Review of The Santa Suit by Mary Kay Andrews

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This holiday novella is so sweet and perfect. I devoured it and while I liked in some ways that is was short because I felt quite accomplished finishing it, I am NOT ready to be done with these amazing characters. I love their small town and I love everyone in it. I want to move there. My favorite was the relationship between Ivy and Lawrence.

Quick synopsis: Ivy Perkins is struggling. Her marriage just ended in divorce and her business is struggling so she decides to leave Atlanta and move to a huge, old farmhouse in a rural North Carolina town. She immediately falls in love with her house even though it’s in much need of TLC. She discovers the previous owners left many of their belongings including an old Santa Suit. Bob was the town Santa and she discovers a note from a little girl asking for her daddy to come home from the Vietnam war in the pocket of the suit. She becomes obsessed with finding the little girl who wrote that letter so many years ago. She also finds friends who are clearly going to become family and no holiday book is complete without a sweet romance. This is a must read this holiday

A true heart-warming holiday story! All of the boxes are checked with this one. I loved the small town vibes that The Santa Suit had. I’ve been a huge fan of Mary Kay Andrews and this one was one of her best. If this doesn’t get you into the holiday spirit, I don’t know what will!

I love the fact that Ivy is a strong woman who was willing to leave her ex behind, come to a new place and start over. She’s sort of sad, a little bittersweet at the beginning, but you see her change. The holiday season, the house and the suit all make such a difference.

The side characters are all wonderfully engaging, you want to sit down and talk to them, gossip and get to know each one… And I definitely need to be choosier next time I find a realtor!

The magic of the Santa suit is seen throughout the book, but I love the real surprise it brings.

Enjoyed this quick and easy read. It's almost like reading a Hallmark Christmas movie script. I could see each eccentric character and the charming village all decorated for the holidays.

After reading some heavy books, I need a quick light read! This fit the bill. I love some hallmarky Xmas books. 🎅🎄🎁

After a tough year, ivy buys an old farmhouse site unseen. The old owners left all the contents inside. Ivy finds a beautiful Santa suit. Her realtor is hot. Yup, you know where this is going.

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for an advanced copy in return for an honest review.

This was a fun fast read! The Santa Suite was just magical. I couldn't put it down but didn't want it to end. If you are only reading one Christmas story read this one.

I flew through this novel and it is so adorable! Ivy Perkins buys this beautiful farmhouse sight unseen in the mountains of what I envision is outside Asheville. She needs a complete change after a terrible divorce, and this seems to be the perfect town to make a change.

Ezra is the real estate agent that sells her the home, and he just keeps appearing with the kindest, thoughtful gestures.

While moving in, Ivy finds this amazing Santa suit and it sets her off on a journey to find out what happened to that sweet little girl who’s letter to Santa is tucked away in the pocket.

I enjoyed the growing attraction between Ezra and Ivy, and I dare say that I loved the storyline of the letter even more?? It was perfectly done, and the tiny bit of mystery involved was just lovely. Wrap that up with the ending and I am singing this little novel’s praises! So well done, Mary Kay Andrews, so well done!

I highly recommend this be on your Christmas reads list, gift it to a friend, share with your bookclub. Just read it, y’all!

This is a Hallmark Christmas Movie in a book, with all of the elements that make you adore the entire genre, especially when you add in Andrew's wit and ability to weave a tale.

How much can one really not do Christmas, when the house they just bought is legendary and iconic for the entire town?

It's short, delightful, and heartwarming and a great book to be devoured by the fire with some hot chocolate or mulled wine.

Mary Kay Andrews knocked The Santa Suit out of the park by meeting all the holiday book criteria. ⁣
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Big city girl moving to small town ✔️ ⁣
Facing a life change ✔️ ⁣
Needing a little Christmas magic ✔️ ⁣
Quaint town, full of friendly people and Christmas Sprit ✔️⁣
Cute neighbor next door ✔️⁣
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So basically the same qualities that makes for a hallmark movie. In one word the book was cozy. It was quick. It was like seeing a Hallmark movie unfold on the pages of a book. ⁣
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Plus it was set in a fictional town in North Carolina, loved that nod to my home state. I enjoyed it all.⁣
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Thank you St Martin’s Press and Mary Kay Andrews for a copy of this cute holiday read!

Mary Kay Andrews is one of my favorites so I was really excited to read her holiday novella, The Santa Suit! It will definitely make for fun and quick read this holiday season!

