Sunday, December 15, 2019

Review: Christmas from the Heart by Sheila Roberts (Blog Tour)





Christmas from the Heart  
Sheila Roberts

On Sale Date: September 24, 2019
9780778309611, 0778309614
Trade Paperback
$16.99 USD, $21.99 CAD
Fiction / Romance / Contemporary
304 pages

Summary:
USA TODAY bestselling author Sheila Roberts takes readers to a small, snowbound town, where a young woman fights to save her family’s charity that brings Christmas to families in need, and a stranded millionaire loses his heart and finds the true meaning of Christmas.

Sometimes you need to look beyond the big picture to see what really matters

Olivia Berg’s charity, Christmas from the Heart, has helped generations of families in need in Pine River, Washington, but this year might be the end of the road. Hightower Enterprises, one of their biggest donors since way back when Olivia’s grandmother ran the charity, has been taken over by Ebenezer Scrooge the Second, aka CFO Guy Hightower, and he’s declared there will be no more money coming to Christmas from the Heart.

Guy is simply being practical. Hightower Enterprises needs to tighten its belt, and when you don’t have money to spare, you don’t have money to share. You’d think even the pushy Olivia Berg could understand that.

With charitable donations dwindling, Olivia’s Christmas budget depends on Hightower’s contribution. She’s focused her whole life on helping this small town, even putting her love life on hold to support her mission.

When Guy’s Maserati breaks down at the edge of the Cascade foothills, he’s relieved to be rescued by a pretty young woman who drives him to the nearby town of Pine River. Until he realizes his rescuer is none other than Olivia Berg. What’s a Scrooge to do? Plug his nose and eat fruitcake and hope she doesn’t learn his true identity before he can get out of town. What could go wrong?

My Review



Olivia Berg has devoted her life to a non-profit charity, Christmas from the Heart.  Generations of her family have done the same thing. In order to keep the charity going, she depends on donations from big companies. In the past, her biggest supporter has been Hightower Enterprises. However, their new CFO, Guy Hightower, has taken over and has decided there is no more funds for this charity. This leaves Olivia scrounging around for more money and hating Hightower with a passion.

Guy feels bad for turning Olivia down, but his company isn’t doing well and simply doesn’t have any extra money to donate.   Olivia isn’t believing that, but there’s nothing she can do about it.

Guy drives his Maserati to visit his mother for Christmas when his car breaks down. He’s rescued by a beautiful woman and he’s shocked to discover it’s none other than Olivia Berg herself. There’s no way he can let her know his true identity. While his car is being repaired, Olivia and Guy draw closer and closer, but what will happen if she discovers the truth?

This is a sweet Christmas romance. I admit, there were times I wanted to shake the heroine. She couldn’t seem to grasp the concept that some companies make decisions you aren’t going to like. Instead of obsessing about something you have no power to change, you need to find an alternative. Of course the hero’s deception went on way too long, but then we wouldn’t have a story if it didn't. LOL

The supporting characters were well developed and fit the small town atmosphere perfectly. I always enjoy small towns and they make the perfect back drop for holiday reads. Pine River fit the bill.

Once Olivia and Guy met, their chemistry couldn’t be denied. Everyone around them could see the sparks flying, even though Olivia’s childhood sweetheart was lurking around the corner. Overall, a nice way to spend a few hours around the holidays. I do enjoy a good Christmas book and this is a good one.


FTC Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.


Author Bio



Sheila Roberts lives on a lake in the Pacific Northwest. Her novels have been published in several languages. Her book, Angel Lane, was an Amazon Top Ten Romance pick for 2009. Her holiday perennial, On Strike for Christmas, was made into a movie for the Lifetime Movie Network and her novel, The Nine Lives of Christmas, was made into a movie for Hallmark . You can visit Sheila on Twitter and Facebook or at her website (http://www.sheilasplace.com).

Social Links:
Author website
Facebook: @funwithsheila
Twitter: @_Sheila_Roberts
Instagram: @funwithsheila

Buy Links:
Amazon
Google Play
Barnes & Noble
Apple Books
Kobo

1 comment:

Thank you for stopping by and visiting my blog! I always love reading comments and getting to know my readers!

After some careful consideration, I've decided to become an award-free blog. Although I appreciate and am honored by each and every award I've received, your comments and friendship are enough award for me. Thank you all so much for your thoughtfulness.

Due to way too many spam comments, I disabled the Anonymous User comments. We'll see if this works, otherwise I'll have to go back to word verification.