Cole is a firefighter in Pine Hill. Sophie owns The Threaded Needle. Sophie finds Cole’s journal in a church donation book box. She tried to return it. Cole does not want it back. Sparks start to fly. The butterflies notice, and start to work. This was a great holiday read.

What a great read. I enjoyed it from beginning to end. It pulled at all of the emotional heartstrings. A must read for the holidays.

This book reads like a Hallmark movie because it’s published by Hallmark and let me tell you I’m here for it.
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Sophie works at a quilt shop and volunteers all over her small town. As she was going through a box of donated books at the church, she came across Former Marine and current firefighter, Cole’s journal.
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Cole struggled and a marine chaplain suggested he write everything down in his journal. Wanting to put that all behind him he doesn’t want to see that journal again or remember the past.
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However, anything can happen in a small town including a grown woman getting stuck in a tree chasing a cat, an adorable sledding scene and the power of love and comfort a quilt, made with love can offer.
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Because it’s a small town, because it’s a Christmas, because It’s Hallmark I don’t need to tell you Sophie will help Cole put the demons of his past behind him.
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If you are looking for a sweet, wholesome Christmas book this is perfect.
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Thank you #NetGalley and #Hallmark publishing for an arc in exchange for an honest review

Lovely Christmas Romance

As a romance reader, I'm a total sucker for the wounded hero trope, so this series is right up my alley. In this book, both the hero and heroine are decent, relatable characters. I am a nurse who has seen some suffering from PTSD, and I think the author did an excellent job showing the inner thoughts and personal demons the man had to slay. The interaction between the couple was so awkward for so long, but completely understandable, and I could feel the pull between them—even when they were denying it. I love the idea of the Quilts of Valor. A lovely Christmas story that delivers the feels you want a holiday story to have.

So I will admit it. I love watching all the cheesy Hallmark movies at Christmastime, even more so this year because I just need something predictable and that I don’t have to think about. I know they are not well written pieces of work, but I love them nonetheless.

I will say, though, I thought this book was well written. It has so much more depth then the movies have, which is typical for books.

The books are even better then the moves for the reason above and because you get to become fully immersed in the town the story takes place. It’s like wrapping a warm blanket around you.

If you are still looking for a cozy Christmas story this one might be right up your alley,.

A copy of this book was given to me through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Wrapped up in Christmas was such a heartwarming story. The character development between Cole and Sophie was great - but so was everyone else in the story. I felt like I was there laughing with everyone in the community and experiencing their Christmas celebrations.
I didn’t read the first story in this 2-book series but it still read well and I didn’t feel like there were any gaps. Because this was such a great story though, I will probably go back and read the first book in the series because I cannot get enough of the Pine Hill community.

Wrapped Up in Christmas Joy by Janice Lynn is a sweet, heartwarming story of the Christmas holiday season.

It has a gentle, outreaching heroine in quilt shop owner Sophie and a cautious, guilt ridden retired Marine, Cole, who is now part of the local firefighter team, fight fires and rescue the odd cat up a tree.

Sophie and Cole are thrown together as they canvas for goods for giving to children in need at Christmas and while reluctant, Cole finds it difficult to resist her charms. Although he doesn't want to be her charity case as Sophie is known for her soft heart. Ask Stitches the cat!

A sweet, small town Christmas story that plays out gently and predictably.

This is a delightful Christmas romance!

I love both of the main characters. Cole and Sophie and incredibly well developed and easy to connect with. I love the fact that they were connected by veterans. Cole is a veteran with huge emotional wounds from his time in the military. Sophie on the other hand has many memories of her father, who was a veteran with huge emotional wounds.

I loved seeing how their friendship developed. Sophie was doing all she could to befriend Cole while he was doing everything to prevent becoming her friend. There were many moments that had me laughing out loud while I was listening to this audiobook.

I had never heard of the Quilts of Love Foundation before reading this wonderful story. It is a marvelous organization and Sophie is deeply involved in it. I learned a lot about it and the work that they do.

The book is written from alternating viewpoints. It goes back and forth from Sophie to Cole. I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that this audiobook has two narrators. They both did a wonderful job making the story come to life.

I received a complimentary copy of this eBook from the publisher, through NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All of the opinions expressed are my own.

I loved this Christmas story! It definitely gives me Hallmarm vibes throughout and is a fun quick read. I'm not a huge fan of sewing and thought that was a bit old fashioned but besides that it was a great holiday read!

Thank you to Hallmark Publishing and NetGalley for a copy to honestly review.

What an emotional Christmas Romance this was! This is a wonderfully written story about overcoming demons and breaking down walls to allow someone special into your heart; to learn what it feels like to be loved unconditionally by someone who truly cares for you. The relationship between Cole and Sophie was a lot of give and take. Cole tried so hard not to get emotionally tied to Sophie and Sophie tried so hard not to push Cole away. As their friendship progressed they had lots of fun times filled with laughter. I liked that they were both very generous people and were willing to sacrifice their time to better the lives of others. I also liked being introduced to the Quilts of Valor Foundation, Sophie's passion. The symbolism of the quilt Sophie made for Cole was such a touching sentiment. If you like a feel-good love story, this is the book for you!
Thank you to NetGalley and Hallmark Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I love Hallmark Christmas stories and this was perfect.
Heartwarming, sweet and festive.
Good character and plot development, great Christmas atmosphere, a lovely setting.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This was just the book I needed to bring me some Christmas spirit. A sweet love story with Christmas magic thrown in.

