Review of Bright Lights, Big Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews

I am such a huge fan of this author. Her books are always an auto buy for me. I didn’t have to buy this one though because my good friend @groundedinreads actually got me an auto sent it to me. Thank you so much Cindy. I will treasure this forever and it will always have a spot on my shelf. I listened to this one while I read my autographed copy. It was a very quick read for me and I did read it a week or two before Christmas. Yes I am that far behind on my reviews. I loved this book. The characters were amazing. I loved the setting of New York City and the season which was Christmas. The author has a way of making you fall in love with the characters and you can’t wait to happen find out what happens with their stories. I probably will read this one every few Christmases.

Quick synopsis:

When fall rolls around, it’s time for Kerry Tolliver to leave her family’s Christmas tree farm in the mountains of North Carolina for the wilds of New York City to help her gruff older brother & his dog, Queenie, sell the trees at the family stand on a corner in Greenwich Village. Sharing a tiny vintage camper and experiencing Manhattan for the first time, Kerry’s ready to try to carve out a new corner for herself.

In the weeks leading into Christmas, Kerry quickly becomes close with the charming neighbors who live near their stand. When an elderly neighbor goes missing, Kerry will need to combine her country know-how with her newly acquired New York knowledge to protect the new friends she’s come to think of as family, 

And complicating everything is Patrick, a single dad raising his adorable, dragon-loving son Austin on this quirky block. Kerry and Patrick’s chemistry is undeniable, but what chance does this holiday romance really have?

Synopsis: Kerry must journey to NYC to man her family’s Christmas tree stand with her grumpy brother due to her fathers recent heart attack. Recently without a graphic design job, she’s been living at home in North Carolina and now has to venture even further out of her comfort zone, staying in the family trailer, Spammy. She meets a whole cast of characters who live in the neighborhood that her dad and brother visit every year, has to compete with a rival tree family trying to undercut them, and maybe finds love along the way!

Review: thank you to @netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. This book was a short and sweet Christmas story. However my biggest qualm with it (and it’s a big one!) is that it’s advertised as a romance and I feel the story would be much better told as a love story with NYC instead of a person. The romance is kind of crammed on in, not quite fulfilling love story expectations.

Bright Lights, Big Christmas + a trailer named Spammy! 🎄
Thank you St Martins Press, for the gifted book! {partner}

Genre: Romance
Trope: Holiday
Format: 📖
Pub Date: 9.26.2023
Star Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆

Last year, @marykayandrews wrote my favorite holiday read - The Santa Suit. So, when I saw that she had another holiday book coming out, I immediately added it to my list and saved it for just the right time. I should’ve waited a tiiiiny bit longer but oh well, it still put me in the holiday spirit. Bright Lights, Big Christmas lived up to my expectations and then some; it’s the first book I’ve finished in less than a day in a long time.

For all of you MKA fans out there who were *shocked* that the setting for this holiday romance is New York City - don’t y’all worry because the same southern charm that we’ve all come to know and love from her is still present. I loved how she portrayed all the characters throughout the story - for some reason, authors like to make their NYC characters cranky and unwelcoming. But MKA did the exact opposite, and it was a delight!

💨 Bing-able (finished in one day)
🗽 NYC Setting
🤍 Same Southern Charm from MKA
🫶🏼 Found family
💞 Heinz

If you’re looking for a book to get you in the holiday spirit, I highly recommend reading Bright Lights, Big Christmas (and while you’re at it, The Santa Suit).

This was cute, but not the best Mary Kay Andrews book I've read. I like it better when it's set in the South.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

From Mary Kay Andrews, New York Times bestselling author of The Homewreckers and The Santa Suit, comes a novella celebrating love and the warm, glittering charm of the holiday season.

When fall rolls around, it’s time for Kerry Tolliver to leave her family’s Christmas tree farm in the mountains of North Carolina for the wilds of New York City to help her gruff older brother & his dog, Queenie, sell the trees at the family stand on a corner in Greenwich Village. Sharing a tiny vintage camper and experiencing Manhattan for the first time, Kerry’s ready to try to carve out a new corner for herself.

In the weeks leading into Christmas, Kerry quickly becomes close with the charming neighbors who live near their stand. When an elderly neighbor goes missing, Kerry will need to combine her country know-how with her newly acquired New York knowledge to protect the new friends she’s come to think of as family,

And complicating everything is Patrick, a single dad raising his adorable, dragon-loving son Austin on this quirky block. Kerry and Patrick’s chemistry is undeniable, but what chance does this holiday romance really have?

Filled with family ties, both rekindled and new, and sparkling with Christmas magic, Bright Lights, Big Christmas delivers everything Mary Kay Andrews fans adore, all tied up in a hilarious, romantic gem of a novel.
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Mary Kay Andrews is a can't-miss author for me, so whenever I get a chance to read one of her offerings ahead of publication, I do a little happy dance. I don't read a lot of holiday books, but I read this one in one day. I love New York City at the holidays, but I had never really considered how the Christmas tree vendors made their way to the big city until I read this book. That was a main element of the story and one that I really enjoyed. Although the blurb from the publisher calls it a novella (at 288 pages, I think that's debatable), it really does not read as one. The characters are well-developed and so much fun to get to know. Seeing the season through Kerry's eyes and exploring the layers of her brother's personality, all with the added bonus of his faithful canine companion, were both delightful, and the romance elements woven throughout culminated in a very satisfying HEA, which is just what I am looking for when I read this kind of book.

Such a cute Christmas book! Thank you NetGalley and Mary Kay Andrews for sending me a copy. This book is best read cozy next to the fireplace with a cup of hot cocoa.

