Special thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC of 'Christmas at the Lake.' The picturesque transformation of Lake Tahoe into a Christmas village sets a magical backdrop. The leading lady's journey from a deserted altar to a serendipitous encounter in Christmas Cove with a college friend adds depth to this heartwarming holiday read. Despite moments of ambiguity, both characters remain endearing in their affections. I'm giving it a solid 4/5 stars, recommending it for those seeking a sweet escape into romance and holiday spirit. Grateful for the opportunity to experience this enchanting tale, courtesy of NetGalley.

Thank you to Griffin Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced copy of Christmas at the Lake by Anita Hughes.

What it’s about:
It is Christmas Eve and Rebecca Huntley has just been left at the altar by her best friend and college sweetheart, Ben Cole. What makes it worse is that Ben and Rebecca are business partners in a successful start-up for online dating. Without any close family to spend her now empty holiday with, Rebecca decides to take her honeymoon trip to Lake Tahoe where she bumps into Zach Mason, an old college friend. Zach is in Lake Tahoe as part of a film contest and is waiting tables to make ends meet. As the two rekindle their friendship, Rebecca tries desperately to heal her broken heart, and Zach tries to ignore old feelings that are threatening to resurface.

What I loved:
EVERYTHING! This is a perfectly written Hallmarkish Christmas movie book. The story is sweet and the setting is perfect for Christmas romance. The other supporting characters add depth to the story, and the ending is happy without being unrealistic. This was my first Anita Hughes book, but it won't be my last. Add this one to your Christmas rotation!

This was the first book I have read by Anita Hughes and I look forward to reading more of her books. This was sweet holiday romance that will give you Hallmark movie vibes. The characters had depth, chemistry, compassion, and kept me invested in the storyline. I loved the quaint town setting that really brings the magic of Christmas through the pages. If you want a book that will give you hallmark vibes this holiday season, then this book is for you. I would definitely recommend it.



Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest opinion.

A sweet holiday romance, with a great setting and likable characters!

On Christmas Eve, Rebecca is left at the alter just hours before her wedding. She decides to go on her honeymoon to Lake Tahoe alone, where she runs into an old friend. There is some miscommunication between the pair, and as the story unfolds, you hope for them to discover the truth about each other.

I loved the way the author described the setting, the characters were all well developed and likable and overall, it was a very festive story.

Thank you St. Martins Press and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy of the digital book.

Christmas at the Lake is s very cozy, festive story. You can find all the holiday spirit by reading it. I loved the setting (it made me want to travel to Lake Tahoe for the holidays) and the characters were interesting. However, sometimes it felt a bit too slow. I also felt that it had too many different stories, but in the end it all made sense.
I hated Ben and loved Zach, especially when he was with Rebecca. I liked the secondary characters as well, even Buttons!
I really enjoyed reading it. Reading Anita Hughes’ holiday books is becoming a great tradition for me. And I think it would make an amazing Christmas movie.

Meh. It’s definitely full of Christmas events but the overall feeling that plagued me throughout was not cheer. The romance portion never felt authentic to me. But it was the party planning that did it for me- so many additions to the party were eye roll worthy. And the coincidence at the end….ugh. Not my favorite, and really was ready for it to end long before it did.

What a cute holiday read! This has to be one of my favorite Christmas stories I’ve read! Thank you for the opportunity to read this book early and especially right now before Christmas!

Christmas At The Lake written by Anita Hughes was a heart warming holiday novel that takes place in a charming Christmas Village on the shores of Lake Tahoe. I enjoyed this book and thought it was super cute, but there were just two things that didn't work for me, the cheating trope, and lying. Reading this book it felt like I was right there experiencing the Christmas festivities Lake Tahoe had to offer. I truly fell in love with this cover, the pink and blue hues of the sunset over Lake Tahoe is just GORGEOUS!!!!!! If you have ever seen a Hallmark Christmas movie before, Christmas At The Lake is basically a Hallmark movie just in book form, with lack of communication, a rushed ending. I didn't particularly love this book as much as I wanted to, but it was still a cute Christmas story. I have never read a book written by Anita Hughes before, but after having a few issues with this one, I think i'm going to wait a little bit before I pick up another one of her works. Despite the issues I had, I wouldn't say this book was horrible in anyway, but it just didn't work for me as much as I was expecting it to. If you love cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies, then this is the book for you.

