Vanessa Larkin was a bit – all right, a lot – resentful that she had not been awarded the project in Paris, but instead, she was being sent to Fraser Hills, North Carolina, to look into the logistics of closing a fruitcake factory in preparation for a sporting goods warehouse to take over. As Vanessa looked more deeply into the project, and met the townspeople, she believed she could manage to combine both projects, keep Porter’s Fruitcakes running, and still find space for the warehouse and distribution center. As she may have expected, the townspeople met Vanessa with suspicion, but soon they recognized she was trying to find a workable solution and please everyone concerned.

Mike Marshall distrusted Vanessa from the start, once he learned why she was in town. Being from the family that had originally owned Porter’s, he was protective of his legacy and wanted things to continue for the good of the town. Soon Vanessa and Mike realized their attraction to one another, but Mike’s stubbornness and Vanessa’s habit of constantly working kept them apart. It took Mike’s daughter Misty, an employee of Porter’s with great ideas for expansion, to bridge the gap between them.

The holiday season in Fraser Hills is a magical time, as it is in many small towns across the country. High school football games, chicken stew cook-offs, parades, and the Christmas tree lighting ceremony kept the townspeople close, and their pride in Porter’s fruitcakes was evident by the way they supported each other, working together to keep the factory successful. I loved being a part of their celebration, and enjoyed meeting the residents, especially Mike, Misty, Buck, and Lilene. This story has all the feels, perfectly balanced between work and play, and of course, the expected HEA – and one that wasn’t expected. Nancy Naigle has written a delightful holiday story, one that was a great pleasure to read.

I snuggled up and flew through this book. It’s a Hallmark Christmas movie in my hands. The town of Fraser Hills is so beautifully described, I could feel myself walking to breakfast with Vanessa and Anna. While it’s obvious from the get go who the love interests are, it was still a fun and welcoming experience getting there. Highly recommend with a cup of hot cocoa.

Nancy Naigle does it once again in A Heartfelt Christmas Promise. I loved this delightful and entertaining Holiday read. It deserves getting five stars.

I enjoy this author’s work any time of the year, yet she has a special magical touch with Christmas (or holiday) Romances… and A Heartfelt Christmas Promise continues that tradition for me.

To be fair, most of what you’d want to know about this story before picking it up can be found in the cover description blurb. I’d like to talk about the emotional pull of Vanessa’s experience with a place far outside of her normal life, which is deeply rooted in the big city.

Fraser Hills is as small-town as you’ll ever find on the map. A close-knit community, a large factory/business that employs many of the townsfolk, traditions that run back generations, and an easy laid-back feel to life. Instead of Paris, France this year Vanessa has been tasked with shutting down the local fruitcake factory, Porter’s, right before Christmas to make room for another business’s warehouse needs. It’s nothing too outside of the ordinary for this career-driven woman and she expects to get in, get out, job done in no time at all.

What Vanessa didn’t expect to discover was how this town and its residents came to matter to her. How closing down the one business that is part of practically everyone’s lives isn’t the smart thing to do. Or how much one man, his teenage daughter, and a whole lot of strangers would come to matter more than any job she’s ever taken on – to the point where finding another viable solution becomes more important than pleasing her bosses with another shut-down factory.

A Heartfelt Christmas Promise came alive for me with believable characters, a real-life situation that affects so many, the charm and the craziness of small towns, and how just the right person can make such a difference in another’s life. Call it love or fate, doesn’t matter really but knowing that you’ve found exactly what you didn’t know you were searching for comes across so strongly in Vanessa’s and Mike’s story. Plus the antics of one adorable puppy and some very majestic horses… and I was hooked from beginning to end.

I easily got lost in this world, and if you love a really good romance centered around the one thing that makes a small town unique and the rush to save it… along with falling in love then have I got a great story for you. A Heartfelt Christmas Promise should be on your reading list this holiday season (or any time of the year, really). (This story really needs to be a Hallmark movie event.)

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher, St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

When Vanessa Larkin gets sent to Fraser Hills, North Carolina instead of Paris on a company project, she is pleasantly surprised at what she finds in the quaint small town. She is sent to shut down Porter's, the fruitcake factory founded by Mike Marshall's family, right at Christmas time. As she begins to get to know the employees and people of the town, will she be able to do her job or will she find another way to please both her boss and her new friends. This is a great Christmas read that will give you all the feels of a Hallmark movie.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

My Review: I had the good fortune to meet Nancy a couple of years ago at a book convention and have fallen in love with her holiday books. This one hit so many of my buzz words and favorite tropes; small town, horses, dogs, forced proximity, single parent, busy city business person being forced to slow down during the holidays. We get all of that and so much more. I loved that the female lead is the busy business woman, making her way in the corporate world and making it work. I loved the side characters in this book, the overly helpful assistant and nosey older gentleman, the added so much to the story. Mike is so much of what I love wrapped up in a single character, strong, kind of gruff, works hard and loves harder. While some of this book is a bit hard hitting, especially in the current economical times, it is still so uplifting, exactly what we need in the holiday season.

