Tradition. Tradition is extremely important to Angela Carson. Her family has been associated with the lighthouse near her hometown since her great-great-grandfather worked there, since her grandparents purchased it after it was decommissioned. Now she owns the it and the very traditional Christmas store Heart of Christmas inside the lighthouse. Her Christmas decorations are exquisite, but her business is being threatened by a knockoff big-box-type store Christmas Galore. Can the two stores and their two owners coexist? Or do new traditions need to be created?

The title comes from a series of letters Angela’s niece Chrissy persuades her to write to what she initially thinks is an automated site. Soon she realizes the responses are being written by a real person, a very caring person who gives her good advice.

While the book reads like a Hallmark movie, I enjoy Hallmark movies. It is also reminiscent of the Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan movie You’ve Got Mail. A familiar plot written with humor and love. I thoroughly enjoyed it

**RATING 3.5**

DEAR SANTA by Nancy Naigle is like a Hallmark movie in book form and will warm your heart.

Angela Carson believes in family legacy and will do whatever it takes to keep her special shop, Heart of Christmas, open. But things are on the decline and with a new Christmas superstore open in town, her sales just seem to be getting worse. Determined to make her grandmother proud, Angela is ready to fight, even if that means ignoring the attraction that seems to spark between her and her new arch-enemy, Geoff. Maybe her niece's idea of emailing Santa for help isn't such a bad one ...

While a little bit slow in pace for me, I did really enjoy the characters and setting of DEAR SANTA by Nancy Naigle. Angela was abandoned by her dad after her mum died and refuses to abandon the store which was such a huge part of her life and her bond with her grandmother. It was great to see Angela grow as a character and take a look at her life and figure out what she really wants and needs to be fulfilled. Geoff and his mother are great characters too and I enjoyed their dynamic and seeing Geoff open his eyes to the fact that there is more to life than working all the time.

If you enjoy very sweet, small-town Christmas romances, then DEAR SANTA by Nancy Naigle is the book for you.

The town of Pleasant Sands sounds just like the kind of place I’ve always dreamt of living. It’s a small community with a downtown area where most of the retail businesses are. People gather in town square for parades and tree lightings. And it’s all on a beach!
Angela has lived in Pleasant Sands her entire life and never wants to leave. She has deep roots in the beach and the lighthouse she owns which houses her store “Heart of Christmas.” She inherited the store and her beach house from her grandma. Her great grandmother was the first female lighthouse wickie, having inherited the job after her husband passed. Great grandma then went on to buy the lighthouse and convert it into a Christmas shop.
Unfortunately the shop isn’t doing well and Angela is facing the possibility of closing it.
Just down the road, a huge new retail chain giant opens its doors—Christmas Galore. It’s great for the small town and people are loving it. Unfortunately for Angela this just adds to the despair of her small shop.
Strolling to her sister’s house for Thanksgiving, Geoff catches her eye. He’s completely smitten with her too. At her sister’s, her niece convinces her to write to Santa on a new app, because Santa can fix anything.
Geoff’s mother ends up in the hospital and tells her son he has to take care of her duties on the Santa app, writing personalized letters to some. He begrudgingly accepts the task but ends up loving it. So much so that he starts a private pen pal relationship with one writer.
Since it’s a small town, Angela bumps into him again but this time she realizes he’s the owner of the retail giant giving her shop the push over the edge.
Geoff and Angela continue bumping into each other around town and different events but the relationship can hardly be classified as friendly.
Will Angela find something else for her future? Will Geoff and she ever be friends?
I did enjoy this book and my summary hardly does it justice. However, I’m giving it 4 stars because I felt the end was rushed. There was so much that happened in the beginning of the book and the pace was just right. But then suddenly it was the end. I kind of wanted more story. But I guess that’s a good thing.

This book was provided to me by St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley for my review.

#DearSanta #NancyNaigle #PleasantSands #Lighthouse #HeartOfChristmas #CozyMystery #StMartinsPress #NetGalley

This book will seriously tug at your heart strings. Angela Carson is holding on to the Heart of Christmas store in remembrance of her great-grandmother and Momma Grace, This quaint shop has been part of Pleasant Sands for decades and the end of an era is coming to a close. Geoff Paisley is the big bad boss of the store that is putting them out of business. You will love his Mom and the things she gets him to promise to do. You will love the start of each chapter. You will enjoy the way these two fall in love. It won't be easy but anything worth having, is worth the angst.

