A Heartfelt Christmas Promise is set in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, in a small town which is the home of the world's best fruitcake. I related to and fell in love with the characters and setting that reminds me of the holidays plus there are great Percheron horses and a small lab puppy. Great story of admitting mistakes and following opportunities that present themselves and a little romance as well. Wonderfull holiday season story!

The writing here was fine, but I had a few personal issues with the story and the characters.

The story felt like a Hallmark Christmas movie, too sweet and too predictable. I enjoy those movies, but too many at a time can lead me into sugar overload. The characters were stereotypical, and I didn’t connect well with them or the romance chemistry.

Some people will love this as they rightly should as their personal preference. Perhaps I’m too jaded, but I found it just OK.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for providing me the ARC. The opinions are strictly my own.

This book was a cute holiday read! I was even left with a hankering for a piece of fruitcake:) Small town dynamics, a touch of Christmas magic, and a really cute fur baby made Vanessa and Mike’s story feel like a charming Hallmark movie.

I received an advance reader copy from Netgalley/St. Martin’s Press and this is my honest review.

Nancy Naigle has become one of my favourite authors. When I need a cozy book to curl up with when the world becomes stressful, her books are some that I turn to.

Vanessa Larkin is a woman who has built a successful career in business in Chicago. In fact, she takes very little down time to the detriment of her relationships. This Christmas she knows she wants to spend some time with her cousin Anna. She expects her company to send her to either Leavenworth Washington or Paris for her next project. She is therefore surprised and disappointed to learn the company needs her in Fraser Hills, North Carolina to oversee the closure of Porter’s, a fruitcake factory in the small town.

Porter’s has been in business for generations and provides jobs to many of the town’s families. The town itself is something out of a Christmas card, complete with little shops, horse-drawn carriages and decorated lamp posts and Vanessa and Anna soon get drawn into the town’s charm. When she meets horse farmer Mike, a widowed man whose family once owned Porter’s, Vanessa is treated with animosity - he knows why she is in town. As Mike begins to see Vanessa trying to save Porter’s from closing, he begins to warm up to her and the two become friendly. Can Vanessa develop a business plan that includes saving Porter’s?

I really enjoyed this book. While some will say it’s predictable, it really doesn’t matter. It oozes Christmas spirit and small town feel. It has romance, a strong female protagonist, and a community that helps and supports one another. I would like to visit this town! The book flows well, has good character development and kept me interested throughout. I sincerely hope this story will be made into a movie.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of this book in exchange for the honest review provided here.

A heartwarming Christmas tale
Vanessa, a corporate executive in Chicago starts this tale house hunting. She is planning to spend the holidays with her aunt, Anna in Paris, France or Leavenworth, Washington on a working vacation.
Her plans blow up when she's ordered to North Carolina to clean up after a co-worker, and the job has a time crunch.
When she arrives in the small town, she finds she's been misled, and is determined to get all the information she wasn't given. As the workers find out she's been sent to close down the plant, it becomes uncomfortable, especially when she believes that it wouldn't be a smart move.
Her Aunt Anna arrives and as they prepare to spend her time off from work together, they both fall in love with the small town and it's inhabitants. It isn't easy overcoming their mistrust, but Vanessa proves to the workers that she is in their corner and is accepted not only by the town, but also by Mike, the one she's been at odds with. Believing they wanted different goals, they had more than one disagreement, but eventually conquer the problems for a sweet happy ever after.
A sweet romance with humor and a little mystery, it's the perfect holiday romance.
I requested and received a NetGalley ARC to peruse and offer my opinion freely.

A Heartfelt Christmas Promise by Nancy Naigle is a delightful and sweet standalone novel that starts the Christmas season with a bang. I really enjoyed this story and the wonderful characters created by Naigle.
Vanessa Larkin, our heroine, was planning a fun work trip to Paris with her assistant, as she is one of the best employees. Instead, she is assigned to Fraser Hills, North Carolina, to convert her company’s year old acquisition to close and clear out the property to sell. Vanessa isn’t to happy to have to handle this case, “Best Fruitcake”, and to pull the plug with the holiday (Christmas around the corner). She hopes to do this quickly, closing Porter’s fruitcake factory, offering retirement packages and new job opportunities to help the town, and then head home for Christmas.

