I wasn't interested in reading the emails. From the beginning there was alit of mention of other characters and hard to keep up with their problems. I wasn't interested.

The second book for today is Christmas from the Heart by Olivia Berg. This was the first holiday book of the 2019 season that I read and I picked very well!

SUMMARY:
USA TODAY bestselling author Sheila Roberts takes readers to a small, snowbound town, where a young woman fights to save her family’s charity that brings Christmas to families in need, and a stranded millionaire loses his heart and finds the true meaning of Christmas.

Sometimes you need to look beyond the big picture to see what really matters

Olivia Berg’s charity, Christmas from the Heart, has helped generations of families in need in Pine River, Washington, but this year might be the end of the road. Hightower Enterprises, one of their biggest donors since way back when Olivia’s grandmother ran the charity, has been taken over by Ebenezer Scrooge the Second, aka CFO Guy Hightower, and he’s declared there will be no more money coming to Christmas from the Heart.

Guy is simply being practical. Hightower Enterprises needs to tighten its belt, and when you don’t have money to spare, you don’t have money to share. You’d think even the pushy Olivia Berg could understand that.

With charitable donations dwindling, Olivia’s Christmas budget depends on Hightower’s contribution. She’s focused her whole life on helping this small town, even putting her love life on hold to support her mission.

When Guy’s Maserati breaks down at the edge of the Cascade foothills, he’s relieved to be rescued by a pretty young woman who drives him to the nearby town of Pine River. Until he realizes his rescuer is none other than Olivia Berg. What’s a Scrooge to do? Plug his nose and eat fruitcake and hope she doesn’t learn his true identity before he can get out of town. What could go wrong?

AUTHOR BIO:
Sheila Roberts lives on a lake in the Pacific Northwest. Her novels have been published in several languages. Her book, Angel Lane, was an Amazon Top Ten Romance pick for 2009. Her holiday perennial, On Strike for Christmas, was made into a movie for the Lifetime Movie Network and her novel, The Nine Lives of Christmas, was made into a movie for Hallmark . You can visit Sheila on Twitter and Facebook or at her website (http://www.sheilasplace.com).

I so enjoyed this book! I loved the plot, loved the characters and loved that it felt "real" from the very beginning. Both characters had flaws that were revealed early on, so you didn't take sides right away. You learned about both of them, what drove them and what heartaches they had along the way. For me, this made the book feel like I was a character in the story, with both protagonists as friends, who I could see both sides. Loved the ending and the descriptions were spot-on.

I have tried to read this one, but I just can't get into it. I really appreciate the opportunity and I was looking forward to it, based on meeting the author. However, the main characters were not ones I could relate to and I ended up not finishing it. I will not be posting a review on Goodreads so as not to skew the rating.

A book to curl up by the fire on a cold day to read. Shelia is a delightful author that keeps you laughing and crying at the same time.

If Hallmark is looking for stories, this one would make a great Christmas movie! It followed their pattern to a tee.

Olivia Berg has run the charity "Christmas from the Heart" since her mother's death. When their largest, most faithful donor, Hightower Industries, pulls their funding, she's sure that Scrooge II has taken over as CFO of the company. How can she cut back that much when the need in Pine River is so great?

Guy Hightower, as the new CFO, sees only grasping hands when he sees the line item for Christmas from the Heart. With so many more worthy charities also on their books, cutting this one makes the most sense. His confrontation by phone with Olivia Berg doesn't help her cause, either. Insulting him doesn't make him want to open their coffers, especially when the company is already in a downward spiral.

As Christmas approaches, he is looking forward to spending some time with his mother and her new husband. When she asks him to make a stop along the way, he figures 'why not.' Unfortunately, his Maserati breaks down outside the tiny town of Pine River, Washington. Relieved to be picked up along the road by a beautiful young woman, he is stunned to realize that this woman is the shrew from Christmas from the Heart. Can he hide his identity long enough to get his car fixed? When the town's only hotel is full, and she offers the spare room at her house where she lives with her father, can he participate as her guest without losing his heart in the process?

This book placed Guy in funny situation after funny situation, and Livi is clueless as to why this seemingly perfect-for-her man runs hot and cold when he's around her. Her long-time friend (who wants to be more) Morris smells a rat, and he can't do anything about it. The longer he takes to fix the car, the longer Guy has to make inroads with Morris's girl.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good Hallmark movie, or a light, fun Christmas romance.

