Thank you Netgally and St. Martin's Press for access to this arc.


For me usually Mary Kay Andrews books are a sure thing. But sadly this one failed to grab me. The heroine comes off as a bit whiney, her brother is a walking cliché, I find the NYC set up to be unbelievable and the whole thing too twee. Maybe I'm just in a Grinchy mood but this is a rare MKA book that didn't work for me. DNF

Bright Lights, Big Christmas brings Southern Charm to the Big Apple, when a single thirtysomething North Carolina resident named Kerry heads to Greenwich Village to help the stepbrother she barely knows and his dog sell Christmas trees from the family's farm -- all from their rustic old camper named "Spammy."

There, Kerry makes friends with the locals, including a cute single dad who offers her a chance at holiday romance, and she encounters light drama like the local tree-selling competition and a missing neighbor.

This closed-door romance is super fluffy, quick, light, and sweet -- like a holiday Hallmark movie that just helps you escape the frenzy of the season.

It may seem early to talk Christmas, but Bright Lights, Big Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews releases on September 26. Get your gifts bought early. Pre-order from your favorite store now! Yes, pre-ordering does make a difference! You could always go to Bookshop.org, a great place that supports Mom and Pop bookstores.
I loved Bright Lights, Big Christmas. If you want a feel-good Christmas story filled with making new friends, believing in yourself, finding love, and supporting family, this is it! Bright Lights, Big Christmas is a holiday hug ending with a satisfying sigh. I loved MKA's last Christmas story, The Santa Suit, but this one is even better. You will not be disappointed!
When Kerry Tolliver finds herself in-between jobs, she's lost as to what's next in life. She returns to her hometown in the North Carolina mountains where her father and brother run the Tolliver Christmas Tree Farm. Due to her father's health issues, he can't make the trip to NYC to sell the trees. Kerry steps in to help. She and her grumpy, older brother spend a month selling trees in a NYC neighborhood where their family has sold trees for decades. For a full month, they camp in a vintage (run-down) trailer next to the tree lot. The trailer is fondly called Spammy because of the canned ham shape. : )
Kerry discovers that the neighbors and shop owners already know and love her brother. Her family has developed community support and loyalty over the many years.
The story is about connecting with and caring for people. The community wraps the Tollivers in their love, and Kerry deeply connects with this group of quirky, lovable people. These neighbors care about each other. They check in on each other and help those in need. (I want the version of a NYC neighborhood to exist. I've never been there, so I'll dream that it does.) Kerry especially gets involved in the lives of a divorced man and his son, and a mysterious older gentleman who gives her pointers on her drawings.
Think about your Christmas list. I'm sure you'll find one copy of Bright Lights, Big Christmas will not be enough for all your loved ones who would enjoy this book.
Thank you, St. Martin's Press, Mary Kay Andrews and NetGalley, for the ARC of Bright Lights, Big Christmas. The opinions are my own.

I received an ARC of this book. I loved this story! Wonderful Christmas tale of family and hope. Pulled me in from the very beginning and kept me reading until the very end, Highly recommend!

Everything you expect from Mary Kay Andrews and more. As always, the relationships are the heart of the story with some intrigue tossed in along the way. Will Kerry and Patrick become romantically involved? This will be so fun to read around the holidays and share with friends.

It’s not the holidays without a lighthearted, charming read by Mary Kay Andrews, and this was one of my favorites so far!

After her father, Jock, falls ill and she loses her job, Kerry finds herself pulling the family’s beloved camper, Spammy, to New York City with her older brother, Murphy and his beloved dog, Queenie, to sell their family’s Christmas trees in the West Village. Murphy is well-loved in the neighborhood after years of tree selling with Jock, and soon, many neighbors take to Kerry, too, specifically single dad Patrick, his young son, Austin, and mysterious elderly man, Heinz.

A month living in the camper and braving the elements of the city give Kerry a new perspective on life and teach her some important lessons on trusting her own instincts. I especially enjoyed how Kerry brought so much light and creativity to the tree stand, and the sweet, charming way Andrews brings characters to life. This book felt like a warm cardigan wrapped around you on a chilly night, and I loved the Santa Suit reference from her previous book. Fingers crossed we can get a mention of the tree stand next season!?!

Thank you to Mary Kay Andrews, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advance e-copy of the book.

This was a book that just grew on me more and more as I kept reading. It was like the best Hallmark Christmas movies, but with more heart and detail and emotion than a 90-minute movie can give. I’m sure this will be a holiday reread for me!

#brightlightsbigchristmas by @marykayandrews
Thank you @netgalley for the advance copy!
I love Christmas stories, Mary Kay Andrews books and NYC-this book has all I need to be happy.
Kerry has come to New York to help her brother at the family Christmas Tree farm. This is the first time helping out since she was a little girl and she learns how the neighborhood where they always set up is a friendly place with so many people happy to meet her-including newly divorced Patrick and his young son, Austin.
This was a cute, quick book that I will be buying once it is available in October.

Hallmark Christmas movie in book form. It’s got family, friendship, humor, and clean romance. A quick and wholesome read and I wouldn’t be surprised if this really does turn into a hallmark movie someday soon.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

What a warm hug of Christmas cheer! It’s a great hallmark movie 🍿 type of book. I loved the FMC & all the side characters! I also enjoyed the talk of the Santa suit book, I read it last year during Christmas time and it was so cute.
Christmas tree farm family goes to New York every year to set up shop for the trees. It’s super interesting so much plot & so heartwarming it’ll definitely put you in the Christmas spirit.

