It is no surprise that this book took me 24 hours. The story is cute...and nothing more. There is little (no) depth to the story (more depth in a Hallmark movie), but that doesn’t meant it isn’t enjoyable. I wish I liked the straightforward, simple prose. But I didn’t:( And I’m the first to admit that every Hallmark movie is the same—this was no exception, but there just wasn’t enough in the plot to keep me going.

Maybe part of the problem is that the setting (small, quaint town Alaska) was BARELY described. The setting could have been a character of its own. There was absolutely no description of Christmas or this (what could have been) beautiful little town.

I want more Christmas! More tree decorating. More hot cocoa by fireplace. GIVE ME CHRISTMAS!

I always enjoy Debbie Macomber books. They leave you with a good feeling. In this one, Josie dreams of being a chef. While she waits for her dream job to start as a sous chef in Seattle, she works at a lodge in the remote Alaskan community of Ponder. She gets to create the menu, don't they ever eat beef? While there, she and Palmer become friends which leads to them falling in love. However, Josie thinks she won't be happy in Ponder for the rest of her life, even as Palmer pops the question.

There is some miscommunication, shyness, and jealousies that happen to get in the way of true love. Eventually things smooth out, but it is a bit bumpy and lonely while the two main characters figure things out.

Debbie Macomber is probably the most consistent writer out there. You know what you are going to get with her work - nice characters, a nice story, and a happy ending. This time, it was in Alaska with two nice characters falling in love. This particular story did not grab me as much, maybe because it seemed so much shorter than her other stories. I think I would have been more drawn to the characters if more time was spent on them getting to know each other, than just a couple of quick kisses and then a random marriage proposal. And the character of Jack was written like an 80 year old curmudgeon, and I had a hard time thinking he was only like 50!

I thought this was going to be a Christmas book, but it wasn’t. The book follows Josie as her summer position in an isolated Alaskan town comes to an end. She and Palmer, a local master swordsmith, have grown quite close during her time in Ponder. On her last night, Palmer asks Josie to marry her and stay. Josie has already committed to a job back home in Seattle and isn’t sure she’s cut out for winter in Ponder, so she declines. Unfortunately she oversleeps and misses the last ferry out of town before winter. Josie and Palmer navigate the prospect of winter in Palmer, trying to go back to Seattle, and figuring out their relationship. This is a light, freezing cold beachy read. I give it ☀️ ☀️ ☀️ ☀️. If you are looking for a chilly, easy read, head to Ponder, Alaska and read this book.

She can't wait to go to work in her dream job. He feel in love with her at first sight. Can they over come the obstacles that are in their way to find the love of their lives. Will love survive when your thousands of miles away from the person you love? Find out when Debbie Macomber takes you on an Alaskan Holiday.
Palmer is a native of Ponder, Alaska. A remote tourist destination for hunting and fishing. Josie is the chef at the local lodge and only there for the season. She's headed home to take on her dream job of working with a famous chef. Palmer fell in love with her the moment he saw her. Josie is about to leave for good and Palmer wants to propose only he's not the aromatic type. He tries writing everything down, and takes advice from a friend. It doesn't go well. Josie turns him down even though she's just as much in love with Palmer as he is her. Josie can't sleep so she take some help, which makes her miss the last boat out of Ponder for the season. She spends a few more weeks with Palmer and they fall more in love. He helps her get a ride out of town even though he can't stand the thought of her leaving. Josie goes back home only things don't feel like the should. The dream job isn't what she thought it would be. She misses Palmer more than she thought she would. Palmer and Josie keep in touch several times a day until she gets too busy with her job. A check of her Facebook page has Palmer backing off the relationship because he thinks Josie is falling for her boss. Josie can't figure out why Palmer has put distance between them. Josie receives a Thanksgiving phone call from a friend from Ponder. Palmer and the same friend make plans to go visit Josie. Palmer knows he can't live with out Josie after seeing her again. When a confrontation with her boss causes her to quit, it gives Palmer hope until there is word of job interviews. A dinner party reveals secrets and a love at first sight. Palmer and Josie meet to discuss their future. There is a proposal and acceptance. Three years later brings every ones lives up to date with a surprise for Josie and Palmer.
Debbie Macomber is the queen of holiday stories and she doesn't disappoint with this one either. She had me routing for our main characters to have that true love they want together. A quirky friend who gives you the spattering of humor you want in one of her books. I've been a Debbie Macomber fan for so long that I'm only missing a few of her books in my collection. Keep them coming please, Debbie.

Every Debbie Macomber book I've ever read has been enjoyable and well written. This is no exception. If you like romance in the Alaskan climate, Debbie Macomber delivers with memorable characters. Her settings are so descriptive they make you feel as though you are there. This book is one that will make you want to curl up under a blanket, get a hot cut of cocoa, and spend some time this holiday season with Josie and Palmer in Ponder, Alaska.

