If you've read Alward before, you know that this novella will capture your heart. She's especially good with topical issues, in this case, PTSD. George, a veteran who is pulling himself back into life, is upended when Amy, the twin sister of his deceased buddy Ian turns up in town. You can guess, I think, where this story is going to go but it's a good read. George and Amy both are well drawn, even in this short format, and you'll feel their pain. There's a lot of hope here too, and love. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is a good heartwarming read for a day when you need something positive.

Deck the Halls by Donna Alward
Darling Vt #

Second chances are sometimes given in life…to fall in love, to be productive, to be happy and to find one’s way when it is lost. This is the story of a man who went to war, came home damaged, lost his way then began to find it again in Darling, Vermont. When a woman from his past suddenly appears his forward momentum may be derailed or she might end up helping him as he moves forward.

This was a short story in keeping with the holiday season. We see a bit more of George Reilly, the homeless veteran that Laurel gave a job, and how he is doing a few months on. We see a few of the couples that had their stories told earlier and we see how George may find a future with Amy Merck, the twin sister of one of his army buddies that did not make it home. It does not give a definitive answer to the relationship between George and Amy but…they did kiss very near that bridge that has magical powers so perhaps we will see them together in future books of the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press – Swerve for the ARC – this is my honest review.

3 Stars

As this series has progressed, I have become more and more intrigues with George Reilly and how he ended up on the streets of Darling, VT.

This Christmas novella was perfect for me.

Learning more about George was both heartbreaking and uplifting. He has dealt with so much more than I ever thought, and when that past comes to find him in Darling, my heart hurt for him.

But that past was just what he needed to confront to move on.

I don't want to give anything about about who and what happens, as this is something the reader needs to discover for themselves, but believe me, you won't be disappointed.

Deck The Halls was a sweet story, just in time to start getting me into the Christmas spirit.

Can't wait to see where Ms Alward takes us next.

'Deck the Halls' by Donna Alward is the story of George and Amy.
George is just getting back on his feet after being a homeless Vet. George now has a job a place to live and his trying to work toward a future in Darling, Vermont.
Amy is looking for answers and closure in her brothers death. George was a good friend to her brother and just wants answers to her questions.
This starts them both on an emotional journey and love.
"My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read."
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I love Christmas stories so this visit to Darling, VT was very enjoyable. Darling is a quaint small town with a famous Kissing Bridge with the reputation of couples finding true love if they kiss on the bridge and lots of fun, quirky businesses with names like the Purple Pig, a delightful place to go for farm-to-table organic food and the F Bomb which sells fizzy bath bombs. Christmas stories in small towns always leave me with warm fuzzy feelings and Deck the Halls is no exception.

As much as I enjoyed the ambiance of a small town Christmas in Darling it was author Donna Alward's characters who made this such a delightful read. One of the main characters is former homeless person George Reid who suffers from PTSD and extreme guilt because he blames himself for the death of fellow soldier and his very good friend during an attack in Iraq 15 years prior to this time but who has finally started to put himself back together. The other main character is Amy Merck who is the twin sister of George's friend killed in Iraq who also has some baggage after a divorce. Amy travels to Darling to ask George about her brother's death so she and her parents get to hear the whole story of how her brother died in order to achieve some closure. Both main characters seem so real and I spent the entire story cheering them on to get past their baggage and hangups, to fall in love and find happiness with each other.

If this book was a movie I would most definitely describe it as a "tear-jerker." So when you sit gown to read this story be sure to have some tissues handy and be ready to have a warm and fuzzy feeling at the Happily Ever After. After all the tradition of the Kissing Bridge in Darling has to always come true.

Donna Alward has a gift for taking emotions in surprising directions. Deck the Halls is a journey of second chances, surprising romances and fate. One woman's search for answers leads her into the arms of her happily ever after. One man's struggle with guilt, lands him in the center of a love unlike any other. George and Amy make miracles seem possible and love eternal with his short but sweet holiday read.

Easily the best Christmas book I have read this year. George and Amy are both tortured souls with a lot of baggage. George is carrying around so much baggage and guilt it is a miracle he is still standing. A must read, you will not be disappointed

In the last year, George the formerly homeless veteran now has a job he likes, a family in the residents of Darling, VT, and for the first time in years, a home. However he's still haunted by the past, a past that appears shortly before Christmas when Amy older sister of his brother-in-arms hunts him down and finds him in Darling, working at the Ladybug Garden Centre.
Amy’s looking for closure for her family after her brother's death in the Middle East
This is the first book I’ve read by the author & it was such a heart warming story about a broken man finding redemption. The second-chance romance between mature characters, is simple but well constructed, the characters lovely and layered, the setting delightful. I’ll certainly be reading more from the author
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

What is it about Christmas stories that tug at our hearts? Ms. Alward has given her readers a touching novella regarding a homeless veteran and how far he has come in a year. The characters that reside in Darling, VT have seen past his gruff exterior & embraced him. The readers learn more about George's back story & how he ended up homeless. Amy, his best friend's sister, has found him & they are attracted to each other. Can George take that final step & realize he deserves to be loved too? Prepare to have your eyes well with tears & have your heart touched.