When she arrives and calls a meeting that evening, everyone (this is a small town) suspects the worse, giving Vanessa the negativity vibe at the meeting, but she manages to let people know she is investigating other possibilities such as a empty second warehouse to use. This calms people hoping for the best, but she meets horse farmer, Mike Marshall, who at first was nice to Vanessa, but when he realized who she was, he was downright nasty.

Mike is a widower, and has a 15 year old daughter, Misty, who helps her father train the eight beautiful Percheron horses, and she is also very talented, especially at her age. She will befriend Vanessa, much to her father’s unhappiness, until he begins to see Vanessa working hard on finding a solution to save the town. In a short time, their friendship escalates into a slow build romance. We also learn that Mike’s grandfather, is the one who owned Porters and sold it for money needed elsewhere. The Marshall family took care of the town all these years, having found Porter’s.

It was also nice to meet Vanessa’s aunt, who came to spend time with Vanessa for the time they stayed. There is a second romance between the aunt and Buck, Porter’s former owner. I loved the town of Fraser Hills, and the wonderful secondary characters. Misty was an amazing and talented young girl, whom Vanessa began to care for. I loved loved the puppy (Scooter/Porter) who kept escaping; so adorable and such fun. Vanessa surprised herself loving the taste of the dreaded fruitcake and cookies, and she slowly began to fall in love with the town and the wonderful holiday traditions (dinners, tree lighting, parade, etc).

A Heartfelt Christmas Promise was a wonderful, heartwarming, sweet romance, with a great couple in Vanessa and Mike, and the friendship and townsfolk who opened their arms to Vanessa. Though she was a workaholic, the town grew on her, not to mention her falling for Mike. Vanessa will step up to save the town and realize that Fraser Hills is where she belongs.

A Heartfelt Christmas Promise was a heartwarming and wonderful holiday novel. I honestly felt like I was reading a Hallmark Christmas movie!

Vanessa Larkin works for an acquisition company in Chicago. She's up for her next assignment and she is anticipating spending the holidays in either Washington state or Paris, France. She would be happy with either as long as her cousin is able to spend the holidays with her there. Color her surprised when she ends up getting an assignment in the small town of Fraser Hills, North Carolina, population under 2,000.

Vanessa figures that she'll be able to go into the small town and do her job efficiently and have everything tied up in a nice tidy bow by the new year, but you know how best laid plans go, right?! Vanessa begins to meet the townspeople, learns about Fraser Hills, about Porter's, the company she is to be closing, and suddenly she's not particularly upset to be spending time in the quaint town.

Mike Martin is a widower who works with Percheron horses. He's big on tradition and doesn't like change all that much. His sixteen year old daughter, Misty, works at Porter's and is wise beyond her years, which is both a blessing and a curse for him! He's a great guy who works hard and wants the best for his family and his town.

Vanessa is solely focused on work, but being in Fraser Hills helps her to begin to refocus her priorities. Misty and Mike help with that along the way as well. The relationship that Vanessa has with her cousin Anna is wonderful as well. In the end will she end up taking down a business that makes the town what it is, or will she do the exact opposite?

People like Mike, Buck, Misty, Anna and Lilene help to make this story what it is. It's the relationships you forge and the help you get from those people when you may need it the most and don't even know it and that's something that Vanessa learns along the way. I absolutely loved Scooter and the role he plays in this story.

A lovely holiday novel to get you in the spirit of the season!

**I voluntarily read an early copy of this title courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

When a Chicago company acquires a North Carolina fruitcake company they send Vanessa to transition the small company into, well, she has one idea and the employees have another. Things are tense. She’s been a city girl all her life and has plans for a nice vacation when this assignment is completed. She didn’t expect to fall in love with the place! A Heartfelt Christmas Promise is my kind of Christmas novel. It has a charming small town, a little drama, a little romance and an adorable puppy. Recommended!

Vanessa is a high powered executive in an acquisition company. She is an expert in looking at a company and figuring out how to get the most money out of its sale.

When she expects to spend Christmas in Paris, she is shocked to find out she will be in a small town in the mountains of North Carolina. Fraser Hills is no Paris.

Porters is a fruitcake company which is to be dismantled and sold. It should all be easily done before the first of the year.

