What a heart wrenching read with so many emotions! This was definitely not a typical rom-com but a very complex, multi-layered romance with many heavy topics. It is definitely one of my favorite reads.

Marriage of Convenience? Check!
Strangers to Lover? Check!
Full of fluff? Check!

Sienna, fresh from a divorce, gets married to Guy, a total handsome stranger, who just happens to have a 4-year-old, Emma.

Emma needs a kidney transplant; Sienna has medical insurance; and Guy is willing to sell himself for his daughter.

This story is their journey and it is so well written, kept me hooked from start to finish! 10/10 recommend!

Sarah Morgenthaler’s books are always heartfelt and engaging. Massive content warning for a seriously ill child.

Thank you so much to Sourcebooks Casablanca, Sarah Morgenthaler, and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this novel.

First and foremost, I am SO EXCITED that Morgenthaler has written a new novel! I was beyond excited to have an opportunity to read this early.

Emotionally, this novel was not an easy read. It packed in so many emotional scenarios (divorce, a sick parent, a sick child, financial issues, abandonment) but mostly grief and learning to find the happiness in life even when you are dealt blow after blow. This is not a romance, but it is a complex and emotional love story (and yes, you will ugly cry so do NOT read in a public space).

The first few chapters were a bit hard to get through. The overall pacing sometimes felt slow (even though most of the story spans about two/three weeks). There was a lot of exposition and details that sometimes made it tough to get through (but I know the author did her research!). The MC's felt a little flat in the beginning but the characters did develop as the novel progressed and the chemistry eventually caught up. It was worth the wait.

Excited for future novels by Morgenthaler.

***I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review***

When Sienna gets divorced, her best friend puts an ad in the local paper for a husband-for-hire to help her with her ranch. Sienna is shocked when an actual man answers the ad. Meeting over coffee, Guy explains that his 4-year-old daughter, Emma, is in desperate need of a kidney. But if he can't prove he has the money to afford her anti-rejection medications, Emma will never be approved. Guy proposes a marriage of convenience, promising to do whatever Sienna needs in exchange. And Sienna, wanting desperately to give that little girl a shot, agrees.

This book has sadness and grief, and there were a couple times I openly cried in public while reading it, but there's also hope, laughter, and love in these pages. ❤️🎄☃️

I received this book as an arc from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. And honestly, this book was incredible. It follows our main characters, Sienna and Guy. Sienna is recently divorced and not looking for a relationship, and Guy's top priority is helping, providing for, and caring for his adorable four-year-old daughter, Emma, who has kidney disease. Sienna's best friend Jess puts a personal add for sienna searching for a husband for hire as a joke. Guy shows interest in this position and when they meet she has to tell him it wasn't real. They get to talking and she feels sorry for him and his daughter so later that night she decides "Why not? Let's get married". They get married and Guy and Emma recieve the benefit plan that Sienna has through her ex husband. Her ex is an emotionally abusive man who she was never happy with and of course he thinks only of himself. When the news of her new marriage gets to him he automatically thinks she's just trying to get back at him. Over time Sienna and Guy's relationship becomes more than just purposeful. This book was so heartfelt and tugged at my heartstrings.
Thank you Netgalley!

Oh wow did I love this. This might rank up there with my all time favorite Christmas romances.

This is a marriage of convenience romance between Sienna, a recent divorcee who’s friend places a joke Husband Wanted ad to find her a new man, and Guy, a single dad with a chronically ill daughter who responds to the ad in hopes securing work will help him afford his daughter’s life-saving medications.

Sienna was a great character, she’s clinging to her family’s ranch by her fingertips post-divorce and she still has it in her heart to help out this stranger and possibly help save his daughter’s life. She was kind and loving and I want to be as nice as her when I grow up.

