reilly was a homeless man who lived most of the time in the town shelter or in the streets, until Lauren Gallagher offered him a job at her garden center and helped him find a place to stay. George is a war veteran who reacted to the trauma with a sense of self-blame and hopelessness.

His quiet life is disrupted when Amy Merck appears in town. Amy was his best friend Ian’s sister. They were friends in the past, but George has cut all ties since his return from deployment. Amy stirs emotions George hasn’t felt in years and he isn’t ready to let his guard down. And yet Amy is persistent, she is determined to win him over. They can help each other to finally lay the ghosts of the past to rest, and start a new and better life.

I loved reading about this couple, their evolving relationship and the way they make each other better. Despite the novella format, I had the feeling that I got to know the characters. Donna Alward creates engaging, relatable characters and well-written, charming and romantic stories that I enjoy reading.

Deck the Halls while a Christmas novel and a romance, it has some powerful moments throughout the story as it tells the story of George.

George is a veteran who suffers greatly with PTSD after he returns to America. He is haunted by his past and the death of his best friend. It forces him to turn to alcohol and he had eventually became homeless. Now living in Darling, he is given a second chance but at times he is still haunted by his past.

When Amy shows up, he is forced to deal with the past and her brother’s death. Amy can barely recognize the man in front of her. Gone is his light heartiness and in his place is a man who is hard on the outside but has this gentle core that could be broken at any time. It was interesting to note that there was some attraction between these two before George went away with the army.

As Amy helps him confront his path while giving her some closure, these two work through some very difficult moments. They both have had difficult pasts but in order to move forward, they need to confront their past, make peace with it and decide to move into the future with hope.

I loved every moment of this powerful and beautiful story. I cried, I laughed and I wanted nothing more than the best for these two. I am sure this is a story that so many individuals can relate to on some level. It is difficult to let go of our past, especially when it haunts us and we wonder if there is anything we could have done differently to change the outcome. This can lead to self hate which is just as destructive. This novel while full of raw, honest emotion gives hope and an important message of forgiveness, faith and love.

Beautiful cover on the book. Lovely well written novel. Sad and happy and a lovely feel good read for over the festive season

Favorite Quotes:

Don’t stare at me like you’re an idiot. You’re not, not really. Your thinking’s pretty warped, but you’re a smart guy.

As a foster kid he’d had more mothers than he’d had grade school teachers.

My Review:

Deck the Halls was an unexpectedly melancholy and angsty read - but then, not everyone is chasing rainbows, baking cookies, or watching for Santa during the holiday season. The emotive storyline spotlighted the complications of unresolved grief, the niggling discomfort of unfinished business, and second chances; and occurred during a two-week interval leading up to Christmas. I had been curious about the character of the homeless man known as George in the earlier books and was thrilled to see his emergence and marked improvements due to large part to being forcefully rescued and craftily manipulated into gainful employment and daily interaction by his new employer, who also assisted him in finding housing and VA services. However, his forward momentum was put in jeopardy when the twin sister of his fallen best friend suddenly made an appearance and needing closure for her family, Amy pursued George for information about her brother Ian's death in Iraq, which being the antecedent of George’s downward spiral, opened a Costco super-sized can of worms. Forcing him to deal with the heaviest of issues and a return of his nightmares was distressing, although Amy was also having a positive influence and impressing on George the difference between existing and living. Old sparks re-ignited, but the holiday season was not full of delicious eggnog, caroling, or party games for this couple.

3.5 stars
The is a sweet edition to the Darling, VT series. George is a character that we’ve gotten to know a little bit through all of the books, but haven’t really known well.
The novella format was perfect to introduce him more and learn about his past. Amy was a good addition and seemed to be a good fit.
I appreciated the fact that the author introduced a potential love interest for George, but didn’t force a full fledge relationship without addressing his health issues.
We also saw little bits of previously enjoyed characters and got to catch up with them. I am looking forward to the next full length Darling book!

Georges is a veteran going through some tough times being homeless and stuck with the guilt of his best friend in arms death while on duty. Now he's slowly but surly getting on his feet when his best friends sister shows up looking to find out what really happens while they were on duty. Both had a history together but George had so much to deal with and how seems to have to face it head on with her appearance.

