“Christmas in Aspen” by Anita Hughes
What a Week !!
How many love stories can you have in one story? I think this one has a whole hand full. I didn’t fall in love with the story but it caught my full attention in so many ways, and, held it the whole time; all the while playing with my emotions, too. If I try to give you some of the reasons, I so enjoyed this story I would need to say things that just might spoil the experience of finding them out for yourself. So, I will just say, Happy Reading ! !

While I liked certain parts of this book, I found the majority of it to be stilted. I think the characters' personalities needed to be developed/written out better. I thought the plot was a bit unbelievable.

My favorite part to this book was that it took place at Christmas.

Christmas in Aspen by Anita Hughes offers a festive holiday read with a promising premise but ultimately falls somewhat short in execution. The protagonist's journey to uncover her late mother's mysterious past starts off with intrigue, but the characters lack depth and fail to truly captivate the reader. There are an array of characters who all generally feel underdeveloped and unremarkable. The interactions between Caroline and the various individuals she meets lack authenticity, making it difficult for readers to become emotionally invested in their stories.

Further, the writing style in "Christmas in Aspen" comes across as choppy, with overuse of unnecessary details that detract from the overall flow of the narrative. While the plot twist towards the end of the novel is entertaining and smart, it's not enough to fully redeem the shortcomings of the book.

Despite its flaws, "Christmas in Aspen" does offer a cozy holiday setting and a touch of mystery that may appeal to readers looking for a light-hearted seasonal read. However, the lack of depth in the characters and the uneven writing style prevent the novel from truly shining.

Overall, while "Christmas in Aspen" has its moments of charm, it ultimately falls short of delivering a fully satisfying reading experience.

I absolutely loved this book!! I couldn’t put it down.
I just loved all the characters. I highly recommend this book.

I wasn’t sure that reading a Christmas themed book in May was going to feel good or keep me engaged.
I had nothing to worry about!

Christmas in Aspen by Anita Hughes is a delightful and heartwarming story that beautifully captures the essence of family connections and the magic of taking a chance on love.
Set against the picturesque backdrop of Aspen, this story, centered around the book and publishing industry, offers fascinating insights into the literary world, with accurate relatable comparisons between the hustle and bustle of big city life and the charm of a small town.

I have never been to Aspen, but now I feel like I have as the author’s descriptions bring Aspen to life!
Throughout the book you can feel the cozy warmth and festive spirit of the season.
Christmas in Aspen is a perfect holiday read, filled with the joy of family, the excitement of new beginnings, and the profound realization of what it means to find and hold onto love.
I would highly recommend it for anyone looking for a heartwarming seasonal escape!

Thankyou to Author Anita Hughes, Netgalley and St. Martin’s Griffin publishing for the opportunity to read this book ahead of published date.
Charlene 📚🤗🌸 @lastnownext
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The book was set in an idyllic Christmas setting of Aspen. As Caroline tries to track down the mysterious story of her recently passed mother. To be honest this one took me awhile to get through. I didn’t feel compelled or drawn in the way I expected for a Christmas read. In fact it felt very sad and grief filled. Not that there is not a place for this topic, it just wasn’t what I was expecting.

More of the book takes place after Christmas and I felt that Christmas as a theme was sort of left behind. It was interesting to see the evolution of Caroline’s character as she searched for the answers she was looking for. But the romance in the book was not very developed, I felt it lacked chemistry.

So while the book had some interesting plot points, and a sweet setting, I felt overall it didn’t meet my hopes or expectations.

I expected a little more. Christmas came and gone. For some reason, I was expecting Hallmark Christmas. It’s still a cozy read.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of Christmas in Aspen.

I have to say the title and cover drew me to the book. I love a cozy, Christmas read.
However, this was not the cozy read I was hoping for. First of all, this didn’t so much feel like a Christmas story. Christmas Eve and day were washed over so fast you could miss it. It wasn’t the holiday that took center stage, but instead the plot of Caroline trying to learn more about her mother’s final trip to Aspen, before she died.

The story just dragged for me. I didn’t feel real connection between the love interests. The chemistry just wasn’t there. This was a novel set in modern times with flashbacks but the writing style made the modern time feel like the past as well. The language used didn’t fit the age of the characters. This just wasn’t the book for me!

I was in the mood for something set during the holidays and not only did the title jump out at me, but so did the cover. I mean I am just one of those that loves covers so much that they do make it or break it for me. The blurb sounded so interesting I had to give this one a try. I love that this is a little different that our FMC is an editor and is struggling with work. Caroline goes to her late mother's cabin and finds a letter. As she makes the decision to follow where it leads, she finds that sometimes life is the most unexpected, but the best things can happen. What I will end this with is that this is one of those books that you expect to see as a holiday Hallmark channel movie.

This was another wonderful Christmas story by Anita Hughes. I've read them all and always look fwd to them -- like a wonderful Christmas present. It's poignant and beautiful and filled with love.

Ahhhh, Christmas reads are my absolute favorite. Be sure to grab a blanket and get cuddled up next to the fire with this read. The story reminded me a lot like the movie "Mama Mia". I loved how the book was located in Aspen, CO, one of my favorite cities. The details and how the town was decorated for Christmas was great. It's definitely a page turner, as you wonder who this "mystery man" is.

