A Heartfelt Christmas Promise by Nancy Naigle – a Review

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Description:
Vanessa Larkin was supposed to be spending Christmas in Paris, France on a business trip she hoped to enjoy as a working vacation. Instead, she’s been assigned to Fraser Hills, North Carolina—home of the Best Fruitcake in the USA—to convert her company’s property into warehouse space and shut down Porter’s, the fruitcake factory. Offering retirement packages and selling locals on new job opportunities may not spread holiday cheer, but Vanessa believes she’s helping secure the town’s future.

Mike Marshall’s family founded Porter’s. For decades, the factory served as the lifeblood of the community until his grandfather sold the business to a Chicago corporation. The sale cost the town its independence—and the Marshalls their family ties. A horse farmer, Mike was never involved with his grandfather’s company, but still felt Fraser Hills lost part of its identity. And as a widower raising a teenage daughter, he’s suffered enough losses in one lifetime. News of the factory’s closing means losing another piece of the town’s legacy.

Far from the skyscrapers and rapid pace of the city, Vanessa finds herself enjoying the easygoing rhythms of rural living. With Mike as her guide, she learns to appreciate the simple pleasures found in shared holiday festivities among friends. Fraser Hills is a town she is growing to love—and Mike is someone she is falling in love with. Now all Vanessa needs is a Christmas miracle to give her newfound friends and home a gift they’ll cherish for many New Years to come.

Review:

A Heartfelt Christmas Promise by Nancy Naigle is a delightful and sweet standalone novel that starts the Christmas season with a bang.  I really enjoyed this story and the wonderful characters created by Naigle.

Vanessa Larkin, our heroine, was planning a fun work  trip to Paris with her assistant, as she is one of the best employees.  Instead, she is assigned to Fraser Hills, North Carolina, to convert her company’s year old acquisition to close and clear out the property to sell.  Vanessa isn’t to happy to have to handle this case, “Best Fruitcake”, and to pull the plug with the holiday (Christmas around the corner).   She hopes to do this quickly, closing Porter’s fruitcake factory, offering retirement packages and new job opportunities to help the town, and then head home for Christmas. 

When she arrives and calls a meeting that evening, everyone (this is a small town) suspects the worse, giving Vanessa the negativity vibe at the meeting, but she manages to let people know she is investigating other possibilities such as a empty second warehouse to use.  This calms people hoping for the best, but she meets horse farmer, Mike Marshall, who at first was nice to Vanessa, but when he realized who she was, he was downright nasty.

Mike is a widower, and has a 15 year old daughter, Misty, who helps her father train the eight beautiful Percheron horses, and she is also very talented, especially at her age.  She will befriend Vanessa, much to her father’s unhappiness, until he begins to see Vanessa working hard on finding a solution to save the town.  In a short time, their friendship escalates into a slow build romance.   We also learn that Mike’s grandfather, is the one who owned Porters and sold it for money needed elsewhere.  The Marshall family took care of the town all these years, having found Porter’s.

It was also nice to meet Vanessa’s aunt, who came to spend time with Vanessa for the time they stayed.  There is a second romance between the aunt and Buck, Porter’s former owner.  I loved the town of Fraser Hills, and the wonderful secondary characters.  Misty was an amazing and talented young girl, whom Vanessa began to care for.  I loved loved the puppy (Scooter/Porter) who kept escaping; so adorable and such fun.  Vanessa surprised herself loving the taste of the dreaded fruitcake and cookies, and she slowly began to fall in love with the town and the wonderful holiday traditions (dinners, tree lighting, parade, etc).  

A Heartfelt Christmas Promise was a wonderful, heartwarming, sweet romance, with a great couple in Vanessa and Mike, and the friendship and townsfolk who opened their arms to Vanessa.  Though she was a workaholic, the town grew on her, not to mention her falling for Mike.  Vanessa will step up to save the town and realize that Fraser Hills is where she belongs.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher