The sweetest, heartwarming, small town holiday romance for you to add to your TBR! If you love Hallmark Christmas movies, then this is a book for you - for sure.

The main characters are two former high school classmates whose past is intertwined - Ella and Seth are looking to start over in their lives and while doing so, find love in each other and they never expected it.

Ella returns home and her engagement ends and losing her job - she gets herself roped into organizing the Christmas tree auction as one does in a small town romance. But for a twist, she's doing it with a recent widower - Seth.

I loved this book, though I did feel like some times the pacing was a bit off and I found myself waiting for something more to happen. It was a great Christmas read, but as long as you go into it expecting a sweet Christmas read, you'll be satisfied.

3.5/5

Snow Place Like Home: A Christmas Novel by Lacey Baker is a lovely Christmas novel. It has everything you could want from a feel good Christmas book and might even be called Hallmark-like in style. I adored the small cozy town setting and the welcoming people. This is a book about second chances and coming home, about finding a new lease on life after unimaginable grief. I loved this book and I think you will, too. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

Snow Place Like Home is a well written second chance romance. I enjoyed the plot and the character dynamics. My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance ebook. This is my unbiased review.

Thank you to the publisher for the eARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

This book truly felt like a Hallmark movie. It has all the wonderful Christmas magic, small town shenanigans, and sweet romance you could ever ask for.

My favorite part is easily how the main characters supported each other through their respective griefs. Baker did a phenomenal job of handling the more sensitive subjects with care.

Snow Place Like Home is out now, just in time for Christmas fun.

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson for the ARC of this book in exchange for honest feedback.

This is a super cute Christmas romance. It’s very clean so if spice isnt your jam this is a great book. It’s also under 300 pages so it’s great for sneaking pages in between all the holiday festivities.

⭐️⭐️
DNF- unfortunately the writing and plot just didn’t grab me nor was compelling. There was a lot of telling and not that much showing. The plot moved slowly along and I felt my mind drift and felt it was a drag to get through. I see it’s a faith based romance and while there isn’t anything wrong with that, it’s not my cup of tea!
📝
Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson — Fiction for a free digital copy on exchange for an honest review. This book will be published 10 OCTOBER 2023.

DNF - unfortunately the writing was just not compelling, in my opinion. I just felt my mind drifting so much, as it was a lot of telling instead of showing. It had a super slow start with very low energy. I just didn't feel pulled in enough to continue. I see other reviews bombing it for being faithful based, and that has nothing to do with my rating. I love faith based books!!

I really enjoyed Snow Place Like Home - the pages are full of love, family, and holiday magic. Because the book is longer than many Christmas novels, we get to really know Ella and Seth. I loved the setting, and the descriptions of the many holiday activities. I also felt that the issue of grief was handled very well. I would definitely recommend this book.

This is a sweet second chance at love story that fits perfectly at Christmas. I definitely enjoyed watching Ella, who is a bit of a scrooge, come around to Seth's way of thinking about Christmas. They both dealt with a lot of grief which I know is a hard thing around the holidays. Even though I felt it was a bit slow, I really loved the ending and even teared up a bit.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Publication date: 10 October 2023

This was a sweet and cozy romance that’s squeaky clean! It’s great for people who like no spiciness and I loved how central faith and the church community was to the main characters. It moved a bit slow and I felt like the MCs were missing some depth but both were endearing and likeable. I appreciated no superfluous, big dramatic third act breakup.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. This is a sweet Christmas story with dual POV. It's a small town romance between Elle and Seth.

This book needs trigger warnings for death from sickness. There are two major ones mentioned in the first two chapters and when you are planning to escape the looming death of a relative, that is not what you need. I'm glad that it doesn't dwell on the details, but there was a way to integrate their grief without the whiplash of "The dog that Rhonda had wanted before sickness ravaged her body and took her life".

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

This is a second chance romance set around the holidays (the most wonderful time of the year). It follows Ella who avoids going home no like the plague because of all the loss she has taken. Back home she is roped into her towns Christmas tree auction and with the one that got away. It's a perfect read for lovers of second chance romance books.

