Alaskan Christmas Redemption

Sweet yet predictable, super clean romance that brings a lovely HEA. <br />~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br />I just love the friends to lovers romance tropes. It just makes it such a great story to read because the characters are already super familiar with themselves and each other.<br /><br />The best part of these type of stories is the realization when all these feelings and genuine care for your best friend has morphed into love.<br /><br />This book covers the growth of feeling so well. That delicate balance of friendship and the tentative crossing over into deeper feelings. The author also included a great twist of a deeply held secret that could change everything.<br /><br />The story contains a range of emotions and Calhoune carries the reader through each and every one of them throughout the story. Grab those tissues in a few spots!<br /><br />Set an Alaska where community is essential and friendship abounds, you can’t help but get attached to the characters in the story. The connection she builds is amazing and you find yourself rooting for Piper and Braden to figure it all out!<br /><br />A sweet, yet powerfully emotional read, this is a perfect Christmas story!<br /><br />* Copy received for review consideration<br />Full review - <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://amidlifewife.com/alaskan-christmas-redemption-by-belle-calhoune/">https://amidlifewife.com/alaskan-chri...</a>

Alaskan Christmas Redemption is a short Christmas novella set in Owl Creek, Alaska. It is the third book in the Home to Owl Creek series. <br /><br />Braden North has returned to Owl Creek after a lengthy absence. Guilt and a secret he has long harbored have kept him away. Shortly after his arrival, his best friend, Piper Miller, asks him to help save her family's diner, which was started by her late father. Braden's secret has distanced him from Piper for a long time. Will he consent to help her?<br /><br />This was a nice inspirational Christmas romance. There is a solid theme of forgiveness and redemption. However, I feel the reason for Braden's distancing himself from Piper, his family, and his town was a little weak. There were few plot twists and the ending was predictable. However, it was still a fun Christmas read. <br /><br />If you enjoy Christmas romances and stories set in Alaska, give this one a try.<br /><br />I received a free copy of this book from Harlequin via Netgalley. My review is voluntary.

So this story follows Braden North and Piper Miller. Braden has recently returned to Owl Creek, Alaska after having been gone for years and he's harboring a secret. Piper is still reeling from her father's death a few years ago and is struggling to turn around the Snowy Owl Diner she inherited from him. She doesn't want to admit it but she's in the hole for a lot of money and she just can't seem to keep up with the flashier new restaurants.<br /><br />This is a friends to lovers small town romance that helps you get into the Christmas spirit as the characters trim trees, eat holiday pies, and sip hot cocoa. The romance was sweet and easy to read with me finishing it in one day. However I felt the secret was more of a misunderstanding that could've easily been explained with one talk and it later was. So it felt dragged out to me and I wish their was a little more conflict. <br /><br />I do want to mention that this line is faith based so there are mentions of God and prayer during times of need. As a Christian woman that didn't bother me. And as someone who went to Catholic school and has read Christian books and seen many Christian movies I don't feel it was done in a way where religion was forced down your throats like some Christian stories. <br /><br />This was more of a 2.5 for me because it wasn't bad but it also wasn't great. The secret being so trivial yet dragged out so long caused me to bump it down some stars. And there could've been a little more coziness. I would've loved to see the saving the diner plot expanded upon more.<br /><br /><a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://womenofcolorreadtoo.blogspot.com/2020/11/alaskan-christmas-redemption-by-belle.html">https://womenofcolorreadtoo.blogspot....</a>

What happens when you feel your best friend slipping away just when you need him the most? This is Piper Miller's predicament as she faces losing the family business that meant so much to her late father and believing that she has to handle it alone. She doesn't want to worry her mother and brother and the one person she can confide in is now out of reach. Piper needs her life-long friend but Braden North isn't the same person that she once knew. She may be keeping her family in the dark but Braden definitely has a secret that may forever change the relationship they've always known!<br /><br />I love it when friends realize that their friendship has turned into something more and discovering this during the Christmas season is like placing the star on top of the tree! Author Belle Calhoune takes us back to Owl Creek, Alaska and it's a wonderful place to be at Christmas. Eating at the Snowy Owl Diner, sampling the Oreo milkshakes, decorating the Christmas trees, and spending time with family and friends. And don't forget the grace and forgiveness that overflows during this season of love and goodwill!<br /><br />If you enjoy reading stories with realistic family dynamics in small town settings, you will certainly want to read Alaska Christmas Redemption. You need to see if Piper and Braden can salvage their friendship or perhaps find something more!<br /><br />I received a copy of this book from the author and publisher. A favorable review was not required and no compensation was received. These are my own thoughts.

