I didn’t think my heart could get any fuller, and then that hashtag from Adam did it. So many people shared their love and time to help the the town.
As with every Karen Schaler book you get so much more than you bargained for. Right from the very start I felt like I was there along side Libby and Adam. The descriptions of the Christmas decorations and the streets were so detailed and beautiful, it was actually a bit disappointing when I looked up from reading and reality wasn’t as beautiful as Holly Peak.
The family story of CeCe and Libby is heartbreaking, and my heart went out to both of them, I’m really happy that they finally connected. Libby and Adams love story was lovely and it was nice to see it slowly develop, the friendship and mutual trust and respect finally evolving to a beautiful love story. A real Christmas hug in a book.

This is a very quick, light Christmas read. It has a paint-by-numbers feel to it - all the predictable elements are there, put together as you would expect. That is not necessarily criticism, especially when you just want a quick escape. Libby has to find the meaning of Christmas, discover hidden family secrets, save a town’s celebrations, and find love again. So she does.

This is my third novel by Karen Schaler having previously read A Royal Christmas Fairy Tale and Christmas Ever After. In Love Always, Christmas, Libby Larson is out running in Evergreen Valley, Seattle one December morning when she bumps into an inflatable Santa. The now squashed and deflated Santa belongs to Adam Thompson who has put it up for his mum. His parents, Larry and Carol have just moved to the area. Later, on her way to work an inflatable reindeer drifts in front of her car; once again it belongs to the Thompson family. When Libby arrives at work, the set she is working on for Santa Kitty proves unsuitable. Her client is Carter Pets and the star of the advertisement is a black cat with a white nose and paws, but the kitty is refusing to perform for Carter's campaign. Libby's friend and photographer, Tammi offers a suggestion and sends Libby off to fetch items for a stage change. Whilst doing this Libby finds an old unopened Christmas card and letter from a mystery friend of her late mum...

Karen Schaler has created some delightfully endearing characters in this gloriously festive tale and Rudolph was just the sweetest in the story. Love Always, Christmas, is highly recommended for those who love romances, Yuletide traditions, festive jumpers, and Crimbo ringtones.

This review was written voluntarily and my rating was in no way influenced by the fact that I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel from HawkTale Publishing via NetGalley.

I loved this it was the perfect Christmas read. All the cocoa and cookie vibes. I can’t wait to watch this snuggled up in a blanket with the tree lights on. You could smell the candy canes and pine trees. I loved Cece’s house and would love to visit it. Thankyou netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Karen Schaler's Love Always, Christmas opens with the main character, Libby, having an unfortunate collision with her new neighbors inflatable snowman. When confronted over the damage by the neighbor’s son Adam the romantic tension starts. Libby and Adam meet again when Libby finds a mysterious Christmas card that had been sent years earlier to her mother. Since Libby’s mom recently passed away Libby follows the clues to a Holly Peaks only to find that Adam is the town mayor. The Christmas sparks fly as the two try to untangle the clues and discover why Libby has a card from Holly Peaks resident, CeCe. In the end the solitary Christmas Libby thought she would be having turns into a heartwarming adventure.

I received a free copy of, Love Always, Christmas, by Karen Schaler, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I have enjoyed Karen Schalers books, and this one is a really good one. With out giving too much away, Libby is not a fan of the holidays, but she ends up in a Christmas town, where secrets abound. Libby is a great character, she really grew as a character and a women throughout this book.

#BookRevew: LOVE ALWAYS, CHRISTMAS by Karen Schaler

This is a feel-good Christmas romance. It was fun, family oriented, supportive community and a budding romance in the most festive season of the year. Evergreen Valley and Holly Peak would be the two places I’d love to visit for Christmas. These places just make me happy.

I would love to see Cece’s house with all the Christmas themed paintings, snow globes and nutcrackers. Libby and Adam’s characters grew on me. Their first encounter was funny. I like how they care for the community. Everyone’s efforts were touching.

Overall it was a good read with some slow moments. The mystery intrigued me. I wanted more from Cece’s revelations but all’s well that ends well. I’d love to see this in a Hallmark movie. Perfect setting and atmosphere.