Novella’s have been perfect for my attention span lately! The Santa Suit is a heartwarming holiday novella about second chances, family (both biological and found), and how anything can happen at Christmastime. I loved the small town feel and how the friendly neighbors were a part of the story. Mary Kay Andrews’ books always seem to have a little mystery to them and I loved how the Santa suit was at the center of it.

The romance storyline wasn’t quite my favorite. It seemed a little forced and random among the other parts of the plot. I also would have loved more Christmas vibes. The story mostly focus on the mystery, the romance, and the renovations of Ivy’s farmhouse. Everything did come together really well at the end though. It would make a great book to read in one afternoon by the Christmas tree with a cup of hot cocoa!

Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the gifted copies!

This story is like a peppermint hot chocolate, or a mocha. I mean; I could be super full and not at all in the mood for something sweet but I’ll still take one or the other. This is a sweet story that is utterly predictable, but mega charming. And, after the past 18 months of my life, I’ll totally take it. Recommend.

"The Santa Suit" by Mary Kay Andrews is a fun, sweet, quick novel. Great characters, lovely small town setting, and a wonderful chain of events. This book was uplifting and heartwarming. Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for the e-read for review. All opinions are my own.

This was a sweet Christmas novel. I was rooting for Ivy - buying a huge house sight unseen. It had a fun Christmas spirit. The ending had a twist that I wasn’t expecting.

Another fabulous book by MKA! I felt like I was in the middle of a Hallmark Christmas movie with this one. Sweet, cozy and all around feel-good, The Santa Suit is perfect for the Christmas season!

This book reminded me of a Hallmark Movie. It was cute and festive with a twist at the end. Thank you, NetGalley for the book in return for a review.

I am not normally drawn to sweet and seasonal reads but WE HAVE HAD SOME TRAUMA in the last 18 months so let's embrace all things warm and fuzzy and CHRISTMAS! I enjoyed this book! Sweet feel-good read, with a heavy Christmas season setting, throw in a little romance, a historical mystery, and that would be my description of The Santa Suit! The page length is perfect, and the references to a local candy shop definitely has me wishing for some real life Dark Chocolate Pepperymint Patties! And maybe even a Santa suit for the family!

A quick very enjoyable read for the upcoming holidays. Ivy moves to a new town and everyone she meets somehow intertwines with others in the town all because of a Santa suit. This story will be enjoyed by both young adults and older.

I think I've grown used to Mary Kay Andrews's more recent style to a point it took me three quarters of the book to believe there wasn't some big conspiracy, that one was dead, and no one would be getting killed. This is a heartwarming, romantic Christmas story.

Ivy decided to change her life after her divorce, so she bought a big house in the country as well as a box of chicks she intends to raise there in the farm with her rescue dog. She had no idea the house would come not only with the furniture but a lot of the previous owners' precious possessions, like a Santa suit they used every Christmas to receive all the kids from the region. Not to mention the cute and very helpful realtor, who keeps making her life easier.

3.5, rounded up.

This was surely sweet and hopeful, the right amount of sugar I needed.

Ivy isn't having the best time of her life having lost her husband, her company, and even her best and only client. However, the plot was a little far fetched, just like you'd expect from a Hallmark holiday movie, and it ticked me off a bit. All of a sudden she wants to find out who this girl is out of a million letters to Santa and that leads to a very good new client as well as well directly to the girls grandfather? I think Andrews just wanted to get the story out without worrying abut much and I really feel it's a little bit of therapy reading it, because everything is perfect and nice, as if the world isn't in the middle of a pandemic. For that reason, keep it in mind not to expect much from the book, the plot isn't complex, Ivy is hardworking but has some random moments that I can only see as "I need to advance the plot, no reasons given", which made it hard for me to like her much as a character or even pity her despite it being clear how her life had reached rock bottom.

Anyway, as a non-consequential romance for the holidays, this book excels. It has a few plot twists I hadn't foreseen and that got me laughing/gasping. Also, it's all very lovely. If you need to get away from life for a few days, this is a wonderful choice.

This was such a great way to kick off my holiday reading! The Santa Suit is a sweet and magical story that just brings out my holiday spirit. I adored the main character, Ivy as she is trying to start her new life being newly divorced. The community she lands in is so caring, and I felt like I was in the midst of their Winter Stroll. I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a sweet Christmas story.

Santa Suit was a cute holiday read. I enjoyed the characters and really connected with Ivy! Her personality was so loveable. I did feel at times the writing felt a little choppy, but it didn’t stop me from reading. Overall a cute and fun holiday read.