Braden North is bending over backwards helping his best friend Piper Miller work hard to save her diner. While Piper is glad that Braden is there to help her, she can't forgive the fact that he abandoned her several years ago. The timing was awful because Piper lost her beloved father, then she lost her best friend. He is back and he is helping, but Piper is guarding her heart.<br /><br />With regard to her diner, it was her father's baby. Piper wants to keep it running profitably and by so doing she knows she will always honor her father. She has mixed feelings working with Braden. On the one hand she is glad he back, then the hurt she still feels when he left is at war with the fact that she is beginning to have stronger feelings for him.<br /><br />Meanwhile, Braden is fighting his own battle with regard to Piper. He is glad to be back, but will he stay in their lovely town? Actually, Braden is hiding something from Piper, and should she find out, he worries if he will lose her for good.<br /><br />This sensitive story of friends to lovers offers so much. It touches on secrets, forgiveness, hope and love. Factor in the beautiful Alaskan setting, the holiday season, and the warm community, and what you have was a wonderful story with a satisfying HEA.<br /><br />Many thanks to Love Inspired and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

Such a sweet story and lovable characters! I really enjoyed it and the entire town! I did want to shake Braden over his “secret” though but such a good story!

<img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1601432901i/30170252._SX540_.jpg" width="650" height="400" alt="description" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br><i>ARC was provided by NetGalley and HARLEQUIN Romance in exchange for an honest review.</i><br><br><i>This review is being published after the release date (September 29th, 2020)</i><br><br><br><b> <i>Content/Trigger Warnings: Death of a parent (in the past), loss of a loved one (in the past), grief, abandonment, mentions of multiple accidents, mentions of kidnapping and abduction, trauma, mentions of heart attack (in the past)</i> </b><br><br><blockquote> <b> <i>“I want to help you save the diner.”</i> </b> </blockquote><br><br>In my true bad reading habits fashion, I read the the third book in this series and I have zero regrets. Seriously, this romance hit me in all the soft spaces of my heart, friends! Truly, this was such an emotional read and I loved this book so much. I’m not sure if you should or can read these book out of order. Even though this is the third book, I’ve never heard of this series before or this author, but this book has enough details that you understand the side characters and being new to this series, I had so much appreciation for that. After experiencing this author’s writing, I’m excited to explore more of this series and more of Calhoune’s writing!<br><br><i>Alaskan Christmas Redemption</i> follows the story of two childhood best friends finding their way back to each other after four years of being part. Piper has spent these last four years carrying a great weight on her shoulders and now with her family diner at risk, she needs to find a solution to save it or close the doors to the Snowy Owl for good. Braden has just returned to Owl Creek after spending four years running away from his past. When Piper contacts him, asking for help, Braden ends up doing everything he can to help her, despite the secrets he’s keeping from everyone. The two estranged friends will work together to save the diner and maybe lose their hearts to one another along the way.<br><br>? <b>Piper Miller</b> – After inheriting her family’s diner, The Snowy Owl, Piper has spent the last four years grieving the death of her father, but The Snowy Owl is in a lot of trouble. With a debt that was covered up by her father, Piper is struggling to come up with a way to save the diner without having to close the doors for good. She reaches out to her childhood best friend, Braden to assist her in saving the diner, but after four years of being apart, she can’t help wishing they could be close again or noticing Braden is hiding something.<br><br><blockquote> <b> <i>“There was no one in the world who could replace Piper. She was one of a kind and as unique as an individual snowflake.”</i> </b> </blockquote><br><br>? <b>Braden North</b> – After leaving Owl Creek four years ago, Braden has finally come home to be with his family, but the weight of the past is weighing heavily on his mind. When Piper, his childhood best friend reaching out to him, seeking his help with saving the diner, despite wanting to keep his distance, Braden agrees to help and comes up with a brilliant plan to save The Snowy Owl. But as Braden spends more time with Piper, he’s not only falling for her, but he’s struggling to confess the real reason he left Owl Creek four years ago.