NetGalley
September 26, 2023
Fiction, women’s, holiday, digital, arc, holiday
St Martins Press
288 pages 4/5
10/31/23-12/25/23

Every winter the Toliver Family head to NYC from their tree farm in Tarburton, North Carolina to sell their beloved Fraser Fir trees in time for Christmas. The annual sojourn is usually made by Murphy and his father Jock in his rusting 1982 Ford F-150 with a vintage fifteen-foot travel trailer hooked up behind it. The 1962 Shasta trailer was fondly referred to as Spammy and has made the 700 mile trip the day after Thanksgiving for the past 40 years where it would be parked in the West Village of NYC.

This year Jock had a heart attack and would not be able to making the trip with his son Murphy, 39 years-old so it was strongly suggested by their mother Roberta "Birdie" Toliver that 34 year-old Kerry Clare Toliver accompany her brother. Kerry had been vague when she moved home a few months prior from Charlotte where she worked in human resources until a merge rendered her position "redundant". Since her boyfriend, Blake, "ghosted" her there was nothing keeping her there so she returned home to live with Birdie. She barely knew her brother since her parents divorced when she was 7 years-old and Murphy stayed to live with their father on the farm.

It's a humorous story about a new experience for Kerry who enjoyed the trip more than she imagined. From cleaning out the nest of mice in the camper's sleeping loft to the Google map plan of a 10-hour drive and then finding parking in the Big Apple! After Kerry recovers from the culture shock, she falls into a routine with Murphy selling trees and getting to know the locals that have helped the Toliver's over the years. Clare befriends Austin, the 10 year-old son of Patrick, a divorced father sharing custody with his ex-wife. There is a colorful cast of characters which provide drama and humor a long the way.

A fun holiday read.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for access to this ARC for review. My review expresses my unbiased and honest opinions.

I’m a big fan of cozy holiday novels, and Mary Kay Andrews does not disappoint! When Kerry is sent to New York to help sell Christmas trees from their NC tree farm, she’s reluctant to believe that she and her older brother will be able to pull off selling their inventory without their Dad there to help. Through twists and turns, some local competition, surprising community support, and a kindling romance, Kerry immerses herself in the season and begins to enjoy being part of the family business. This is a sweet novella that not only ties in some coming of age themes, but also family dynamics and relationships. A must read for those looking for a book to cozy up with during the holidays.

Such a great and fun Christmas read!!

Made me feel all cheery and light! The way Mary writes you feel like you are right there with them at the tree lot!

After reading The Santa Suit last year I was so excited for Mary Kay Andrews' new one this year. She really has a way of bringing the comforts of Christmas an romance to life, giving me Hallmark vibes but while reading (my favorite).

I loved the setting, the characters, and the plot. All of it. Kerry was an enjoyable main character with a quirky yet relatable personality, and the side characters really just added to the enjoyment of the story. Add in a dog and I'm sold! A Christmas tree farm is the perfect setting for a story like this and I felt cozy and at home reading it! What I appreciated most was how the story really captured the meaning of Christmas from the outer joys of the season to the deeper meaning of what Christmas is really about.

Another great holiday read to add to my shelf, thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my eARC in exchange for an honest review. Really hoping to see more from Mary Kay Andrews next season!

Bright Lights, Big Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews is a cute, heartwarming Christmas love story. I loved reading this after the holiday season at it gets me excited for it again next year. You will love this story if you love dogs, Christmas, cute little kids, and hunky guys. This author always delivers such great reads and this is no exception. I highly recommend and will always read anything from this author.

I can always count on Mary Kay Andrews to give me a feel-good romance when I need it. What I WASN'T counting on was reading this bringing me snow in March, but that's my own fault.

In Bright Lights, Big Christmas, Kerry is in New York City helping her brother, Murphy, sell Christmas trees from her family's Christmas tree farm. Sounds fun, right? Only Murphy can be kind of a jerk and they are forced to live together as adults in a small little trailer with no heat and no bathroom!

Things get a little better when she finally meets Patrick, even if they did get to kind of a rough start. His son is super cute though, so that helps. They're just a couple of a fun cast of characters and strangers who end up feeling like family. It had all the feels of a small town romance, even though it took place in a huge city! I absolutely loved it and will continue to turn to Mary Kay Andrews whenever I need a light pick-me-up.

Another cutesy Christmas book that warms my heart! Can’t wait to read it again come December! This is what I love about Mary Kay Andrews, every book I read is like a hug that you didn’t know you needed.

Mary Kay Andrews did not disappoint! This book was a perfect Christmas story. It was cozy and had amazing characters.

I enjoy MKA Christmas books and this didn’t disappoint! Typical holiday cheesy but I think it works if you’re in the mood!

Mary Kay does it again with Bright Lights, Big Christmas. I enjoyed this fun Christmas-time read, that had me in the Christmas spirit in September!

🎄 Christmas-time
🎄Found family & community
🎄Sweet romance

Really loved the narrator for this story and it was just a cute feel good book for me. Not my first by this author and for sure not my last.

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 4⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: Holiday romance 📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
A super cute holiday romance.

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
NYC tree lot setting
Small town vibes
Great side characters
Found family
Sweet and cute romance
All the christmas vibes
Slow burn
Self discovery

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
Cute dog!

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
A little cheesy
I wanted more romance

A feel good holiday read. I enjoyed the story and found myself really connecting with the characters. It shows you that you never know where you are going to wind up in life.

I couldn’t love this book more!! The characters were so well developed and the story itself is so sweet and wholesome; the perfect story to read at the holidays!