Bright Lights, Big Christmas

I received an ARC (advanced reader copy) from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Mary Kay Andrews is one of my favorite authors, so I was excited to be approved to read an ARC. Her new holiday novel comes out September 26, 2023.

Kerry Tolliver falls on hard times before Christmas and is home to help with the family tree farm in North Carolina. Her and her brother, Murphy, head to New York City to sell Christmas trees, like the family has done for decades. Here, Kerry meets and gets close with the neighborhood.

I devoured this book, like I do every Mary Kay Andrews book. But, upon reflection, nothing really happens. There's no mystery subplot, like there has been in her last few novels. I felt like I just read someone's holiday events. The characters were pretty flat and cookie cuter. They weren't fleshed out at all. Like, Kerry's recent trouble was glossed over and she didn't think about it too much during the course of the story. I didn't feel much of a connection to the characters.

It is a feel good, holiday read though. Maybe that was the whole point.