Guy was also great, a devoted dad willing to do anything to save his daughter in the hellscape that is the US healthcare system. Their romance was a slow burn and a very sweet one at that. I loved the forced proximity of them living together in her little cabin. There’s a pervasive sadness to both of their life due to what they’re going through and I loved that they could bring a little light to each other. I also loved both their relationships with Guy’s daughter.

The tone in this is definitely different from that of the Moose Springs series, which is not a complaint. Those weird delightfully weird romcoms, while this is a straight up contemporary romance with some angst and serious tones. I feel like both have hit at the right time to be exactly what I want at that time.

Overall I thought this was just a really great romance. It made me cry so I’m giving it five stars!

Oh my goodness. This book. It had me all up in my feels. The first chapter had me hooked and heartbroken at the same time. I loved everything about this story. The characters, the animals, the setting, everything. It dealt with some pretty heavy topics in such a beautiful way. I don’t usually reread books, but I could definitely see myself reading this more than once.

Thank you Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All opinions expressed above are my own.

Whelp. My heart has been ripped out, wrung out, and covered in a blanket of my own tears. And I'm glad for it because it means I got to experience this wonderful story. The Christmas You Found Me is not your typical Christmas romance, and it is a far cry from the lightness of Sarah Morganthaler's previous books, but it is SO good. Though the trigger warnings are plentiful (divorce, abandonment, dying parent with Alzheimer's, child with renal failure), and parts are downright heartbreaking, the ultimate feeling I walked away with was one of hope and fortitude. And omg, the scene with Emma and Sienna's father - it wrecked me, healed me, and made me cry ugly tears. The author poured her grief into these pages, and the result is a tender, heart-expanding novel that will stick with me. Highly recommend.

Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca for gifting me with an ARC to review! All opinions are my own.

Holy carp. Talk about emotionally wrecking me. This book ripped me apart, and sewed me back together multiple times. I'm not sure I've ever met a book couple more suited for each other than Guy and Sienna. If you're expecting a light and fluffy holiday book, this ain't it. But its fucking good.

This is not a story about a marriage of convenience, but rather a story about a marriage of purpose. When a friend of freshly divorced Sienna’s publishes a Husband Wanted ad as a joke, Sienna expects some good natured ribbing from her neighbors and that is about it. She doesn’t expect to find herself marrying Guy the next day. However once she meets Guy and learns about his sick daughter and their need for health insurance she just cannot say no. Once Emma and Guy move into her home and she starts to get to know the two of them feelings become real and she realizes she isn’t the only one helping shoulder burdens. Maybe this Christmas has real miracles in store.

This was a wonderfully sweet and emotional story. Tears were shed more than once. It may be a bit too heavy to be added to my annual holiday rotation but it definitely made me feel the holiday spirit.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sarah Morgenthaler's writing is refreshing and easy to digest. I enjoyed her banter and wit.
Sienna's determination to keep her family's ranch and the legacy that it represents was admirable and showed her strong character. Guy would do anything for his daughter, even sacrifice himself. He is such a caring man. He is an acts of service king. He never stops showing Sienna how grateful he is. He's absolutely charming and caring. Despite their unusual circumstances when they got to know each other they fit very well together.
I really liked Emma's character. She was realistically written for her age. Emma and Sienna's relationship was very cute. It was light and sweet but you could see that Emma actually trusted Sienna.
The only thing that bothered me while reading is that the ending felt kind of rushed. It could have played out a little slower, but it wasn't that big of a fault. The overall story was very enjoyable and a great Christmas read. The snowed ranch and small town setting were giving all the holiday feels.

Guy and Sienna were such a sweet couple and it was such a cute romance to really start setting me in the holiday mood.

Guy is a single dad just trying to do the best he can by his daughter Emma, who needs a kidney transplant.
Sienna is fresh out of a divorce when her best friend posts an ad looking for a ‘husband for hire’.

A marriage of convenience turned loving festive relationship gave me all the grins and feet kicking moments.
Not to mention the few tearful moments I felt due to the emotional parts of the storyline. Guy was what Sienna needed, and Emma was the one that truly bought them together.