Oh my heart!! For those of us who are already fans of the Darling VT series, we've previously met and fell in love with George. We know he's had a rough life and was down on his luck. Now this book gives us his backstory and gives us hope for his future. Nobody deserves a little happy like George does! If you haven't started the series yet, no worries. The author gives enough detail to give you George's entire story. This is easily read standalone and is a perfect heartwarming holiday read.

Put this on the must read list. I highly recommend it.

Donna, Donna, Donna... you're killing me! I should know I need tissues when I read your stuff, but yet again, I opened this, expecting great things, and getting a roller coaster ride! I laughed, and cried, and laughed, and then cried some more! My hubby interrupted my reading at 95% and I had to tell him, through my crying, that I could not talk to him until I finished!

Like usual, Donna Alward has written an extraordinarily beautiful story. I have come to expect her stories to be full of drama, but to make up for that drama with a great love stories, with characters that have real issues.

In this, she writes again about Darling, Vt. I have read the previous stories from this town, and I suggest reading these in order, but you do not HAVE to. I recommend them mainly because you'll get a bit of a spoiler because other couples are together but fortunately, Donna Alward does a quick overview of the couples. So, if you haven't read it you'll be great, or if, like me, you inhale these the second they are published (or beg the publisher for arcs!), then that quick overview helps jog the memory!

Ok, now that all that is out of the way! Darling, VT! I love reading about the couples in this town. I want follow up books! I want more of them. They are all such fantastic characters, full of life and zest, and issues, that I fall in love with them. This one was no different. George was a vet and saw combat, so he's working towards getting his life together. While in the military he lost his best friend, and twin brother of Amy. He hasn't spoken about the incident for 16 years, and he doesn't plan to start anytime soon. So, of course Amy is going to blindside him by walking into his workplace!

George is such a great character. His pain emanates off of the page. In portions of this story I cried for him and for what he lost, nearly his humanity. And in other parts, I cheered because he was standing up, shaking himself off, and moving forward, even if the steps were minuscule, they were forward. Amy is just as determined as George but also understands that she cannot push him if he refuses to budge. There is so much in this novella that I just want to hug everyone and cry with them!

Donna Alward is a master of bringing out emotions. I am not sure how many times I told my husband that I disliked her while burning through the pages. I dislike the feelings that she demands I feel, while reading about amazing characters. The plot to this one is just as good, if not better, than her previous stories.

I need more! I cannot wait for her next book.

I've read and loved the first three books in the Darling, Vermont series. In each of them, the character, George, was present and a bit of a mystery. His previous military career had left him with issues that have made life difficult, but it's evident he is working to overcome them. Now, with this book, we get to know his story. Add in a woman from his past, and life begins to look up. A great feel-good Christmas story. Reading the previous books isn't necessary, but does give the reader more of his background and perspective for understanding George and his reactions.

4 "You’re not alone anymore, George." Stars

I am a huge lover of the Darling, VT series and was doing cartwheels when I discovered George was getting his story. And Donna Alward doesn't hold back: this story may be fairly short, but it touches your heart and I may have wiped a tear or two away as I made my way through the entire book in one sitting.

"I wish it hadn’t taken fifteen years for me to tell you that it’s okay and that...I don’t forgive you because there’s nothing to forgive."

If ever there is a man who deserves a HEA it's George Reilly, a wonderful, gentle, proud man who fought for his country, lost everything, but with the help of Darling's finest, the Gallaghers, has been given a second chance. Things are meandering along for him quite nicely until Amy Merck arrives in town, the twin sister of his best-friend whose death he blames himself for, and old feelings are reawakened, good and bad.

"...it’s you I want. All of you, not just the easy bits."

This is a story of two individuals who have lost, are still hurting and suffering years later, but together can bring a degree of closure and begin to help one another heal. Some aspects felt a little speedy—I think had this been a full length book then some real emotional issues could have been run with—and because of it's shorter length Amy came over as heavy handed to George's PTSD on occasion, but that can be forgiven as I did enjoy them together.

George stole my heart from the moment we were introduced in the first book of the series, and he did so all over again.

I was drawn in from the first page. This is a lovely and touching novel that centers around Christmas and is full of miracles.

