When a quilt shop owner finds a former Marine’s journal, she longs to heal his heart… who wrote the emotional entries.
Former Marine Cole Aaron battled to find peace after returning to civilian life. He’s always needed to protect others. Now, fighting fires in Pine Hill, Kentucky helps him put out the demons within him. When Sophie shows up at the fire hall with his journal from when he’d first returned stateside, Cole can’t believe it was in the box he’d donated. Not wanting to face painful memories, he tells her to trash it.
Sophie and Cole are drawn together as they both volunteer for their community, but it’s hard for Cole to let down his guard, and he doesn’t need anyone’s pity. After all he’s been through in the past, can he find faith in a more hopeful future…one touched by joy?
This heartwarming romance includes a free Hallmark original recipe for Dilly Duchess Potatoes.
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Lovely Christmas Romance
As a romance reader, I’m a total sucker for the wounded hero trope, so this series is right up my alley. In this book, both the hero and heroine are decent, relatable characters. I am a nurse who has seen some suffering from PTSD, and I think the author did an excellent job showing the inner thoughts and personal demons the man had to slay. The interaction between the couple was so awkward for so long, but completely understandable, and I could feel the pull between them—even when they were denying it. I love the idea of the Quilts of Valor. A lovely Christmas story that delivers the feels you want a holiday story to have.
I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.
A really wonderful book. I loved the characters of Sophie and Cole. Janice Lynn is a wonderful author. loved reading this book…
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Janice Lynn’s WRAPPED UP IN CHIRISTMAS JOY is sweet, small-town romance in Pine Hill, Kentucky where Sophie Davis discovers a marine’s journal, and after reading it, she longs to heal his heart, but former Marine Cole Aaron rebuffs her attempts to befriend him. He does not need anyone’s pity. To Cole’s dismay, he is teamed with Sophie when they volunteer for the community’s Christmas drive. Janice Lynn does an outstanding job in bringing attention of how PTSD affects veterans and their families. The Quilts of Valor is an amazing nonprofit organization that gives beautiful quilts to veterans. WRAPPED UP IN CHRISTMAS is an enjoyable holiday romance where a marine finds healing and love.
This was a very nice Christmas story. So sweet.
Holidays always add an unexpected twist to the story dynamic. Entertaining characters with their own quirks and issues. The journey makes for good reading. Good read.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Awesome book and the fact that it is from Hallmark makes it even better. Who knew going through a donation box of books could lead to so much more. When Sophie tries to return the journal she found to its owner Cole, will be be able to overcome his past to see the future?
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Wrapped Up in Christmas Joy is a sweet Hallmark Christmas Romance. The characters are well developed. The storyline is heartwarming. Alexander Cendese and Rachel L. Jacobs did a good job with the narration. This is a good Christmas read. #NetGalley
Cole is a veteran, with PTSD, who has returned home. Sophie finds his PTSD journal in a box of books left for the church. They both volunteer a lot around town and keep seeing each other, decorating Christmas trees and working toy drives. The romance is a roller coaster ride of feelings, to the extreme. Her one project, Quilts For Valor, seems to connect them more than ever when he opens his very own quilt, along with his journal. The ending shows how true love feels when you finally let it inward.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is a delightful Christmas romance!
I love both of the main characters. Cole and Sophie and incredibly well developed and easy to connect with. I love the fact that they were connected by veterans. Cole is a veteran with huge emotional wounds from his time in the military. Sophie on the other hand has many memories of her father, who was a veteran with huge emotional wounds.
I loved seeing how their friendship developed. Sophie was doing all she could to befriend Cole while he was doing everything to prevent becoming her friend. There were many moments that had me laughing out loud while I was listening to this audiobook.
I had never heard of the Quilts of Love Foundation before reading this wonderful story. It is a marvelous organization and Sophie is deeply involved in it. I learned a lot about it and the work that they do.
The book is written from alternating viewpoints. It goes back and forth from Sophie to Cole. I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that this audiobook has two narrators. They both did a wonderful job making the story come to life.
I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook from the publisher, through NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All of the opinions expressed are my own.