Alaskan Holiday is a very sweet and cozy Christmas story guaranteed to brighten your day. I didn’t feel like it was very Christmas “type” but still very good.
Alaskan Holiday is about a young woman who loves to cook. She wants nothing more then to work for a five star restaurant and work with a very well known chef to show her the way. Her name is Josie. Josie takes a summer job in Alaska working as the chef in the Ponder Alaskan hotel. While Josie is in Alaska she meets Palmer, who loves and has always lived in Alaska. Ponder is a very small town that pretty much has nothing in or around. Josie and Palmer become really good friends...Palmer has fallen in love with Josie, only Josie’s going back to Seattle....so Palmer try’s to stop Josie from leaving by asking her to marry him. She is very shocked and has no choice but to leave for Seattle....but Josie misses her boat out of Palmer....and that was the last boat leaving Ponder until the spring. Uh oh....what will happen? You’ll have to read it. :)) I know you’ll enjoy!!! Happy reading!!! :))

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

Josie has 6 months between graduating from culinary school and starting her dream job as sous-chef under Chef Anton in Seattle. She spends those 6 months as a chef at a seasonal lodge in Ponder, Alaska. Palmer has always focused on his career as a swordsmith in Ponder, but since meeting Josie, he can't imagine his life without her. The night before she is to return to Seattle for her new job, Palmer asks Josie to marry him. She turns him down because she wants to see how things go with her dream job. To her horror, the next morning, Josie misses the last ferry out of Ponder and is stuck in the small town. Can Palmer use this as a second chance to convince Josie of his love?

This was a short book, and I would have liked to have seen the story fleshed out a little more. Josie and Palmer's friend Jack was so one-dimensional that he got on my nerves pretty quickly. Palmer claims he isn't good with romantic words, but other than his badly botched proposal at the beginning, there is a lot of him expertly describing his feelings for Josie throughout the book. This has a lot of the things we have come to expect out of a Debbie Macomber novel,but this wasn't her best work.

I received an arc from Netgalley. Ponder, Alaska is a remote town and where love blossoms between Palmer and Josie. Josie comes to work as a chef at the lodge and Palmer the quiet and shy man, becomes smitten with Josie. Their attraction grows and of course Palmer does not want to hold the up and coming chef back from her dreams.

Will Palmer and Josie make a long distance romance work or are ther other plans for these too!

A holiday romance set in the Alaskan wilderness? SOLD! I knew as soon as I saw this on NetGalley that this book would be a wonderful addition to my holiday season. Josie takes a summer job as a chef at a remote Alaskan lodge. She falls hard for this community of people, the beauty of Alaska, and handsome resident Palmer. Soon Josie’s summer job has ended and she’s headed back to Seattle to start her dream job with a renowned chef. Will these location challenged lovebirds find their way back to each other? This was a fast, easy read. Fans of my beloved Hallmark Christmas movies will also enjoy this book. For me, Alaskan Holiday was ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars. Thank you @randomhouse for this advance reader in exchange for my honest review.

Josie is spending the spring and summer season in Ponder Alaska before her new job at an exclusive restaurant . She is working hard running the kitchen for a seasonal resort there. She meets Jack who is a guide for hunting and fishing in the area. He is a loner type but loves Josie to cook for him. She also meets Palmer and is very comfortable with him . As time goes on she falls for Palmer and he falls for her. . The problem with season work is it ends . She has fell hard and a little conflicted about leaving. Palmer and Josie want to commit but distance may be a problem . Josie misses her boat to leave and has to stay until she find her a way to leave for Seattle. Jack is working on ways to make her stay and Palmer is hoping she will. After trying to find ways to go Palmer finally assist with one of his contacts but it will be a few days. He ask her to marry him and she says no. After returning to her home and new job. They are both miserable. Palmer misses her and wants to have her back but wants her to make the decision to do it. Josie is miserable with her job she thought she would love and missing the man she does love. Jack and Palmer make their way to Seattle to see Josie. After advice from friends and family they decide they cannot be apart. This is a sweet book about love and finding ways to compromise.

These are cute fun novels that always bring out the Christmas spirit it me. I'm usually a no romance kind of reader but I always am fond of a Debbie Macomber book. She brings out the best kinds of atmospheres and while I do find some of the characters to get a bit annoying they aren't so bad that I don't want to read. I love anything Alaska so the setting in here was perfect. If you are looking for a light Christmas read this is one that won't let you down. Enjoy!

Debbie Macomber always writes a happy and heart warming story, and this one was no different. Taking place in Alaska, it focuses on the relationship of Josie and Palmer. The chapters switch between point of view, which I will admit sometime threw me off. I generally don’t read romances, but when I do they are rarely written from a male point of view.
It’s a sweet story with a happy ending, perfect for this time of year!
Thank you for my review e-galley via Net Galley!
Full review at drbethnolan.com

Buy This Book
Every Debbie Macomber Christmas story has a comforting traditional familiarity that her fans relish – and I am one of them. Alaskan Holiday reaches its conclusion during the holiday season, but its focus is very modern.