Vanessa Larkin has been a mainstay at ACG in Chicago. It’s just about Christmas and she knows she is in line for one of two plum assignments, one in a beautiful Christmas-themed town in Washington (probably Leavenworth) and one, the one she really wants, in Paris, France. She manages to hide her shock when she finds out that instead she’s being sent to Fraser Hills, North Carolina to shut down Porter’s, an iconic fruitcake bakery, to convert their property into warehouse for a large sports merchandising client. She’ll do her job, even if her hearts not in it. And then she gets to know the people of Fraser Hills and Porter’s.

Vanessa’s cousin joins her in Fraser Hills and together they connect with new friends and new loves. She thought she was there to save the town, but it becomes obvious that what her employer wants and what she knows is best don't match. She needs another plan. Something she’s really good at.

Another Nancy Naigle story with heart, complex character and a happy, if unexpected, ending. I love how she manages to take what seems like a bleak situation and turn it around with logic and love.

I received a copy of the book from NetGalley. The opinion is my own.

There are some holiday reads that are just perfect for a great escape. This book was one of them! Vanessa is a very ambitious, driven, Chicago-based woman who thinks that her next work assignment will take her to Paris. Instead she is sent to Fraser Hills, NC in order to close down their fruitcake factory and turn it into warehouse space-during the Christmas holidays!
Mike's family used to own the fruitcake factory. Now his teenaged daughter works there and Mike runs the family business of raising Percheron horses. Mike's not fond of change as he's already lost his wife and part of his family.
The story is somewhat familiar to those of us that watch Hallmark holiday movies-woman comes to small town and learns to appreciate small-town living and the holidays. Man who is raising daughter on his own finally finds love again. That being said, the story was heartwarming.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Loved this book put me right in the Christmas spirit even if it’s months early.Warm storyline characters that come alive.Will be recommending to all my friends who will love this sweet read.#netgalley#st.martins

A Heartfelt Christmas Promise by Nancy Naigle is definitely heartwarming and romantic. The story opens with Vanessa, a real estate developer, looking at the home of her dreams, but is let down by her realtor because it's out of her price range. The realtor is hopeful but Vanessa is adamant about not going over her budgeted price range. To add to her down mood, Vanessa, speaking to her cousin Anna, admits that she really doesn't love the man she has been seeing for the past three years and will be breaking up the relationship. One more disappointment to come, Vanessa is given an assignment by her boss that is quite unexpected because it's not one of the two assignments she was expecting to get. Instead Vanessa is sent to North Carolina to shut down a business and make arrangements to put another business that needs the warehouse space for an expansion. Accepting her fate, Vanessa goes to Fraser Hills, North Carolina to shut down the town's fruitcake business and install a sporting goods business in the warehouse buildings. Now the fun begins as things aren't what they seem. The fruitcake business is established, prosperous and having consolidated operations is not using the buildings the sporting goods business needs. Vanessa makes a few decisions that she feels will benefit the older fruitcake personnel but ends up with resentful townspeople. Also Vanessa's boss won't listen to any suggestions to save the fruitcake business and set up the sporting goods warehousing without any adverse problems. All throughout these goings on Vanessa has developed feelings for a townsman and he's unhappy with her business dealings. Everything ends well as Vanessa finds the original agreement about the sale of the fruitcake business to the developer, the problems created by an associate and saving the fruitcake business and her romance. It's the holidays and the town and its people are truly in the Christmas spirit.

Heartwarming. Small town feel.
A task to be done over the holidays with a hefty monetary bonus can be earned. A surprise leads to a heartwarming story as the bonus is more than what was bargained for..

A Great book. I enjoyed every page of it. It held my attention from start to finish. Wonderful story line and engaging characters. I believe Buck was my favorite. And who wouldn't love Scooter.