The spirit of Christmas is captured in this wonderful read. A holiday read centered around family and friends with a bit of romance. The message of the importance of friendships and characters learning to put other’s needs first. A cast of wonderful characters of all ages, types, and a delightful dog. I enjoyed the relationship between Kerry and her brother Murphy, who are not close. Kerry is a delight; she really hangs in there with all kinds of trying situations. Murphy is a grump and set in his ways, but soon the Christmas spirits finds him too. I liked how a city corner became her home and neighbors watched out for one another. At the end of the story, I’m left with a smile.

Reviewed by Comfy Chair Books/Lisa Reigel (September 10, 2023)
ARC provided by publisher via NG; bought paperback copy via Brenda Novak Monthly Book Box (Oct 2023)

Bright Lights, Big Christmas is a wonderful holiday read brought to you by the wonderful Mary Kay Andrews. Filled with Family drama, new friends and love. This story is a wonderful holiday edition and is so much more than just romance.
I loved all of the characters and how they interacted and were tied together. The story flowed and was simply idyllic. I adored it and highly recommend it be added to your holiday to-be-read pile.

I missed my annual reading guilty pleasure this spring: Mary Kay Andrewss yearly summer release. But, the next best thing, to satisfy my craving, is her Christmas book. I must admit, it felt very incongruous to be reading a book about selling Christmas trees in freezing cold weather while we are living through the worst September heat wave.

Not many surprises here. This is a cute Christmas tale. A brother and sister from North Carolina are running a Christmas tree lot in New York. There seems to be bad blood between them for a while. A potential love interest shows up early for the sister. Regular stuff!

There's lots to love about this story. I love that there is a cross reference to MKA's previous Christmas book, The Santa Suit. It’s a little bit of continuity. And, I love that part of the story is a retro RV trailer from the 1970s. It is pictured on the cover. And, I love the little boy who likes to hang out with the sister at the tree lot. Actually, I love all the characters.

It's a nice, comfortable and enjoyable holiday read. Perfect for the time of year when everyone is stressed out and running around like crazy preparing for the holidays. It's just what I expected!

And they lived happily ever after!

Thank you to MKA for writing this holiday book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.

A fun, holiday romance with some wonderful characters!

An easy, quick read - reminiscent of a Hallmark Movie - complete with a fun, sweet romance; lots of Christmas cheer and trees; and a cute little camper.

After her father has a heart attack and needs to recover, Kerry ends up helping her older brother, Murphy, take the family farm's Christmas trees from NC up to NYC and set up their corner lot for the holiday season. The siblings haven't spent much time together so you get to see their relationship grow as they fight to keep their family farm in business. There are so many side characters that are so interesting and make Kerry's time in the city really special. Full of Christmas cheer and romance, it's a great holiday read!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

Great holiday read! Loved the story and the descriptive language. As I read, the language painted a beautiful picture in my mind of Spammy and the tree stand. I am looking forward to hand-selling this title to those looking for a heartwarming holiday read.

This was a cute little Christmas time story about a small town brother and sister duo working together at their family’s Christmas Tree Stand in NYC. I enjoyed the character development, the interpersonal relationships, and that the love story between the MC and her love interest was more realistic than some books AND not the sole focus.

Thank you to Mary Kay Andrews, NetGalley, and St Martins Press for this eARC!

Title: Bright Lights, Big Christmas
Author: Mary Kay Andrews
Genre: Romance
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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?

This was an okay read. I think its main goal was to make NYC seem quirky, charming, and safe. I’ve never been there, but I think that may be a bit inaccurate. Kerry’s brother, Murphy, really was a selfish jerk, and that was basically his entire personality: grouchy jerk. Kerry felt like she flitted from thing to thing, a surface-level person only. I liked the neighborhood and its inhabitants, but this novel didn’t have very much depth.

Mary Kay Andrews is from Florida. Bright Lights, Big Christmas is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

(Review live on release day.)

Recommended for fans of MKA who want a light, holiday read with an NYC Christmas setting.

Cute and wholesome!

Bright Lights, Big Christmas is an amazing holiday read. This gives you all the holiday feelings you are going to love. I love the dynamics between Kerry and her brother Murph. Thrown together to work the family business while living in a camper they haven't been close in years. Murph is a little grumpy and set in his ways of how the business is run. Kerry has this way of bringing new life and magic to the Christmas tree lot that has been missing. I love how she sticks it out through everything. You are going to love the friendships Kerry forms in the neighborhood with Patrick and his son Austin plus even cranky Heinz. This is a sweet read with a whole lot of holiday spirit, blooming friendships and bringing family closer. I loved this so much. You need to read this today and feel the Christmas love.

Mary Kay Andrews has another bestseller in Bright Lights, Big Christmas. She develops each character beautifully revealing their imperfectness and complexities. She incorporates many of today’s issues into the storyline and weaves everything together perfectly. I could picture the snowy New York square as I read and lived the nod she gave to last year’s hit The Santa Suit. Read Bright Lights, Big Christmas - you will love it!