Every book Susan Mallery writes is relatable. Her characters aren't rich and they don't always live in a big house on the hill. You will laugh and cry root for the underdog.

Julie is a successful businesswoman, a kind and gracious hostess, a supportive mom, and a keeping her younger boyfriend a secret. When her kids Dana and Nick decide that they need a family Christmas after the death of their father, she has no choice but to tell them. Dana is hurt that she didn't know, and Julie feels guilty. She decides that Heath should join them and since his ex-wife is going on a trip his young children will as well. Nick and his wife Blair also bring Blair's estranged mother even though Blair is so angry at her for abandoning her as a child after the death of her little brother. Next comes Heath's ex-wife who is dumped by her boyfriend. The group continues to grow. Dana's on again off again boyfriend works with Julie and when he is shot at work, he also joins the crew. Susan does an incredible job of making this "family" come together. It isn't easy with all of the twists, but it is an amazing story of love and forgiveness. I highly recommend this book.

This was such a fun read! Family dynamics, surprises, and chaos. It was a fun holiday read! I highly recommend and will check out more deli this author.

Julie planned a quiet holiday with her significant other only to have her kids and a whole cast of others want to celebrate at the family cabin instead. ARC from NetGalley

If you think your holidays are crazy, get ready for #OneBigHappyFamily. Instead of getting swept away in the usual Christmas shenanigans, Julie decided to scale back this year and spend time with her boyfriend. Her children are grown and will be out of town for the holidays affording a more relaxing experience.

Unbeknownst to Julie, her stress-free holiday is unraveling. Her children want to honor their father's passing at the cabin and even though they were exes, Julie always puts her kids first. A low-key holiday turns into exes, step-children and a house filled angst and adventure.
Will they survive unscathed until the new year?

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for the early edition of #OneBigHappyFamily in exchange for an honest review. When I first started the book, I wasn't sure it was for me but I'm a fan of the author so I kept reading. Once everyone is under the same roof that's when the story turns into a page turner. Filled with Mallery's quirky characters and situations, readers will fall in love this year.

Oh my goodness! This is my new all time favorite read. It is such a heartwarming and heartbreaking good read. I love the characters. They play off of each other well. The storyline just keeps getting better. Julie is my person to strive to be like. I love this book! I was given an advanced reader copy of this well written book by NetGalley and I am freely sharing my review.

It is Christmas time and Julie expects to spend a quiet time with her boyfriend Heath. Plans change when her children want to spend Christmas at the cabin since it is the first Christmas after their dad died. Julie divorced their dad years ago but decides to make Christmas a little easier for them. This is a great book with Christmas guests expanding at every turn. There are a lot of firsts such as Heath meeting her children and Julie meeting his children. I loved the organizational skill of Julie and her take charge attitude. Lots of surprises, humor, and love.

A must read! Susan Mallery sure knows how to create One Big Happy Family🤶🏻. It becomes painfully obvious that there are no secrets in this cabin as family takes on an expanded meaning. You may laugh or cry but will definitely love this Christmas story!

Julie has planned a quiet Christmas holiday with Heath, the younger man she’s been keeping a secret from her adult children. But plans change, and soon she and Heath are spending the holidays at her family’s cabin with an ever-growing group of relatives, including his two young children. It’s all too easy for the various adults to fall into familiar roles and expectations, until everyone is forced to rethink and reframe long-held narratives. Despite being one of the oldest in the room, Julie has some growing up to do of her own if she wants to truly have one big happy family.

The latest from Susan Mallery delivers everything her readers have come to expect, and it is a solid entry for a holiday read.

One big happy family by Susan mallery was a great read. Julie wanted a quiet Christmas at home but when her children come to her and tell her they need Christmas at the cabin as it’s their first year without their dad she jumps right in to plan Christmas at the cabin. It ends up being a big celebration with so many people at the cabin. Lots of drama happening. Some forgiveness, and of course some love along the way. I’d definitely recommend this book

Yet another fabulous read by Susan Mallery! I loved this book, every bit of it. I felt as if I was part of the family and experiencing their quirky, funny, loveable, real-life family myself. There was romance, comedy, drama and many realistic scenes included. I was able to connect with every character, even the difficult Gwen. There were so many personalities to keep straight, yet each one was captured well! So well done!

I would definitely recommend this book for your next Christmas season read. I was so pleased to have the opportunity to read and review this one even though Christmas is still a long way away!
Thanks for the opportunity Netgalley and Harlequin!

