I found this little Christmas novel utterly charming and a fun read. It's a feel good book that should be on everyone's Christmas reading list. It begins with newly divorced Ivy Perkins purchasing an old farmhouse sight unseen. She wants to make a new life for herself in a new home and in a new place. As one might expect from an unseen purchase - the condition of the farmhouse is not what Ivy expected - not to mention, it is filled with old furniture, junk and memorabilia. When Ivy finds a beautiful and very old Santa suit stored in a box in a closet. That pivotal discovery -- along with the note obviously written by a child - that wishes for her father to return home from the service.

Ivy can't resist the challenge of finding out who wrote the note and whether the father ever returned. So many unanswered questions. To solve the mystery, Ivy has to overcome her desire to hibernate and get more involved in the local community - which ultimately helps her recover from her heartache over her divorce.

Mary Kay Andrews never fails to create enjoyable, sentimental, heart warming books that help a reader escape into the characters lives and be charmed. I really enjoyed this little book.

It’s Christmas in July for me :)

This adorable romance hit all the sweetness you want when it comes to holiday romance reads. Divorcee comes to small town not looking for love, but a change of pace from her big city life.

When Ivy’s hottie real estate neighbor helps her move into her shamble of a farm house, they find an old Santa Suit and find the former owners were the town Christmas house.
Can Ivy put the sparkle back in her life and shake the ice off her love life as well?

The Santa Suit by Mary Kay Andrews was a delightful read. I enjoyed the characters and description of the town. Even reading about Christmas during a hot week in July, I was still able to visualize the environments in the book thanks to great descriptions. I would recommend this book for a quick, enjoyable read.

The Santa Suit, by Mary Kay Andrews, is the perfect feel good story for the holidays about a young, recently divorced women who is starting over in a small town in North Carolina. It made for a marvelous and entertaining read everyone is sure to enjoy.
After her divorce, Ivy Perkins, decides a change of scenery is just what she needs and purchases an old farm house on a couple of acres sight unseen. She arrives at her new home with her dog Punkin, some baby chicks, and what few possessions she has managed to pack into her car. A far cry from her life in Atlanta as the co-owner of a PR firm.
She is meet by Ezra, the helpful real estate agent, who sold her the property and just happens to be her neighbor. A very good looking neighbor and he turns out to be very handy with the little problems that crop up. The first problem is all the furniture and things from the previous owners.
Ivy starts settling in and going through some of the things left behind. During this process she runs across an old Santa suit with a crumbled note in the pocket. The old note is from a girl asking for her father to return from the war. This note intrigues her and she can’t resist the urge to find out more about this girl. It leads her to many new friends and allows her start healing her broken heart.
This story has so many good things going for it. I loved the plot and the setting of a small, rural community which was perfect for this type of story. The mystery of the note was a fantastic plot device that helped the story move along in a believable way.
Loved Ivy and her unflappable attitude and strong sense of person. She is a take life by the horns type of person. Just the type of strong, yet feminine character, I enjoy reading about. The supporting characters were just as good and they complimented the story and Ivy’s character wonderfully.
Everyone needs a little dose of the Christmas magic throughout the year and this is the book to give you that. I highly recommend it for all those who love stories with feeling.
I received a free copy from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

I love Christmas in July! I love how Ivy just fits in this town. You can always tell when you make a right choice in life when things start falling into place. Now, when she was having problems in her house, could she have turned around and run....sure! She met the right people though and everything worked out!

When Ivy Perkins buys an old farmhouse sight unseen, she finds it full of generations of stuff. In the process of cleaning it out, she finds a beautiful velvet Santa suit in a box on a closet shelf.

The pocket of the Santa suit contains a letter from a little girl who only wants her father to come home from the war. Charmed and intrigued, Ivy begins a quest to find out what happened to the girl.

Her search brings her into the heart of the community, and the surprising revelations will warm the heart of the most cynical reader. Recommended.

A fun and cute Christmas read with some holiday cheer. It was fun watching Ivy discover things from her family's past that she had no idea about before. A quick and enjoyable read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

This was the cutest story and just like a hallmark Christmas movie but as a book. It was a really fast read and just a fluffy awesome rom com. When Ivy Perkins and her dog Punkin buy an old farmhouse sight unseen, she is definitely looking for a change in her life and while the house is a little more of a fixer upper then she thought it well she is ok with that. Ezra Wheeler the realtor who sold her the house is attractive guy who is there is lend a helping hand with anything she needs and of course sparks fly even when she doesn’t think she is ready. When Ivy finds an old Santa suit in the house with a note in the pocket from a little girl who wanted Santa to bring her dad back home from the war safe and sound. She has a mystery on her hands and starts trying to track down who the girl was and what happened with her wish from Santa. Oh man this was just so great and I really loved it.

Thanks to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book in e-book form. All opinions in this review are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC.

Ivy is nine months out from settling her divorce when she packs up and moves to a small town in the hills of North Carolina. She has bought an old farmhouse, sight unseen, and is ready to start over. As Ivy begins to meet some of the town residents, she starts to see some Christmas magic at play.

It’s reminiscent of a hallmark movie, where a freshly divorced, city girl leaves Atlanta for a small town in the mountains of North Carolina. There’s unexpected love, Christmas tree farms, fixer-uppers, and even a town Christmas celebration. I loved every bit of it. And at just over 200 pages, this charming southern Christmas story can be consumed in one sitting.

It’s the perfect Christmas novel for anyone who loves MKA's writing, a good Hallmark movie, and a warm Christmas love story on a cold night.

