Mary Kay Andrews

A Novel

Bright Lights, Big Christmas

         I absolutely love cheesy romance, and a holiday romance is even better.  I look forward to the holiday releases that come out every October, even though I know I won’t actually read them until January or February of the following year.  These books bring me joy. 

            This particular book was the prime example of what we readers like to call “fluffy.”  It doesn’t start with an overly emotional situation, or with a significantly “broken” person looking to rebuild themselves.  While the reason Kerry ended up going to New York City with her brother is divulged, it’s not dwelled upon.  Their dad needed to recover, thus Kerry needed to help out, we didn’t get thrown into the messy dynamics of their lives back in North Carolina.  They make it to New York, and slowly the ancillary characters are introduced with little drama (love that).  While yes, Patrick started out as a bit of an insensitive jerk, eventually we realize he’s an endearing fellow.  All of the characters are quirky and loveable, each bringing their own vibrancy to the storyline.  Except for Kerry’s brother, who remains unnecessarily grouchy the entire time.  His demeanor didn’t make much sense to me. 

            It’s truly a perfect fluffy holiday romance.  There’s some conflict with a rival Christmas tree dealer, but it was PG and didn’t take up much time in the story.  There was also some drama with another neighborhood regular, but that was resolved and ended up being a better situation for everybody.  The ending was happy and it was tied up with a pretty ribbon, which is what I prefer.  It’s pretty much everything I look forward to with my romance reads.  I loved it. 

Kristen Claiborn

         I absolutely love cheesy romance, and a holiday romance is even better.  I look forward to the holiday releases that come out every October, even though I know I won’t actually read them until January or February of the following year.  These books bring me joy. 

            This particular book was the prime example of what we readers like to call “fluffy.”  It doesn’t start with an overly emotional situation, or with a significantly “broken” person looking to rebuild themselves.  While the reason Kerry ended up going to New York City with her brother is divulged, it’s not dwelled upon.  Their dad needed to recover, thus Kerry needed to help out, we didn’t get thrown into the messy dynamics of their lives back in North Carolina.  They make it to New York, and slowly the ancillary characters are introduced with little drama (love that).  While yes, Patrick started out as a bit of an insensitive jerk, eventually we realize he’s an endearing fellow.  All of the characters are quirky and loveable, each bringing their own vibrancy to the storyline.  Except for Kerry’s brother, who remains unnecessarily grouchy the entire time.  His demeanor didn’t make much sense to me. 

            It’s truly a perfect fluffy holiday romance.  There’s some conflict with a rival Christmas tree dealer, but it was PG and didn’t take up much time in the story.  There was also some drama with another neighborhood regular, but that was resolved and ended up being a better situation for everybody.  The ending was happy and it was tied up with a pretty ribbon, which is what I prefer.  It’s pretty much everything I look forward to with my romance reads.  I loved it. 

Bright Lights, Big Christmas A Novel

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