For me, Mallery books are either hit or miss. And when they miss, I find that they go down in flames for me and make it hard to trust that the next book won't be the same. I read this one because the story sounded nice - family at Christmas - and with only a little bit of Hallmark. I did realize that it could really backfire in that this could turn into one of the Mallery books that just doesn't catch my attention and then becomes a bit hard to get through.

I am pleased to report that this one was a good fit for me and my taste. I liked all of the characters from the outset. Sure, Julie is a bit too good to be true, and her family and friends seem to be very mature and able to talk things out which is not my own experience. But all in all, they felt like people who could exist in the real world without too much stretching of reality. And the story moved along well. This was more of a character study really than anything else, because there is not a lot of plot and it centres around a few days rather than years or months. I will say that there were very few surprises in the book itself. Every great reveal was pretty much something I had already figured out at the start of the story. Is that because I'm a super savvy reader? Not really. More that the story does pull in a lot of tropes.

That being said, this is still a good book. Light reading. Great for going into or over the holiday period. Not too much Christmas if you aren't someone who celebrates. And also if you decide to pick this up outside the season for a trip or while sitting on the beach. This was IMO a good Mallery addition. True to her strengths of writing about the small moments. And just a good story overall.

A quiet Christmas for Julie, is upended when her grown children decide on a family Christmas at a cabin. Plans change and relationships form over a holiday involving a growing number of guests and various relationships. A fun quick holiday read, perfect for fans of cozy Hallmark Christmas movies.

Fun, engaging, family drama romp during a Christmas to remember. I enjoyed this book and all of it's eccentricities and crazy fun. Sometimes it felt that the coincidences just kept on coming but this added to the endearing story of family plus more family plus other people that used to be family. A few things were a bit far-reaching but didn't detract from this book. I received an ARC in exchange for my opinion and I thank the Author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity.

One Big Happy Family by Susan Mallory is an odd book. Not really a romance as much as a family comedy. Through a series of life twists, a woman her two adult children, her daughter in law, that DIL’s monther and Uncle, the woman’s boyfriend, his kids and ex wife, and two of the woman’s employees (one of whom is her daughter’s on again off again boyfriend) all end up in a very large “cabin” for Christmas together..All because Julie (the woman) invites them all (when she was going to have a quiet Xmas with her boyfriend). The over under is a lot of working through various old traumas which is nice. It is a solidly nice book. Fans of the movie ‘Home for the Holidays’ will love it. It was a few too many characters and Julie’s ultra people pleaser characteristics that kept it for being my cup of Christmas, but it was a well written romp. Great for passing around to the romance reading cousins at thanksgiving.

Overall, this was a nice heartwarming story about family and romance with a couple of cute kids and a dog thrown in for good measure. I wasn't quite sure when I started reading this book if I was going to like it as the multiple plot lines seemed a bit complicated. However, I soon warmed up to the characters, especially Heath and Julie., with Blair and Nick running a close second. I liked most of the rest of the supporting cast of characters as well.

***SPOILER ALERT*** The one aspect of the book that I just couldn't buy into completely was Axel and Dana's story. I mean, I could understand him leaving her once but three times??? I found his explanation to be pretty lame and just couldn't believe in their HEA.

Some R-rated love scenes.

Susan Mallery hooked me with the premise of a family at Christmas and the dynamics of the family relationships when everyone is together.

When her children urge a family Christmas to honor her ex-husband, their father, Julie is reluctant and doesn't really want to bring her new, younger boyfriend to her big family. Add a lot of fun secondary characters, the usual craziness of the holidays and everyone dealing with their own feelings and you have a great book.

I really enjoyed that Julie was an independent woman in a field normally occupied by a man and that she was basically a great role model for her children.

Add in Susan Mallery's usual charm and fun storyline and I really enjoyed this book.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this in lieu of an honest review.

Great book by Susan Mallery. It was a fun,different kind of twist on characters and their extended families. Very unique and fun to read !

What a fabulous read One Big Happy Family is!. Susan Mallery captures the multitude of personalities as friends, family and Rufus gather athe cabin to celebrate Christmas together and remember Elden, Dana and Nick's late father - who tended to get lost as the story progresses. Brother, sister, sister in law, former boyfriend, are among the cast of holiday guests along with the mom her boyfriend and yes, the boyfriend's children, dog and former wife. It makes for a very interesting gathering.
I very much enjoyed this book and it will be on my holiday reread list for years to come.

My thanks to #NetGalley and #Harlequin for the chance to early read One Big Happy Family. I am One Big Happy reader!

I loved this book. It was a hard one to put down. It definitely was One Big Happy Family. I loved all the characters and their stories. It brought lots of laughs and a few tears. I highly recommend.