Wonderful. I simply can never put down anything by Shiela! Such a delight to read and she always draws me right in, a wonderfully sweet holiday romance, thank you!

Christmas from the Heart felt as if I had read a Hallmark movie and I LOVE that. (I am a huge fan of Hallmark Christmas movies). I love heartwarming books around the holidays and this was definitely a feel-good book. I definitely recommend giving this one a read if you love heartwarming Christmas books too!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for this ARC.

This novel whole heartedly reminded me of a Hallmark Christmas movie which is good because I love watching Hallmark movies during the Christmas time. I thought it was nice to read during the Holiday season, it was something quick and sweet. Was it the most life changing novel I've ever read with insanely complex characters? No. But like I said, it was something sweet and joyful to read during the Holidays.

A lovely read heartwarming lovely characters a book that makes you want to curl up make a hot chocolate and sail away to this town.Perfect Hallmark Christmas read.#netgalley#harlequinbooks

I love when a read a book and it gives me that Hallmark feel-good feeling. This one had it in spades, it was an enjoyable read from start to finish. Thank you for the chance to read it.

I have enjoyed the few books I have read by Sheila Roberts they are always a sweet and loving read.

This book would make a perfect Hallmark Christmas movie simply because it’s wholesome, predictable, romantic, and filled to the brim with holiday spirit. Honestly, how the people in these books and movies can drink so much cocoa is beyond me. I can’t remember the last time I sat down with an adult to drink hot chocolate. Then again, maybe that’s my loss. Hmmmm…

So here, we have a grumpy Scrooge, Guy, who is trying to rescue his family company by tightening its belt straps and cutting extraneous spending. Then there’s Olivia, who runs a nonprofit called Christmas from the heart, that depends on funding from Guy’s company. After a few emails and terse phone calls, both Guy and Olivia lose their tempers and insult each other.


So, as is always the case, something happens to bring our star crossed together for an unusually extended period of time. Which can only mean one thing. *sigh*

As a consumer of all kinds of cheesy, ridiculous Christmas movies, I am not above loving a ridiculous storyline because it makes me feel good. Especially, around the holidays, when all I want are holly jolly feelings, I will let some weak plot points slide because we’re just running out of ways to get people together and mistletoe can only do so much.

Here, my issue lies with the initial confrontation. Olivia’s hostile overreaction didn’t endear me to her, and therefore, I wasn’t that interested in rooting for the couple. Then, because Guy lies to her about his identity, we are supposed to be on her side in the end, and I just couldn’t get there. No right minded charity worker, let alone leader, would respond in the way she did. She needs money and con’t be pissing off people who have it, even when they won’t share. It would be like a salvation army bell ringer slapping you in the face when you don’t drop in change. Merry freaking Christmas.

Otherwise, this book was a lot of fun to read. The romance was a slow burn with a little bit of insta-attraction. The ancillary characters were cute, but no one really stood out for me as extra special. The heart of the story really lies with the charity, and I really felt like it anchored the book in a beautiful way.

Christmas from the heart is an adorable book, full of candy cane sweetness and mistletoe kisses. Perfect for hopeful romantics looking for a quick holiday read.

The formatting on this one was incorrect. I was reading a paranormal romance rather than Christmas From the Heart by Sheila Roberts. I may give this one a try from my library, but I am unable to rate this one due to a formatting issue.

Olivia "Livi" Berg lives in a small town near Seattle, Washington. Her sole purpose is to raise money for her non-profit, Christmas from the Heart and help as many people as she can in her small town. When she goes to one of their benefactors for a donation for the upcoming year, she is met with resistance. How in the world are they going to be able to help everyone that they helped before without this company's help? Guy Hightower is the benefactor who is not giving to Christmas from the Heart this year. His company has not been doing well since the death of this father and he is determined to turn that around, which means having to make some hard decisions. But when his car breaks down outside of Livi Berg's town, he will find out what Christmas from the Heart is all about.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for the opportunity to read and review this book.

It's the time of year when we all like to cozy up under a warm blanket and watch Hallmark and Lifetime movies. I can see this book being on one of those stations.