THANK YOU TO NETGALLEY AND ST. MARTIN'S PRESS FOR AN ARC OF THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW!!!!!!

On Christmas Eve, just hours before their Christmas wedding, Rebecca Huntley is left at the alter by her fiance, Ben Cole. Ben and Rebecca were college sweethearts, so why would Ben leave Rebecca at the alter just hours before their Christmas Eve wedding? Ben and Rebecca are the founders of the hugely successful dating app, DealBreakers. DealBreakers isn't the dating app you think it is, instead is matches potential couples by the things they hate instead of what they have in common. When Rebecca doesn't see Ben in time for their wedding, she decides to go knock on his door, where Rebecca learns that Ben has been cheating on her and he's in love with someone else. Ben has fallen in love with Natalie Gordon. Natalie is the app's head of legal. Ben and Natalie are going to be leaving for three weeks to spend time in St. Bart's. Rebecca is shocked, but isn't surprised that Ben cheated on her since they are the founders of DealBreakers, but the thing that annoyed me is that it seemed like Rebecca didn't care that she caught Ben cheating on her. Instead of communicating with Ben, she just let the tears flow. No one wants to be cheated on, it sucks, but the lack of communication drove me crazy.

Lately, it seemed that Rebecca and Ben had less and less in common, Ben craved the trappings of success, whereas Rebecca just enjoyed the simplest of things. Despite their wedding not going through, Rebecca decides to go on her and Ben's honeymoon to the Cozy Christmas Cove Inn in the charming small town of Christmas Cove on the shores of Lake Tahoe. When Rebecca arrives, things don;t go as planned. Rebecca decides to take her best friend with her, but as soon as they get to Christmas Cove, Rebecca's friend has to leave because she left her husband with their children during Christmas. While in Christmas Cove, Rebecca runs into Zach Mason, Zach is an old friend from their college days. Zach has always had a huge crush on Rebecca. When Rebecca goes into a cafe, she runs into Zach, but through a big misunderstanding, Zach believes Rebecca is still married to Ben, and Rebecca believes that Zach is in a relationship with a much older woman, when really Zach is just a waiter at a hotel and he has no clue who this older woman is. Zach and Rebecca never communicated with each other as well, they just kept the lies flowing, instead of sitting down and having an actual conversation like adults.

Very interesting read! The book pulled me in from the start and I wanted to see how it ended. Try it and see if this book is for you!

I actually wound up enjoying this book more as the story went on. The author weaved in a couple background storylines which I really enjoyed and was glad that they also go their time and resolution.

Rebecca goes on her honeymoon alone after her fiancée leaves her the day of the wedding. To make matters worse, it’s Christmastime and now she’s going to be all alone on her honeymoon and Christmas.
But she’s booked the perfect place to stay in a town that really goes all in on Christmas and she decides to try to enjoy herself.

Shortly after arriving she runs into an old college classmate named Zach. She thinks Zach is a super successful film writer and that the woman he’s with is his girlfriend. And he thinks she got married and is on her honeymoon (he’s half right!). The misunderstandings become straight out lies because neither wants to look bad to the other one and they assume they’ll never see each other again.

But they start spending their week together working on a film about love. They really enjoy each other’s company but both have to deal with the fact that they lied to each other.

I’ll admit that all the lies kind of tempered my enjoyment of the storyline for a bit. But as the book went on I just really cared about the characters and wanted them to be happy.
I also enjoyed the side stories of the woman pretending to be Zach’s girlfriend and the guy that Rebecca was working for.

Anita Hughes always manages to write a book that’s filled with beautiful detail. Every food, every quaint little town, every detail is described.

I really enjoyed this sweet, romantic story.

I got to read an early ebook edition from NetGalley. Thank you!

Thank you NetGalley for allowing met o receive this book for an honest review.

What a nice holiday book. This is the first one I read this season and it definately put me in the Holiday spirit.

There is a lot of emotion and hope in the book and I definately recommend giving it a try.

This is a cute Christmas romance story about first loves and finding each other again later in life. I loved the setting of Christmas Cove. It was the perfect place for a love story to happen between Rebecca and Zach. I loved the postcard scrapbook entries from Howard's travels. They were both touching and heartbreaking. It had a "Letters to Juliet" vibe about it. I especially loved the HEA ending. This is the perfect book to snuggle up on the couch with during the holiday season!