This is a darling, heartwarming, Christmas tale about one woman’s unexpected surprise when she visits a quaint town at Christmas. With the intention of shutting down a business formerly owned by townsfolk, she’s met with resistance and initially wonders what will happen to her long awaited accolades for her dedication to the company she works for. She and her visiting cousin are met with unexpected romances and a growing love for a small town at Christmas.

Vanessa Larkin just agreed to an out-of-town job assignment over the holidays. With the promise of a hefty bonus if she can get things done by the new year she heads for tiny Fraser Hills. Determined to succeed, she’s not worried about whipping the shutdown process into overdrive to meet the challenge. Only when she gets there she realizes her bosses haven’t been upfront with the town about the plans to shut down the plant.
Mike Marshall, a widower raising a teenaged daughter, is a big believer in tradition and doing things the old-fashioned way. When Mike finds out his grandfather has sold the family business to some big corporation, he’s angry.
when Vanessa gets to town and works with the people in Fraser Hills she doesn't think the plant needs to close and there is enough of a warehouse that can be used for what her company wants without having to close the plant but her boss says no, shut it down or else.
Vanessa has gotten to know Mike's daughter and grandfather not even realizing they are all related.
Great town to live in and they all watch out for each other.

Loved this wonderful Christmas story by Nancy! The holiday season certainly does bring miracles! It was a warm and fun loving story that was hard to put down, thus making it a quick read!

I love to read Nancy Naigle's books! She always writes about great towns and makes you want to go there even if you know they are just in the book. You want to meet all the characters because they would be the type of people you would want to live around! Well most of them!! There always has to be a spoiler doesn't there? You keep writing Nancy and I will keep reading!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Even though I'm writing this in August, this Christmas story really put me in a holiday mood. The main characters are strong and the supporting characters (and animals!) added a lot of charm. I really felt for the tough business decisions Vanessa had to make and the impact those decisions would have on this charming North Carolina town. I haven't read this author before, but I'm going to be reading her previous books shortly. Thoroughly enjoyed this one.

Vanessa is very good at her job and hoped to be rewarded with a project either in Paris or Leavenworth, WA. She was shocked and disappointed when, instead, she was assigned the project to shut down Porter's Fruitcake Factory in Fraser Hills, North Carolina.. Having done shut downs before, she set off hoping to complete the project quickly. She always had made it a rule not to become involved with the local community. The longer she is there this becomes almost impossible. With her cousin in tow, they become immersed in this lovely small town and the wonderful people that call it home. Unexpected romances for Vanessa and her cousin add to the charm of this story.
This beautifully told story is heart warming and a pleasure to read. The setting and the cast of characters are charming. This book is well worth reading. Highly recommended.

I received an ARC of this delightful Christmas story. Great characters, beautiful setting and heartwarming townspeople make this an unforgettable tale. I couldn't put it down!

Vanessa Larkin is career-oriented and has no current plans to marry, despite the proposal from her longtime boyfriend, Robert. As she awaits her latest assignment at work, she hopes that it will be in Paris, France, or Leavenworth, Washington, because it would be a great place to spend Christmas with her cousin, Anna. However, Vanessa is given the unpleasant task of going to Fraser Hills and preparing to shut down Porter’s, a fruitcake factory, to make room for turning it into space for storing sports equipment. Upon arrival, Vanessa is struck by how friendly the town folks are, though they don’t know the real reason she’s there.

Single father Mike Marshall is continuing the family tradition of raising horses and raising his teenage daughter, Misty. The arrival of the bigwig corporate executive Vanessa has him suspicious, though when they first met and he didn’t know who she was, he found her intriguing. Since he became a widower, he hasn’t dated. While Mike and Vanessa aren’t thinking of each other in a romantic way, their friendship soon develops into something more.

Nancy Naigle always delivers with a warmhearted Christmas themed story and she has done it once more with A HEARTFELT CHRISTMAS PROMISE. Vanessa lives in Chicago and is currently looking for a house to buy. The extra bonus money for completing the project in Fraser Hills will help her land the house she has an eye on. Since the people in town are helpful and friendly to her, she must tread carefully so as to not act like she is betraying their friendship. She soon digs into the company books and learns how the fruitcake operation is run and is surprised at how they have managed to make the company profitable. A few changes here and there will get it to work even better.

A HEARTFELT CHRISTMAS PROMISE is one of those books that is filled with enjoyment, feelings of goodness, and happiness. Vanessa works hard to make it right for the people who work and live in Fraser Hills. But once her task is completed, will everyone be happy—and will Vanessa end up staying? Find out the answers by reading A HEARTFELT CHRISTMAS PROMISE. You won’t be sorry.