Are you into Royal Movies? This isn’t really one of them 😉 I had no idea what I was getting into with this….and I ended up LOVING IT!

So here’s how I break it down:
5 categories, 5 hearts possible in each

CHEMISTRY _{(between the leads)} ❤️❤️❤️ We’ve got Tamara Mowry-Housley as Shelby (single mom) and Ronnie Rowe as Evan. As always, Tamara, puts a smile on my face. The romantic chemistry between these two really was journey that took the entire movie to get there. Evan obviously struggled with connecting social with everyone…which, our man played very well. And even though I felt this romantic paring was a secondary plot point, I was routing for them. Super sweet couple for sure! I wish we could have seen more!

STORYLINE (overall plot of the movie) ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ A storyline I did not expect at all. The legend of a family story of A Christmas Prince that an amazing mama makes come true with the help of her boss. (well, she may have blackmailed him a little 😉 ) I loved that the over-the-top wishes of an 8 year old little girl were granted in more realistic ways….and her eyes still sparkled with wonder! Watching Evan transform was heart-warming…and seeing Shelby’s grieving heart heal left me in tears.

SUPPORTING CAST ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ OUR MAIN CHARACTER: THE QUEEN = Isabel Birch. This little girl. How STINKING adorable is she?!?!? Her sweet voice and amazing expressions! Grace made the entire movie! I just couldn’t believe how great she was. I wanna keep her in my little pocket. Also, all the friends in this movie were so true to Shelby, I just loved them all….Lorenzo from work down to”the Group” ladies. She got herself an amazing support system!

FEELS ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️oh my…I lost how many times I teared up in this one. The sweetness of Grace & Shelby’s relationship gave me all the mama feels…..especially since one of my kiddos still sports a lisp and hearing it always melts my heart. Then I’m crying over Shelby’s grief and all the pain of going through that with a child to help along the way. THEN…that ENDING. Good gracious. The JOY! Ugh. So much love!

HALLMARK SURPRISE (what made this different from typical Hallmark movies) ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ Hallmark just blew me away with the ending to this movie. There was such a juxtaposition with the rest of the movie that I wasn’t expecting it at all. I’m not gonna spoil it for you…..you gotta watch!

P.S. I was shocked and appalled when they referenced “Santa Magic” as if it wasn’t real. What in the world? I thought we were family friendly? Please, Hallmark, keep the magic and joy of Santa and Christmas alive for our children and us all. That was poor form. Aside from that. Loved it!

23/25 Super unexpected roller coaster of emotions in this one! I can’t wait to watch this again with my kids. (I’m just going to have to mute that one convo)

The Movie we’ve ALL been waiting for! It couldn’t possibly live up to all the hype….could it?

So here’s how I break it down:
5 categories, 5 hearts possible in each

CHEMISTRY _{(between the leads)} ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ Andrew Walker, Tyler Hynes, & Paul Campbell… So, we have 3 of the BEST Hallmark leading men….does that mean we get 3 couples to fall in love with? Unfortunately, for me….no. Shephan & Susie was as romantic as it got….and although, by the time their big moment rolled around, I was routing for them….this movie was not at all about romantic love. You know what? I didn’t even care. It didn’t matter one bit to me because those brothers had bromance chemistry in SPADES! All the jokes, the banter, the fights, the love….add in all of them falling in love with baby Thomas? Swoonity- swoon-swoon for DAAAAYYYYYSSSS! Y’all knew this was going to be a 5 for me after that opening scene, right? Andrew “Mirror Motivation” Walker for President!

STORYLINE (overall plot of the movie) ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ We hail thee Paul Campbell & Kimberley Susted….don’t ever stop writing. Don’t ever stop acting. Make friends with all Hallmark actors/actresses and bring them all together to create magic like this in Hallmark land until Jesus comes back and takes us all to heaven. The heartfelt story of childhood trauma being addressed through the jolt of having to work together to raise a baby. SO GOOD! Plus, all of the one-liners and sweet moments with Baby Thomas…my ovaries couldn’t take it!

SUPPORTING CAST ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ Thomas. Mom. Mark La Clark. Susie. SO much love goes out to this ensemble. I can’t even imagine what it was like to be on set of this while filming. A laugh a minute, I’m sure. Now, I must take a moment here to say…I wasn’t feeling Ali Liebert’s character, Fiona so much with Taylor (Tyler)…but she was still better than this Sophie character for Luke (Andrew). Couldn’t you have called up your BFF, Nikki DeLoach? Come on, Andrew!

FEELS ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️. I’ve never laughed so hard or swooned so deeply watching a Hallmark movie. This could have gone on for another hour at least. I loved the brothers, I loved the baby….the entire movie made me so happy. Watching the 3 Men get so emotional in the car scene was very powerful…especially since most the movie was sarcasm and jokes. (know anyone that deals with their feelings like that? I’ll raise my hand so you can see me) Just so many feels happening at every turn!