Things do not always go in the direction we expect.

Vanessa is a city girl. She does not like fruitcake. And she resents the fact that she will not be spending Christmas in Paris. A small mountain town is not going to be her ideal place to spend a holiday.

In spite of herself, she is charmed by the picturesque town, the welcoming people and the fact that life goes in a completely different direction in a small town.

Vanessa’s cousin Anna joins her and Anna has an idea that life is not a competition and one should not devote an entire life to business. Anna also believes that giving others kindness and the benefit of the doubt is always a good thing.

Mike is a man who owns a farm and raises Percheron horses. His horses are prize winners, and his teams appear all over the country. He is a widower raising a teenage daughter, Misty. His entire life has been in this small town of Fraser Hills. When he finds out that Vanessa is in town to sell Porters and she has fired his mother, he is not a happy man.

This is a wonderful Christmas story. It is a story about people who care for one another, who will go out of their way to help one another and want the best for their town.

Vanessa learns by observation that not everyone has an ulterior motive. She begins to believe that people tell the truth because it is the right thing to do. She also learns that a small puppy can bring a great deal of joy. She has an epiphany. Eventually, she realizes that she would be wise to re-evaluate her priorities. Since she was very young she has focused her entire life on work and moving up in the world of business. But, in doing so, she has lost her connection to humanity and life.

Ms Naigle has created a small town filled with people who would make good neighbors for anyone. The secondary characters add a great deal of depth to the story. Her character development is well rounded and complete.

Vanessa and Mike are characters who are wonderful people. Both of them are pushed out of their comfort zones. Both of them find that it can be a wonderful and fulfilling trip

This story has a side of romance. But, the basic idea here is about the love of a group of people for one another and the town where they live. Family is important. Having a connection to nature and the beauty of a place are gifts which everyone can appreciate. If someone can take the time and effort, their life can get new meaning.

In short, the theme is about the miracle of change in a life which can resonate with many people.

I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley. I am voluntarily writing this review and all opinions are completely my own.

Vanessa goes to a small town to shut down the fruitcake company owned by the conglomerate she works for. Along the way she meets a wonderful group of people that call this small town home. Relationships are formed and the story has a heartwarming feel to it. Can she change the town focus or does the town change her? We meet some nice characters that makes me want to visit. The location is fun too. I liked this story. I was up way to late reading this one.

Although the story started out like a typical Hallmark movie with the female MC being part of a big corporation, and the male MC being Mr. Good Guy in Small Town USA, it soon grew to be so much more. Nancy Naigle created a story with undercurrents of how a young girl with a brain for business should not be shoved aside. Vanessa listened to Misty's ideas and incorporated them into the Fruitcake production business. She also brought out the importance of family and the joy of a more simple life in a small town. Ms. Naigle's descriptions of the falling snow, the little shops in the town, the puppy who kept sneaking away and the sweet carriage house, made me feel like it was Christmas in the mountains of North Carolina, even though I was reading this in August in Florida.

This was a wonderful Christmas feel-good novel. Although I didn't feel many of those romantic tingles between Vanessa and Mike, the story was super good and well deserving of 5 stars.

Fraser Hills, North Carolina - Present Day

Workaholic Vanessa Larkin is sure that her next assignment will be either Paris or a ski resort in Washington state. But her company needs a business shut down in a small North Carolina town by January to take over their warehouse for a huge sporting goods chain. Vanessa is angry and disappointed, but contacts her late mother's cousin, Anna, to ask if she wants to spend Christmas with Vanessa in Fraser Hills, NC. Not someone who enjoys holidays, or vacations, or relaxing much, Vanessa is still in need of support from her only family member. Anna loves the idea.

For Fraser Hills, Porters Fruit Cakes has been a family owned and run business for generations. When it was sold off to a larger corporation, the employees were assured that nothing would change, and nothing had, but now corporate is sending a representative a few weeks before Christmas, and that has many workers worried.

Vanessa is enchanted with the hometown feel of Fraser Hills. Everyone seems friendly, even the employees at Porters. Her research on the company has shown her that Porters is still a very viable business, and she is sad to be bringing bad news just before the holidays. She is given an office, a corporate apartment, and she settles down to work on this less than enjoyable process. However, Vanessa discovers right away that the warehouse area that the sporting goods company needs is actually available without dismantling Porters. Her boss, however, is not interested in preserving the fruit cake company. But he does give Vanessa free reign to see what she can do.

