A Heartfelt Christmas Promise is the next heartwarming and inspirational Christmas story by USA Today bestselling author, Nancy Naigle.Vanessa Larkin just agreed to an out-of-town job assignment over the holidays. With the promise of a hefty bonus if she can get things done by the new year she heads for tiny Fraser Hills. Determined to succeed, she’s not worried about whipping the shutdown … about whipping the shutdown process into overdrive to meet the challenge. Only when she gets there she realizes her bosses haven’t been upfront with the town about the plans to shut down the plant.
Mike Marshall, a widower raising a teenaged daughter, is a big believer in tradition and doing things the old-fashioned way. When Mike finds out his grandfather has sold the family business to some big corporation, he’s angry. Not that he wanted the business, but selling it makes no sense to him. As much as Mike and Vanessa butt heads about doing things the old vs the new way, when his teenage daughter requires some motherly advice he gives in to Vanessa’s offer to help.
As much as she despises having to do it, Vanessa has to announce the shut-down plans and get things moving–and it’s not going to make her popular with the town, or with Mike who she’s completely taken by. Now this has become a corporate vs heart decision, and she’s not sure she can make both sides happy. She’s hoping for a Christmas miracle that might land her with the very best Christmas gift of all…
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Nancy Naigle is one of my favorite go-to authors for a feel good, heartwarming, magical Christmas story. This story was true to form and delivered a wonderful, poetic, story that makes you route for all the major characters. I loved the inclusion of the Percheron horses and a puppy as characters. They had important roles in this story. Vanessa is a workaholic city girl, making her way up the corporate ladder. She’s expecting an exciting new assignment; as promised by her boss, over the Christmas holiday. When she gets roped into pulling off a huge warehousing project that is scheduled to close a small-town fruit cake factory and shop in the during the Thanksgiving/Christmas holidays. She’s viewed as the enemy when word gets out that she’s the ax-man from corporate. She is finally making plans with her cousin Anna to spend the holidays together. Anna keeps telling her that she has to make time in her schedule to enjoy life and not let it pass her by, The small-town life might just be “what the doctor ordered”. Vanessa makes some personal connections with some of the people in town and finds out that things aren’t the way Corporate is seeing them. Vanessa is shocked to find out that some of the reports aren’t accurate. Can this little town be Vanessa’s answer to finding happiness? Maybe, at least it gives her the opportunity to examine her life a little more closely in order to make some changes.
I have to confess before I write this review, I look forward to reading a Christmas romance by Nancy Naigle every year. And, no, it doesn’t even have to be anywhere near Christmas, I read them any time of the year. A Heartfelt Christmas Promise is a marvelous holiday tale with a cast of characters second to none. I adore the characters in this book. Vanessa was looking forward to having Christmas with her cousin at whatever great destination her of her next assignment. Instead of Paris, she’s stuck with closing down a fruitcake factory and clearing the buildings for warehouse space. Mike and his teenage daughter live behind the factory and he breeds and raises Percherons, his daughter works at the factory. Vanessa and Mike’s story is loaded with ups and downs, drama, humor and just a touch of spice and suspense. I loved every page of this book and look forward to my next book by Nancy Naigle. This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This is an enjoyable holiday read about Vanessa Larkin and Mike Marshall. Vanessa is sent to Fraser Hills, North Carolina to close Porter’s, the fruitcake factory and retail store. Vanessa is promised an extra bonus if she gets the deal done by the first of the year. Vanessa’s cousin, Anna will be joining her in North Carolina. Everything is not as she was led to believe when she gets to looking around Porter’s, so Vanessa thinks there’s a way to keep Porter’s open and still have the space for the Outdoor Sports Pro facility. I won’t leave any spoilers, so grab your copy of this wonderful book that’s full of family, friends, and a wonderful town. We actually get an extra romance in this story because Anna and Buck, Mike’s great grandfather, really hit it off, when they meet.
I received an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley and this is my voluntary and honest review.