Rating: 4 stars
Pub date: 11 Oct 2022

Thank you HawkTale Publishing and #netgalley for the complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

Love Always, Christmas, by Karen Schaler, is the story of Libby Larson of a Seattle suburb known for its wonderful Christmas decor. Although the practice was begun by Libby’s parents, Libby isn’t participating this year. It’s just too hard with both her parents gone. And, in fact, the last branch of the family tree besides herself.

On an early December morning, Libby is doing her morning run when she has a run in with Santa when the inflatable jolly old elf seems to attack her, and then an inflatable reindeer attacks her car as she heads out to work. Worst part, this debacle is how she first meets her new neighbors, the Thompsons, and their adult son Adam.

Now on her own with her own company, Libby is creating online content to spur on the growth of the companies she serves. Using social media to the max, Libby is a bit of an expert in the field. As she prepares for the special shoot of Santa Kitty in a very special holiday advertisement for a top pet food company, Libby finds the set she has spent money she didn’t have is not spurring the active kitty to perform. Her best friend and photographer Tammi realizes the modern setting is the problem and sends Libby home for items to create a new stage. While doing so, Libby finds an old Christmas card sent to her mom which hadn’t been opened. Encouraged by Tammi, Libby opens the card to learn there is someone who was once very close to her mom living in Holly Peak. With the shoot in her back pocket and the encouragement of her friend to check out Holly Peak and look for this person, Libby heads out.

Libby expects to find some possible shooting sites in the picturesque town if nothing else. She doesn’t expect to find her neighbor’s handsome son as the Holly Peak town manager or the unraveling of a family mystery she had known nothing about.

This is such a deep and twisty story with such interesting characters and a few nights in a winter wonderland. Not to mention her convincing of a certain town manager to utilize the force that is social media. I very much enjoyed this book and I do recommend it!

Thank you NetGalley and Hawktale Publishing for the opportunity to read "Love Always, Christmas" in exchange for my honest review.

This is a heartwarming Christmas story about finding love and family where you least expect it. The story starts out with Libby Larson landing on a man while out jogging only to find that she flattened an inflatable Santa. That is how she meets Adam Thompson who turns out to the son of Libby's new neighbours - whose Santa she just flattened. Evergreen Valley could very well be the Christmas decorating capital.

Libby doesn't feel the Christmas spirit this year because she lost her mum. She only cares about work and then she finds hope, love and community when she finds an old unopened Christmas card with a photo of her mum as a child and another girl named CeCe. Once Libby slows down, opens her heart and learns to trust again, she finds her love for Christmas once again. When she sees how strangers rally around to help each other in a crisis, she learns what love and community truly are.

I thought I'd love this, but it read like a TV script.
The one bright spark in the whole book was what happened at the end in the small town of Holly Peak, which I'll leave to the reader to discover.
I think the main reason for my two stars is that I was reading huge blocks of info dumps - either in text or dialogue - of backstory and feelings and thoughts rather than seeing them in body language and letting the backstory shine through in tiny pockets. It repeated a lot of information about how the two main characters were afraid or busy, and the big reveal of a long-held secret wasn't credible.
If you're a Hallmark movie fan, you'll probably love it though.

Libby was the only child of only children, so with the passing of her Mom almost 1 year ago, she's not looking forward to her first Christmas without her. On top of losing her Christmas spirit, she's in jeopardy of losing her family home, and quit her job to start a new career in her own.

She gave up her apartment and is living in her family home for the time being. Her mother was the queen of Christmas, spearheading neighborhood decorating, but this year her house is the only one lacking in decorations.

When she searches her mother's boxes of holiday decorations for stuff to use in a social media video, she unearths a 20 year old Christmas card with mysterious information.