Heart of Christmas had been in business for over sixty years, and Angela Carson was proud to be running the business her great-great-grandmother started after the death of her husband, who had been the lighthouse keeper in Pleasant Sands, North Carolina. This year was different, though. A chain store, called Christmas Galore, opened in town, and even though the store focused on cheaper prices and mass manufactured merchandise, it was still cutting into Angela’s business, forcing Angela to consider closing her store. Angela felt she was letting down her town and the memory of her grandmother, who sacrificed many things to keep Heart of Christmas going. When Angela’s young niece Chrissy convinced her to write to Santa, via a website sponsored in part by Christmas Galore, Angela did, though she felt a bit silly.

Geoff Paisley was used to relocating every year, following his mother Rebecca’s policy that they remain in the area where their most recent store had opened, in order to offer support to the manager and staff. The Pleasant Sands store was doing phenomenally well, and Geoff was surprised that Rebecca was taking an interest in the town, joining committees and planning events with other townspeople. She had never participated in many other events outside the store, focusing on the Dear Santa letters, many of which she answered personally. After a heart attack left Rebecca hospitalized, Geoff took over the responses, and developed a connection with one writer, who called herself Anita C. Miracle.

This story had everything that’s good about the Christmas season. It had family, friends, tradition, lights, glitter, snow…and a lot of love. The close relationship between Angela and her sister Marie and her family, between Geoff and Rebecca, and the strong loyalty shown by the employees at Heart of Christmas was wonderful to read. This is an easy and most pleasant read, and I thoroughly enjoyed this holiday romance.

3.5*
This was a fun Christmas story with a spin-off of the movie You’ve Got Mail.
Angela Carson has lived in Pleasant Sands, NC all her life. She’s ran her grandmothers store Heart of Christmas since she passed many years ago. The store is all she’s ever known and now she needs to make a decision that will change her life, to close the store or not.
Geoff Paisley and his mother have just opened up their newest Christmas Galore store in Pleasant Sands and the sales couldn’t be better. He never thought that his mother getting sick and a promise she made him keep: answer the Dear Santa letters, could change the future he had planed.
Angela’s niece convinces her to write a Dear Santa letter and ask for his help with her store and the store that is stealing her customers away, Christmas Galore. Geoff soon realizes that one of the letters he’s been answering could be the very intriguing Angela. Their first initial meetings did not go well, blame was cast and heckles were raised with innuendos and poorly said words. With time and understanding Geoff and Angela grow closer and each realize there is more to life and the future then they ever dreamed of.

Angela owns a Christmas store called Heart of Christmas. This store has been her family for years. It sells handmade and fine quality items. Then a chain store moves in, Christmas Galore. Her sales tank and she is going to close. This is so heart breaking to Angela. Her beloved grandmother started this store and cultivated it into a unique Christmas shop. Her niece informs her that she should send Santa an email because Santa can always help!

Geoff is a character you like one minute and dislike the next. He is a businessman so some of his decisions are based on the bottom line. Of course that does not coincide with what the reader expects or wants. And Angela is in such a heart breaking situation. You want Geoff to be her hero.

As it says in the blurb, this is a retelling of the movie You’ve Got Mail. I am an expert on this movie. So when I saw that in the overview, I had to read this book. I probably would have liked the book better if I had never read that.

This is a good, sweet read, don’t get me wrong. I just wish the author had not used so much of the same wording as the movie. A lot of the emails to Santa say the same as what Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan say to each other.

I know, I know, I should not compare! Like I said, it is an enjoyable and heartwarming tale. Just read this and form your own opinion.

I received this novel from St. Martin’s Press via Netgalley for a honest review.

This book was an adorable mix of "You've got mail" meets Christmas. Angela Carson feels her life is being unraveled when she comes to terms that she must close the family business that has been passed down multiple generations. Heart of Christmas has been the center of her life and its saga is now ending. Multi-chain Christmas Galore comes in and she finds something to blame for her failures and she is at odds with the owner Geoff Paisley. As she emails Dear Santa and Geoff responds, their love story unfolds.