A super fun Christmas book perfect for the Holiday season. From Nancy Naigle. Vanessa is primes for a high powered assignment just before the holidays. To her dismay she is sent to small town Fraiser Hills to close the fruitcake factory Porter’s. To her surprise the friendly people and small town traditions are delightful to Vanessa and her aunt Anna. The sweet people and caring atmosphere quickly causes Vanessa looking for a way to both complete the assignment and save Porters. Your heartstrings will be tugged by the characters and their interactions. Beautiful scenes are described as the reader will come to care about the characters. Perfect to put you on the Christmas spirit.
Thank you to the author and publisher for an ARC Of the sweet reader
I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I have read other books by this author and even had the pleasure of meeting her. What’s more, we actually live very close to each other, so when she writes about small towns in our state, I am completely hooked! I found myself visualizing the scenes from the story and hope that some entertainment company gets on board and brings this book to life! The characters are wonderful and it is such a good, clean Christmas story!
A heartwarming & moving story with characters you cannot get enough of.
The story flowed seamlessly that I couldn’t
put it down…I loved every page!
Vanessa, had hoped to spend the holidays
in Paris. Her boss had other
plans. Now she’s going to North Carolina.
Mike’s family first settled in Fraser Hills.
He raises & traines Percherons horses. His family’s store Porter’s, famous for fruitcake,
is an essential of the town & employment
for many people.
Vanessa, was sent for a reason,
but she see’s how important Porter’s is.
Everything you want in a true romance.
Vanessa & Mike, will steal your heart.
It has the small town charm & the comfort
of friends & family.
I truly enjoyed reading this Must Read Story!!
Oh my! What a wonderful and sweet book. “A Heartfelt Christmas Promise” is the absolute perfect read for this holiday season. Nancy Naigle has created the perfect Hallmark worthy romance, just in time for the holiday season. Think the movie “New in Town” with Renee Zellweger and you can imagine this wonderful story.
Vanessa Larkin was sent to Fraser Hills, North Carolina home of the best fruitcake in the USA, instead of Paris, to close a factory. She was in line for the Paris assignment, but her boss needed her to clean up Micky’s botched work.
Upon her arrival to this lovely small town, she begins to realize the huge obstacles in front of her. Little by little the town melts her heart, making her goals change. But can she please the town and her boss?
This book was such a joy to read. It teaches you that in order to obtain great happiness you must have a perfect life/work balance. Take the time and enjoy the little things. Don’t let work overcome you.
The characters are outstanding and beautiful people. Their small town world draws you in and makes you fall completely in love and under their spell. Ms. Naigle did an excellent job writing and creating such a beautiful world and backdrop for this wonderful story.
Overall this book is an amazing read, filled with such joy. It has the perfect combination of characters and feelings written to perfection, creating an amazing romance. A wonderful read to warm your heart this holiday season. The title says it all, A Heartfelt Christmas Promise.
Vanessa knows exactly what she wants in life. So when she finally finds the perfect home, it’s no exception, she knows she wants it right away. There’s just one hitch; the house is 100k over her budget. Heartbroken that she can’t (or won’t) get the house of her dreams because it’s over her self-set budget, Vanessa is immediately thrown for another loop when her work decides to send her to North Carolina which in her mind is the same as Timbuktu. She was originally supposed to go to France.
This was such a cozy Christmas book. The heartwarming story of a overworked ambitious one track mind woman falling in love with a small town, it’s people, and it’s animals. Vanessa slowly realizes maybe having a one track mind is leaving her closed to other wonderful possibilities.
I loved all the characters in this story as they were completely endearing. I particularly loved the focus on family and learning to love. The writing was spot on and really tugged at the heart-strings.
When the weather turns cold I’m ready to switch gears and read some books to put me in the spirit of the season. Nancy Naigle’s A Hearfelt Christmas Promise is like being wrapped up by a fire with a warm cup of cocoa. Snuggle in, you’re in for a treat.
After ending a relationship on the cusp of a marriage proposal Vanessa Larkin plans Christmas in Paris with her cousin. A last minute work assignment dashes all hope of an overseas holiday sending her to Fraser Hills, NC. Her job is to transition the small towns main employer, Porter’s, to warehouse space and send many employees into early retirement. Surprised by the reactions she receives in the small town from residents who are both very kind, and those that judge her harshly without knowing her, she gets down to business trying to determine what her predecessor may have missed. Can she get the warehouse space AND save Porters? What she hadn’t counted on was Mike Marshall, whose family founded and eventually sold Porter’s. Despite their rocky start there’s undeniably a connection between them.