Disclaimer: *Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book for free in the hope that I would mention or review it on my blog. I was not required to give a positive review, only my honest opinion – which I have done. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.*
Such a great book. I loved every bit of it. The suspense was all the way throughout the book. I can not wait to read more books by this author.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Sophie Davis and former Marine Cole Aaron’s story is a well written Christmas with a very good storyline. I was not putting this book down until I had finished reading it. This is a new Author to me and I want to read more by her. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I’m a huge fan of Hallmark Christmas movies and this is going to be an excellent one! It contains all of the feel good moments one hopes to feel from a Christmas story.
Sophie is an upbeat, small town girl just bursting at the seams to make everyone around her not only a little bit happier, but their lives a little better. She meets new Pine Hills, Kentucky resident and firefighter Cole Aaron. Cole moved to the small town in hopes of getting through the trauma he endured in the Marines.
Due to the trauma, Cole has his walls up, keeping himself detached from others, afraid of not being good for them. Sophie sees all the good in him and feels his actions speaks volumes.
I absolutely adored this story. The struggle between the two as they slowly allow themselves to be vulnerable is quite realistic.
I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator for Sophie was wonderful. I had a more difficult time when listening to the male narrator as he was doing just that, narrating. I prefer when the narrators get into the role of the characters and are more voice acting rather than narrating. So while listening to Cole’s perspectives, it wasn’t as immersive, I didn’t feel as much. It felt more like a sportscaster announcing what was happening.
Overall, a super cute story that I really hope makes it to the Hallmark channel!
Thank you Netgalley and Hallmark Publishing for e-galley in exchange for my honest thoughts.
Cole is a vet with PTSD, the lone survivor from a blast that killed the rest of his unit. Sophie owns a quilt shop with her sister, but her true love is her activity with a local Quilts of Valor group. This is my favorite feel-good Christmas story this year, and I’d love to see it as a Hallmark movie. Sophie is more forgiving of Isabelle (her sister) than I could be. Isabelle disapproves of Sophie’s friendship with Cole, and won’t take part in the QOV group that their shop helps to sponsor. The Butterflies – these women are so cute, funny, loving, interfering, meddling – I could go on and on about them, but they are great friends who love each other, and support everyone in the community. Cole doesn’t feel deserving of family, but continues to give back to his community. Sophie really likes Cole, and reaches out to be a friend when he needs that. the most. The author is either a quilter, or a very good friend of a quilter, or did a ton of research into quilting, quilt shops, and Quilts of Valor. As a quilter, I’m a stickler for those details, and Ms. Lynn did a great job with them. The feeling that Cole got when he first touched his QOV quilt… I’ve witnessed it firsthand as vets are presented with their own quilts.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Sophie is.sorting out a box of donated items when she comes across a soldiers journal and she can feel all of his pain while reading it as her father had gone through the same thing as he was a veteran as well so she decides to return the journal and try to connect with but things do not always go as planned. Cole has always protected others and that is why when he gets out of the marine’s he decides to become a fire fighter to keep people safe. When Sophie returns Cole’s journal he can feel her pity and he doesn’t want it so he tells her to throw the journal away and leave him alone but care hadn’t finished with them yet as they are thrown together as they are both volunteers. Will this be what they both need or will it make things worse. This story had so much emotional situations and you feel everything that they are both going through and I couldn’t put this book down as I had to see what would happen next. This is the first book that I have read by Janice Lynn but definitely not the last as it was so well written and had a magical storyline and I recommend you read this book.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
“Wrapped Up in Christmas Joy” by Janice Lynn was forwarded to me for an honest review and I have to say that I loved this story. If you love clean romance you’ll love this story. The premise of the book is that Sophie makes quilts of valor for those in need. Cole is a veteran suffering from PTSD and doesn’t think much of his life. He doesn’t think he deserves to be happy. Sophie is making his quilt with care, and love so that he can wrap himself up in a warm hug. Fate finds ways of throwing these two together.
Thank you to Hallmark publishing, BookFunnel and the Author, Janice Lynn for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This was the second book in this series and it was another wonderful, whimsical Christmas read.
While I found this book to be slow at times I still thoroughly enjoyed the story, characters and settings.
The main Female protagonist sure shows that persistence and love always win and the main Male protagonist shows that love can conquer all!.