This book was so good and I can’t wait to read it again closer to Christmas!

When you think of a Christmas romcom, you think of a lighthearted story with a touch of holiday spirit. But The Christmas You Found Me was so much more than that. It was a story of love and faith but also a story of loss.

I'm not sure I've ever met another main male character as loving or caring as Guy. He could have easily been bitter and closed-off with how hard life had been to him and Emma, but he was nothing of the sort. Similarly, Sienna could have easily been bitter and closed-off with how her marriage ended, but she was nothing but compassionate to her new family.

This book is heavier than I expected, even with the content warnings at the beginning. I'll admit I shed more than my fair share of tears throughout. But I can assure readers that in true romance novel fashion, there is a happily ever after at the end.

I'll wrap this up by saying the moments depicted in this book were incredibly well-written. And when I read the Acknowledgements, I knew why. I'm glad somethings as good as The Christmas You Found Me could come from author Sarah Morgenthaler's absolute heartbreak, and I hope she continues to find peace despite that eternal sadness.

P.S. I really hope the next book in this series is about Charley, because he deserves all the love and adoration in the world.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book.

This book gave me all the feels. I smiled and I cried. It really tugged at heartstrings for sure! It was really well written and had a lot of emotional depth. Not what I was expecting based on the authors previous works, but honestly it was better. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Victory Editing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

wow oh wow. This book was heartbreaking and beautiful at the exact same time. You think maybe this is gonna be lighthearted by the cover, but reading the synopsis, you are going in for a real ride with this one❤️.. the story follows a father and his very sick daughter who is need of a kidney transplant asap or.. well you know what would happen if she doesn’t get it.💔.. enter Sienna, this family’s miracle🫶🏻❤️.. I definitely don’t want to say anymore because I want people to read this one. This book touched my heart and made me tear up so many times.. the relationship between Guy and Sienna was so beautiful to see and read about. He was so gentle with her. So patient.. and sienna did everything she could to help this family especially his daughter Emma❤️ she loved them like they were her very own❤️ I can say so much about this one. I just adored it. This was one heck of a Christmas read✨

Such a wonderful Christmas story. It had a little bit of a different feel because of the child character and I enjoyed that. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Awesome cover too!

This amazing story has all the feels of love, heartache and family at Christmastime. Sarah Morganthaler has done it again! She has really created a retreat and I could not put this book down.

This story is set in a small town, on a ranch and focuses on divorce, love and what family truly means. I quickly fell in love with all the human and non-human characters (<3 Barley and Legs) as Morganthaler writes in a magical way where fun and laughter can be found even in the hard moments. You will definitely need some tissues as many hard topics including sick loved ones, young and old, are included in this book.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is wanting a Christmas story with REAL feelings both happy and sad.

Even knowing the author's recent tragedy, I absolutely did not expect to ugly cry through a lot of this book- especially at the very beginning when they met at the coffee shop. My heart shattered into pieces. What a beautifully poignant and well-written novel. I could feel the love and desperation that Guy experienced for his daughter in my bones. And Sienna, What a beautifully strong and good-hearted woman. It was so wonderful to experience her character's emotional growth in this book. I can only hope that writing this was, as much as it could be, a cathartic experience for the author. I hope she is immensely proud of herself for writing such an amazingly vulnerable book.

4.5 stars
This is an entertaining, powerful read. Guy and Sienna are strong, complex, wounded, intriguing, interesting, relatable, captivating, charming, entertaining characters. I enjoyed their romance and the path it took to get to their HEA. It was fun spending time with them. They had me cheering for them from the very beginning. The secondary characters – especially Emma and the animals – added to the fabric of the story and my enjoyment. This story will take you on a roller coaster ride of emotions. While the story deals with some tough subject matters, it is beautifully told and written.

TW: The story deals with the loss of a parent to dementia and death as well as the illness of a child who desperately needs a kidney transplant to live.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.