Bright Lights, Big Christmas was a delightful read. I enjoy celebrating “Christmas in July” by reading a book pool side and this book did not disappoint. I liked that the story took place in NYC versus on a tree farm and I thought the characters were all likeable. I ended up buying this book for my stocking this year!

Thank you to Mary Kay Andrews, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The “vibes” were immaculate. I really enjoyed the setting and the coziness of this story. A snowy winter in New York at a small family Christmas Tree Farm Stand… come on. Amazing.

A cute holiday love story that just didn't hit it out of the park for me. The chemistry between the characters just wasn't there, although the NYC setting was fun!

Thank you St Martin's Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

This book surprised me! I really enjoyed reading this one. It was my first one by Mary Kay Andrews and I will be reading more. I loved the characters they were quirky and fun. This is a great Christmas story, I enjoyed it even after Christmas. There was romance though it did not feel like the whole plot line. Which was a nice change for a Christmas book. Though it still had a good chunk of it. I felt like I was their in New York selling trees with them.

Bright Lights, Big Christmas was a story of Kerry Tolliver and her family selling Christmas trees in New York. Her family comes every year to sell their Christmas trees they grow on their farm. Kerry has not gone in a while but with her father's health she is asked to come help her brother. Along the way she is trying to figure out what she wants to do with her artist vision. There is a man with a son who come and end up helping. She begins getting to know them and realizes that her life might just be right before her.

Content: Fade to black scenes, swearing

Read if you enjoy:
Hallmark
Christmas Stories
Romance
Single Father

I used to have a tradition of only reading Christmas books during the month of December and somehow got away from it; Bright Lights, Big Christmas makes me want to absolutely bring that back!! I love sweet love stories (that always have a touch of conflict (because why not lol) set during this magical Christmas season. We need so many more books along this vein - sweet and wholesome. Mary Kay Andrews is on my pre-order list - I don't even need to know what the book is about!!! THank you to netgalley for this wonderful gift!!! All opinions are my own

I love reading Mary Kay Andrews books just as much as I love to read debbie macomber books and this book was no exception. Christmas is 100% my favorite subgenre of books, and this book was so enjoyable and fun to read. I love reading Christmas books especially when it is 80 or 90 degrees out in the summer time! I will be definitely rereading this book in December 100%
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me access to this book in exchange for my honest review!!!

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I have loved Mary Kay Andrews’ last two Christmas novellas! The New York City neighborhood featured in this one was seriously adorable, and I loved all the sweet characters! The ending was the only thing that didn’t quite work for me, as the timeline was just a tad too good to be true. However, it was the perfect holiday read to get me in the spirit, and I would love to read more from the author in the future.

Bright Lights, Big Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews is a perfect cozy holiday book! I literally just finished this one this morning and I loved it!

If you like your Christmas stories WITHOUT murder but WITH a young woman from North Carolina trying to figure out her next step selling Christmas trees in an adorable neighborhood in New York City with her grumpy brother, and a dog named Queenie, and a cute vintage camper van, and a snowy Christmas Eve with found family and a cute kid and said kid’s handsome dad… THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU! Bonus points… it’s only 278 smaller format pages. Trust me on this one, it’s super cute!

So sad to write this but this was a DNF for me. I love MKA but this one was a bust. The characters were annoying and there was no depth to the characters or storyline.

Kerry is headed to New York City to help her older brother and his dog, Queenie, sell trees from the family tree stand on a corner in Greenwich Village. She is sharing a small camper with her brother, while experiencing Manhattan for the first time, and Kerry is ready to create a new life for herself.

While selling trees, Kerry becomes close with the neighbors who live near their stand, including Patrick and his son Austin. When an elderly man goes missing, the group band together to help look for him.

This was such a fun and cute holiday read. I really enjoyed the characters and story. It was the perfect little Hallmark-like book.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Cute books that adds the humor in true MKA fashion. Makes you feel all the holiday cheer. I liked the brother/sister relationship and also the father/son relationship.

Thank you, Netgalley, the author, and St. Martin's Press for the gifted e-book/audiobook! ❤️ #gifted. My review is comprised of my honest thoughts.

Read this book if you like: Light reads

This was cute and wholesome. I'm just not quite sure how much it stood out for me. I did like it.

