Gonna have to go with 2.5 ⭐️ on this one. It started out with promise but just neglected to catch me. Taking 3 days to read less than a 300 page book... definitely not normal. It had the tropes I enjoy; second chance love, homecoming... Christmas but just fell short for me. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

Snow Place Like Home attempts to bring festive cheer and romance but stumbles into the familiar pitfalls of overly predictable storytelling. Laden with Hallmark clichés, the plot feels as though it’s stuck on repeat, with conversations and internal monologues circling endlessly without much evolution. The repetition quickly becomes tiresome, and moments intended to be heartwarming often induce second-hand embarrassment instead.

What’s more unsettling is the dynamic between the romantic leads. The heroine’s transformation feels less like genuine character development and more like a troubling erasure of her individuality, molded into a version of the hero's late wife—a vision centered on home, community, and domesticity at the expense of her previously fulfilling life and career. Coupled with an uncomfortable religious undertone that hovers without fully grounding itself, the story struggles to find its footing or deliver the charm it promises.

I enjoyed this Christmas story. I did not always like the main character and it was not a book I will be shouting from the rooftops about, but it was enjoyable enough. 3 stars.

Ella Wilson used to love the Christmas holiday season. But that was before returning home to the small community she grew up in. She needs to find a job. A life. A purpose. But she’s not feeling much hope. Seth Hamil is a widower, an art teacher and a volunteer at his community church. Having Ella back in town reminds him of his youth and his heartbreak. He still has faith in the season of love and the holiday is perfect time to remind Ella that there can be happiness in her life. I loved the small town setting. Christmas books are some of my favorites. I felt like it was slow at times and there wasn’t really anything crazy happening. It felt flat. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher.

This book is a clean christian romance. Not my cup of tea but the romance is very sweet. It was a bit predictable but I feel like it's hard to be original with a christmas story.

This was a cozy Hallmark-like book that I really enjoyed! The characters tackled grief but it was dealt with in a great way. There was Christmas activities and family, community and heartwarming memories. A great read!

Small town vibe and cozy romance. The only thing that I would have like to see more was Tony. Overall a very pleasant reading in fact i liked it so much that I’ve ordered a physical copy for myself..

Enjoyed reading Ella and Seth's story. Planning the town's Christmas tree auction and running into her first love makes for a good storyline to love.
The story flowed and a good addition to my holiday reading.

Thank you Thomas Nelson for the ARC!
Personally, this one wasn't more me. If you love hallmark Christmas movies, you will love this book. Which I do but I feel like this one was lacking some quality. I loved the storyline, but there were many parts in the book where I caught myself asking if I had read that part before. Some lines seemed repetitive and Im unsure if that was intentional or not.

I really wanted to like this book, but it wasn't a good fit for me.

Christmas Romance story with Hallmark Vibes. As someone who loves Hallmark and easy to read holiday romance this was good. Ella returns home after losing her job at an art gallery in the city and a recently broken off engagement with her fiancé. Small town romance with her ex Seth starts to develop where they work together and find love.

I will be honest, I did not finish this book. It became too religious for me as someone who has a complicated relationship with religion. I don't tend to mind some Christian romance, this was just too much.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for providing an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

High school crushes turned forever loves.

Snow Place Like Home by Lacey Baker features a Grinch/Cindy Lou Who romance. When it comes to Christmas, Ella Wilson is all Grinch. She just wants to bypass everything about Christmas, as it reminds her of her mother and everything she’s lost. Seth Hamil is Ella’s opposite. He LOVES Christmas and all it entails. The beauty of this romance is that Ella and Seth grew up together and had a secret crush on each other, but the other never knew. When Ella returns home for the holidays, the two are forced to work together and rekindle their friendship, which in turn leads to them falling in love. Snow Place Like Home is an inspirational romance, with church prominently featured.

While there is no indication Snow Place Like Home is part of a series, there could be an argument made for a couple of secondary characters to have their own story. Fingers crossed we get to return to Bellepoint, Pennsylvania.