Livi Berg despises Guy Hightower even before she has met him. How dare he call her a leech when all she is trying to do is provide for the people of her small community. Guy Hightower doesn't know Livi Berg at all, but can't believe she can't take no for an answer. But when he finally meets her, he can't believe how he was ever able to say no to her in the first place.

Loved it. Great Christmas or all around read. Cute interesting characters. One a the best reads this season. Easy light enjoyable book.

RATING: 2.5 Stars
2019; Mira/Harlequin/HarperCollins

I love the premise of Christmas from the Heart, but Olivia (the heroine) bugged me right from the beginning. Maybe I am a Scrooge too, but I was just turned off from the way she handled Guy Hightower's refusal on donating money. While I totally understood how important that money was to her charity, it just seemed like she could not see beyond obligations. That money they had for donating could be going to employee bonuses, or they didn't have the funds. I persevered as I kind of wanted to hear Guy tell Olivia off about that....but nope, he is painted as the Scrooge and apologizes. This is my first book by Sheila Roberts, and I would try another one as I did like the small town feeling and the secondary characters.

***I received an eARC from NETGALLEY***

I loved this novel. It was heartwarming and the perfect holiday chick lit book to pick up during the season. The characters were likable, plot somewhat predictable but it gave me the warm and fuzzies. Would highly recommend to everyone!

Thank you netgalley for the ARC!

One thing I don't like is when a romance makes me angry. I got 3 chapters in and had enough of the main character. She was so rude and entitled. I thought the way she treated Guy for not being able to donate to her charity was inexcusable. She waited months and never showed she tried everything to fund raise. Instead she blamed it all on this one person. If your job is a charity, then you should be focused on trying everything to raise money. It was her fault that she expected one business to fund her big event. I had no interest in seeing if she changed.

When main character Olivia Berg in Sheila Robert’s Christmas From the Heart realizes her charity by the same name is in financial straits, she gets frustrated with the benefactor who failed to deliver this year. They correspond, with Olivia’s temper getting the best of her in notes back and forth, laying on the guilt quite thick. Guy Hightower runs the large company that denied Berg’s request and is the subject of her wrath. As Christmas From the Heart is a romance, the reader knows that somehow these two have to meet, connect, and ultimately fall for one another. However, there are definitely some unexpected elements in the story that made it interesting and kept the plot moving. An easy and satisfying read.

Delightful holiday romance. The setting is inviting and the characters are very loveable. While the plot is somewhat predictable, as are most holiday romances, it in no way detracts from the enjoyment of the book. Sheila Robert's is a wonderful storyteller, especially at Christmas time. Everything you could want in a Christmas novel.

While Christmas From the Heart was a cute Christmas story, it had some things that didn’t quite work for me. The biggest thing was the main character, Livi. The premise of the story is that Livi’s request for the annual donation to her nonprofit was turned down by a big Seattle company and she’s pissed off about it. The CFO who turned her down (because the company was struggling and didn’t have the funds for her nonprofit this year) just so happens to be driving through her town when his car breaks down and she helps him out. He figures out who she is and obviously does not tell her who he really is.

Livi drove me nuts. She judges everything and everyone right off the bat and anything involving money is so black and white to her. I can understand this as a flaw but when she is constantly whining to her friends about “the guy who wouldn’t donate money” to her organization when he “obviously” could just kept grating on me and honestly? She just seemed very entitled. And for someone who is supposed to be this kind hearted soul who helps those in need, it just wasn’t a good look and bothered me.

And another thing? She strung poor Morris (her ex from high school who’s still in love with her) along for ages. Not just the length of time since she’s known the guy but the fact that she does it when she clearly isn’t into him. I wasn’t about that.

All that being said! There were some good aspects! I really liked Guy! He’s multi-faceted, figures out where he went wrong with things, comes up with a plan and fixes it. I loved seeing him being beset with all these new small town things that he clearly has never done before but gamely takes things on anyway. The things surrounding Christmas in this town were really cute and I enjoyed that aspect. Honestly, I probably would’ve just enjoyed the whole thing better if Livi was a different person, ha! Anyway, while she did bother me tremendously, that doesn’t mean it’ll be the case for you – so if you’re into Christmas in a small town romances with a Scrooge-like twist, put this on your list!