USA TODAY bestselling author Sheila Roberts takes readers to the charming, snowbound town of Pine River in this irresistible holiday romance.Sometimes you need to look beyond the big picture to see what really mattersOlivia 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 … 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?
more
I truly enjoyed reading Christmas From the Heart and found it to be a completely entertaining and charming story. Sheila Roberts is known for her warm-hearted, small town romances and this story is an excellent example of her wonderfully descriptive “feel good” writing style. This standalone contemporary romance book is a fast paced, funny and really satisfying story that makes the perfect read for a quiet, cozy weekend.
Olivia “Livi” Berg lives a simple life. She runs a charity- Christmas From the Heart, in her hometown of Pine River, Washington. This charity assists many struggling, local families during the holidays and was established and run by the women in her family for generations. However, since her mother’s death, Olivia is struggling to keep everything going. Her father is lost, grieving, and treats the holidays as an “unwanted guest”. Running Christmas From the Heart without her mother is emotionally draining and lately she feels as if she’s “going through life with a broken GPS.” She’s still single, living at home and waiting for her someone special. Despite feeling like her life is small and lonely, Olivia is determined to honor her mother’s memory and to carry on with the many Christmas From the Heart traditions that were started by her great-grandmother.
When Olivia reaches out to Hightower Enterprises, a major contributor that has supported her family’s charity for years, she is told that they will not be receiving a donation this year. Confused by this new development, Olivia contacts Hightower Enterprises and is informed that there is a new CFO-Guy Hightower. She’s also informed that the company is struggling and will not be able to make a donation. Heartbroken for the families that will have to do without this year, she refuses to take no for an answer. After exchanging multiple emails with the new CFO, some of them unkind and mean spirited, Olivia is convinced that Guy Hightower- aka “Scrooge” is her number one enemy!
Guy Hightower is now the new CFO of Hightower Enterprises and he’s trying to run a company under the mighty shadow of his father, a man that was larger than life. Being the youngest, his brothers have chosen to ignore his advice about the need for the company to diversify. Now, the company is struggling and going through some hard times. Choosing to tighten the company’s belt, Guy decides to reduce the company’s charitable contributions this year and to only make donations to more visible causes. Unfortunately, this decision means that the company will not be making its usual donation to Christmas From the Heart. After several heated emails, Guy becomes frustrated with Olivia. He just wants her to go away! He thinks she’s pushy and like most women in his life she only wants his money. Although he feels he’s made the right decision, for some reason he can’t get Olivia Berg out of his mind.
When Guy decides to spend the holidays with his mother, he is asked to run an errand first. Unfortunately, while taking care of this errand his Maserati breaks down in a small town and a woman comes to his rescue. When he finds out that his rescuer is the “pushy” Olivia Berg, he decides to keep his true identity a secret and introduces himself as Joe Ford. When Olivia comes across “Joe” and his expensive Maserati she decides to help. Hoping for a new donor for her struggling charity she invites him to stay with her. Soon she has “Joe” participating in community events, judging fruitcake competitions and distributing food for Christmas From the Heart. As they spend more time together, Guy discovers how special Olivia and her small town community are. Soon sparks begin to fly! What will happen when Olivia finds out who Joe Ford really is? Will Olivia and the community of Pine River forgive Guy for his deception? What will it take for Olivia to accept Guy for the man he truly is?
I really enjoyed reading Christmas From the Heart. Both the storyline and plot were excellent! Sheila Roberts’ descriptive and heartwarming writing style held my attention from the very beginning all the way to the end. The characters were well developed and absolutely wonderful! I loved tender hearted Morris and the warm, supportive community of Pine River. There were so many entertaining and humorous moments- the fruitcake competition and the “accident” in the restaurant with Morris and Joe. At several points in the story I was hysterically laughing! There were also many emotional moments. Unfortunately, I found Olivia to be very annoying and at times it was very difficult to understand her motives and actions. Despite my inability to connect with Olivia, I thought Christmas From the Heart was a completely entertaining romance story with wonderful happily ever after ending!
I would like to thank Mira books and NetGalley for the wonderful opportunity to receive a free copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased, honest review. Much appreciated!
A modern day Scrooge story. Livi is heading up the charity of Christmas from the Heart when long time contributor, Hightower Enterprises has backed out of their donations, Guy Hightower is just trying to be tighten the belt. Livi is not sure what she is going to do with donations dwindling, this is her life providing for her small town of Pine River.
Guy is on his way to his mother’s house going through, Pine River when his car breaks down and who comes to the rescue, Livi. He now needs to hide his true identity, With no rooms available at the inn, Livi invites to stay at her house with her father and shows Guy the true meaning of Christmas. Soon they can’t deny the chemistry between them, until Livi finds out who Guy really is. Now Guy needs to find a way to her heart once again.
The perfect read to get you in the mood for the holiday season. Plenty of fun festivities, yummy baking and the love of family, will keep you turning the pages. The perfect story for a holiday movie.
Olivia Berg carries a great deal of pride and takes her responsibility seriously for her family’s charity, Christmas from the Heart. She’s the third generation of women to head the charity and she’s determined to make her late mother proud. So she’s more than shocked when the CFO of Hightower Enterprises denies her request for a donation. You see, this may be Olivia’s first Christmas to officially help the less fortunate in Pine River, but Hightower has been generously supporting the charity since her grandmother’s time. And if Olivia’s plate isn’t full enough, she not only rescues a man when his expensive sports car breaks down, but she offers to house him until his car is repaired since the local B&B is full. Little does she know that Joe Ford, who willingly jumps in to help the charity’s fund-raising efforts, is actually the despised CFO, Guy Hightower.
