Romance may finally be in air but it’s not all smooth sailing. Wynn and Garrick finally begin a friendship when he asks her help in getting his house ready for his very pregnant daughter. Unfortunately, the unhappy daughter, missing her military husband, is consistently in a foul mood. They are going to need an extra dose of Christmas cheer to make everyone merry this year. This tale may be a romance, but there is some grit to it, and a lesson or two for some people to learn along the way. ( )

In the newest novel, Happily This Christmas, single mom Wynn has a terrific thirteen year-old son and owns her own thriving printing business. She has lots of good friends, but no man in her life. When her handsome police officer neighbor Garrick comes over and asks for assistance decorating his home for the arrival of his pregnant 21 year-old daughter, Wynn thinks this might be her way to get to know him better.

Both Wynn and Garrick had their children when they were young. Wynn was on her own with her son, and Garrick is divorced from his wife, who remarried and now has three young sons with her new husband.

Garrick's daughter Joylyn is not happy coming to see her father, they have been somewhat estranged, much to Garrick's dismay. Joylyn's husband is away overseas on active military duty, not due home until close to the baby's due date right after Christmas. She also feels that her own mother is abandoning her.

Wynn takes a reluctant Joylyn under her wing, introducing her to the women in her ladies' weekly lunch group, and Wynn's son likes having someone closer to his own age like Joylyn around. Garrick wants to take this chance to get to reconnect with his daughter, to be as close they used to be when she was just a liitle girl.

I really enjoyed my visit back to Happily, Inc. and watching Wynn and Garrick's relationship move in an exciting new direction. The Christmas setting is wonderful, and this being a wedding destination town, there is a wedding to plan.

After reading the last two books in the series, I immediately ordered the first two books so I could get to know all of the characters from the beginning. Reading this series is like catching up with old friends, and if you are a fan of Hallmark's Christmas movies, the Happily, Inc. books are for you. I highly recommend Happily This Christmas to help get you in the holiday spirit, and don't we all need that now? (And the cover looks so festive you could use it as holiday decoration.)


Thanks to Harlequin for putting me on their Harlequin Holiday Blog Tour. ( )

It is not too early to read Christmas books. Thus Susan Mallery's newest, Happily This Christmas is the perfect stocking stuffer read!

I just loved everything about this book. Garrick and Wynn may have been the adults in the story but they kind of acted like over struck teenagers. Ahh...love. Which speaking of love, Garrick's love for his daughter, Joylyn was sweet. It was nice to see that despite Joylyn's frosty attitude towards him in the beginning, he never gave up on her.

I have read all the books in this series. The more I visit Happily, Inc. it makes me "happy". It is kind of like Robyn Carr's Virgin River series. Which I loved that series. Pick up a copy of this book today. ( )

Garrick's 21-year-old pregnant daughter is coming to stay with him while her husband is deployed. He asks his next-door neighbor Wynn to help make his house comfortable for Joylyn's stay. Garrick and Wynn become friends and then move into an easy, slow romance. At the same time, Wynn befriends Joylyn and helps her through the later parts of her pregnancy since she does not have any friends in town and her husband is away.

I always marvel at how well Ms. Mallery writes the interactions between her characters and this story is another good example of this. These two neighboring households grow closer over the course of the holiday season. As with pretty much every book I've read by Susan Mallery, I felt invested in these characters' lives. Happily This Christmas is set over the Thanksgiving and Christmas season, and I enjoyed the meals and decorations that were written into the story.

I read this book in its entirety in one sitting while the rest of my family was out of the house. This is actually the sixth in the Happily, Inc. series, but worked really well as a starting point for me since I haven't read any of the previous books. I liked the supporting characters in this story, so I'm eager to go back and start this series from the beginning.

Thank you to Harlequin Books for sending me a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review! ( )

Happily This Christmas by Susan Mallery
Happily Inc #6

Wynn is daydreaming as she gazes her front window while thinking about and doing a teen-like crush on Garrick. Garrick moved in about a year ago, is moving his way up to being at the top of the Happily Inc police department. Wynn was smitten by Garrick’s chest as seen without a shirt during his bouts mowing the yard and has had steamy thoughts more than a time or two since. At this point I felt a bit like Wynn sounded more teen than adult with a teenage son and when Garrick came knocking at her door her reaction was a bit teen-ish, too. That soon changed as the two began working to prep his house for his daughter’s arrival and I saw her interacting with her son and others. In the end I came away with a feel good holiday romance that was a fun way to spend the day.

What I liked:
* The small-town setting
* Wynn: Excellent mother, good friend, community minded, ready to let go of something from her past, and perhaps ready for more in her life
* Garrick: excellent with his colleagues, capable, a good man, not the best at relationships, hoping to find out what went wrong with his daughter and perhaps ready for more in his life
* Hunter: a 14-year-old mature beyond his years. I liked the way her related to his mother and to others
* The Jolynn story line – I did not like Jolynn at first, but she grew and in so doing she grew on me
* The Holly/Rex story line – a fairytale story fitting for the season
* The love that showed in so many relationships within the story
* The HEA for more than one in the story

What I did not like:
* Nothing really to dislike…an easy read with a holiday happy ending

Did I like this book? Yes

Thank you to Edelweiss+ and Harper Collins for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4 Stars ( )