This is a bit of a Scrooge retelling. Liv is running a non-profit and one of her biggest donor pulled out without an explanation so she is scrambling for money. A few days before Christmas she finds a stranger stranded on the side of the street. The stranger turned out to the be the donor who fakes his identity. Romance and conflict ensues.

This was a charming novel about the spirit of Christmas and small town living. I didn’t loved the love triangle but the main character’s chemistry is so good.

There is no steam in this book, just a few kisses. This was a wholesome novel. I would love to read more books set in this cute little town.

I had a hard time connecting to this one sadly. I felt Guy could have done better, I didn’t feel a connection between Olivia and Guy.
I did feel like this story did need to have some improvements, there was a lot of potential for this story though.
This book just wasn’t for me.

I've been reading the Shelia Roberts' Christmas book for years, it's a tradition for me just like trees and hot coco. Every year some are better than others, Nine Lives of Christmas a few years ago was great. This one was a miss for me. It felt like a commercial, there were so many plugs to Hallmark and House Hunters, it was just a little much. I overall felt that it was rushed and the main character was a little princess on her high horse.

Unable to read and review by publication date due to other commitments, Will update immediately upon completion. Thank you NetGalley and Publisher,

Christmas from the Heart is set in the quiet town of Pine River, Washington.  Olivia Berg's charity, Christmas from the Heart works to help those in Pine River and the surrounding area who need assistance during the holiday season.  This year, Olivia has run into a snag when one of her largest donors, Hightower Enterprises refuses to donate to the charity.  Relying heavily on that donation, Olivia must face some drastic and ugly cuts to her holiday funding.  Guy Hightower, Chief Financial Officer for Hightower Enterprises and the guy who turned down the donation for Christmas from the Heart is on his way to his mother's home for Christmas when his car breaks down.  Luckily, Olivia happens to pass him on the side of the road and offers him a ride to town.  As luck would have it, Guy's car is not fixable immediately and must stay in Pine River longer than expected.  While there, he meets the townspeople and begins to fall for Olivia, while disguised as a stranger named Joe Ford.  What happens when Olivia finds out who Joe/Guy really is? 

As a whole, this story was a really cute and quick read for the holiday season!  It is packed with holiday traditions, cozy moments, and all the fruitcake one needs during Christmas.  It will definitely make you feel warm and cozy and ask you to think about what is important during the holidays.

When it comes to the writing itself, there aren't any major flaws that stick out. The author does a good job writing characters that aren't flat and using dialogue that seems realistic.  I enjoyed how realistic Olivia and Guy's personalities are and how they seem to work towards change especially when confronted with issues and the falsehoods that Guy created.  The characters just feel so real and I truly enjoyed reading their stories and getting to know them.

Another aspect that was well-done in this story is the world-building; I enjoyed Pine River and the characters we got to meet in this book.  I feel like this could absolutely be part of a larger series or that there could be more stories about other characters introduced in this book.  Pine River feels so quaint and like the perfect place to celebrate Christmas.  I often found myself wishing I could just be transported there!

The author is also really skilled at writing wit and humor, especially when it comes to flirty banter between characters.  I loved how this cropped up often as you got further in the story and really helped to nudge Olivia and Guy's stories along.

The overall idea of charity and giving what you can from the heart is so touching in this book and really takes the center stage.  I loved how this book pushed me to think about giving to charity and being charitable not just around the holiday season but all year long.  I liked that Guy was able to meet some of the people that Olivia's charity helped and was able to see that sometimes we all need a little help and that those who do receive charity seem like normal people, like you and me.    

Overall this was absolutely a perfect holiday read!  It has so many perfect aspects of the holidays like Christmas lights, holiday movies, festive baking, romance, the community spirit, the joy of giving/charity, and a traditional fruit cake competition.  This book also has a section at the end that features several recipes that were seen throughout the book just in case you may want to do your own holiday baking.  I had so much fun reading this book and hope you do too!