4.5/5

A heartwarming holiday take on You've Got Mail. It even has some of the actual storyline in the book, such as her love of daisies. I love this movie. The book was an interesting way to incorporate a Christmas story into it, while using a cute version of letters to Santa.
Watching someone take on the decision to close a generations old store is sorta heartbreaking. The author did a really good job of conveying how difficult this would actually be for someone. And she balanced it well with the mega Christmas store as well

Where to from here? Angela has always loved her job. Heart of Christmas has been part of her family for many years and she can't see herself doing anything else but things haven't being going well. The new store in town selling everything and is so much cheaper but her Christmas items are one of a kind keepsakes and she knows that she will need to close the store soon. But she has no idea what she will do and the stranger in town is the one that is causing this all. Geoff didn't realise how bad things were for the other store he is here to make money and to keep the family business going. His mother has him answering the dear Santa letters and he has secretly being writing to a woman that needs some help. He has tried really hard to stay away from Angela as she thinks that he is the enemy and he really does hope that she will give him a chance. Angela knows that she will need to find something else to do and she hopes that Geoff can help her. But she is hoping that she can meet her dear Santa but she has really enjoyed her time with Geoff so she is conflicted. Can Geoff prove to her that he only wants to help and that they can make it work? A lovely read. Angela is very passionate and feisty and I could only imagine how hard it must be for her. I was lucky enough to receive a copy via Netgalley and the publishing house in exchange for my honest review.

What drew me to this book was that it was a holiday retelling of “You’ve Got Mail“. I loved that movie. I have lost count at how many times I have watched it. Put it this way, if it is on TV, forget what I am doing. I am watching it. As a blogger friend pointed out “There can’t be many book lovers that don’t love that movie“. So when Dear Santa showed up on my reviewing radar, I jumped at it. I am glad that I did. This was a cute romance.

Dear Santa is the story of Angela and Geoff. Angela runs a local holiday store, Heart of Christmas. Her business is struggling since Christmas Galore came to Pleasant Sands. She is sick over the possibility of her store closing. After starting a public feud with Geoff, the co-owner of Christmas Galore, she decides to vent on an app designed by them. An app that Geoff’s mother routinely checks. When Geoff’s mother ends up in the hospital, he takes over and answers a letter from Anita C. Miracle. He is taken by her emails and soon takes it off the app and into a regular email. Geoff soon realizes that Anita is Angela. He also realizes that he is falling for Angela. How can he break it to her that he is Guy? And will Anita return his feelings?

While I liked Angela, I did think that she was a pushover for the first few chapters of the book. She did end up growing a backbone but still. She cared deeply about that store and she didn’t want to let it go. It was her last connection to her grandmother. I thought that her marketing schemes to get people to go to the store was fantastic. I loved the idea of Snow Valley!! I liked how she stood up to Geoff. She was funny. I also like that she was honest with herself about her feelings about letting go of the store and Geoff.

I thought Geoff was a jerk for the first half of the book. He didn’t like being in Pleasant Sands and he made no effort to cover it off. He even gloated about putting Angela’s store out of business. I did start to like him after his mother was in the hospital. He started to see how his superstore affected local businesses in the area. He also started to see that his feud with Angela wasn’t going to do him any favors with the locals. I liked that right around that time, he started having feelings for her. And what he did to try to win her over…sigh. That gesture put him on my good side.

As always, the secondary characters made the book. Angela’s niece was adorable. I liked Geoff’s mother. But, I couldn’t stand Angela’s sister. OMG, I wanted to strangle her. She did nothing but put Angela down. I wanted to smack her. I did. There was nothing redeeming about her.

I liked the plotlines in Dear Santa. The two major plotlines were cute. There was no lag in either plotline. The author did a great job at bringing them together at the end of the book. She also did a great job at incorporating the secondary plotlines in with the major ones.

The first plotline was Angela’s closing of her store. That was heartbreaking because her grief came off the pages in waves. In the book, she said it was like losing her grandmother all over again. I wish that her sister understood. I also wish that Geoff could have taken what the family-run/smaller businesses were going through went such a store moved into the area. Not only was Angela losing her store but the local artists that she supported were losing a place to showcase what they made.

