Short holiday books are my jam and I was so excited to get this one! Mary Kay Andrews has a writing style that is so homey to me. I love all the southern charm and sayings that she writes with.
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The characters are great and so likable except for the love interest, Patrick. I felt like we didn’t get to know him well enough. The romance aspect ended up being my least favorite part of the book.
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I LOVED Murphy, and the dog, and Heinz, and the neighborhood. What’s better than Christmas in New York? The setting was SO charming.
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I think readers looking for a romance will be disappointed, but if you’re looking for a sweet Christmas read about selling trees in NYC, it’s a winner!
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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance e-copy!!

Well I have to preface this review with the fact that Mary Kay Andrews is probably my favorite author....so of course, I'm going to say this book is a delight! I've never read a Christmas book in May, but now I might do that every year. I really enjoyed this book and the main character trying to fit in to the big city even though she is a small town girl. I'm going to have to reread this closer to the holidays because it's definitely one of those books that will put you into the Christmas spirit. What's not to love about a girl trying to sell Christmas trees?? And of course, there's some mystery, romance, and fun antics all throughout the book.

A keeper of a book that will take its place on my shelf next to The Santa Suit to reread each season from New York Times best selling author Mary Kay Andrews.

Bright Lights, Big Christmas is a novella celebrating the magic of Christmas and second chances.

Kerry Tolliver is an unemployed graphic artist, who has moved back to her family’s Christmas tree farm in western North Carolina. The Tolliver family has been selling Christmas trees in New York City since Kerry Tolliver was a little girl. Her father has some unexpected health problems and Kerry is guilt tripped into taking his place by her mother, Birdie, to accompany her oldest brother, Murphy, to NYC to sell their Christmas trees from the family farm. Kerry is not looking forward to living in the family’s ancient camper, nicknamed Spammy, without working heat or plumbing. This is where Kerry and Murphy will live while in New York. Then, Kerry meets Patrick, the annoying Mercedes owner who parked in her spot for the first two days. Patrick is recently divorced, a father to a six-year-old son, and lives in the neighborhood. Can Kerry’s first impressions about the handsome single father be wrong?

I love reading Christmas books year round so it doesn’t feel strange to be reading a Christmas book in May. It was a quick read because I didn’t want to put it down.

There is so much to like about this charming story. Loved the characters, the perfect city setting, and the neighbors and community support. A must read this holiday season.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and Mary Kay Andrews for the eARC I received in exchange for my honest opinion.

Absolutely charming!

5/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I so look forward to Mary Kay Andrew's Christmas novellas, and this one was just cute as a button! North Carolinian Kerry Tolliver and her gruff, older brother Murphy have to set-up and man their family's Christmas tree lot in NYC, while living in the retro, beat up camper named Spammy. A cast of neighborhood characters emerge and the antics begin. I've never given much thought to what it's like working away from home on a tree lot, so I was quite interested in how all that works. I'm NC born and raised, so I'm familiar with the large tree farms in the western part of the state, but that's about the extent of it. So this story was both eyes opening, and heartwarming, to say the least. A lovely Christmas novella!

Thank you net galley and publisher for this ARC copy. I really the community, work ethic and feel good vibes of this book. Another great one by Mary Kay Andrews. I highly recommend it.

So Fun. Who knew reading a Christmas story in spring would have you longing for snow, the smell of pine, and good Italian food. Kerry Tolliver is at loose ends when a medical emergency for her dad puts her in a small trailer with her grumpy brother for six weeks. Tolliver trees have been a mainstay for busy New Yorkers for as long as Kerry can remember. Reluctantly she agrees to help run the stand “on their corner” as old memories mix with new friends Kerry gains insight into a brother she hardly knew and a future she could only dream about. A lovely MKA story, with a bit of mystery and an homage to an earlier Christmas story involving a Santa Suit. Clever, refreshing and truly worth heating a bit of cider to enjoy.

Relationships unfold brilliantly and Andrews’ characters feel like old friends, as they go about their business, making a living and exhibiting kindness along the way. I imagined the hustle and bustle of busy New York City as people ready themselves for Christmas. A heartwarming and uplifting book in which a magical Christmas will prevail.

Andrews is a master of storytelling. Her subtle messages of kindness and finding healing strength is transformational and something we sorely need in today’s world.

I love christmas books, even in early summer. It was like hallmark with christmas in july.
Last year I went to NYC after christmas and it reminded me so much of that time. I love how MKA always have such a rich family story.

This Christmas romance was absolutely adorable and perfect to sit around with the Christmas lights and drinking hot chocolate. This is a hallmark movie in book form. Love, love, love it!!
I just reviewed Bright Lights, Big Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews. #NetGalley
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Kerry Tolliver moved back home to North Carolina. This is where her family has a Christmas Tree Farm. Every year her Dad and brother Murphy go to New York City to sell their trees. But this year her Dad is ill. Her Mom, Birdie, ask her if she will go to help Murphy sell the trees this year. The whole family use to go the sell the Christmas trees when Kerry and Murphy were young.

So Kerry and Murphy set out to drive north to New York City. It has been years since Kerry has been there. It seems a lot of people seem to know her brother, Murphy. What a change from North Carolina to New York City, people and the weather. She meets a lot of really nice people who help them in many ways. It seems all these people look forward to seeing the Christmas Tree Farm come to sell their trees.

