How the Grump Saved Christmas

First, I love Claire Kingsley and look forward to anytime she has a new book coming out. Second, How The Grump Saved Christmas takes place in Tilikum, which is Bailey and Haven country - so I'm all in on that!!!!This book is centered around the Cook Family Farm and the Christmas Village. Both are staples of Tilikum and have been for decades. It also takes place during Levi and Annika's story, which was so cool to see from another point of view!Isabelle Cook is the daughter of Russell and Faye Cook, the owners of the Cook Family Farm. She has worked her tail off most of her life to keep the Christmas Village and the farm going. Unfortunately, her hard work isn't enough to balance out the financial problems they have. A company wants to buy the farm to turn into a datacenter. Isabelle has been turning them away at every turn because the family doesn't want to lose the farm. Well, what she doesn't know is that her ex from high school who abandoned her after graduation, works for Datastream. And he's about to get behind the plot to get the Cook family to sell their farm.Elias Stonehart is a complicated character who hasn't dealt with his past, which makes his present pretty bleak. But he thinks money, success, and a corner office is what he needs to prove his worth. Poor, misguided fool!!! Once he comes back to Tilikum and faces Isabelle for the first time in years, his life is forever altered - although it takes him awhile to see it.I so enjoyed this book!!!! It made me laugh, cry, swoon, happy, smile, frown, and gave me hope in the Christmas spirit!! Watching Elias start to feel again and see how his past needed to be faced in order to have a future was so beautiful. He has a lot to deal with but I was so proud of him for facing it head on. And Isabelle being there for him and learning to trust him again was wonderful.I so loved being back in Tilikum!!! It is truly a magic place, squirrel's and all!! Loved the Cook's so much and how they were so ingrained in the town. Elias's uncle and aunt were such wonderful people and never lost hope that Elias would find his way back. Cole was an amazing friend to Isabelle and the Cook's. Loved when he and Alice met!!!! Alice was fantastic!!! Loved the way she dealt with Grinchy Elias!!!! And precious Maddie, such an adorable little girl with a heart of gold!This book was amazing, fantastic, wonderful, etc, etc!!! It put me in the Christmas spirit and renewed my hope for mankind. If only the world was more like Tilikum.

'Tis the season for holiday romance books and I'm here for it. Give me Hallmark movie vibes with a great cast of characters and I'm a goner. How the Grump Saved Christmas was a cute small town, second chance romance set in my neck of the woods in Washington state.Elias Stoneheart (get it, he's the grump and has a heart of stone) is a man that moved from the small town to the city to prove something. He's on a mission to succeed, make money and get the promotion he's after. He hates Christmas and has a wall built up around him. The one thing he needs to do is return to a place that he spent the last half of his childhood in Tilikum and get the local Christmas tree farm owners to sell him their land since it's going under anyway. Only problem is, the owner is Isabelle Cook's family, his ex from high school. She is driven and hard headed and is very attached to the property that holds lots of memories and believes the farm means a lot to their community. She must do everything she can to make this season a success and show that the farm can profit. She is not going down without a fight, even if the grumpy Elias just may be her weak spot.See? Doesn't that just like a holiday Hallmark movie? It had all the makings for it.-City boy that has issues with family returns to small town only to fall under the spell of the only woman he's loved and wants to do right by her.-A small town woman that will do anything for her family and her community and to prove to her ex that her land is so much more than just property.-And supporting characters that all have a story of their own (and apparently they do, although I haven't read those and didn't feel out of the loop so you can definitely read this as a standalone).But my most favorite part was Alice and Maddie. Alice is Elias's assistant and Maddie is her child that has some special needs. Ms Kingsley handled Maddie's cerebral palsy with care and made this young child such a tough cookie. I loved her! I liked seeing Elias and his heart melt for these two females and seeing how his interactions changed throughout the book toward them. He didn't know much about his assistant until they returned to Tilikum and fell in love with more than the farm.Overall, this was a sweet story with a few side topics that took you to a little more on the serious side. We don't dive super deep into those issues, but you begin to understand what the young Elias went through and how he never felt connected to anyone or any place. The past between Isabella and Elias was also something I didn't see coming, but I liked how their story came full circle and our grumpy Elias began to see the holidays in a whole new manner through different eyes. There's not a whole lot of steam here, but I said it before...Hallmark movie. Sweet, fun, great characters and total festive feel for the season.

Back to Tilikum we go and what an adventure it was.Elias Stoneheart's, parents up and abandoned him, at the age of eleven, and he goes to live with his uncle and aunt in Tilikum.He has spent his life trying to prove that he is somebody.He has been striving for power and wealth most of his adult life.Everybody including strangers looked at him like he was a big, Grinchy jerk.He doesn't like Christmas, he doesn't even really like people.When he has a chance for the promotion he's been striving for, he finds out that all he has to do to get it is get his ex-high-school sweetheart to convince her parents to sell their farm.It's not just any farm though, it's a Christmas tree farm with a Christmas Village that had been in the Cook Family for decades and is a part of Tilikum history.Unfortunately, it is very deep in debt so it is logical that they would want to sell right?Isabelle Cook is doing everything in her power to save her family farm and when Elias shows up after he left town and broke her heart so many years ago, with an offer to buy the farm, she is having nothing to do with it or him.Elias finds out that "the past has a way of catching up, especially if we have things that were never resolved."As things heat up between Isabelle and him, and as the old memories start to come back, he finds that there are people who love him and our proud of him.This is an actual heartwarming story with some of the best side characters that I have read.We have an adorable five-year-old with the heart the size of a mountain.A stubborn donkey named Horace.Lots of love to fill a town and some new and old friendsI've really enjoyed this series and getting to come back for another visit.

I absolutely adored this holiday story! Elias was a great character and watching the ice melt around his heart as the book played out was so satisfying! I loved the Cooks and their Christmas farm, and the foreshadowing with Harvey and the squirrels! I adore Claire's writing and this book!

What an adorably perfect holiday read! Loved returning to Tilikum once more in a heart-warming story full of wonderful Hallmark-like Christmas vibes. A book that's perfect for reading curled up under a blanket by the fireplace, with a nice mug of hot chocolate on the side.

It was so so good definitely a 5✨ Christmas rom-com you need.I love small town romances, grumpy-sunshine trope, Christmas vibes

Like a combination of The Grinch and a Christmas Carol but hotter and really heartwarming.Ad in one of my favourite little Towns and it’s a perfect Christmas story!I loved it!!

If you only read one holiday story a year make this one. This story is pure holiday perfection and I could picture this instantly as a gorgeous Christmas movie.Elias has one mission on his mind and that is success. And success at all costs. It’s evident from the start there is a story there and the author expertly unravels his background to uncover a very lonely and damaged heart.Isabelle is the best kind of stubborn. Determined and loyal Isabelle is doing everything she can to hold it all together.Sparks fly when Elias comes to town to try to get Isabelle’s family to sell their farm.We quickly find out these two have history and things get complicated as they both do everything to achieve their goal whilst also crossing boundaries and letting feeling get involved.I really enjoyed these two falling for each other and they way that they eventually drop their defences and deal with their history.Get comfy, grab a hot chocolate with sprinkles and dive into this delightful holiday romance.This story is set in Tilikum which is the home of the authors Bailey Brothers series however it reads as a true stand alone.