I am all about the enemy-to-lovers trope so I was excited to pick this holiday read up. From the beginning, it was easy to imagine settings for both Guy and Olivia. I could picture the small town all gussied up in preparation for the holidays. Christmas from the Heart is definitely written with the intent of becoming a Hallmark holiday movie, it is so easy to see how it is a good fit for the screen.

Unfortunately, most of the story fell flat for me in both style and character content. Hardly an egregious style issue, but this novel involves a handful of POVs sprinkled in when it is convenient for the story. That in and of itself isn’t a real issue but the changes weren’t clearly marked. Personally, I prefer to have my POV changes clearly marked and honestly even better if divided up by chapter. Now, I read an advanced copy so it is entirely possible format changes were made upon publication, but I was forced to jump from POV to POV with no real separation between characters. This really bothered me during the jumps from Guy to Morris.

As for characters, I didn’t mind Guy as a lead. Overall, he was pretty cookie-cutter and predictable but I can handle that. Most of my issues involve Olivia. Now, reviewing is inherently subjective so there are readers out there that will enjoy her. I did not. I found her sense of entitlement off-putting, completely overshadowing the initial respect I had for her trying to keep the non-profit together in her mother’s memory. Even when helping Guy, she did it with an ulterior motive. That is a soapbox that doesn’t really have a place in this review though.

It is safe to say that this holiday romance wasn’t for me, but I can see how it could appeal to other readers. If you are a huge hallmark fan, then definitely give this book a try.

**shortened review posted to Goodreads
**Full review will be posted to Dream Come Review after blog tour ends. Excerpt will be posted for the holiday blog tour in place of review.

This book is built on a trope that I will admit I am a bit of a sucker for, in that a rich Scrooge like character meets his nemesis and doesn't admit who he really is while realizing his perception of her was completely wrong and perhaps falling for her in the process. As soon as I heard the premise I was hooked and had to pick it up.

This book does a great job of telling a heartwarming Christmas story including changing hearts and perceptions, acts of kindness, family and togetherness and more, but it also goes much deeper than that. There are a lot of discussions throughout the book about how people cope with different things, such as the loss of loved ones, grief, and how people move on. We also see a lot of discussion regarding different economic situations and how some people may not realize the struggles that others face.

Even with these deep subject this still managed to be a fun story with a lot of humor and banter. It also features a large cast of characters that are for the most part amazingly supportive of each other and of Olivia's non profit. No character is perfect, not even Olivia, which is refreshing. There were some things that happened in the last portion of the book that I didn't love, but they didn't hugely affect my enjoyment of the book.

Sheila Roberts is an amazing Storyteller! Every single book I read of hers is great! Can't wait for her next book!!

I really enjoyed this book and it’s exactly the kinda story to put you into that Christmas spirit. I like to read a variety of holiday books and this one was so very different and I was very thankful for that. I enjoyed the characters and the flow of the story.

I discovered Sheila Roberts by reading a Christmas novel and have looked forward to her Christmas novels ever since. Christmas from the heart doesn’t disappoint! Thanks to the author and her publisher for letting me read an advanced copy of Christmas from the Heart.

Christmas from the Heart by Sheila Roberts gives a delightful twist on the holiday novel. Olivia runs a very small charity for the community of Pine River and has always depended on the generosity of the Hightower Corporation to get them through the year. This year though, Hightower isn’t doing as well as in the past, and targets higher profile charities with its donations. Olivia can’t believe it and sends off a less than gracious email.

Despite her temper tantrum, Olivia embodies the spirit of Christmas all year, as evidenced by her helping a stranger in a sports car with car trouble on the roadside three days before Christmas. All the hotels are full, so Olivia takes the stranger home, not knowing that he is the same gentleman who turned down the donation request from Hightower.

Together they learn what the Christmas spirit can mean. A lovely book for the holidays.

I received this book from NetGalley.

