Cozy Up for the Holidays with a Heartwarming Read and Nostalgic Treats

I always love treating myself to new holiday books as the Christmas season nears. The snow has settled in and it’s been great to cozy up at home with a tea in one hand and a light holiday read in the other! This year I enjoyed One Big Happy Family by Susan Mallery. Mallery is a best-selling author known for her light-hearted books focusing on central female characters and their relationships – with significant others, friends and family. This book follows that formula perfectly as we get to spend the holidays with strong-willed Julie Parker and her guests (many unexpected) at her family’s cabin. If you love Hallmark holiday movies where you are assured a charming rustic setting, sweet romance and happy ending, then this is the book for you!

Julie is the owner of a tow truck company; the mother of two adult children, Nick and Dana; and in her 50’s, is now enjoying being a single woman finding new love. Julie and her recent boyfriend, Heath, plan to spend a quiet Christmas together in the city, just the two of them. However, Julie’s children shake things up by suggesting a family Christmas at the cabin to remember their recently passed father. Julie and her ex-husband had been divorced for sometime but his death in the past year had been tough on her kids. Because she is a loving, selfless mother, she of course throws her plans out the window and embraces the holidays as “one big happy family!” What starts out as a fairly small group ends up growing and growing; Nick’s prickly mother-in-law has recently moved to town and gets an invite, as do Heath’s two young children and their dog…along with a myriad of others as the story unfolds. Grab your hot cocoa, maybe make the cookie recipe Mallery includes in the back of the book… and settle in for some warm holiday feels!