The Red Santa Suit found in the Rose Farmhouse with a note inside from years ago was the setting for this book. It opened the door and set the stage for the curiosity of the new owner of the home. This was a lovely book, heartwarming and cozy just right for the upcoming Christmas holiday. Mary Kay Andrews never disappoints and this story was sweet. My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martian’s Publishing Group for bringing the Santa Suit by Mary Kay Andrews to me in July. It was fun reading about snow and cold when it’s 90 plus degrees outside. What a fun; cute; entertaining Christmas read with a little bit of romance and mystery throw in. Short and sweet and well worth your time. Publishing date is September 28, 2021. Mark your calendars!,

The Santa Suit is a quick, easy holiday fiction read. It has traditional Mary Kay Andrews romance, a tinge of mystery, and an all in all feel good storyline. I always enjoy a Mary Kay Andrews read.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the chance to read this ARC on my Kindle!

It's Christmas in July, and boy is it festive and magical. In the middle of a summer heatwave, visiting a small mountain town in North Carolina was just the thing to cool down (that, and a sturdy air conditioner).

Mary Kay Andrews has over 40 books published; this was my first but I can definitely see myself going to her back catalog when I need a heartwarming tale. Such is the one of recent divorcee Ivy, who moves up to North Carolina from Atlanta after a tough divorce. She's taken a leap of faith and bought and old farmhouse, sight unseen.

Turns out, the couple who had owned it had been part of the fabric of the townspeople - the Christmas fabric, to be exact. Ivy tries to stay to herself but somehow gets pulled in by the charms of the farmhouse - and of her real estate agent turned handyman turned something more, Ezra.

There's also the mystery of the photography Ivy finds in an old Santa Suit that lets the author seamlessly weave Ivy into the lives of the other characters - as if by magic.

The writing is sweet and effortless and comforting - I would recommend this novel whether it's Christmas of it's July.

Ivy Perkins buys a farmhouse in a small town to start over after her divorce shortly before Christmas. Turns out she bought the former home of a Christmas-loving couple. On a quest to find the writer of a note she found in an old Santa suit, she makes connections and begins to find her way again. A quick, cute, predictable Christmas-themed read.

An easy, refreshing read filled with warm, caring characters, an idyllic small town, and a story that is perfect for a made-for-tv Christmas movie. With a principal character, Ivy, who moves into a 100-year old farmhouse, we experience what it might be like to begin setting down roots in a new place. She is intent on a clean break with her old life and following dreams that will hopefully lead to happiness.

There are supporting characters who are well drawn and who most people would like to meet; from Phoebe, the slightly awkward, good hearted girl who befriends Ivy to Ezra, the real estate salesman who doubles as a jack of all trades, Ivy's new set of friends is off to a good start. She also befriends a much older town resident and a business woman who needs help marketing, and helping these two gives Ivy purpose and a return in terms of friendship and caring.

Washing over the entire story is the history of the farmhouse Ivy bought. It was the local '"fantasy in lights" house whose residents were the town Santa and Mrs. Clause, complete with beautiful costumes that seem to have retained some of their wearer's embodiment of the Christmas spirit. That magic descends on the people in the present, with heart-warming results.

Overall, a feel-good book that can soothe the soul and provide a smile to the reader. It's a good read for anyone looking for something easy to read that is positive in nature.

Ivy, newly divorced from her cheating husband, leaves Atlanta and buys a rural North Carolina property sight-unseen. Her realtor, Ezra, turns out to be both helpful and handsome. The house had been known for its Christmas light display in the past, but Ivy isn't so sure she wants to get into celebrating Christmas just yet. The previous owner left, among other items, a Santa suit with a child's note in the pocket. Ivy's determined to locate the writer, and meets many kind people in the small town as she searches for Carlette. If you're looking for a feel-good holiday novella with a happily ever after ending, this one fits the bill perfectly. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to review an advance copy.

What a sweet holiday story! Nothing restores your faith like Christmas magic. Follow newly single, Ivy as she moves to a quaint small town. In the furnished home she buys, she finds a Santa suit belonging to the former owner. Inside a pocket of the suit, she finds a letter to Santa which will take her on a journey of family, faith and love. A story that will warm your heart on a cold winters night.

What a heartwarming Christmas story! It's full of happy coincidences; so many, in fact, that I had to suspend disbelief after a while. But the characters were all very likable, there was a bit of mystery, and the plot kept me entertained.
Ivy Perkins, starting over after a painful divorce, buys a charming old farmhouse online, located just outside a small North Carolina town she's never even been to. And it's a fixer-upper. But everyone in town remembers with fondness the former residents, who used to go all-out at Christmas. And of course, that's the first thing they ask Ivy: will she carry on that tradition?
Fortunately, her real estate agent, Ezra Wheeler, meets her upon arrival, and he turns out to be a godsend of a handyman, going way above and beyond the duties of the average real estate agent. And he's not bad to look at, either.
The former residents left all their furniture and most of their other belongings in the house, and their descendants don't have much interest in picking it up. At first, Ivy is annoyed, but she soon finds a treasure trove of antiques and local history. It starts with an old Santa suit that ultimately helps her form a strong connection with her new community.
Thank you to Net Galley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read this touching story.

This is an uplifting, feel good holiday story. It gave me all of the feels as a military spouse. Read this if you want to feel GOOD afterwards. It's like a warm, cozy, Hallmarky hug.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

I am rating the Santa Suit by Mary Kay Andrews 4
stars.

This Christmas novel about a divorced woman, Ivy Perkins, who is on a journey to find herself again while moving to the country to the Four Roses, a historical home complete with chickens and a vintage Santa suit in the attic. There was a sweet romance that builds between Ivy and her realtor, Ezra and many unexpected connections as well.

I found the book easy to read and perfect to get into the Christmas spirit.