“Life is about trying.”
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The Road To Christmas had such a great focus on family -both good and bad. We had stories from grandparents, the parents, and the three adult children all wrapped up into one. The grandparents, Helen and Warren, were very much in love but to the point where they maybe needed a little bit of help. The parents, Michelle and Max, were on the fast track to divorce after this holiday season. The 3 sisters, Audrey, Shula, and Julia, were all dealing with different phases of life -motherhood, new love, and heartbreak. Julia invites everyone to her new home for Christmas and they all decide to go, some more reluctantly than others. A rogue deer, a closed road, and a flat tire all end up being life lessons for everyone traveling. Can a marriage be saved? I’d love at first sight real?
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I really enjoyed the little “blasts from the past” memories sprinkled throughout this novel. We got to see some more depth to how everyone got to be in their current situations. There’s kind of a sense of sadness at the beginning learning about Michelle and Max but the author really cued us in behind the scenes that, perhaps, all love wasn’t lost. Yet. My favorite story line was Audrey’s. She had given up on relationships when “Santa” suddenly drops a handsome man in her world. The epilogue gave us the rest of that story that I needed and absolutely loved it. This story takes place at Christmas and ultimately that’s what brings everyone together but the overall theme was more of the familial relationships, I think. Overall I really enjoyed this book and getting to know this family. Now, off to bake a recipe from the back of the book! 👩🏻‍🍳🍰🎄
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This is a great book. This story is about a family name Turnbull. It includes the grandmother, grandfather, the son, his wife and their three daughters. It is a story of the different faces of love. What you will go through when you are in love.

This was a really good Christmas book. I loved that we followed the entire families journey through love and their road trip. I loved the flashbacks to how the two main characters marriage started. The book does deal with some real life problems and the impacts they have on our lives. However the entire book had a wonderful Christmas feel to it and I really enjoyed it!

This was my first book by Sheila Roberts but it will not be my last. It was a really sweet and true to life Christmas book.

Three different sets of travelers are trying to make their way to Idaho for a big family Christmas. So of course lots of things are going to go wrong. But are they really mistakes ? Or just blessings in disguise? You will have to read this one yourself and find out !

This was (surprisingly) my third Christmas book and it’s only September! It reads just like a Hallmark movie.
Michelle and Max could be your next door neighbors. The problems they have with their marriage are not unique. We could all learn a few things from them.
Audrey and Shyla fight and argue like only sisters do, but you know they love and look out for each other no matter what.
Grandma and Grandpa are getting older but they are determined to make the drive alone.

Cozy up in front of a fire and enjoy this one with some holiday music and a hot beverage.

Thank you to Uplit and Sheila Roberts for my complimentary copy. All thoughts are my own.

It’s time to travel to Julia’s for Christmas! Max and Michelle have three daughters and Julia just had a baby so she doesn’t want to travel. This year everyone is heading to her. But it’s an adventure as all three generations of travelers embark on this journey.

This was a very sweet story. It’s filled with joy, heartache, and humor. It was great seeing all the travelers: Hazel and Warren (the grandparents), Max and Michelle (the parents), and Shyla and Audrey (the daughters) have their own trips. I loved being with this family as they worked through issues or found love along the way.

This would make a great book to read during the holiday season. So cozy, a quick read and reads like a cute Hallmark movie.

Thank you UplitReads & the author for providing me an eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own!

This book reminds readers that things can go wrong on winter road trips. The characters also demonstrate relatable struggles, particularly in relation to family situations. There's not a lot of character growth, as the story occurs during a short period of time. Overall, this is a quick read, complete with family drama and love, to help you get in the holiday mood.

Possible trigger warning; miscarriage

I fell in love with the cover and then I fell in love with this festive story of a road trip and three generation.
Sheila Roberts knows how to write a book that will keep you turning pages as you are involved in the characters and the plot.
A festive and heart warming story, highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I’ve delighted in reading Sheila Roberts’ books for several years. I’m glad I wasn’t consuming a drink while reading because I would have spewed it all over from laughing during so many scenes.
Three sets of relatives are road tripping to Idaho for Christmas. Except there are several mishaps, most unintended along the way. Once couple may find magic, another promises a major life changing occurrence, and the other may make a life time connection.
My favorites were Hazel and Warren. I got such a kick out of them.
But I would love to rustle up a Russ in the middle of nowhere Nevada too!! Jingle all the way!
A chuckle infused holiday read.