A Heartfelt Christmas Promise reads like your favorite holiday movie in the very best of ways. Several of Nancy’s Naigle’s previous books have been turned into movies! The characters are warm, comforting, exploring real world concerns, and take place in areas we’d like to spend time with people we want to have a cup of coffee with. I found myself cheering for several of these characters, and frustrated at one or two. I was invested! I’d love to see a follow up focusing on the character of Mike’s daughter, Misty.
Many thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced reader copy and the opportunity to review A Heartfelt Christmas Promise by Nancy Naigle. All opinions are my own.
Cosy, festive, and spirited!
A Heartfelt Christmas Promise is a charming, uplifting tale set in the quaint town of Fraser Hills, North Carolina that takes you into the lives of two main characters. Vanessa Larkin, a young businesswoman sent right before Christmas to closedown and restructure the largest employer of the town, Porter’s fruit cake factory, and Mike Marshall, a single father who spends his time raising his daughter and training his magnificent horses.
The prose is light and sweet. The characters are hardworking, savvy, and considerate. And the plot is a delightful blend of family, friendship, community, self-discovery, tender moments, merry preparations, and of course a touch of romance!
A Heartfelt Christmas Promise is the first novel I’ve read by Naigle, but after reading this big-hearted, heartwarming, holiday treat I can guarantee it won’t be my last.
Naigle has perfected Christmas movie magic in novel form. The little touches, such as the horses and the puppy, give the story something extra that will keep you reading long after the cocoa has gone cold.
Vanessa thought her next project would be in Paris. Vanessa’s boss had other plans. Instead of Paris her next project was to shutdown Porter’s fruitcake plant and get it ready for a sporting goods warehouse. Vanessa arrives in Fraser Hills, NC, and realizes this project isnt going to be easy. Porter’s is this small close knit towns major employer.
Vanessa’s cousin Anna arrives in town to help her celebrate Christmas after her project is completed. Anna and their new friends Buck, Misty, and Mike help Vanessa realizes what is truly important. The saving of the Fruitcake plant and the arrival of the sporting goods can both be good for this town. Can she make it work?
I loved this cozy holiday romance. The cast of characters in this small town at times made me laugh. It is a town that makes you feel like family. The Heartfelt Christmas Promise is the perfect heartwarming holiday story to cozy up on the couch with a cup of cocoa. Thank you Nancy Naigle and Kate Rock Book Tours for including me on this tour and this is my honest review.
I absolutely Love Christmas stories! How can you not when there’s a great story, the Feels, puppies, horses, and good men involved? Nancy Naigle writes The Best Christmas stories.
A True Christmas Delight!
Nancy Naigle truly shines is the remarkable Christmas story. I was completely immersed right from the very beginning! I wanted to jump into these pages and become part of this story. A fantastic story full of Christmas magic and JOY! This one quickly captured my heart. It’s definitely one I don’t want to ever let go!
I strongly encourage you to get hooked into this heartfelt Christmas story! It surpassed all my expectations and I can’t wait to read more Nancy Naigle Christmas stories.
The Hallmark Movie Queen, herself, has done it again! She has written several books that are Hallmark movies & oh how I love them all! I’m a big fan.
Not only is she in my home state of NC, but she sets this book in the fictional town of Fraser Hills in NC.
Vanessa is our main character with a busy career that leads her to the small mountain town. She had no idea that she’d find a place she didn’t even know she needed to slow down and appreciate the good things. She meets amazing people in the small town and maybe, a love she wasn’t even looking for.
Perhaps the best part for me….is the sweet pup, Scooter, of course! I love when dogs are in books and this little guy really touched my heart! Isn’t he just the cutest on the cover?
Thanks to Nancy, Kate Rock, St. Martin’s Press & NetGalley for my copy of this adorable book!
A definitely merry 5 for me, a self-proclaimed, #hallmarkmoviequeen, for my love of all of them!