HALLMARK SURPRISE (what made this different from typical Hallmark movies) ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ Opening scene = Just Andrew Walker and a mirror. The way they revealed the brothers’ living situations. Every witty side comment. The dance. The fights. The tears. Cameo by the Lovely Kimberley. Honestly, just the fact that this lived up to the HUGE hype…and THEN SOME!

25/25 I wanna give it 30. I’ve already watched this again. Thank you Kimberley, Paul, Andrew & Tyler. This was Amazing.

Definitely a different take on a Hallmark movie! 8 stories. 1 restaurant. Super interesting to see how they all intertwine!

So here’s how I break it down:
5 categories, 5 hearts possible in each

CHEMISTRY _{(between the leads)} ❤️❤️❤️ This movie was not center on one specific couple. Romantically….there were 3 main couples, in fact. I enjoyed all of their stories separately …however, it did make it hard to feel truly invested. In order of most chemistry to least….. Romy & Blake….then Rick & Sadie…then Veronica & Nate. Would have loved to follow any of these relationships more closely….but, again, not really the focus of the movie. I did have to HIGHLIGHTS though. The Proposal…and the Prom.

STORYLINE (overall plot of the movie) ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ Amazing concept. Tough to pull off in the short amount of time a Hallmark movie has. I love the concept that one family/business can have such a huge impact on their community. I love how they explored how children view experiences different than parents. (I totally relate to that ). The “perfect Christmas” is usually not what we see in the movies…which was pretty funny coming form Hallmark —they make all their money off of selling it 😉

SUPPORTING CAST ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ SO GREAT! Huge cast to go over, but I have to shout out Barbara Niven (Jane) & Bobby Stewart (Mr. Barber). One for making me cry repeatedly….and the other for making me laugh. Loved Miguel’s character. That Jessa was a sassy little thing too. (real teenage vibes there)

FEELS ❤️❤️❤️❤️ Lots of feels in this one! I wanted MORE warm and fuzzy though. There was so much complaining and whining for the first 2/3 of the movies. Honestly, because there were some real, heartfelt, hard life issues….it was hard to stomach the “this isn’t a perfect Christmas” thread that was intertwined. No Christmas is perfect. I felt myself wanting to shake a few of the characters to find some perspective. It did all get wrapped up and resolved in the end….but too much too quickly.

HALLMARK SURPRISE (what made this different from typical Hallmark movies) ❤️❤️❤️❤️ So SO much happening! You really had to give the movie your complete attention to take it all in! Lots of real-life problems were explored. Very serious topics to digest…especially during the holiday season. Grief, infertility, divorce, rejection, death, child/parent relationships, money issues….was there a hardship they didn’t try to cover?

21/25 I actually feel like I need to watch this again just to be able to say I followed all the stories. After that though, I am not sure this would land on my repeat list.

I will be honest and say that I had never heard of Ledisi before this movie was announced. I’m a Country and Christian music fan….also a child born in the 80’s….raised on 90’s and early 2000’s pop music….so don’t hate on me.

That being said…..Ledisi’s Christmas music is added to my playlist now. LOVE HER VOICE!

So here’s how I break it down:
5 categories, 5 hearts possible in each

CHEMISTRY _{(between the leads)} ❤️❤️❤️ I really want to give these two more hearts….I TRULY DO. There was juuuuust something a liiiiitttle off. Every once and awhile there was a spark….a teeny flutter, and then it would pass. The banter between Lysette & Matthew was actually great, it just fell short for me when the romance started for real between them for me.

STORYLINE _{(overall plot of the movie)} ❤️❤️❤️ Although the fake fiancé bit has been done many times, this modern twist with a popular music artist and social media rumors was fun! I loved that they were in on it together and that Matthew never had stopped loving her. Plus, Lysette’s entire family was amazing! Loved seeing New Orleans at Christmastime…..and all the song breaks!

SUPPORTING CAST ❤️❤️❤️❤️ Oops! I guess I started addressing this already….but really, the whole cast was fun to watch. The relationships seemed genuine….even the feuds were well acted between parents/children…and old friends/rivals. Really liked this group. Dad’s reaction to finding out the “good news” was too adorable for words!

FEELS ❤️❤️ Every time Ledisi opened her mouth to sing…I melted. GURL. That Joy to the World brought So MUCH JOY TO MY WORLD. The other heart is for Matthew. I was routing for him the entire time.

HALLMARK SURPRISE _{(what made this different from typical Hallmark movies)} ❤️ This was a very run-of-the-mill Hallmark movie. I was entertained…..but nothing “surprised” me….except for how much I want that GREEN DRESS 👗 in the opening number 🔥

13/25 If I couldn’t just listen to Ledisi on my iTunes, I would definitely watch this again to hear her….but the storyline didn’t stand out to me enough to put in my “watch again” pile.