This book really captured so many types of family conflict from the minor to the big. It covers three generations all meeting for Christmas at the youngest child's house. Hazel and Warren are the grandparents, driving from Oregon with concerns about their health. Michelle and Max are the parents, stuck driving together from Washington as they plan when to tell their kids they are divorcing. And sisters, Audrey and Shyla, are carpooling from California. While Shyla is happy in her relationship, Audrey is feeling stuck and alone after a breakup.

I would not really classify this as a romance. Instead, I would describe it as a slice of life. We see everything that can go wrong on a winter road trip. And we see people struggle with what family and love mean. Since it takes place over just a few days, we don't really see much character growth.

I liked reading this more than I liked the audiobook. With so many characters, it was quite to tough to tell the voices apart. And it was sometimes tough to track when the scene switched mid-chapter. I think it would have benefited from more narrators.

This is a quick read to get you anticipating the holidays, both the family drama and the love.

Thank you to Mira and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy and to Harper Audio for the audiobook. These opinions are my own.

CW: miscarriage

3.5 stars rounded up

Hallmarkie If Hallmark Did Road Trips. This is one of those almost 80s-cartoon feeling... "interesting"... blends of road trip tale and Hallmark Christmas tale. There are three separate road trips going on here - grandparents, parents, and siblings - all going their own routes and having their own adventures along the way to joining up with youngest sister and her husband and newborn for Christmas. There's some hilarity, some heart strings being pulled, some solid road trip fun, some solid Christmas fun, a lot of small town charm - in multiple small towns, also in departure from pure Hallmark format - and a healthy dose of moralizing/ preaching about the joys of family and the sacrifices we sometimes make for them. (Which is where the "almost 80s-cartoon feeling" comes in.) Ultimately a solid blend of a few different popular formats, and the "shotgun" approach also works quite well and is fairly innovative. Ultimately this is a solid tale well told, and is very much recommended.

This is a very heartwarming book. I like reading holiday books because they are warm and cozy. There are some tough issues going on in this book, but our characters really support each other and help each other get through these things.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

Tucking into a new holiday novel by Sheila Roberts has become an annual tradition for me. I've had the opportunity to meet this author at various book signings over the years. Her personality always puts me in mind of a mischievous elf, with a ready laugh and a twinkle in her eyes, traits clearly evident in her stories. This year's holiday novel, The Road to Christmas is the first holiday story I've read this year and has me ready to ring in the season.

I love multi-generation, family-centric stories, the type at which Roberts excels. There are no secondary characters occupying the role of literary wallpaper in this book. Each member of the three generations of this family is created with care, fully developed, and with an interesting story.

I've also always had a fondness for road romances, a trope used with satisfying success in this book. Each featured member of this family is at a crossroads, facing decisions and dilemmas appropriate to their generation and circumstance. It's a tribute to Roberts' writing that, even though I'm of a age with the grandparents in this story, I was able to easily identify with the women in all three generations. Their journeys are by turns humorous, frightening, enlightening, romantic, and joyful...and I enjoyed them all.

If you're looking for a humorous, heart-tugging novel that will have you wanting to pull out your Christmas decorations and gather your family together, pick up a copy of The Road to Christmas. It's a heartwarming holiday delight.

*ARC received for fair and unbiased review

Sheila Robert’s does it again! Another Christmas book with love, lessons and coming together at Christmas. A series of not so fortunate events along the road to Christmas leads this cast of characters to exactly right where they’re supposed to be! Laughter, tears and a bit of Christmas magic unite to make this book a home run!

This book had a slow start for me but picked up. There is quite a bit of drama in the family and a lot of things to work out. Our main characters getting a divorce, adult children whining about where to have Christmas, In-Laws causing a bit of stress. In other words, pretty much the same things that many readers have dealt with. Sheila Roberts is a great author and I think we can look forward to other great stories in the future.