I may have said this already this season, but if you are a fan of those Hallmark Christmas movies, then this book is right up your alley. With a little bit of cheesiness and just the right amount of romance, this book is just right for the holiday season.

Olivia Berg has been running a charity for awhile, but it is so close to her heart because her mother who recently passed away also ran this charity in this small town in Washington state. They have relied on the same donors for years to be able to make Christmas joyful for all of their residents, especially those who are living on shoe string budgets. One big corporate donor has decided not to donate this year and with that they will be missing funding and won't be able to do everything they wish, so Olivia has to get creative. At the same time she ends up rescuing a man stranded on the side of the road and he could possibly have some deep pockets to help fill the gap for this organization, and of course drama ensues . . .

I completely adored this book. With the giving theme in this book fitting right into the reason for the season, I felt like it was perfect as a Christmas book. I loved the bit of deception by Guy Hightower, thought it was perfect and cheeky! As all romance books have, there has to be drama before the reader can get to the real happy ending and this one felt real and no where near soap opera level!

This was a great read, I want more of this!

I was provided with an ARC of this title from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Olivia is determined to make everyone's Christmas better. She works hard all year long persuading corporate America to support her charity organization. But Guy is a self-professed Scrooge. He has exchanged extremely biting emails with Olivia in his capacity as the CFO of one of her biggest donors. But Guy doesn't see the value in her charity, and lets her know in no uncertain terms that she shouldn't expect his check.

Through a series of mishaps and minor catastrophies, Guy is stranded in Olivia's domain. To avoid detection, he assumes another identity. But his lies and his Grinchy behavior will catch up with him.

This was a heartwarming tale about a Grinch whose heart grew and grew.

This was a cute Christmas story! This is what I would expect a Hallmark Movie to be based on! I really enjoyed this, and if you are looking for a quick, Hallmark-y, Snowy read - this one is perfect!

I love how festive this book is and it’s great message about community and charity. I also really enjoyed Guy Hightower and his Grinch transformation. The romance between Guy and Livi was sweet and had some great moments. However I did not connect that much to Livi’s character and her friendship with Morris really annoyed me.

I’m a big fan of Hallmark Movies and thought this story would be a good TV movie. The story had all the makings with one cranky man, a female set on changing ways and storyline geared towards romance. While it was all of these things at the same time there was something about it that did not appeal to me as well. This is one story you need to read for yourself to decide if it’s the perfect holiday read.

This is a charming holiday story, also perfect for the Hallmark Channel movies. The setting is perfect and so well-described that I felt a part of the town. I will admit that the lead characters did make me scratch my head at times. Olivia came across as a bit pushy and rude at times, which isn’t the best way to approach things when dealing with charities. Themes such as miscommunication, rash judgments, second chances, and, of course, love are key. The ending wasn’t quite what I expected, but it’s a quick read that’s a great match for a cold winter day and a warm drink.



Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy, but I wasn't required to leave a review.

Much like the story of the Christmas Carol, Sheila Roberts spins a tale of greed and finding out that maybe money isn't everything. It begins with a small town and a charity desperate to make ends meet. From there. we see the spirit of Christmas and of love begin to break down walls and open hearts. Of course, we do. It's a Christmas story.

This was my second Sheila Roberts novels and I am happy to report one of the best. Her characters are very real and rather fun. I loved the setting of small town USA and of course, just the over all seasonal tingles. This is a perfect book for this holiday season.

Thank you, Mira, for the opportunity to review this story. All opinions are mine.

Life is so important and so is this story! It was an uplifting tale that I couldn't put down. I loved the characters and the writing style. I can't wait to check out Roberts other stories. This fast paces tale will have to speeding through the pages one after another.

A fun Christmas book to kick off the holiday season! Christmas From The Heart was a sweet, cozy, feel-good book that invoked all of the warmth of the holidays. With charming characters set in a small town brimming with holiday spirit, this is everything you would expect from a Christmas romance. This book would make the perfect Hallmark Christmas movie! Thank you to the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.