I truly so enjoyed Mary Kay Andrews novel from the very first page. It was very hard each night to book the book down. Looking forward to reading more of May Kay Andrews books.

I love Mary Kay Andrews and I adored this book. There were many different characters but the way this book was written you felt like you knew each one. Whether it was the twins mom or the kid delivering tress, each one was involved in the story and you felt like they were a main character. It was a great read that made me wish it didn't end. I don't think I've ever read a book where you cared about every single character before. This is a must read.

What a wonderful story! This truly brings out the Christmas spirit. The warm glow remained throughout the book. The story of Kerry and Murphy coming to the big city to sell Christmas trees seemed like a fun way to earn a living. But the friends they meet and the relationships that are built are so sweet. I loved the background of art and how the love of drawing and story telling brings them all together even more. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!!

This is another sweet Christmas story by Andrews, and it does not disappoint. Kerry is heading to New York with her older brother Murphy to sell the Christmas Trees from their family Christmas farm. It is usually Murphy and their Dad who handle this, but Dad just got out of the hospital after a heart attack, so Kerry reluctantly fills in. She is normally not around since she escaped small town South Carolina for college and a job in graphic design. But a merger made her position superfluous, so she has come home and is temporarily living with her Mom, as she did after her parents divorced when she was much younger. The story then centers on her interactions with the neighbors on the block in New York where they set up. Sweet and heartwarming, it will be a great Christmas read but don't expect great realism or grittiness. The setbacks are not terrible, and the residents of this street are amazingly universally wonderful and welcoming. But after all, it's Christmas!

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

The Tolliver family has been selling Christmas trees in New York City since Kerry Tolliver was a little girl. She has a few fond memories of her time traveling with her family to New York City before her parents divorced and the family broke apart. She never imagined that she'd be back in New York, selling trees with her grumpy, mountain man, estranged older brother, as a favor to her mother, who was suddenly playing nursemaid to her ex-husband after his third wife left him. Kerry also didn't envision living in the small rundown camper, Scampy, with her brother, who she quickly learns snores loud enough for the whole block to hear.

Kerry quickly learns how her brother, Murphy, and her dad, Jock, have built lasting relationships with the residents around their tree stand. The community pitches in and helps take care of them while they live there during the month of December. Kerry adapts and starts leaning on her creative side to start changing things up in hopes of making the family tree farm more money. She also makes new friends who help spark her creative juices. She even meets a man who starts to turn her world upside down in just a few weeks.

This book has all the charm of the small town in The Santa Suit paired with the love of the big city flair. I really enjoyed the way the community came together to care for each other and the great mystery surrounding Heinz. This is a must holiday read!

Bright Lights, Big Christmas is the perfect cozy holiday read! It's May, but I wanted hot chocolate and a roaring fire while I read this. Thank you to Mary Kay Andrews for another amazing book!

The only thing keeping it four stars instead of five stars is the awkward scene in the tiny trailer where the main characters aim to be intimate with a child just a few feet away.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC for an honest review.

Thank you for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

I LOVE Mary Kay Andrews so when I saw this on Netgalley I legit squealed! It was so wonderful! I love her Christmas novels and this one is perfect as well!

This heart-warming, seasonal novel is a near-perfect Christmas story destined to be a holiday favorite (and perhaps, even a film).

When Kerry Tolliver’s job is made redundant through a corporate merger, she returns home to North Carolina. The family business, a well-established Christmas tree farm, is in dire financial straits. To compound the problem, Kerry’s father is recuperating from a heart attack, preventing him from journeying with her brother to New York City to set up their traditional tree lot. This one opportunity provides the bulk of their annual income. Consequently, Kerry is pressed into service to live in a trailer for two months and to help sell trees.

The story unfolds as Kerry meets a variety of neighborhood residents including a handsome divorced father and his adorable son, an aging cantankerous man who critiques Kerry’s art, and a handful of interesting merchants who provide sustenance and warmth in inclement weather.

There is much to like about this charming story with a touch of romance, a bit of drama and a lot of feel-good scenes for a holiday treat. The characters are engaging and likeable – even the grumpy ones! This is definitely a book I will add to my read-again list.

My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This review is being posted immediately to my GoodReads account and will be posted on Amazon upon publication.

I'm a huge Mary Kay Andrews fan, so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to read her latest book, Bright Lights, Big Christmas. It did not disappoint! Unlike most of her previous books, this one did not take place in the South, but in New York City, although the family at the center of the book is from North Carolina. Kerry and her brother, Murphy, are spending the weeks before Christmas in NYC selling Christmas trees from the family farm and living together in a tiny travel trailer. I loved the community around Kerry and Murphy, from a crotchety elderly man to a compassionate six-year-old. Although the emphasis was definitely on the positive, everyone seemed like real characters, with faults as well as good points. This is the perfect feel-good Christmas read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Overall, Bright Lights, Big Christmas is a fun and charming read that captures the spirit of the holiday season. Mary Kay Andrews weaves together a delightful story of family, love, and the magic of Christmas in the city. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a heartwarming holiday romance. I give it four stars.

Mary Kay Andrews has done it again with Bright Lights, Big Christmas. From a Christmas tree farm in NC to a lot in NYC, she brings the spirit of the holidays back in full force, just as she did with last year's The Santa Suit. Highly recommend, don't miss 5his one!
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.