You Make It Feel like Christmas by Toni Shiloh: Book Review

 *Book received for consideration. All thoughts are my own.

It's the most wonderful time of the year--for everyone except Starr Lewis.

As if going home for the holidays jobless and single wasn't bad enough, she's dragged into a holiday season full of activities leading up to her sister's uber-romantic Christmas Eve wedding--to Starr's ex-boyfriend. But when her brother's best friend, Waylon Emmerson, attends their family Thanksgiving, she starts to wonder if maybe coming home for Christmas isn't so bad after all.

As Starr finds the perfect distraction in helping Waylon make over his late mother's Christmas shop, the most wonderful time of the year works its magic and the spark between them grows. But with the holidays fast approaching, Starr must decide what she wants out of life after the gifts are unwrapped and the ornaments are put away--to go back to New York City or to open her heart to a love that will last beyond Christmas Day?

Toni Shiloh is a wife, mom, and an award-winning Christian contemporary romance author. She writes to bring God glory and to learn more about His goodness. Her novel, In Search of a Prince, won the first ever, Christy Amplify award. Her novels, Grace Restored, was a 2019 Holt Medallion finalist, Risking Love a 2020 Selah Award finalist, The Truth About Fame a 2021 Holt Medallion finalist, and The Price of Dreams a 2021 Maggie Award finalist.

A member of the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and of the Virginia Chapter, Toni seeks to help readers find authors. She loves connecting with readers and authors alike via social media. You can learn more about her writing at http://tonishiloh.com.

Have you ever found yourself several chapters into a book thinking that it seemed super familiar to you? This was me when I sat down to read You Make It Feel Like Christmas. But since this was a brand new (not yet released) book, I ignored the feeling and read on. The more I read, the more familiar it felt until I looked it up and realized that this had previously been published in the All Is Bright collection as I'll Be Home... a collection I had in fact read about three years ago! It had even been my favorite story in that collection. In the author's note, it mentioned that there were some additions to the story. While I recognized the overall story as familiar, having been a few years since first reading it, the smaller moments were definitely fuzzy so I couldn't say what those additions were. 

What I can say however that I enjoyed it just as much the second time around! Even having that vague recollection of how it was going to turn out, I still enjoyed Starr and Waylon's relationship so very much. The one- liners had me smiling throughout and their chemistry was such a joy to read. In addition to the romance though, I also really appreciated all the Christmas cheer and more importantly the emphasis on faith too. I loved how important of a role prayer played in this story. I think this balance of swoon-worthy romance and Christian messages is something that Toni Shiloh does brilliantly, and this book is definitely a prime example of that. 

If you're looking for a fun holiday romance with an emphasis on faith, this is most certainly one worth a read... and even a reread!