Christmas at the Lake will make you believe in second chances. San Francisco powerhouse tech couple, Rebecca and Ben, are having the wedding of the season on Christmas. Partners in a hit dating app since after college, they are darlings of the industry. Unexpectedly Ben leaves Rebecca at the altar. Devastated and confused, Rebecca and her best friend escape town and head to Christmas Cove in Lake Tahoe-the very place Rebecca and Ben are supposed to honeymoon. When Rebecca runs into her partner from her film class in college memories flood back. In a series of misunderstandings, Rebecca and Zach each think the other is married or in a relationship. Thrown together in a project the two realize they each harbor feelings from college and seeing each other again sparks a new flame. Will the perfect backdrop of Lake Tahoe bring them together or tear them apart? Anita Hughes has another Christmas charmer for you to read this season; cozy up with some festive drinks and treats-this book is like a warm blanket!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s and Anita Hughes for a complimentary digital ARC of this book. Once again, Anita Hughes has written another warm and enjoyable story. Rebecca and Ben, college sweethearts and cofounders of dating app Dealbreakers, are ready to take the next step in their very well curated relationship. An intimate San Francisco wedding is planned for Christmas Eve to be followed by a romantic honeymoon in Lake Tahoe. However, just a few short hours before the ceremony, Ben tells Rebecca he is now in love with one of their employees. With the encouragement of her best friend, Rebecca decides to go on the honeymoon by herself. Once in Lake Tahoe, she runs into Zach, an old college classmate. Neither Rebecca nor Zach are honest with each other, with Zach portraying himself as a successful filmmaker and Rebecca pretending to be happily married to Ben. This is a sweet second chance romance with well developed and likable characters. Highly recommend to readers of Christmas romances and fans of Hallmark holiday movies!

A bit kitschy - but a sweet story despite the dishonesty trope! It felt a bit discombobulated at parts of the story, but still gets 2.5 ⭐️ from me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the St.Martins team for the ARC this holiday season!

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5

Christmas at the Lake

Mini Review ⬇️🎄

ARC - Pub Date Sept 26

A bit late on this one but better late than never 😁

This book was okay. I feel like it started strong but then just kinda coasted for the remainder. Additionally, I feel like there were too many stories and characters going on that I wasn’t able to truly get invested in either.

That being said I did give it 3 stars because I think for a holiday read it can hold up 🎄😊

Thank you @netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

DNF @ 57%

Rating: 2/5 ⭐️⭐️

Usually I rate a DNF 1/5 but I’m giving this author the benefit of the doubt that if I finished this book it would at least grab a 2/5.

The premise of second chance romance during the holiday’s was what pulled me in. I was looking for a cozy Hallmark read. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel any connection with the characters, or their relationships. The writing was cringy to read and very choppy. Seemed like it was written by someone less experienced than this author is (I assume).

I’ve read other reviews on this author’s work and they seem to be better rated than this book. I assume she puts out cozy feel good reads, this one wasn’t it for me.

#christmasatthelake

A small town winter resort setting for a Christmas romance novel. While I loved the setting, I ultimately didn’t love the book. I thought Rebecca’s and Zach’s miscommunication/ lying to each other went on way too long and I didn’t see the chemistry between them.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC. If you love Hallmark Christmas romance movies, you may love Christmas at the Lake.

This is my first Anita Hughes’ book.

First of all, this is not what I call a traditional Christmas book as it doesn’t play a huge role in the story but it provides the setting in Lake Tahoe. Most of the story happens between Christmas and New Year’s and expected traditions are missing.

There is a lot going on in this book, you have the main storyline about Rebecca and Zach which starts with lies on both sides, you have Harold’s journal which Rebecca is reading and finally, you have the couples involved in Zach’s documentary film. Because of this, it was difficult for me to engage in the main story and keep focus.

I have never been to Lake Tahoe but the author makes it seems as it is very small as the main characters keep meeting countless times by chance, just walking in the street, in a shop or restaurant.

The book explores first love and second chances but I found it very hard to believe. Some would call it the magic of Christmas.!

Also, I may have missed a part but I felt all of the lies were not totally divulged by the end of the story and that bothered me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me a complimentary e-arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

If you're looking for a sweet, quick holiday read Christmas at the Lake has you covered! Anita Hughes did an amazing job of creating characters that are full of depth and immensely relatable. The beautiful setting alone is sure to draw you in from page one. Add this one to your tbr ASAP!

PS - be prepared for some frustrating levels of miscommunication...

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this book, in exchange for my honest opinion.