Before Josie Avery starts working at Seattle’s hottest chef-owned restaurant (a real coup for a budding sous-chef), she takes on an assignment in Ponder, Alaska. For six months, Josie creates meals for guests at a rustic resort on Caribou Lake, far away from bigger metropolises like Fairbanks. There, she meets “the quiet and intense Palmer Saxon, a famed master swordsmith.” The chapters alternate between the PoV between Palmer and Josie, a very effective technique that takes us to the heart of their growing feelings for each other. Palmer has lived in Alaska his whole life. He’s not exactly romantic which he ruefully admits.

I am a man, an Alaskan man; fancy, romantic words are as unfamiliar to me as a pumpkin-spice latte. I’ll admit, when it comes to sweeping a woman off her feet, I’m about as dense as a guy can get, and I’ll certainly never be the kind of man who recites poetry. Living up here in the Alaskan wilderness doesn’t help. Ponder is miles from what most people would consider civilization.

Josie fights falling totally in love with Palmer although she admits, “it was going to be difficult—harder than I wanted to think about.” Their courtship is idyllic. They hike, search for Alaskan blueberries and cranberries, and lay under the stars while “the Northern Lights flash-dance green highlights across the sky.” Josie has long hours at the lodge but there are twenty-two hours of daylight that far north – plenty of time to talk, walk, play with Palmer’s Alaskan husky Hobo . . . and kiss. Such scintillating kisses, too, as Palmer acknowledges.

Those kisses rocked my world. And they were hot. Sizzling hot. I had to assume she enjoyed our kissing, too, because we both looked forward to the times we could be alone. I might not be a mind reader when it came to women, but I saw the light in Josie’s eyes when we were together, and I could live one on of her smiles for a week or longer.

Palmer proposes to Josie the last night before she’s to return to the Lower 49 – it’s an awkward proposal, to say the least, and she turns him down. It’s not easy but she “just can’t” because her life is in Seattle. She’s very close to her mom, her career awaits, marriage to Palmer is not in the cards. But fate has a surprise for Josie and Palmer. She spends “a miserable night tossing and turning, unable to sleep,” oversleeps, and misses the last ferry out of Ponder until the next spring.

Are you thinking that Josie will come to her senses, run into Palmer’s arms and tell him that she accepts his proposal? Nope. In fact, Josie blames Palmer for everything.

“I overslept and missed the boat, and furthermore,” I said, struggling not to weep, “this is all your fault.”

“Mine?”

“You had to ruin everything and propose. You had to know that my heart would say yes and that my head would say no, and now . . . now you need to help me get to Seattle.” The least Palmer could do was find me a way out of Ponder.

‘Should I stay, or should I go?’ is Josie Avery’s immediate dilemma but when she and Palmer are separated, will their love prevail or is that an impossibility? Josie and Palmer are so sincere and believable it’s impossible not to root for them to find true love. Debbie Macomber’s Alaskan Holiday is a warm and inviting story – just what her readers have come to appreciate and expect. If I have a tiny complaint about the novel, it’s that Debbie Macomber doesn’t include a recipe for Josie Avery’s Moose Goulash: it sounds delicious.

I liked this book! I was an easy going romance that had likable characters that you were rooting for and a plot that wasn't complicated and was easy to follow. An enjoyable cozy read!!

What a wonderful holiday story! I loved it and have reviewed it on Goodreads and Amazon. (see the link below, sorry the amazon review hasn't been approved yet)

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37966378-alaskan-holiday

Title: Alaskan Holiday



Author: Debbie Macomber



Chapters: 16 Plus Epilogue



Pages: 256



Genre: Christmas Chick lit



Rating: 3.5 stars



Alaskan Holiday is the new Christmas book by Debbie Macomber. One of the things that you can count on is that Debbie Macomber almost always has a new Christmas book out every year. It's just something that she does, and this year is no different. Alaskan Holiday is at least her second Christmas book set in Alaska. The first being Starry Night.

In Alaskan Holiday Josie Avery having missed the last ferry leaving the remote Alaskan town of Ponder believes that she's going to be stuck in Alaska through the winter. Which will lead to her losing her dream job in Seattle. Though she loves the community and the people especially Palmer Saxon a quiet swordsmith and Jack Corcoran a wilderness guide who has an uncle like quality.

Palmer who has fallen in love with Josie during the summer and loves his small Alaskan town can't understand why anyone would want to leave. But when Josie finds a way out he lets her go. But once in Seattle working at the restaurant she realizes her dreams aren't what she thought they were. That maybe what she is looking for is somewhere else.

I enjoy Debbie's Christmas books and Alaskan Holiday is no different. I enjoy these Hallmark movies like books. That read just like a Hallmark movie. Her books are great for people who like Christmas romances and Hallmark movies.


I received a copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

I always look forward to a new Debbie Macomber book at Christmas time and I really enjoyed reading the story of Josie and Palmer. These two were able to find a way to be together in the Alaskan wilderness year around and once again, love conquered all!

You can always count on Debbie Macomber for a great holiday read! This story was very well written and kept me interested. It was a great read on a snowy day and we all could use a little Christmas magic.

The incomparable Debbie Macomber does it again. Perfect, heartwarming holiday read. Can't wait to see the Hallmark movie of this!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author. All opinions are my own.