The second plotline was Angela and Geoff’s email relationship/their feud. I thought the feud was a little overdone. He could have been nicer to her at the snowball event. She didn’t have to go to the local news and basically call the stuff his store sells cheap. I did wonder when their hatred was going to turn to love. I liked how the email relationship evolved. I didn’t know how he didn’t figure out that it was Angela sooner. The hints she left in her messages weren’t exactly hard to decipher.

I liked how the author wrote the romance part of the book. It wasn’t Instalove (thank you!!). Angela and Geoff had to find a common ground and then work their relationship up to that. What I also enjoyed is that there was zero sex. ZERO sex in the book. Another thank you. I like hot, sweaty sex scenes as much as the next person but sometimes I need a break. And I got that with this book. I was able to focus on the story and enjoy it. Not to worry that Angela and Geoff would start tearing each other’s clothes off and do it under a Christmas tree.

The end of Dear Santa was great. I liked how the author wrapped up the storylines. She ended them in a way that satisfied me as a reader. I also loved the epilogue!!!

I gave Dear Santa a 4-star rating. This is a sweet romance. I came to care for the characters. The book was a fast read too. A great book to read to get you in the Christmas spirit.

I would give Dear Santa an Adult rating. There is no sex. There is mild violence. There is mild language. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would reread Dear Santa. I would also recommend it to family and friends.

I would like to thank St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Dear Santa.

All opinions expressed in this review of Dear Santa are mine.

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

Have you read Dear Santa?
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I love this time of year when Christmas romance books start to be released. Christmas Romance is one of my favorite genres to read. Nancy Naigle is one of my favorite authors for this genre. This author's latest addition to her Christmas stories is titled Dear Santa. In this story the heroine, Angela Cartwright is struggling to keep open Heart of Christmas, the store in a historic lighthouse she inherited from the grandmother who raised her and her sister. What really drives the last nail in the coffin of Heart of Christmas is the chain store Christmas Galore opening in her home town of Pleasant Sands, North Carolina. This chain is owned by the hero of the story, Geoff Paisley and his mother. Nancy Naigle has written some strong but very likeable characters in these two. I enjoyed how they go from confrontation, to apologies, to friends, to a Happily Ever After.

Once again Nancy Naigle has written a sweet Christmas story. She has filled the pages of this book with a town full of generous people who embody the Christmas spirit. This leads to a heartwarming, caring Christmas story that serves to wake up the Christmas spirit for all readers.

Dear Santa by Nancy Naigle

Definitely a retelling of a favorite movie starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks this story is set in a small tourist town in North Carolina. In this version we have Angela Carson running a family business that has been in business for nearly a century when along comes Christmas Galore to compete with her. Sure, her business wasn’t doing as well as it had in the past but the competition of Geoff Paisley’s store down the block didn’t help her out at all. Geoff and Angela soon become enemies with tense encounters that sometimes made them seem more like high school students than adults.

Add into the story good friends, a supportive family, holiday scenes and a wonderful small town community and you have the makings of a sweet romance that could easily be made into a Hallmark movie.

I enjoyed the story and believe someone looking for a clean holiday romance who also liked You’ve Got Mail will enjoy this book, too. That said, it wasn’t new or different but more comfortable, sweet and predictable.

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

3-4 Stars

Cute retelling of You've Got Mail with a Christmas theme and a fun beach town as a setting. It's the old story we've all read before, the small, sweet family run shop with a long history being threatened by a large, heartless chain store that will scoop up the customers with their ability to slash prices and run sales.

The main characters are well rounded and people I've love to chat with. I was drawn to them immediately. What really made the book for me were the letters to Santa and the facts about the town that were at the beginning of each chapter. I found myself really looking forward to those.

If you enjoy Christmas novels, love stories that build slowly and are pretty clean and books that should be Hallmark Channel movies, this book is for you, as it was for me.

This story was a fun, updated version of the movie, You've Got Mail.