<br><br>Together Piper and Braden will make a dynamic duo that’ll turn The Snowy Owl into the hottest spot in Owl Creek for the holiday season. Along the way, these two characters will learn to find the hope in situations out of their control, unravel the secrets of the past, discover what it means to fall in love with someone you’ve known all your life, and be forgiving even when we’re our most vulnerable.<br><br><blockquote> <b> <i>“Remember when a chocolate cherry shake would make everything feel better? I miss those days”</i> </b> </blockquote><br><br>We follow the perspective of both Piper and Braden throughout this story. I really loved Piper as a character. She’s confident, sweet, loving, and has a charismatic charm about her that I couldn’t resist. Plus, her love for Christmas just really warmed my heart. We also see a lot of Piper’s grief through her perspective. Braden, on the other hand, wasn’t my favorite perspective. A lot of his perspective is through internal struggle and seeing his thoughts on how he’s handling things. Together, I think the perspectives balanced the story out nicely and it paints that full picture of what happened with both characters in certain moments.<br><br>There’s also a huge theme of family throughout this book and I crumbled so much with this that theme. I always say my loyalty and family are my Achilles’ heel, and they truly are. And the whole sense of family throughout this book just hit so close to home. Piper is carrying the knowledge of what’s happening with the diner, and refuses to tell her brother and mother what has been occurring because she knows how hard they’ve recently struggled. On top of that, her whole family is still feeling the loss of Jack Miller, Piper’s father. There’s also the rekindling of family bonds on Braden’s side of this story. Braden’s younger sister was kidnap as a baby and now that they’re both home, under the same roof, they’re trying to find a way to connect with one another. But under all of that, there’s a deep sense of not wanting to disappoint your family or let them down because of hardships, feeling like you’re not measuring up to expectations, and it plays an important role in the lives of our two main characters throughout this book. And since this is a small town, we have the small town vibes and close knit community. So it feels like one big family and it’s like being wrapped up in a warm, fuzzy hug.<br><br><blockquote> <b> <i>“His mother had once told him that even when you lost a person you loved, memories of them were everywhere you turned.”</i> </b> </blockquote><br><br>Even though this is a holiday romance, there are heavy themes of grief and loss of loved ones in this book. And even though this is suppose to be a holiday romance, this is the first holiday romance I’ve read that addresses the amount of loss and grief you can feel around the holidays. I find not many authors show this side of the holidays, but it’s such an important perspective to show especially during the holidays. A we see a wide plethora of that through this book with many side characters. We also have multiple conversations surrounding that grief and remembering those loved ones. As I mention all the time, family is everything to me and this book really touched parts of my soul when it comes to that topic. But even though we have themes of grief, there’s also themes of hope throughout this book. I think the author did a beautiful job at pairing the two alongside one another. These two feelings go hand in hand with one another so often and I really appreciated that we see both sides.<br><br>Overall, this book made me really soft and sappy. I was crying on and off through this book because of so many themes throughout this story. I think many readers are going to fall in love with this story, with the characters, and the Alaska setting is just stunning. I’m truly excited to pick up the other books in this series and I’m eagerly awaiting future books for this series because this was such a great read. I read this book in one whole day and every time I set it down, I had to pick up back up immediately. Truly, I hope more readers pick this book up because is such a great read and it touched all the soft spots of my heart!<br><br><br><i>The quotes above were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.</i><br><br><br><a href="https://chaptermalliumpkin.home.blog/" rel="nofollow noopener">Blog</a>|<a href="https://www.instagram.com/chaptermalliumpkin/" rel="nofollow noopener">Instagram</a>|<a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKrzEdp5rPITp04UQd7O7LA?view_as=subscriber" rel="nofollow noopener">YouTube</a>|<a href="https://ko-fi.com/chaptermalliumpkin" rel="nofollow noopener">Ko-fi</a>

