Member Reviews
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.
Mary Kay Andrews has hit the jackpot again with another charming romance about a young North Carolina unemployed graphic artist, daughter of a Christmas tree farmer, who is forced to help sell trees for the season in New York City with her quirky older brother and live in a rickety old trailer on the street. Their goal is to save their Dad’s Christmas tree farm since he’s had a heart attack and can’t do it himself.
The wonderful neighborhood people she meets during the time she’s there help her learn what she really wants to do with her life and love is in the air this Christmas season.
This book is a must-read for everyone who loves romantic stories and good Christmas stories, especially Mary Kay Andrews fans. It is a well written and well told tale you’ll definitely enjoy.
I love MK Andrews' books, and this was no exception...in fact, it should be adapted for a Hallmark Christmas movie. :) Small town girl with big city guy; lumberjack guy with city girl; a few supporting characters who are broken but become healed...it's got all the feels. It also has a plot that goes deeper than surface level and inspires you to look out for your fellow man, not just at Christmas, but any time of the year.
I always enjoy this author’s books and her latest is no exception. Great plot and character dynamics. I definitely recommend this book.I received an advance ebook from the publisher and Netgalley. This is my unbiased review.
I love Christmas books no matter the time of year, and reading this was just what I needed! I loved the storyline and the characters.