This is a story about loss and learning to get back on their feet and learning to love. I loved seeing the connection between the two. It was obvious things were going to be tough for both of them with the shared grief and love that they one shared. I loved seeing how they were able to help and heal one another. This was such a uplifting book and I really enjoyed it. If you are looking for a quick holiday read, that also has a clean romance then I recommend you lovely readers to check this book out.

This story has a Hallmark in the making movie vibe to it. It is sweet. It is innocent. It is a story of forgiveness and acceptance. Of healing and love. It was cute. I would have liked to see a bit more passion, but the storyline and character development were steady and real. George didn’t see his worth, though he was steadily rebuilding his life. He was filled with guilt and heartache and when he sees his dead best friend’s twin sister show up in his new life, he isn’t exactly pleasant. Amy though doesn’t give up and they strike up their old friendship and George does end up revealing the details Amy wanted to know how her brother died. Along the way, sparks fly and George pushes her away in a self-preservation moment and thinks he really screwed up something good when she doesn’t show up for a few days. The town pulls together to prove to George that he is seen, he is appreciated, respected, and that people do care about him. In the end, Amy comes back and shows him that she still wants to fight for him and for the future she sees them have. Overall, cute but tame. A  Hallmark holiday movie in the making. Read this as part of the St. Martin's Press Holiday Romance Blitz.

Deck the Halls is a poignant story about a post war veteran who is left without any support.

George returned from his tour of duty, filled with guilt and a sense of failure after witnessing his best friend’s death. He started to live in the worse conditions possible, partly because he didn't believe that he deserved anything better. Until now.

Amy is George's best friend’s twin who wants closure. For herself and for her family. As George is the only one who can give them peace of mind, she hunts him down. She has been through some tough times too and has her own insecurities.

George has started a new life in Darling, working in a garden centre. He has made new friends and starting to get back on his feet, looking to the future. Out of the blues, Amy pays him a visit and she is surprised at what she sees. So many years later, this first encounter is rather awkward. George is not ready to talk about the past and Amy is not about to give up, now that she has caught up with him.

She takes a different approach and George slowly starts to be comfortable around her. Their past history is always lurking in the background and what she learns about what he has endured since his return is incredible and heartbreaking. She is desperate to help him, but he has to help himself first. She knows that he can do it with the right support. Can the Christmas spirit help them heal each other?

This short story is very well put together. It highlights the difficulties that the veterans encounter after traumatic experiences and the importance of having friends and the right support. It's moving and painful, but love can be the best medicine. It's an engaging read, ending on a positive note.

I was kindly issued with an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley and the views expressed are my personal opinion.

The Magic of Christmas combines with the
legend of the Kissing Bridge in Darling, VT.
George Reilly was a homeless veteran until
given a job and found an apartment. He is
finding his way back from post traumatic
stress syndrome after his fighting in the war.
One day, he is thrown for a loop when the
sister of his best friend who was killed in an
ambush right before George’s eyes, appears
at the garden center. She wants closure for
her brother’s death. George is not ready to
open up about the war. Will he run and
disappear back to street living to avoid her
questions? Will she continue to pursue her
answers? Will they be able to start on new
footing?
A well written story with very well developed,
well defined and realistic characters with
Christmas time magic involved.
A highly recommended Read.
I volunteered to read a Deck the Halls. Thanks
to the publisher via Net Gallery for the opportunity.
My opinion is my own.

When I read Somebody Like You - #1 in the Darling VT series earlier in the year, I wrote a very brief review of it, stating the character George really appealed to me. And... I wanted his story. A little comment then showed underneath, Donna saying I should watch out for October because his story was on the way. And so it is.

George is a returned service man who for a long time was down on himself and was living on the street until a few people in Darling VT really saw him and offered him a helping hand. Which to his credit he took. Yet he is still riddled by regret and no small amount of survivor guilt.

Into the mix arrives his best friend's twin sister - Amy. She has come looking for answers to what went down that day when her brother was killed in war.

What follows is a heart warming Christmas story of reaching out, giving, hope and love. Things move along for George, he has already come a long way but there is more ways to travel. Towards the end it tugged on my heart strings.

There is no quick fix, but there is promise of good things to follow. George and Amy are just beginning. If the Darling VT series continues... well I hope Amy and George poke their noses into other peoples stories and update us.

A beautiful, emotional story, bringing to light many issues in a compassionate way.
A lovely return to Darling, VT and the community.
It is a poignant and loving story.
I look forward to reading the next instalment.