I wanted to love this - the potential was there but much of the story felt forced to me and this failed to capture my interest. I read this over a few weeks, since I was never able to really get into it.

I wasn’t the right reader for this.




Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin and NetGalley for the DRC

I enjoyed the pacing of the book. I loved the characters, the sister dynamic and the grief they are going through in their own way with the passing of their mom. I love Caroline's mission to find out about their mom's past and a mysterious lover she kept from them. It's got romance, and mystery.

I really, really wanted to love this novel but unfortunately.. It just didn’t work for me. The stunning cover drew me in and I was excited to read this one! The setting in Aspen was done well and I loved reading about all the different local places and the historical prevalence of the area. The descriptions of the setting were done really well and made me want to transport myself to Aspen immediately.

There were a lot of different stories to follow within this book, and I didn’t feel they worked together or supported the main plot enough for me to love them. It felt like there was way too much going on to the point that I just got very confused and didn’t get the story at all.

Caroline and Daphne constantly went in circles with the same problems until they just.. didn’t. This string of conflict didn’t have enough resolution for me to contribute to their relationship developing in any substantial way. Multiple times I just thought “girls, we’ve done this already, get over it!”

I had a hard time connecting to any of the characters. They didn’t feel loveable and were very one dimensional. Unfortunately the romance also fell flat and I didn’t feel a real genuine connection between any of the main romances. I would have loved to have read more relationship development between the couples and less about Caroline’s mother and the author she had a strange connection to.

I did enjoy the ending of the book and how the author tied in all of the women making different choices for themselves about love and their careers across time. I wish these ties would’ve been more prevalent throughout the story.

I’m sure there’s an audience for this book and they would absolutely love it, it just didn’t work for me!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I wouldn’t call this a “Christmas” book per se. It happens to be set between Christmas and New Year’s but the story isn’t really Christmas centric. In fact, there are a lot of stories going on here, maybe too many. You have the main character Caroline, her sister Daphne, their relationship, recently passed mother, their romances, mother’s romance, a new author, an older author thru letter flashbacks, etc. It’s a lot. I actually thought this book was going to be Anna and Elsa fanfic at first given where the story was going, but it did not end that way. I appreciated the scenery descriptions and am curious to see Aspen in winter. There is no spice in this book. A library read at best.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I got this as an ARC, and I have to say this novel was absolutely fantastic.
Caroline, upon discovering a letter addressed to her late mother, decides to go to Aspen during the Christmas holidays. Her sister, Daphne, and her new fiance, tags along as they don't want to spend Christmas apart.
In Aspen, Caroline meets a charming and handsome man named Max.
All four adults are on individual journeys to find themselves, and love along the way!
There are no spices whatsoever, but this story doesn't require it at all. It is a beautiful story without it.
Thank you to NetGalley and Anita Hughes

The setting of Aspen, Colorado during the Christmas season is the highlight and star of this book. The holiday season atmosphere and setting was thoroughly enjoyable.

I liked this book but it didn’t completely draw me in. There were some secondary storylines that didn’t add to the story for me, including a packet of old letters that the main character read throughout the book, a local writer’s work at editing a book based on his own experience, and the main character’s sister’s relationship. I believe it would have made it more interesting and convincing to me if the main characters had more page time together, because I was not invested in them ending up together. I also think that there was a huge surprise twist revealed right towards the end of the book that was quickly brushed away.

Although this is a Christmas story, there was an overarching sense of loss and sadness due to the main character’s grief and coming to terms with her mother’s recent death. This may not affect some readers as much as others.

Overall, I think that this book has some charming moments and it is going to appeal to a lot of readers.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the ARC.

This was the second book I read by this author and while I loved the setting, I had some issues with the story. I also had trouble connecting to the characters. Caroline was hard to relate to, I didn’t like Daphne, and while I liked the story set in the past at first, I hated Teddy more and more as the flashback progressed. He was manipulative and came on way too strong. I couldn’t understand what the woman from the flashback saw in him.

This was an odd Christmas book in that Christmas Day was at around the 30 percent mark and the bulk of the story covered the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. As such, there weren’t a ton of Christmas feels, but I did like what there was, and I loved hearing about how the town decorated.

Overall this was okay, but not my favorite Christmas read. It would be a good book to read after Christmas since the majority of the story is set then anyway.

Having read and enjoyed “Christmas at the Lake” by this author (4 Stars), I was looking forward to a new Christmas story set in Aspen. Unfortunately, this one did not match my previous experience.

The detailed descriptions of Aspen captured the beauty of the area and evoked the spirit of the season. However, I never engaged fully with the storyline for the following reasons. The main characters were not that likeable - primarily because the romances lacked authentic chemistry and were full of turmoil. In addition, I found myself becoming annoyed at the protagonist’s interference in her sister’s life when she had significant issues of her own to resolve. The insertion of a series of letters as a subplot, while interesting, seemed disruptive to the flow of the story. A twist at the end did add much needed dimension, but the conclusion itself was weak and too vague.

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.

Christmas in Aspen by Anita Hughes was an enjoyable read. The characters and storyline were believable and the mood of a Christmas story in Aspen was. entertaining. The family dynamics made the story.Read this story to find out how the sisters worlds go through transitions and how love come into their lifes. Thank you to Net gallery for allowing me to read this novel prior to its publication.