Great to read a Veteran based book in the month of Veterans day!
Wrapped up in Christmas Joy is the second book in the Wrapped up in Christmas series by author Janice Lynn. These stories are set in Pine Hill, Kentucky and are the heartwarming stories of the affect of Christmas love on the souls of American soldiers who have seen and lived horrible things.
This story centers on Sophie Grace Davis, co-owner of The Threaded Needle quilting and needle craft shop and local director of the Quilts of Valor project, and former Marine, now fire fighter, Cole Aaron.
Cole mistakenly includes the journal he wrote at the direction of his counselor when he returned from a tragic Middle East deployment in a box of donations for the church rummage sale. As the commander of the mission, Cole takes all blame for the ambush that lost some of his men. He feels he has no hope for a future and that the best he can do is to continue doing acts of good to try to make amends for such a black mark on his soul.
Sophie Grace Davis is the one who was helping to sort donations and came upon his journal. She was desperate to find its rightful owner feeling that the journal in this box was a gross mistake. She gave a donation to the church and took the box to try to find the owner. She finally discovers it is Cole Aaron’s, the newest firefighter in their small town. When she tries to return it she is taken aback by his response that he not only never wants to see the journal again, but he also never wants to see the woman that has read his journal, even if reading it started as an effort to discover his identity and ended a connection to her soul.
In a small town, two people who are consummate volunteers are bound to be brought together, which Sophie and Cole are with the annual toy drive to help children in need. When the others in their committee conspire to put Sophie and Cole together, a truce is called for the good of the children. As the story unfolds, as much as Sophie’s sister Isabelle is against her baby sister becoming involved with a veteran, the local group of matriarchs, the Butterflies, seem determined to bring them together.
In a delightful holiday story, the residents of Pine Hill will bring joy to the reader. This is a lovely story that I very much enjoyed. Perfect for a holiday read, I do recommend this book.
This story was so touching from the dedication to the sweetness that is the love story of Sophie and Cole. Five stars from the depth of my heart is how I would rate this story that is more than a romance. It is about battling the scars of the past with a common faith in God, love, and a commitment to help others whether through sewing quilts or fighting fires. #sawyerssong
I received a review copy of this book, and I am leaving a voluntary review.
Sophie Davis owns Threaded Needle, a popular quilt shop in Pine Hill. She sells fabric, quilt kits and patterns, but her passion is Quilts of Valor, a non-profit organization that awards handmade quilts to active military and veterans. When she stumbles across the journal that Cole Aaron, fireman and former Marine, accidentally donated to the church sale, she realizes he needs a quilt and a friend and she plans on providing him with both, even though he has made it very clear he doesn’t want either. Particularly not the friendship with a tempting woman like Sophie – he’s not good enough for her.
This is the second book in the Wrapped up in Christmas series and can be read as a stand alone, but reading the first book provides a better understanding of some of the characters. The story is sweet, you know eventually Sophie will overcome Coles objections. The problem for me was Cole’s angst took what seemed an inordinate amount of time to resolve. I found paragraph after paragraph rehashing Cole’s doubts and concerns a bit much. And Sophie took a long time to explain to Cole why the quilt was so important to her. While I loved the idea of the Butterflies, the senior ladies who ran most of the charity activities in town and who adopted all the young people, I got tired of the constant razzing and arguing between the members.
Having pointed out my issues with the story, I still enjoyed it and would recommend it and the previous book in the series as a good Christmas read. The Quilts of Valor Foundation (https://www.qovf.org/) is a worthwhile non-profit organization that the author supports .
I received a copy of the book from NetGalley. This review reflects my honest opinion.
A wonderful return to Pine Hill. I fell in love with the town in the first novel and was thankful for the opportunity to return. I love the honor given to the military and the representation of Quilts for Valor. Sophie is a warm hearted, small town girl who sees the good in former marine Cole and is determined to help him get past his demons and walls. The slow burn romance is drawn out perfectly. I was so happy for the return of the Butterflies and love the entertainment they bring to the story. Pine Hill is a wonderful community that captures the essence of honor, community, loving your neighbor, and Christmas. I highly recommend this sweet, romantic Christmas story. I received a complimentary copy from the publisher via NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own, freely given.