~ Favorite Quotes ~

“You’ll never grow if you stay in the same place forever.”

“Everything happens for a reason. The Lord has a plan for everyone and He always makes a way.”

“Sometimes it can be a lot easier to say we’re over something than it is to actually be over it.”

“Everybody needs a friend.”

“Always have faith that whatever you wish for in dreams or in real life will come true.”

“Life’s not a race. It’s a journey to be experienced and savored.”

“The Lord never puts more on us than we can bear.”

“Love isn’t usually planned.”

“Every time we call ourselves making the plans, God just laughs.”

“Life’s gonna be life.”

“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

“You’re my every wish come true.”

Christmas romances are the best. Ella is curator who is unemployed when the business closes down. Ella is plagued with painful memories with the loss of her mother. Ella’s fiancé Ben accepts a job in another county and breaks off their engagement along with her heart and walked away. With nowhere else to go Ella finds herself back home in Bellepoint, Pennsylvania with her Aunt Addie celebrating Christmas. Ella and Seth share a pass with the two of them attending the same high school and Ella just so happens to have had a crush on him. Ella’s aunt Addie talks her in to attending a church meeting for a Christmas fund raiser. Ella had no idea that her former high school crush Seth would be in attendance. Seth had since married and is a widow with the recent death of his wife. Ella and Seth have been paired together to work on the Christmas fundraiser. Both Seth and Ella have loved and loss. These two are great together and it is great how they are overcoming their losses with the help of each other.

This is the 3rd Christmas book that I have had pleasure of reading by Lacey Baker and I am looking forward to reading her next Christmas book.

I received an ARC via NetGalley and I am leaving my review voluntarily.

A good book about what is home, the story of Ella has become one of my favorites and i highly recommend it.

This book was flat to me, it seemed like nothing exciting really happened in the book. The part about the jinx was so unnecessary. As a Christian I didn't think a Christian book should be talking about stuff like that.

I really tried to get into this book, but after reading negative reviews, I felt discouraged from the first page. It didn't exactly hook me, like some books do, and although the premise sounded somewhat exciting, I couldn't find it in me to get past more than page 60. I liked the characters, but everything - even said characters - didn't catch my attention enough. Overall, I think this was just a me problem, and not the book. I have trouble getting into books, especially on Kindle.

Snow Place Like Home by Lacey Baker is a sweet, Hallmark inspired romance. I liked that this was a Christian, closed-door romance - this is one of my favorite genres and I was very excited to read this novel. I loved the small town feel with all the holiday vibes. I could feel myself in the town, with Ella and Seth, as the reconnect and fall in love.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Fantastic novel, enjoyed every minute of it! Absolutely nothing not to like about it. Such a cute story and great characters. Highly recommend this!

Hallie has decided to spend Christmas alone in Chicago. All he friends have left town to visit family. She has decided work the day after Christmas at the Gucci store she manages. She is hoping for an invitation to attend a Christmas party held by her handsome training coach which should give her a bit of holiday fun. However, her eccentric and elderly Aunt Grace has asked her to spend the holiday in Cincinnati which Hallie has said no to.

Although she learns she is invited to the party, Hallie makes a spur of the moment decision to make the drive to Cincinnati. There is a touch of magic, too. Just who is the mysterious Christmas tree salesman she gets a tree from and is he the same person as the Santa Claus who appears only to her when she looks outside the window?

The reader gets to know both Hallie and Aunt Grace well despite the confines of this being a short story. Both came to life on the page. It was sweet to se Hallie finally get into that Christmas spirit. This was a great book to read at the holidays.

This book was cute but cheesy. It was still enjoyable to read. Super cute read for Christmas. Light and fluffy which is what I wanted. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book!

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Another amazing book by Lacey Baker! It gives all the feels, love the small town vibes and also really appreciate the author not being afraid to include elements of faith in a typical romance novel.