The remainder of the story deals with this surprise. Along the way she meets an eligible bachelor who's hooked on Christmas and his lovable dog Rudolph. It's fun and flirty with a bit of emotion. All in all an enjoyable start to holiday reading.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of the s book provided by Net Galley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was really torn with this book. I really loved how the book started with Libby and Adam arguing I was laughing so hard and that will sum up the overall book. It will have you laughing and crying and laughing so hard again. I loved CECE she was a pistol and who would not want to have a Cece in there corner. I liked Adam while he was a instigator sometimes he also had a huge heart and truly loved those in his life. Libby was a workaholic who needed to find balance in her life but she also really had a good heart. What I had a hard time with in this story It just felt that the author described things a little too much, to me it just was like ok great the snow is white can we get back to the story. I did like how the author kept it clean and it was really fun read. I will say it does put you in the Christmas spirit.

☃️☃️☃️☃️

Christmas ranks #1 on my favorite times of the year. I make a point to read at least 10 Christmas books per year as part of my holiday book tradition. I haven’t been doing it long, but it gives me something fun to enjoy starting in November. This year, I was gifted a copy of Love Always, Christmas, by Karen Schaler, about a sweet gal named Libby who is shuffling through some tough losses in life. Libby’s parents have passed away (her Mom most recently), and she quit her job at a PR firm after getting passed over for promotion. She broke up with her long-term boyfriend because he took stole the credit for all her marketing ideas getting her promotion, she was a breath away from losing the only home she had ever known to foreclosure, and Libby had ONE marketing account that she badly needed to succeed to turn her life around. We all know Christmas is magical, and this book reminds us that all is not lost and hope abounds. You will enjoy reading about Libby’s journey to finding a new family, uncovering secrets, finding new love, and finding a home. I’m not very objective, I think Christmas is about hope, and this book brings it home. #Christmas #hope #love #themostwonderfultimeoftheyear #Rudolph #Netflixmovie #magical #feelGood #meetcute #romance @netgalley #ChristmasSweaterLove @karenschaler #hawktalepublishing

☃️

I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to NetGalley, Hawktale Publishing and the author for the opportunity to read this book. Recently published and available immediately.

#bookaddict #booksofinstagram #bookstagram #bookstagramer #bookshelf #booksbooksbooks #readersofinstagram #reader #booklove #bookreader

If you want a Christmas book with all of the holiday spirit, sense of community, love, and one hilarious misfortune after another, this book is for you!

Libby Larson is facing her first Christmas without her mom, and is also at risk of losing her family home in Seattle. While trying to launch a new campaign for her business, she has some hilarious run ins with inflatables, the neighbors grouchy son Adam, and a fiasco with the cat ‘Santa Kitty’ that she’s trying to launch the campaign of. While trying to create a new holiday set for the photo shoot from her families decorations, she finds an unopened Christmas card from 20+ years prior. She goes on an adventure to the town Holly Peak to find Cece, the cards sender, and ends up running into, literally, no one other than Adam! The book takes you on a beautiful and heartfelt Christmas Journey, and I truly enjoyed every second. I felt Libby’s grief, I laughed at all of the misfortunes, and I cried over the true sense of community and people coming together to help those in need, and Rudolph was just the sweetest addition to the story. Karen brings such genuine emotions out of her readers through her writing. I
Can’t wait to read more from this author!

Thank you NetGalley and hawktale publishing for my ARC in exchange for my honest feedback!