Oh my WORD this is a great story! This book makes me want to grab a hot cocoa and watch the Hallmark channel during Christmas! If you love a sweet, clean story about love and forgiveness, THIS one is it. I seriously could not put the book down - and I read it in 48 hours or less. You will ADORE the characters and will love how it ends! Grab this one up and enjoy!

Just the perfect hallmark Christmas story. Like abs Ke cgaracters abd a military connection add up to a heartwarming festive treat x

A charming Christmas story between a Veteran and a quilt maker. I enjoyed the story and the idea of making quilts for returning solider's to comfort them. I also liked that this was a return visit as I read and loved Wrapped Up In Christmas last year. Catching up with these characters again was fun. A sweet Christmas romance.

This is an all-American, boy-meets-girl, sweet and clean romance. There' is a brooding, slightly damaged hero, an apple-pie heroine and a wonderful community spirit. Team this up with festivities in abundance and you have a feel-goo, heartwarming read which will really get you in the mood for Christmas.

You know those special books you read where you feel like your actually living in the book itself? Well this is one of those books. As soon as I opened the first page I felt like I walked right into the middle of a snow dusted, festive, full of Christmas magic town and I loved every minute of it. This book is about a brooding army veteran named Cole who is trying to find his feet back on U.S. soil defending our country in another way, by being a fireman. He has a dark past and the one girl he may be falling for only gives him the time of day because she pities him and the darkness that follows him, at least that’s what he thinks. Sophie however has a heart of gold and sees anything but a veteran with a dark past, but a hero with a bright future ahead of him. With Sophie’s kindness, mad sewing skills and a bit of Christmas magic she may be able to convince him he’s more then his past.

Wrapped Up in Christmas Joy by Janice Lynn is the second in a series by Hallmark Publishing. In 2019 the first book Wrapped Up in Christmas was published. Both books deal with Veterans and Quilts of Valor. I come from a military family and I love the author’s message of respect, sacrifice, healing and growth. I am all in for most Hallmark books and movies, especially the Christmas ones so needless to say this book was right in my wheelhouse.

Wrapped Up In Christmas Joy brings some real world issues that many military families experience PTSD and survivor’s guilt. It is a nightmare for those who served and those that love them. The story is well done and gentle as well as realistic. It tells the story of one soldier’s experience and the lies he tells himself about not being worthy of love about the woman who falls in love with him.

This was a lovely story. I enjoyed the characters and felt that they were well developed right down to the secondary ones. The setting was artfully crafted so that you could see the small town where this story takes place. I am hoping that Hallmark makes this into one of it’s Christmas Movies! I highly recommend this book and guarantee it will not disappoint. I am hoping that there is another installment to this series!

I would like to thank Hallmark Publishing, Janice Lynn and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Wrapped up in Christmas Joy is the second book in the Wrapped up in Christmas series by author Janice Lynn. These stories are set in Pine Hill, Kentucky and are the heartwarming stories of the affect of Christmas love on the souls of American soldiers who have seen and lived horrible things.

This story centers on Sophie Grace Davis, co-owner of The Threaded Needle quilting and needle craft shop and local director of the Quilts of Valor project, and former Marine, now fire fighter, Cole Aaron.

Cole mistakenly includes the journal he wrote at the direction of his counselor when he returned from a tragic Middle East deployment in a box of donations for the church rummage sale. As the commander of the mission, Cole takes all blame for the ambush that lost some of his men. He feels he has no hope for a future and that the best he can do is to continue doing acts of good to try to make amends for such a black mark on his soul.

Sophie Grace Davis is the one who was helping to sort donations and came upon his journal. She was desperate to find its rightful owner feeling that the journal in this box was a gross mistake. She gave a donation to the church and took the box to try to find the owner. She finally discovers it is Cole Aaron’s, the newest firefighter in their small town. When she tries to return it she is taken aback by his response that he not only never wants to see the journal again, but he also never wants to see the woman that has read his journal, even if reading it started as an effort to discover his identity and ended a connection to her soul.

In a small town, two people who are consummate volunteers are bound to be brought together, which Sophie and Cole are with the annual toy drive to help children in need. When the others in their committee conspire to put Sophie and Cole together, a truce is called for the good of the children. As the story unfolds, as much as Sophie’s sister Isabelle is against her baby sister becoming involved with a veteran, the local group of matriarchs, the Butterflies, seem determined to bring them together.

In a delightful holiday story, the residents of Pine Hill will bring joy to the reader. This is a lovely story that I very much enjoyed. Perfect for a holiday read, I do recommend this book

In 2019, Janice Lynn's book Wrapped Up in Christmas was published. This year, it is Wrapped Up in Christmas Joy. Both books deal with veterans and quilts of valor. I loved them both, with their message of respect, healing, remembrance, sacrifice and moving on. Sophie Davis finds a journal in a box of books donated to the church. She buys it and reads it, feeling the pain that had gone into the words. Imagine her surprise when she finds out that it belongs to the newest firefighter in her community and it was donated by mistake. She tries to return it to former Marine Cole Aaron, but he just wants her to destroy it. She can feel his pain and wants to help him. He does not want her pity, but they seem to get thrown together over and over. Gradually a friendship develops and then the feelings become deeper. Sophie wants to make a Quilt of Valor for Cole, but will he accept it?

This was a sweet and fun story. I enjoyed the characters, and felt that they were well developed, even several of the secondary ones. I enjoy small-town stories and the customs and events that go along with that. The toy drive and fun rivalry between the teams added some humour and fun to the story. There was some serious issues involving PTSD, new beginnings for military personnel, but it was all wrapped up in Christmas cheer and a caring community. I definitely recommend this one.