Loved it. Super cute story about hope and second chances, if only you stop to smell the pine trees in this case. The author's supporting characters enhance this story so much. Anytime you throw in a cute precocious kid, a pet and an ornery old person, and then weave a magical tale at Christmas time, you will have a hit on your hands.

5 stars!! I enjoyed the author's "Santa Suit" a while back, so thought I'd try this one too - just what I needed after some dark & heavy reads! A perfect, "Hallmark movie" really"feel-good" holiday book set on a NYC Christmas Tree lot! Loved the "found family" neighborhood vibes! Enjoyed & recommend it highly. My sincere thanks to Net Galley & the publisher for the complimentary DRC, it's my pleasure to review it

The Tolliver's are Christmas tree farmers living in North Carolina. Every year they cart their trees to New York and make a nice profit. This year their dad is sick and can't go, siblings Kerry and Murphy are tasked to do it this year. Traveling in "Spammy", an old vintage camper they set up the family stand on a corner in Greenwich Village. While there they meet the neighborhood, quite the eclectic group of people. The neighbors are charming and enjoy the fast-paced Manhattan lifestyle. I enjoyed meeting single dad, Patrick, and his son, Austin. A slow burn romance starts but will anything come of it in the short time they are at the tree lot?
Heartwarming, MKA does it again, writing a hard to put down book tugging at your heartstrings. Old man Heinz was my favorite character and I enjoyed seeing the character development. He is hiding a secret but it's wonderful seeing how he opens up to Kerry as he comes to trust her and lets her care for him. A little bit of Christmas magic comes alive in this book.

Pub Date 26 Sep 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

Mary Kay Andrews never disappoints! This read was cozy and delightful! Lots of feel-good moments in this Hallmark type story!

Well, this was an adorable holiday themed read! Sometimes holiday themed books can be over the top, but I really enjoyed that this one was holiday but not over the top Christmas-y even though it was about a Christmas tree farm! I thought the plot line was really adorable and unique compared to some other holiday books! I loved curling up reading this one by my tree and it made me so excited for the holidays. As always, MKA never disappoints and this was another great read filled with likable characters!

Love a good christmas book by MKA! I really enjoyed this book. I'm so glad that I got the chance to read it early and will definitely be recommending it to multiple people who enjoy these types of novels. I enjoyed the characters and especially enjoyed the writing by this author. I'm excited to see what the author comes out with next as I'll definitely be reading it! Thank you to the publisher for my early copy of this book!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for this advanced copy.

Bright Lights, Big Christmas is the perfect holiday read! It takes place on the Tolliver family’s Christmas tree stand in NYC. Their Christmas tree farm is in NC, so this story has a big city setting with a small town feel.

I liked the main female character, Kerry. She has a big heart and is trying to find her way in life. However, Murphy, her brother, is an insufferable pain in the ass. His story (assuming there will be one) will have quite the character arc I’m sure, but he was way too grumpy (with not enough redeeming qualities) for me to like him. But I adored his English Setter, Queenie!!

I didn’t love the romance between Kerry and Patrick. I love their characters, but the emotional and physical connection fell flat for me. I did like the shared custody arrangement he had with his ex wife and how they handled co-parenting their son, Austin.

Then, there’s Heinz. The grumpy, old man of the bunch who wandered into their lives and was adopted first by the dog, Queenie, and then by the young boy, Austin. What’s his story? Is he homeless? Does he have family? By the end of the story you learn the answer to those questions, but I would absolutely love to hear his story from his point of view.

That leads me to my favorite part of the book. I loved the found family theme, and even though Kerry’s “real family” is front and center on the page, she seemed to have way more connection to her found family in comparison to the blood relatives. The friendship between Kerry, Austin, Queenie, and Heinz is perfection! They are the most random group of individuals and yet they are family. They take care of each other, and it’s so beautiful!

This is my first Mary Kay Andrews book but it will not be my last! I highly recommend this one to bring your soul a little bit of joy.

Mary Kay! I love her! I am so in love with this book! Mary is a total auto buy for me, so even if I receive a free, advanced copy, which I am so appreciative of cause I have no patience and need my Mary Fix! I also share all of my books in my own Little Free Library as I am a steward so sometimes I pick up two copies! This was such a good book. Great story, I could feel the holiday in the air, city vibes and all!