Love Always, Christmas by Karen Schaler is a cute Christmas story. I enjoyed getting to know Libby Larson who is grieving the loss of her mother. Christmas was a holiday that was beloved by her parents. Libby is unable to decorate the outside of the house this year despite living in the most visited neighborhood in Seattle during the holidays. Libby buries herself in work to avoid her feelings. While looking for decorations in the attic for a video shoot, Libby stumbles upon an unopened Christmas card addressed to her mother. Inside the card is a picture of Libby’s mother when she was young standing next to another girl. With only the name of the town and the sender’s first name, Libby heads to Holly Peak for answers. There is plenty of Christmas cheer in this story. I loved the descriptions of the holly inspired decorations in Holly Peak. It sounded like a wonderful place to live. I can see why tourists flocked to the town. There is humor sprinkled throughout the story. It starts off in the first chapter when a Santa inflatable gets massacred (you need to anchor them down carefully). This incident has Libby meeting her next-door neighbor’s handsome son, Adam. In Holly Peak, Libby runs into Adam again (literally). Sparks fly between the pair, but they also manage to bicker. The romance progressed slowly (a slow burn) which I preferred. There is an adorable dog named Rudolph. I just loved him. Rudolph had a great personality. The ending was enjoyable. I did feel, though, that the story was way too long. There is also too much repetition. Some of the banter between Libby and Adam is a little on the sweet side (sometimes cheesy). I did tire of all the social media talk. Libby and her hashtags had my eyes crossing (too much of it). I admit that I did skim through some areas (I could only take so much hashtag talk). Love Always, Christmas reminds me of a Hallmark Christmas movie where you have a man and a woman who do not get along at first, but there are sparks. Something brings are two characters together. There is an ending that will give you a cavity from all the sweetness. Love Always, Christmas is a story that will put you into the spirit of the season (had me humming Christmas carols while putting up my Halloween decorations). Despite my critical comments, this was a fun story full of Christmas cheer. Love Always, Christmas is a charming Christmas tale with a slain Santa, a curious Christmas card, a fetching town manager, comforting cocoa, a social media specialist, comical ugly Christmas sweaters, a discontented kitty, a clever Rudolph, Christmas copycats, and a surprising revelation.

Love Always, Christmas is a Hallmark type feel-good Christmas romance by Karen Schaler. Libby Larson has faced loss and now may face losing her family Seattle home. Unexpected Christmas card find leads her to the snowy mountain town of Holly Peak. There Christmas lost becomes Christmas found as new friends are made. new love is discovered while secrets are revealed.

A sweet story of healing and rediscovering the joys of Christmas. The characters are likable and setting beautifully portrayed as Libby Larson makes her journey. Quirky community and traditions fit well in this story of a special Christmas that will lift the heart.

An ARC of the book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley which I voluntarily chose to read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I have very quickly become a huge fan of Karen Schaler books and thought that I had found my favourite book of all time last year with A Royal Christmas Fairytale but now I don't know I think Love Always, Christmas may have just topped that!

Not only is this a lovely festive story but with the added mystery it just gave it a little something extra! What I really love about Karen Schaler books is the little added extras at the end that are inspired by the characters. Such as the Christmas Rum balls which sound amazing!

Highly recommend if you are looking for a cosy festive story this Christmas season!

I park myself on the sofa every year for my Christmas movie fix and LOVE ALWAYS, CHRISTMAS has the charming elements of a holiday movie with it’s Christmasy named towns, fun foods and traditions, and a hapless young woman struggling to stay afloat but encountering one obstacle after another.

A secret to unfold keeps us reading. The piercing blue eyes of town manager Adam keeps us hoping for the romance. “Will Libby get the contract and save her family home?” has us on the edge of our seats. The story is a nice holiday escape.

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and this is my voluntary review.

This book was ok. It was a quick, easy read. The decorations sounded pretty. I liked the idea of the neighborhood decorating their houses each year with a certain theme.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book for an honest review.

This is my first time reading a book by author Karen Schaler. I became aware that she wrote A Christmas Prince, and I loved watching the trilogy on Netflix. Love Always, Christmas is a cozy feel-good Christmas story. It gives me all of the vibes of the heartwarming Hallmark Christmas movies I've seen over the years. I enjoyed reading about Libby and Adam and diving deeper into Libby's family history. Libby started her own marketing business, but unfortunately her mother passed away leaving behind Libby's childhood home. Libby had financial problems between starting her new business and problems with her mom and dad's home. Libby isn't in the Christmas spirit as this is the first Christmas without her mother. She lives in a quintessential Christmas town where pride is taken in all things Christmas related. Libby travels to see if she can find the woman in a photo she found amongst her mom's Christmas decorations. Once in the town, Libby discovers the mysterious woman named Cece, and she begins to unravel the mystery surrounding who Cece is.
I enjoyed this book. It has a lot of heart, and is a cozy, feel-good read.