All of Angela Carson's life has been spent helping run the family Christmas store, Heart of Christmas. Even as a little girl, raised by her Grandma , Angela would be there helping. Now the store is completely hers and ever since the mega-chain box store Christmas Galore opened up, her business has been steadily declining. If business don't pick soon, Angela will have to close Heart of Christmas.

One day while picking up a coffee order for her sister, Angela notices a good looking guy, Geoff Paisley. Too bad he ends up being the owner of Christmas Galore, the company helping to put her company out of business.

Geoff is immediately smitten with Angela. He doesn't realize that she is the owner of Heart of Christmas at first. The more he gets to know her, the more he realizes that he wants her in his life. That has never happened to him before.

When Angela's niece, Chrissy, convinces her to send a letter to Dear Santa, she reluctantly agrees hoping he could help her keep her business open.

When Geoff's mom, whom he owns the business with, has a heart attack, she makes Geoff promise that he will keep up in answering their Dear Santa letters. Imagine his surprise when he starts enjoying it and even starts communicating with someone outside of Dear Santa.

Through some luck and Christmas magic, Geoff and Angela actually find themselves a happy ending.

This was a delightful story and a perfect read during the holiday season. I really liked Geoff and Angela. They both were work-a-holics in a way and together they were able to find a nice balance. Highly recommend this one!

Dear Santa is the first book I have read by Nancy Naigle. I loved this story and plan on reading more by her in the future.
Five stars.

This is the first book I have read by Nancy Naigle and it won’t be the last I really enjoyed this Christmas Tale not only do I love stories about this time of year I also love finding new authors so this was always going to be a win win for me.
Angela owns and runs Heart of Christmas a store her grandmother started, it’s an upmarket Christmas Shop but she is struggling to keep the doors open and she believes it’s all because of the new shop in town Christmas Galore a superstore selling Christmas on the cheap....When Angela meets Geoff for the first time the attraction is instant but he is the enemy he owns and runs the superstore and several others with the help of his mother. Can two people with sizzling chemistry move past their conflict in their businesses....guess you need to one click to find that out.
This story flows and it’s easy to read with loveable characters and it’s set in what should be the happy season, I’m looking forward to reading more from this very talented author.

Angela Carson owned a Christmas store - Heart of Christmas. The store was located in a lighthouse. Her competition just opened - Christmas Galore. The owner Geoff Paisley. The story centers around their stores and letters written to Santa. Unbelievably they don’t realize they’re talking to each other till closer to the end. Can Geoff and Angela reach past their passion for the stores and trust each other?

Dear Santa is the latest Christmas's Novel by Nancy Naigle. Angela Carson is the owner of Heart of Christmas, a Christmas store at Pleasant Sands. This Christmas's store passed through three generations of women and she goes proud of continuing the family activity. On the other side, no sure why, this book reminded me You've got Mail the movie with Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, there is Christmas Galore a solid, very well structured and big Christmas company owned by Geoff Paisley.
In a very unexpected way, the existences of these two people, so different, will establish a powerful connection.

Adorable Christmas book!
Highly recommended.

I thank NetGalley and St.Martin's Press for this eBook.

I received a copy of Dear Santa written by Nancy Naigle from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. This is the first time I have read anything written by Nancy Naigle and enjoyed the sweet Christmas romance.
Angela Carson is third generation to run her family's holiday store, Heart of Christmas in Pleasant Sands, NC. Weathering over sixty years of recessions, hurricanes, and tourist seasons, she has come up against mega store Christmas Galore and might have met her match. She becomes so desperate, she writes a letter on her niece's Dear Santa app asking for help.
Geoff Paisley is very focused on the success of his family store and its growing success, he forgets to stop and enjoy life and holidays. When his mom goes into the hospital, she demands Geoff steps in and answers the Dear Santa letters. Coming across Angela's letter touches his heart and he begins to email her on his own. However, when the two meet face to face in town, fireworks ignite. As Geoff begins to realize Angela is the writer of the Dear Santa request, he begins to see things differently and Angela begins to realize her attitude is affecting her friends and family. But can they come together and create a HEA?
A sweet You've Got Mail remix with cut characters and enjoyable situations. There were times when it felt that Naigle was writing circles but I still enjoyed the book. #DearSanta #NetGalley