I need Hallmark to make every single Christmas movie into a book immediately, because Love You Like Christmas was FANTASTIC. I love Hallmark movies, because of the feeling they evoke when you watch. I'm always crying and smiling and talking to the TV, it's a big production, so of course I had to give this book a shot. It outdid the movie, tenfold. My imagination ran away with Love You Like Christmas and getting to picture everything in my head was magical.

"She loved Christmas. But she loved making the magic happen for other people more..."

Love You Like Christmas: Based on the Hallmark Channel Original Movie by Keri F. Sweet is one of those Christmas books that you will want to read again and again. Maddie is a marketing executive who loves what the general spirit of Christmas stands for, but doesn't truly partake in. She sees the season as a way to sell, to build her client list up and to succeed in her brand new corner office. She takes her Aunt's beloved old mustang on a drive, set for Denver and a glittering party filled with opportunity and finds herself stuck in Christmas Valley. She tries not to let the festive town keep her from work, but an adorable girl and her nosy father, as well as the other spirited townsfolk, pull her from her cell phone and show her what she's been missing. Kevin thinks it is fate that he met Maddie on the road after his trees spilled across the highway and that she's now in his town, stranded for several days. She sparks feelings in him again, feelings he thought he'd never find again, and breathes life back into his and Jo's world. He just has to convince her that Christmas Valley has more to offer than her perfect, ordered world in New York.

"A billion to one, she'd have said. Even more, what were the odds she'd still feel this pull, this breathless long, this desperate desire to know more?"

Maddie and Kevin are standard Hallmark Movie characters, one doesn't quite embrace the spirit of Christmas, while the other loves it completely. In this case though, both characters need some help to truly embrace the holiday and one another. Both characters are likable, but it is only when they are together that the story really comes to life. The story is all about being too busy to really enjoy what life has to offer. In this case, Maddie is glued to her phone and her career, unable to see that her time in Christmas Valley is an opportunity to slow down and just embrace the season. Fate, and trouble, keeps Maddie in Christmas Valley even longer and as time goes by she learns to take a step back and enjoy the small moments. Jo, Kevin's adorable daughter, assists in carrying this story along far more than your average secondary character. Maddie sees parts of herself in Jo and Jo sees a woman she wants to be like, but time stands in their way. Over and over Kevin misses chances with Maddie, but it all works out in the end, because it's Christmas and a Hallmark book, of course!

"Surrounded by this place, ready with this idea to save the Tyler farm, Maddie got the concept of labor of love."

Sweet, spirited, and seasonal, Love You Like Christmas will wrap you up in Christmas like it's a warm blanket. Keri F. Sweet brings the story to life with colorful details, lots of emotion, and all the sweet moments of Christmases past that readers yearn for in their books. This book made me want more and it made me even more excited for the Holidays. This is a must read if you already love Christmas stories or if you're looking to add a little joy to your life.

PS. The recipe in the back? SO EXCITED TO TRY IT, but with GF tweaks. ( )