I like to observe Advent, but for me, part of building up that sense of anticipation for Christmas is reading holiday themed books, especially romances. I got an earlier start than usual this year with Snow Place Like Home by Lacey Baker. This author's previous books have been novelizations of Hallmark movies, and her talent for this type of story is highly evident in this new novel.

Like many Hallmark heroines, Ella has been away from her picturesque town for ten years in the aftermath of some heartbreaking experiences, including her mother's death. Now, out of a job, she returns and finds herself in charge of the local church's Christmas tree auction, working alongside none other than her long-lost childhood love, Seth, who is a widower. They have very different visions for the auction, but slowly, they get onto the same page, not just professionally but personally as well.

This is such a heartwarming read. The characters and their difficulties felt real, and the church community was a warm and joyful setting. I had an ARC from Netgalley but wound up listening to the audiobook narrated by Trei Taylor. I think it's difficult for a single narrator to convincingly read books with dual points of view, but she nailed it. Seth's voice was as believable as Ella's.

I also appreciated that this was a kissing-only romance. If you're someone who doesn't like a lot of (or any) spice, this will be a great choice for your Christmas reading stack. Thomas Nelson has really been on fire with great romances this year. I hope they'll have more in 2024!

DNF, the writing style is not my thing and I made my own mistake to not notice that it's a Christian romance book and not a normal romance book. I personally don't enjoy that.

I'm sure for anyone who enjoys Christian romances and a Christmas theme it's a great book, but sadly not for me.

Snow Place like home, by Lacey Baker is a delightful Christmas story to read. It is well written with wonderful characters who each have their own feeling about Christmas. When Ella’s company shuts down, she is left unemployed over the holidays and returns to visit her aunt who raised her. While there she is plunged into helping with a community fundraiser.

I liked how Ella used her past experience to make the fund raiser the best ever. In the recent past Seth lost his wife and Ella’s fiance left. It was fun to see Seth’s mother and sister try to get him back out dating. I especially liked how much Ella changed over just a couple week. It was fun to see her change from having such a bad outlook on her life to figuring out what to do with the rest of her life. This is an inspirational Christmas story to read to help the reader get into the spirit of Christmas.

I voluntarily received a complimentary copy of this book, this is my honest review.

Out of sadness comes happiness...eventually. Our sweet couple had to find themselves before reaching out to one another. Lots of past and present issues to resolve. A few tears may be shed. An adorable dog adds a little fun. A charming story that takes place over the Christmas holiday season. I do not celebrate Christmas, but that did not detract from my enjoyment of the romance. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

Such a cute read for the holidays! Very heartfelt and overall a really well written story. Got me into the holiday spirit!!

Just a good one.
Read it in one sitting. Four stars read.
I deeply enjoyed it.
Thanks to netgalley for this book

Snow Place Like Home by Lacey Baker Review:

This book is like a cozy Christmas novel. Protagonist, Ella and her former classmate Seth, reconnect after she goes home to stay with her aunt for Christmas. She feels like so many things have gone wrong in her life. She doesn’t expect good things to happen, but with Seth’s help will she find love, her Christmas spirit, and her dream job?

I actually enjoyed Seth’s character more than Ella’s. I found myself wishing he was the protagonist of the story.

The descriptions of what Ella and Seth were wearing throughout the book weren’t necessary to the story line and I found myself hurriedly reading past those particular characterization elements.

The writing style was adequate, there really was not any moment in the book that I found exciting. It was pretty even keeled throughout the entire novel. I enjoyed the book much more at 83% completed and until the ending. The end of the book was interesting and I like how it ended, however it felt rushed.

What I enjoyed:
Ella’s relationship with her aunt was heartwarming. Her relationship with Seth was sweet. The small town seemed quaint and full of Christmas cheer. Elements of faith was nice with references to church, choir and God. I did enjoy the ending, I had hoped for it to end in that way.

I did like the book, there just weren’t moments that I was surprised, shocked, or in tears. I give it 3/5 stars. Thank you NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.