What a heartwarming book.
Michelle and Max are getting divorced but not going to tell their adullt children until after the holidays. Their youngest daughter Julia wants the family to travel to where she lives, in Idaho, for Christmas.
Their other daughters, Audrey and Shyla, are driving up from California.
The ones with the shortest drive are Grandma and Grandpa, Hazel and Warren.
Michelle and Max have a long ride ahead of them since they have a a lot of anger and hurt between them. Then they run into snow which shuts down roads and they have to share a room together.
Audrey and Shyla get a flat tire in the middle of nowhere and no cell service hoping for someone to stop and help them.
Hazel hates traveling in the snow but warren says they will be fine. But you know how that usually works out.
What happens to all of them during this trip seems to be for the good. You start rooting for all of them and your heart hurts and feels good for them all at the same time.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing MIRA for the book to review.

This was my first book by Sheila Roberts, but it definitely won’t be my last. This holiday story tugged on all of the feelings while also making for a lovely and fun Christmas novel.

The Turnbull family is made up of eclectic, yet very relatable characters, all of different generations and with different perspectives. It’s a humorous, delightful, and sometimes poignant peek at the various roads that lead to who they are and their relationships.

Maybe it’s the stage of life that I find myself in, but to me, the wonderful thing about this book is the way that I was able to relate so well to each of the women traveling in all three cars, all of whom are in different stages of their own lives.

The Road to Christmas is an absolute joy and the perfect cozy holiday novel to bring you into the holiday spirit.

Thank you to Sheila Roberts, NetGalley, and the publisher for the advanced copy.

The Road to Christmas- a sweet Holiday romance
by Sheila Roberts
Pub Date: September 20, 2022
Mira
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. I'm always ready for a little holiday mischief. With nearly thirty books to her name, Sheila Roberts is a frequent USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestseller - and a fan favorite. Her Christmas perennial "On Strike for Christmas" was made into a movie for the Lifetime Channel and her novel "The Nine Lives of Christmas" was made into a movie for Hallmark. Her novel "Angel Lane" was listed as one of Amazon's Best Books of the Year.
THE ROAD TO CHRISTMAS is actually a family tale that has them all driving toward the same location, in three separate vehicles. Three pairs, each having very different journeys. And in each car, the dialog describes their feelings and gives us a look into the past. Car one has mom Michelle and dad Max. Car two has grandma and grandpa. And car three are sisters Audrey and Shyla.
4 stars

It's Thanksgiving, and Michelle and Max are having marriage troubles. They have three daughters, their youngest, Julia, just had a baby so can't attend this year. They are trying to not let anyone know of their troubles and that Max is sleeping in another room. When Julia invites everyone including Max's parents to visit for Christmas in Idaho, it is quite an adventure! Can Michelle and Max work out their problems? You'll have to see by reading this great story.

This was my first book by Shelia Roberts. I really enjoyed this funny and sweet holiday story. There is really nothing not to like. It reminded me of a Hallmark movie, which I love. If you are looking for a great holiday book, I would highly recommend this one for your reading enjoyment!

Many thanks to NetGalley, UPLIT Reads and HTP for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This review will be posted on my Instagram (@coffee. break.book.reviews ) in the near future.

THE ROAD TO CHRISTMAS is actually a family tale that has them all driving toward the same location, in three separate vehicles. Three pairs, each having very different journeys. And in each car the dialog describes their feelings and gives us a look into the past. Car one has mom Michelle and dad Max. Car two has grandma and grandpa. And car three are sisters Audrey and Shyla.
If you had any questions about the sister’s relationship just hearing Shyla talk about the origin of Audrey’s name makes you laugh. Sure sign that Sheila Roberts has a good sense of humor, and her movie references are spot on. She infuses her characters with that same sense of humor and irony.
The family is heading to young sister Julia for Christmas. This decided during Thanksgiving dinner when the Turnbull family realized they missed having Julia with them. So the solution was for them all to go to Julia, even if it meant facing certain road issues at this snowy time of the year. Brave souls. But the drama was taking place in the automobiles and the dialog provides the plot.
The folks in each of the three cards are going through very different phases of their lives. Dissecting their pasts, wondering about their future. At different ages and stages of their lives. At so many points I could totally relate to these characters. Child of the fifties, teen in the sixties, young mother in the seventies I totally identified with the grandparents. But could equally appreciate all that the inhabitants of the other cars were mulling over.
Sheila Roberts takes you on a journey. At face value it’s a simple road trip, but you quickly realize THE ROAD TO CHRISTMAS is so much more. Be prepared to be affected on so many levels by these characters and their plight.

I absolutely LOVE Sheila Roberts, especially if it's a Christmas novel. "The Road to Christmas" checks off all my Christmas wishes!