The Santa Suit was a perfect Hallmark-movie-formula romance to usher in the holidays! It was a quick, easy, breezy read to get me into a romantic and festive spirit for Christmas.

Just before Christmas, newly divorced Ivy Perkins moves to a small town with big heart in North Carolina, leaving behind a cheating ex and the marketing firm she ran with him. She buys a decaying farmhouse owned for years by local philanthropists Bob and Betty Rae Rose, who were well-known throughout the region for their all-out love of Christmas and for playing Santa and Mrs. Claus each season. While cleaning out the home with her real estate agent Ezra, Ivy discovers a note in the pocket of Bob's old Santa suit that immediately grips her and intrigues her. She embarks on a pursuit of the author behind the note and her story, which inevitably weaves her into the tapestry of small-town living and introduces her to a bevy of colorful, sweet locals who change her life as she changes each of theirs.

Even though so much of this story was predictable, the twist at the end was totally unexpected and really sweet! It might have been a little too tidy for my taste but because of the small-town setting, the connections between characters are believable enough to have really surprised me and warmed my heart. I wish there was a bit more depth to the main romance in this story and thought it moved too quickly, but I actually thought the side plot involving Ivy's adorable friend Phoebe and her online fiance Cody was really cute and enjoyed it a little more just for its believability. I still thought the main romance had its merits and was cute as well, but I just like to have more backstory or reason to believe that these two people have a romantic connection.

Also, as is a consistent problem with books written for this target audience, I thought this book was a little bit unaware of how to discuss weight loss and disordered eating. A lot of books in this genre too-casually discuss weight and relationships with food and make way too much light of these subjects, and this book was no exception. It's such a tired narrative and can so easily be avoided. It added absolutely no value to this story to give Phoebe an eating disorder for her shotgun wedding or to talk about how Ivy lost so much weight from the depression due to her divorce that she looks great and fits into anything. There was literally no point to either of these additions to this story. I'm not a very sensitive reader but this is just stupid and unnecessary to me.

All in all, this was a cute story, and readers who are fans of this genre will enjoy it! It's not my typical cup of hot cocoa, but I'm trying to be less of a cynic about Christmas and life generally and it was a nice dose of sweetness for that!