A delightful holiday romance about a small-town single dad and an animal rescue owner as they try to find forever homes for a dozen lovable pups before Christmas. Pine Hollow has everything Ally Gilmore could wish for in a holiday break: gently falling snow in a charming small town and time with her family. Then she learns some Grinch has pulled the funding for her family’s rescue shelter, and … the funding for her family’s rescue shelter, and now she has only four weeks to find new homes for a dozen dogs! But when she confronts her Scroogey councilman nemesis, Ally finds he’s far more reasonable — and handsome — than she ever expected.
As the guardian of his dog-obsessed ten-year-old niece, Ben West doesn’t have time to build a cuddly reputation. But he does feel guilty about the shelter closing. So he proposes a truce with Ally, agreeing to help her adopt out the pups. As the two spend more time together, the town’s gossip is spreading faster than Santa’s sleigh on Christmas Eve. And soon Ben is hoping he can convince Ally that Pine Hollow is her home for the holidays. . . and the whole year through.
I loved this book! It is well written and hooks you on the first page. It’s a sweet small town romance that will put you in the Christmas spirit. This is the perfect book to curl up with and forget all your troubles for a while. I highly recommend this book. 5 stars all the way!!
A cup of hot chocolate. Cozy blanket. Roaring fire. Christmas lights in the dark. Soft, white snow. A warm hug. This book is basically ALL the warm fuzzies and holiday cheer you could ever wish for!
Ally heads to her grandparent’s home in Pine Hallow for a much-needed break from city life. She figures she’ll stick around for the holidays, take a break from her photography career, and help her grandparents out at their animal shelter. She didn’t expect for the shelter to lose it’s funding or for the Grinch who shut them down to be so darn attractive! But with a few short weeks until Christmas to find new homes for the dogs, maybe someone’s heart will grow a few sizes in that time…
This book is if a Hallmark movie were put into written form. It’s adorable, it’s sweet, it has puppies (and I’m not even a dog person!) and plenty of Christmas spirit! Fans of Gilmore Girls will love its small town charm and gossip grapevine (doesn’t hurt that the town is called Pine HALLOW and the main character’s last name is GILMORE…). Nothing in this book is super surprising–in fact, The Big Hurdle(TM) is that our male lead is being a bit too typical male (think refusing to ask for help, sending mixed signals, not knowing what he wants… sound familiar to anyone?) and not anything groundbreaking. But sometimes (especially around the holidays), you won’t want a thriller, you just want a cozy romance and a cup of cocoa and HAPPINESS. Why NOT choose happiness?
Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the free eARC in exchange for an honest review!
I had a good time with this book! After reading and enjoying the third book in this series, To All the Dogs I’ve Loved Before, I was eager to go back and read the first book in this series. This book was just as enjoyable as I had hoped it would be with tons of small-town charm and a whole shelter full of adorable dogs. This was the holiday romance that I didn’t know I needed.
Ally is in Pine Hollow to visit with her grandparents while helping them out with their shelter. When she literally runs into Ben, things don’t go well and that is before he casts the deciding vote to close the shelter. Ben wants to help find homes for all the dogs before the shelter closes just after the holidays so he works with Ally to help feature the dogs in the local newsletter and a few local events. Ben is raising his niece, Astrid, who happens to be determined to have a dog of her own.
I really liked the characters in this book. Ally was easy to like. She was very thoughtful and just wanted to find a place where she felt like she belonged. Ben was determined to be everything he believed his niece needed him to be. He had a very hard time asking anyone for help and tended to shut down anyone who offered. Ben and Ally had fantastic chemistry and I thought that they were very good for each other. There was a lot of growth for both of them over the course of this story. The supporting cast of characters was also a delight and added a lot to the story.
I decided to listen to the audiobook and I thought that Alastair Haynesbridge and Greyson Ash did a great job with the narration. I thought that the voices that they used for each of the characters helped to bring the story to life. I believe that this was the first time that I have listened to either narrator and I would definitely want to listen to more of their work.
I would recommend this book to others. I thought that this was a wonderful small-town romance with just the right amount of holiday cheer and enough furry friends to keep things interesting. I cannot wait to read more of this fantastic series.
I received a review copy of this book from Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and purchased a copy of the audiobook.
Did you hear that? That was my sigh of contentment after reading this book in one sitting. I couldn’t put it down because I loved it so much. This is a small town holiday romance set in Vermont that pairs up Ben, a grumpy town councilman, and Ally, a sunshine dog shelter owner. The two don’t exactly hit it off when they meet but quickly begin working together towards a common goal.
I really loved the setting and characters in the book. All were just so likable…even Ben’s niece. While I don’t always love children in a romance, this is well written and in no way annoyed me. The slow burn was satisfyingly delicious. I could feel Ally’s need to belong and really related a bit too strongly to Ben’s need to not let his guard down and do it all himself. The community feel and warmth in this book reminded me of a Kate Clayborn novel so I would recommend it to any fan of hers. The dogs were lovable and great and the book was just the right amount of Christmasy without been too sweet. This one is a slump buster sure to put you in the holiday mood. A solid 5 stars!
Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. The opinions here are my own.
This book was pretty much the perfect holiday romance. Reading it was like being snuggled under a blanket, in your favorite chair, with the fire going, sipping a cup of hot chocolate with real marshmallows (and maybe just a touch of schnapps!). Ally and Ben were a likable and well-matched couple, both of them caretakers to the core, wanting nothing more than for the people they loved to be happy and safe. Add in 12 adorable dogs, all of whom needed to find homes in a hurry once the town decided to stop funding Ally’s grandparents shelter, and you have all the elements needed for a wonderful romance. There were just enough obstacles in Ally’s and Ben’s way to keep the plot moving along nicely, and I loved the way the dogs were an integral part of the story, not just there for window dressing. I can’t wait for the next book, especially since it will feature an opposites attract, fake dating situation between 2 characters whom I really liked in this book. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.