How the Grump Saved Christmas by. Claire Kingsley | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: How the Grump Saved Christmas

Format: ebook (kindle unlimited)

Author: Claire Kingsley

Pages: 339

Publication Date: 11/16/22

Categories: Romance, Holiday Romance, Christmas, Small Town Romance, Second Chance Romance

Hardworking Isabelle Cook has a serious problem. Her family farm, site of Tilikum’s Christmas Village, is in trouble. Big trouble. And worst of all? The man trying to buy it is none other than the grumpiest, grinchiest man of them all—Elias Stoneheart.

That’s a big nope. She’s not letting him get involved. Not with his heart made of coal.

Elias Stoneheart is in the business of making money, not friends. Especially when his boss is promising a long-awaited promotion. All he has to do is convince one struggling family to sell their farm.

The problem? It’s Cook Family Farm. And Isabelle Cook is his ex.

He might have history with Isabelle, but this is just business. A Christmas-loving farm girl is not going to come between him and his ambition.

And Christmas? He hates it. Christmas Village needs to go.

But as Elias spends time in the small town, holiday spirit—and Isabelle—get under his skin. And she might be the only one who can melt the ice around his heart.

Author’s Note: a sassy farm girl takes on a grumpy businessman in this stand-alone, snowy, small-town Christmas romance. Saucy banter, a guard donkey, plenty of holiday cheer, and a heartwarming happily ever after that will make you believe in the magic of Christmas.

Content Warning: parental neglect, miscarriage

How Christmassy can this book get? Look at that book cover – it screams holiday, small town romance. And that’s exactly what I got! Here’s what I thought:

+ This is Hallmark Christmas movie worthy! It’s set in a small town, a big company wants to buy the land where Christmas Village takes place every year and where Elias’ ex-love lives. So he comes back to help buy the land for his job and being back there reminds him of why the place is important to the community and the woman he loves.

+ It has a great cast of character with everyone pretty much getting a happy ending!

+ It’s a second chance romance and there is definitely a past between Elias and Isabelle and a past. Elias is such a Scrooge and Isabelle is the only one who can really open and melt his heart. So it was nice seeing him succumb to Christmas, the people around him and Isabelle again. It’s very heartwarming. There are sexy scenes but it’s very rushed, nothing very detailed.

~ It’s predictable but it’s what I expect of a holiday romance. It hit a lull for me in the middle because of it. Maybe I was wishing for a little more chemistry or heat between Elias and Isabelle?

~ It’s a lot of holiday cheer to the point of it maybe being too much with everybody getting their happy ending? But eh…you just gotta go with it!

Tropes: small town romance, second chance romance, a Christmas miracle

Spice Level: 🌶

Why you should read it:

• you want a story with lots of holiday cheer, and happily ever afters
• small town romance, second change romance, a snowy small time with a tight community
• fun characters

Why you might not want to read it:

• overload on happiness? lol…maybe too cheesy at some parts

My Thoughts:

If you are looking for a holiday romance where the guy is basically Scrooge and he has a second chance to “make things right” then this book is it. I wouldn’t be surprised if they made it into a Hallmark movie! I found this one enjoyable and heart warming. Was it predictable? Sure! But isn’t that why we read holiday romance?

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