Her diner is in serious trouble and she's counting on her childhood best friend to help her find a way to keep her dad's dream alive while he left town to hide a secret from her and now must finally tell her the truth. Love, family, forgiveness, and friends to lovers culminate in this delightful story.<br /><br />Alaskan Christmas Redemption is the third of the Home to Owl Creek series of standalone romances. I had no trouble reading it out of order though previous books' characters are strong secondary characters.<br /><br />Piper Miller inherited the family diner when her dad died and was excited to carry on his dream by running the diner. Only, a series of expensive mishaps along with financial struggles have her at her wit's end on finding a way to bring in fresh revenue and stay open. She refuses to share her burden with her mom and older brother, but does hope that her best friend, now that he's back in town, will help her find a way. Meanwhile, Piper love Christmas, but it also reminds her of her loss so she fights grief and the feeling that she might want to exchange friend status for something more with Braden.<br /><br />Braden North counted Piper as his closest friend until the day her world fell apart and he sees himself as responsible. He hid what he knew about her dad's death and left town because his guilt overwhelmed him. He's back and still trying to avoid Piper and the past, but her great need pulls him in and he starts to feel for her as someone more than a friend. The hard part is getting past the protective barrier around her heart from him because he left her once.<br /><br />A gentle, sugary friends to lovers romance, emphasis on family, faith, and forgiveness, and set in a cozy Alaskan smalltown. The story has no sharp edges and it doesn't try to dig too deep. There are secrets and small twists when the truth comes out. But, for the most part, it swept me up in the spirit of Christmas and the feels.<br /><br />I had a couple small distractions like not really agreeing with Piper about keeping her situation a secret from her family and definitely not agreeing with Braden about hoarding that secret well beyond it's use-by date. I felt the urge to lock the pair in a closet and make them talk it all out. <br /><br />That said, they had to come to terms with their friendship was morphing even while they were great as friends and had a rich and full shared history. I loved them together and loved seeing them work to save the diner even while the season in the small town was celebrated beautifully.<br /><br />All in all, my first visit with the author's writing and this series has me interested in future books, but also the two earlier Owl Creek books particularly Hank and Sage's story. Inspirational romance and sweet contemporary romance fans should definitely give this Christmas confection a taste.<br /><br />My thanks to Harlequin for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Braden and Piper were friends since preschool. Then something terrible happened to change that and life led them on different paths. <br /><br />A few years later, Piper's diner is in trouble. But is he the right person to ask for help? A lot has changed for him too, but he still has feelings for Piper, and sweet memories of their friendship. <br /><br />Many characters have difficult pasts and lives in Owl Creek. But can Piper and Braden rekindle what they once had? Braden's opinion of, and lasting feelings for, Piper, are so sweet and heartfelt that it made my own heart ache. He has a secret about years ago, but will he let it slip? <br /><br />Braden's sister Sage was abducted and he's overjoyed when she is back. I really liked her straight-talking, but understanding attitude and the fact she was full of empathy and truth. <br /><br />Piper is driven and Braden is sensitive and appreciates Piper. His family chocolate business is a hub in the town too, but Piper is important to him. <br /><br />Owl Creek is a snowy, cosy place and the Snowy Owl Diner is an important place in the community. I loved the festive traditions <br /><br />Alaskan Christmas Redemption is a realistic, heartwarming story that has an undercurrent of real-life problems such as sudden loss, economic hardship or being bi-racial as well as love and friendship. <br /><br />Belle Calhoune creates a town that I felt immersed in and I felt for the characters. I was rooting for Braden and Piper. Friendship, loyalty and evaluating what's important are key themes here and ones I enjoy. <br /><br />Can Piper trust Braden after his absence and the past? I was glad that Piper had her brother Hank too. The subplots of the diner situation and Braden and Piper as well as themes of secrets, feelings fate faith and love make this a great book for a lazy afternoon. <br /><br />Thanks to Belle Calhoune and Harlequin Love Inspired for my ARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year. If ever there was a time to have faith, it’s during Christmas.”<br /><br />Belle Calhoune welcomes readers back to Owl Creek, Alaska with Alaskan Christmas Redemption, the third book in her Home to Owl Creek series. Belle is a new to me author and I had no problem getting into the story. I can say that readers of this series will be happy to catch up on the previous couples.<br /><br />Alaskan Christmas Redemption pairs best friends since childhood who have secrets that could destroy their families.<br /><br />Four years ago, Piper Miller lost her father in a tragic snowmobile accident. Her best friend, Braden North was the first person to come across her father and tried to save him. After her father died, Piper took over his restaurant, The Snowy Owl. For six months, Braden supported Piper through her grief, until one day he just up and left without any reason as to why.<br /><br />After three and a half years of traveling the world and seeking adventures, Braden has returned to Owl Creek. While he’s been gone, some things have changed, but unfortunately some things remain the same. Braden has been avoiding Piper, but when she finally requests that he stops by the diner, he can not come up with an excuse not to. He’s surprised to learn that the diner is in risk of having to close due to finances. He feels horrible for Piper, but he doesn’t think he can be around her. Ultimately, he agrees to help out but knows it will be hard to keep his secret.<br /><br />Love Inspired is the inspirational romance line of Harlequin. The line is faith-based. In the past, I’ve read a book from this line and had God and religion crammed down my throat. I’m happy to say Belle didn’t do that. There is mention of God and a couple of prayers, but I didn’t find it to be too much. In fact, I thought it was very subtle.<br /><br />I loved that this was a friends-to-lovers, small-town romance. The romance really sneaks up on you. Piper and Braden have known each other their entire lives, as have their families. I wish there would have been more family time and more Christmas moments. I mean Christmas is in the title. Ultimately, I found Alaskan Christmas Redemption to be about forgiveness, mainly learning to forgive yourself for things out of your control. I am definitely looking forward to reading the next book in this series.<br /><br />~ Favorite Quotes ~ <br /><br />“Real love is color blind.”<br /><br />“Always trust your instincts.”<br /><br />“It’s okay to be angry, but don’t stay that way.”<br /><br />“Sometimes you have to leave a place to become the person you want to be.”<br /><br />“Where there’s love there is understanding. Compassion. Redemption.”<br /><br />“Words left unspoken tend to lead to missed opportunities.”<br /><br />**Author contest win.**