Chasing Cheer: Finding the Secret to Christmas Cheer (4.5 Stars)

If you’re one of those people who keeps Christmas stories for the Christmas season, bookmark this page for later in the year. If, though, you’re open to a good Christmas book now, you’ll likely want to check out Chasing Cheer by Heather Schneider. This book will be published on September 23rd, but I was able to get an ARC.

Not Your Average Christmas Story

This is such a cute book! Without giving away too much of the plot, while this is a Christmas story, it includes themes that are applicable to life year-round. I feel like two big themes are realizing where true happiness can be found and realizing that life is about balance. The characters were so likable. Now, I definitely want to visit Emerald Hollow, Oregon. Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, it’s not a real place.

I feel like this book is a combination of your traditional Christmas story themes mixed with some unique takes on the life of the Claus family. This added to the appeal for me.

Read in One Day

I read this book very quickly. Let’s just say that I finished it in less than a day, and I may have continued to do some exercises that allowed me to read and work out at the same time, mostly so I could have an excuse to continue reading.

Is It Clean?

When reading a book, one of my biggest concerns is if the book is clean. I’d label it as “cleanish.” There are a few of the milder swear words, and in some cases, they are used in ways that some readers may not even view as swear words. There is no violence or sexual content. Mild kissing is as far as it goes.

If you like slightly cheesy Christmas stories, this is one that you won’t want to miss. I wouldn’t put it as my favorite Christmas story ever, but it was really good. I think that it would make a really cute Christmas movie. I’m not sure if this is the start of a new series or if it’s planned as a standalone novel. I’ve seen it listed both ways. I could see doing another book or two. If that happens, I’ll read them.

My Concerns

I enjoyed this story, and I would like to know more about what happens to our main characters, Holly and Ash once the story is over. Yet, I am concerned that the story might be dragged out if there are future novels. I have seen really good novels ruined a bit by sequels. I hope that this does not happen if the author decides to make this book the first in a series.