Meeting some of the locals, Vanessa gets more involved in their lives. Mike Marshall, who owns a horse farm, intrigues her, and his daughter, Misty, who works for Porters, proves to be a huge asset helping Vanessa discover the ins and outs of the company. When Anna arrives, the two women are befriended by another local, Buck, who offers them the use of a cottage on his property. How can Vanessa destroy the lives of this tight knit community? Is there a way out of closing Porters? Can a workaholic get comfy in small town Fraser Hills?

Start your holiday season off with A HEARTFELT CHRISTMAS PROMISE. Readers will love the atmosphere of Fraser Hills, and the residents who love it there.

I requested to read and review this book from St. Martin Publishing. This is a book that will get you read for the holiday. Nancy Naigle does it again in this warm feel good book. This would make a great Hallmark or Lifetime movie. The characters Buck, Anna, Vanessa, Mike and Misty are very down to earth. You will fall in love with this North Carolina town. With fun characters and great shops!! This book may all make you rethink fruitcake!! This book is very any type of reader. And this book can be for any age which is great and may inspire you.

I look forward to Christmas books by Nancy Naigle each year and this story will definitely make your heart smile!
I was transported to a beautiful small town in the mountains of North Carolina where people worked hard,and cared about their family and friends. Love was felt.
Change is always difficult, but when Vanessa shows up from Chicago to close down the Porter fruitcake business; tensions rise and the town folks are ready to defend their livelihood and their neighbors!
A beautiful story that will melt your heart and no matter when it is read, will make you feel warm and fuzzy!
A story we all need!

A heartwarming story of how misunderstandings can be worked out with a little creativity. I really enjoyed this book.

"A Heartfelt Christmas Promise" by Nancy Naigle
A sweet clean contemporary romance that reads like a Hallmark holiday movie. A truly fun light read with a few twists to keep you on your toes. I expect you read the description and are checking out reviews to see if you really want to read this story. I say, if the description caught your eye then I think you will enjoy your time with Ms. Vanessa Larkin and the people she meets while completing her holiday work assignment.
note: I received an ARC of this story from the publisher via NetGalley with the expectation I would write and post my honest review.

Incredible characters that anyone would fall in love with! I found this book to be such a fantastic story of family and community. I loved how the characters grew throughout the story, capturing my heart. This story would be a perfect Hallmark movie! The sweet quaint town that’s steeped in tradition, love for family and community brought about so much nostalgia. The author does a fantastic job of pulling the reader in giving them everything they would expect when picturing a small town Christmas!
Was given a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

this is a well written story, Vanessa work for a firm that has taken over a factory and she is sent to shut it down when she gets there there is more to the story. Mike has a ranch with horses and dogs. she has not had any animals and loves the horses and find a puppy that is lost. if you like sweet stories and animals and second chances at any age you have to read the book i was given a copy by netgalley but this is an honest review

Oh this book was so good! I wanted to crawl inside it and stay. I wanted to visit Frazier Hills and eat fruitcake from Porters!! It was just the perfect book and just what I needed after the last few I’ve read. Definitely recommend!
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

Christmas always brings feelings of warmth, hope, home, and togetherness. Nancy Naigle’s, A Heartfelt Christmas Promise, delivers that and more. When Vanessa gets her next assignment, she finds instead of heading off to Paris, she is driving to Fraser Hills, North Carolina to clean up a mess left by the guy she is replacing. And she has a deadline! Arriving just before Thanksgiving, she has until Christmas to shut down the town’s claim to fame, Porter’s Fruitcake factory, and turn the space into a warehouse. But Porter’s has been run by the same family and employed much of the townspeople decades. To say, she was met with opposition from the townspeople, especially from Mike Marshall whose grandfather had started the company. Vanessa starts having warm feelings for the town folk and is determined to find a solution to benefit both her company and Porter’s. Neither Mike nor her boss is making it easy for her.
The characters are warm and caring, but also ready to fight for their town. This is a sweet and touching holiday story to get you in the holiday spirit.