There’s plenty going on to keep a reader’s attention because Olivia is a very busy gal. Between her charity work, her still-grieving father, her friends, and Morris Bentley, long-time friend who wants to be more, there’s never a dull moment, especially once Guy finds himself in Pine River. Low on angst but full of humor and heart, this sweet, feel-good holiday read is just the thing to put you in the Christmas spirit!
*I read an early edition of this book freely and voluntarily, having made no commitment to provide feedback and receiving no compensation of any kind from any source.
This enjoyable read delivers just what you would expect. Some drama, tension, humor, romance and sweetness. I think that if you are looking for a feel good read or something to get you in the mood for the holidays, this book is just what you are looking for. I’m not going to lie, I felt a few pet peeves for both main characters, but still, I really liked the book. The small town setting is charming and it is one that I would like to explore further.
I received a copy of this story from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
2.5 stars
I think I was in the mood for a good holiday read when I picked this up. Unfortunately, it didn’t really deliver. There were a lot of issues. First, the story switched points-of-view so many times it was like a ping-pong match. Three paragraphs in a row were sometimes told by three different characters. It was confusing and unnecessary.
Second, the characters weren’t all that likable. I found Livi to be pushy and entitled and judgmental. Guy’s constant guilt at the beginning wasn’t believable at all. I pitied Morris. I didn’t care how things worked out, really.
Third, there were stereotypical “this is what a man is” and “this is what a woman is” thoughts and attitudes that I found incredibly outdated and borderline offensive. It would be one thing if the whole atmosphere had been built to support a world view like that but it hadn’t been crafted that way. It stuck out wrong and made me feel gross.
Finally, there were formatting errors all over the place! It was difficult to read at times. Do yourself a favor and skip this one.
Take a small town, Pine River, add a generous hearted girl, a Scrooge like Corporate rich guy, and a lovestruck country boy and what do you have? Another hit by author Sheila Roberts! This story warmed my heart and got me thinking of Christmas even in this 100 degree weather in Alabama. Olivia Berg is head of a non-profit called Christmas from the Heart. She works all year with small pay trying to raise money to make the holidays a little merrier for the folks in Pine River and surrounding areas that are down on their luck. One of the company’s that has always been most generous is Hightower Enterprises. Only this year they have opted not to contribute. This puts a strain on what Livi can do for those in need this year. Guy Hightower becomes an arch enemy. So when his fancy, expensive car breaks down in Pine River, Livi stops to give him a lift not realizing his real identity. He gives her a fake name so as not to ruffle her feathers. And now the fun begins!
This book is full of conflict, jealousy, romance and my favorite—humor. You can’t miss with a novel set in a small town where everyone knows everyone and their business as well. Let the grapevine commence!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author but was not required to write a review positive or otherwise. All opinions are my own.
Christmas from the heart was sweet story with the spirit of the festive time of the year, about money issues, trust, hope and righting the wrongs.
Both main characters were sweet but hard on business trying to save their organisations. The one getting corporate family own company back into shape and the other one getting enough funds for non-profit charitable organisation “Christmas from the heart.”
When Guy Hightower cut the compensation for Livy Berg’s organisation she wasn’t happy. She tried to get some funds but they ended with sore words and regretful emails.
After he got stranded because of his broken car, she saved him. She let him stay with her and her father until the broken part arrived in the only garage in town of Pine River while he learned how kind and pure her heart was.
He had to see things differently that not everything and everyone could be bought with money, although money is a necessity to help others. To learn the most and valuable …..to love and being able to help.
The attraction was feelable through the pages, their stubbornness unfortunately in a way but I wouldn’t want the story any other way.
3,5/4
Livi lives and breathes for the non-profit company she runs. Her grandmother started “Christmas from the heart”, then Livi’s mother took over and now it’s in the hands of Livi.
This year Livi is struggling with getting enough donations. Even their biggest benefactor can’t help them this year.
Livi lives a comfortable life not wanting or willing too much for herself. She settles for less even if she dreams of more.
Suddenly a stranger is stranded close to her home due to a car breakdown, and Livi is there to rescue this stranger.
This meeting will turn both their lives upside-down for the better and for the worst. He has a secret, the secret will be revealed.
Christmas from the heart is a lovely story. You got Chritmas traditions and kindness, you got love and drama. Even a fight.
I feel like Livi could have been a stonger character, believing more in herself, it’s used a little too much how she wants the world but settles for much less.
It made me not enjoy this story as much as I wanted to do. All in all I liked the story. It’s sweet
** Arc provided by Netgalley **
Another fun book by this author! I enjoyed the story and the characters! A very fast book guaranteed to put you in the holiday spirit! Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin for the early copy
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for my fair and honest review.
I have read several of Sheila Roberts books, and I really enjoyed this one. Olivia runs a charity and Guy has taken over as the CFO of his families business. Sparks fly from the beginning before these two ever meet in person. I found the story well written, and spoke to my heart concerning the vast difference in todays world of the haves and have nots. Can these two people from totally different backgrounds, find a HEA. I would certainly recommend this book to my friends.