Wonderful Christmas novel! Vanessa gets assigned to go to Fraser Hills, North Carolina during the holidays to take care of one of the small businesses her company owns. She’s disappointed she gets this assignment because she was hoping to go somewhere else exciting for the holidays. So she’s hoping to get there and finish her work quickly. The story is heartwarming. It’s set in a small town where everyone knows everyone. Soon everyone knows why Vanessa is there. And while some people welcome her, others are angry at her. The town and the people begin to grow on Vanessa.
A small town, heartwarming holiday read. I always dream of my holidays looking like those of Hallmark movies and while real life doesn’t always go that way, I seek out stories where I can get the same feel. Nancy Naigle takes you to charming Fraser Hills, NC where everybody knows each other; all the good and bad.
Vanessa works for a large corporation whom is sent to Fraser Hills to close down Porter’s, a fruitcake company. As she is there, she gets to know the employees and community members. What will Vanessa choose to do and will she follow through with her company’s plan?
I enjoyed that Nancy Naigle focused on family relationships and small town community with this story as it felt more relatable than a quick holiday romance. I pictured myself walking down Main Street with Vanessa, meeting all of the community members and attending the holiday events.
Thank you Nancy Naigle and KateRock Book Tours for the opportunity to read an early copy of this book. All of my thoughts and opinions are my own.
Vanessa is a workaholic, working for the next great assignment. But she’s passed over again for the great assignment which would mean spending the holidays in Paris and instead sent to close down a factory in a small town. The factory turns out to be the heart of the town, so she figures out a way to make the new warehouse work and save the factory. What she doesn’t count on is falling for the small town and one of it’s beloved members. Mike is raising his daughter alone after his wife passed away years ago. He is a hard worker that loves his daughter, his horses, the town and it’s people. Vanessa is drawn to Mike’s daughter and see a bit of her younger self in the girl. She’s drawn to Mike too but she’s worked so hard to get where she is, can she really be happy in a small town? This is my first book by Ms. Naigle but it truly gave me all the feelings! I had to just keep flipping pages to see what would happen next! I received an ARC from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.
I enjoy this author’s work any time of the year, yet she has a special magical touch with Christmas (or holiday) Romances… and A Heartfelt Christmas Promise continues that tradition for me.
To be fair, most of what you’d want to know about this story before picking it up can be found in the cover description blurb. I’d like to talk about the emotional pull of Vanessa’s experience with a place far outside of her normal life, which is deeply rooted in the big city.
Fraser Hills is as small-town as you’ll ever find on the map. A close-knit community, a large factory/business that employs many of the townsfolk, traditions that run back generations, and an easy laid-back feel to life. Instead of Paris, France this year Vanessa has been tasked with shutting down the local fruitcake factory, Porter’s, right before Christmas to make room for another business’s warehouse needs. It’s nothing too outside of the ordinary for this career-driven woman and she expects to get in, get out, job done in no time at all.
What Vanessa didn’t expect to discover was how this town and its residents came to matter to her. How closing down the one business that is part of practically everyone’s lives isn’t the smart thing to do. Or how much one man, his teenage daughter, and a whole lot of strangers would come to matter more than any job she’s ever taken on – to the point where finding another viable solution becomes more important than pleasing her bosses with another shut-down factory.
A Heartfelt Christmas Promise came alive for me with believable characters, a real-life situation that affects so many, the charm and the craziness of small towns, and how just the right person can make such a difference in another’s life. Call it love or fate, doesn’t matter really but knowing that you’ve found exactly what you didn’t know you were searching for comes across so strongly in Vanessa’s and Mike’s story. Plus the antics of one adorable puppy and some very majestic horses… and I was hooked from beginning to end.
I easily got lost in this world, and if you love a really good romance centered around the one thing that makes a small town unique and the rush to save it… along with falling in love then have I got a great story for you. A Heartfelt Christmas Promise should be on your reading list this holiday season (or any time of the year, really). (This story really needs to be a Hallmark movie event.)
*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher, St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*
This one was a hard start for me as I am a country girl and we are house shopping in Chicago with lots of wants and wishes right before Christmas and then the meeting and bam do things change in a hurry – then it grabs your attention and be prepared to hang on for the ride!! I received a NetGalley copy and freely leave my review!