Hello, friends! I’m back with a blog tour and I’m excited to share a review for Wrapped with a Beau by Lillie Vale. Special thanks to the TBR & Beyond Tours team for organising the tour and including me in it!

Thanks to G.P. Putnam’s Sons for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Click here or on the banner above to check out the rest of the fantastic bloggers on tour!

TL;DR: If you’re a fan of holiday romances with small-town settings, quirky residents, loveable big families and all the warm fuzzy feel-good vibes, then you’re bound to enjoy Wrapped with a Beau. If you want a book that will give you the same cosy and joyous feelings that you get when watching your favourite holiday movie, look no further because this book will make you wish it was Christmas right now or like, every day. The romance was sweet, the main characters were easy to love and they were accompanied by supporting characters who made the story even better.

“Go with grace and gumption!”

This had everything I loved about small-town romances. I adored the way that Vale gave such life to Piney Peaks because she 100% made me want to pick up and move there and immerse myself into this welcoming and diverse community with its cheeky neighbours, well-meaning gossips, and wonderful shops. It’s an idealistic town, especially during the holiday season with its Christmas fairs and themed events, and it oozed all the warm cosy vibes! Think Serendipity, Love, Actually, The Holiday, It’s a Wonderful Life and all those other feel-good holiday/Hallmark movies you love to watch and you have Wrapped with a Beau. The side characters in this story really helped to make it come alive but also made it that much more entertaining to read. Elisha’s family were so fantastic and her friends and the town residents were also amazing!

“Ah, yes. The woman dressed like a deranged elf who escaped from the North Pole strikes terror in my heart.” She glances at her slippers and pajamas. Okay, rude. Accurate, but rude.”

Our main characters, Elisha and Ves were both well-rounded and easy to root for. Elisha is a sunshiney, sassy, smart and talented woman who wanted to bring fame back to Piney Peaks, starting with the filming of the Sleighbells sequel. She’s well-loved by everyone in town and it’s not hard to see why. I admired the way she rose to meet every challenge sent her way—whether it was dealing with her lousy sexist boss or convincing the Grinch-y new owner of her favourite home in town to let them use the house for filming, she tackled it all with dogged determination and a whole lot of optimism! In total contrast, Ves started out as your typical Scrooge. He was grumpy, had no love for Piney Peaks and wanted to get things settled to jet out of town as soon as possible; until Elisha comes crashing into his life and breaks all his steady rules. My heart broke reading about his childhood and the people who broke his heart and made him feel less than just because he was raised in a cold and loveless home. It was heartbreaking to read about how much he simply wanted to feel loved and find a place where he is accepted as he is—a place where he simply fits. Elisha and her wholesome loving family give him that and it was so heartwarming to see him thaw and recognise that maybe he wasn’t “too broken” to love all these years, he just hadn’t met the people who would wholeheartedly welcome him with open arms, no questions asked.

“Actually, do you think we could maybe walk in the other direction? Quickly but also, like, casually.”
“Only if I can ask why, inquisitively, but also, like, fearfully,” he drawls.

I loved their open communication, the way they opened themselves up to each other and the friendship that they formed in addition to the romance that bloomed. If you love the grumpy/sunshine and opposites-attract tropes then you’ll enjoy what these two have! That said, while the romance was super sweet and I loved the way their opposites complemented each other, I have to admit that, for me personally, their steamy moments fell flat. This isn’t the first time I’ve felt this way about Vale’s steamy scenes and I think there’s just something about the way they’re written that doesn’t feel… genuine or at least that comes across as awkward. I actually found the sexual tension and build-up to the big moment much more fun to read, so it wasn’t really a deal-breaker!

“So, you and Ves, huh? Is his little lord a-leaping? His piper piping? His cock a-crowing?”

I will also say that if you’re going into this expecting the shooting of the movie sequel to play a central role in their story, you might be disappointed because all of this happens in the lead-up to it. While I loved the throwbacks and the stories we learned from the community about why the original movie had such a big impact on the town, the actual filming itself doesn’t take place in the main story. But, even though Maeve had passed, she felt very much like a live presence in their story and I was so invested in her tale too!

“Fantasy has always been there for him. Even longer after he disccoered that, try as he might, there was no magical portal at the back of. awardrobe to take him away. […] And when he felt most alone growing up, he knew it was between the pages where he could always find a family.”

Overall, this was such a great holiday romance and I would highly recommend adding it to your list if you love heartwarming holiday romances too!

Do you plan to read Wrapped with a Beau or is it already on your TBR?

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