The latest from Alward’s Darling, VT series is this Christmas novella, which features one of my favorite characters from the series.

In the last year, George's life has drastically changed. The formerly homeless veteran now has a job he likes, a family in the residents of Darling, and for the first time in years, a home. But while his present is good, he's still haunted by the past. Amy is looking for closure for her family after her brother's death, but the serious man she finds working in Vermont doesn’t resemble the man she remembers from years before.
I liked George from the first time he was introduced and was excited to learn more about him. His story proved to be the perfect feel good, holiday novella. I laughed and cried as I cheered George on. If anyone deserved a happily ever after, it was him.

If you’re new to Darling, have no fear! You can enjoy George’s story without missing a beat, but I recommend journeying back to the beginning of the Darling series.

Looking for a little holiday cheer? Grab Deck the Halls! It will make your world merry and bright :) 

This is the second Donna Alward book I have tried to read this year and the second one that was a total failure, although considering its short length, I did manage to finish this one. To make things worse, I was actually really looking forward to reading this, mostly because the Netgalley page for it compared it to It’s a Wonderful Life, which is one of my favorite Christmas movies. Aside from the hero’s name being George and the heroine staying in Bedford Cottage this book had nothing in common with the Capra Christmas Classic.
The biggest issue this book has is that it is boring. I wasn’t intersted in anything that happened to either George or Amy. I didn’t care if he dealt with his PTSD or if he ever got over his survivor’s guilt. I didn’t care about her divorce or her need for answers regarding her brother’s death. The last time I read something this boring it was the summer of 1999 and I’d been assigned A Separate Peace by my 8th Grade teacher. I’m honestly not sure why I finished reading it.
Why was it so boring? The characters had no chemistry whatsoever. We’re led to believe that George and Amy had explosive chemistry and shared a soul-rocking kiss 15 years earlier when they first met, but from what we’re presented, I don’t see it. There was seriously no ‘there’ there. The one good thing about this book is that I now know not to request another one of her books.
1.5 Stars

This book gets 5 stars from me because once I started reading it, I just could not put it down. I have read the other 3 books in this series, but I am not sure it is necessary to read them before you can enjoy this one. the book centers on George, a man who was homeless in his recent past, an Iraq war veteran. George is building a new life for himself when someone from his past tracks him down and finds him just before Christmas, wanting answers George does not want to share.

Both George and Amy have issues they are dealing with, and I like that the story does not gloss over them, nor are they made light. While Darling, VT is a small town that seems to good to be true, Donna Alward creates likeable characters with depth and flaws and I like revisiting the main characters from the previous stories.

Even with all of the heavy topics that weigh on the main characters, the book is hopeful, uplifting, and a great Christmas read.

This book covers a hard topic of PTSD. I was not sure whether I would like it or not, when I started. The author did a good job writing this story. I found it to be a nice heartwarming story for the holidays! I look forward to reading more books by this author.

Deck the Halls by Donna Alward is a novella that is part of her wonderful Darling, VT series. Each book in this series is sweet heartwarming romances, and Deck the Halls continues this trend. I loved this book, and the couple that we fell in love with from the start.

George, whom we met in the first book of this series, is a homeless veteran, who has PTSD. Laurel and Aiden (the first book couple) befriended him and helped him slowly restart his life. In Deck the Halls, George is our hero, starting to find a life working for Laurel, at the Garden Center; living in a small apartment, and slowly allowing himself to make friends. The past though still haunts him, which he never talks about.

Amy Merck, our heroine, comes to Darling looking for George to find closure on the death of her twin brother, who was George’s best friend and died in the Middle East. When George sees Amy, he is shocked and immediately closes up, refusing to discuss anything with the past. When he tells her to leave, Amy sees he is not the same person. The next day she returns, apologizing for not respecting his wishes. She convinces him to go to lunch just to talk to each other, even if he can’t discuss what happened to change him so drastically.
What follows is a slow built romance that was very touching. Amy herself had her own issues, having been divorced, but she was simply wonderful trying to slowly get George to open up and try to tell her what happened. Slowly George will begin to trust Amy, and tell her how her brother died. He blamed himself, but she knows from his descriptions that he was not at fault. Amy was a fantastic heroine, as she did everything in her power to show George how much everyone in Darling cares about him, and to give their relationship a chance, as well as fight those demons that was destroying his life.

Donna Alward once again, gives us a wonderful story, with a fantastic couple, wonderful secondary characters, and showing us the terrible scars of PTSD. Deck the Halls was a touching and heartwarming story, with a beautiful Christmas themed background.

This was a different read for me. I felt at times this book repeated itself. But overall I found this an okay quick read.