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.

Military Movies and me are not the best of friends. I feel like I need to admit this right up top, because….I dread watching them. So, if I wasn’t committed to reviewing this….I guarantee I either wouldn’t have watched this OR I would have turned it off half way through.

The emotions and memories that military movies stir up in me are strong…even though my husband ended his military service 16 years ago….once a Marine, always a Marine….and living & loving through deployments during a war is something that stays with you for life.

ok, now that I got that out….I will tell you what I thought of this one:

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

CHEMISTRY _{(between the leads)} ❤️❤️❤️ This is really hard to judge. Erin Cahill was very good. I truly believe that the chemistry between her character & Steve Lund’s (Pierce) was meant to be off for the purpose of the story. So, in that respect, BRAVO! The flashbacks & “such” of Danielle & Colby felt much more relaxed and natural….and so that Chemistry was great. My issue lies with feeling off the whole movie. I didn’t like it. I know that was the point. So, the actors did their job well….but it didn’t make me feel good. Does that make sense? And I want to feel good when I watch these movies. I want to root for the main characters.

STORYLINE _{(overall plot of the movie)} ❤️❤️❤️❤️ I’ll give it to Hallmark…this was a very original way to tell a love story. The bedtimes stories were so sweet with Audrey. Watching a mother and daughter struggle with grief and memories just to have a crazy miracle turn it all around….it was too much for me. There’s Christmas magic and then there’s Real World Unbelievable…..I just felt icky the whole movie and could not accept the ending.

SUPPORTING CAST ❤️❤️❤️❤️ Audrey, that little sweetheart. How could you not love her? I feel like we need to put Pierce in this category too. He played his role well. Let’s get him a love that will SHOUT from the mountain tops!

FEELS ❤️❤️❤️❤️ So many feels….and very few if any of them were warm and fuzzy. 85% of the time I felt icky…which is really what I think they were going for. My heart just ached the entire time. It’s funny I wanted to completely accept the ending for Audrey, but in my head, I could accept it for Danielle. (I guess that’s the mama in me)

HALLMARK SURPRISE _{(what made this different from typical Hallmark movies)} ❤️❤️❤️ Were we really surprised? I guess, yes….but I was more surprised at the audacity of it. It was too much for me. Too serious of a topic to just willy nilly pull a 180 on.

18/25 I am actually shocked that I am scoring it this high. My kids and I agree….we will not be watching this again.

Wow.

I’m just sitting here still trying to process the twists and turns of this movie.

This one is GOOD. SO SO GOOD!

nothing that I expected….and everything I want in a Hallmark flick.

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

CHEMISTRY _{(between the leads)} ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ I had high hopes going into this one with Ian Harding….and not only was I not disappointed…but him and Kim Matula surpassed all my expectations! These two were magical together. Gosh, just watching him fall in love with her and assuming they never would have a chance to be together in the end just yanked at all my heart strings. There was so much more to this movie than the love story, which, as you will see I also loved….but I could have watched an entire 2 more hours of Peter & Kat alone. That’s how amazing the chemistry was. Swoon.

STORYLINE _{(overall plot of the movie)} ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ For being spin on “A Christmas Carol” this sure was the most original plot! There was just so much going on! Multiple families. Multiple time periods. The “Scrooging” The comedy. The tragedy. So many twists and turns. This was one of the more unpredictable Hallmark stories I’ve ever seen. Loved every second. An amazing way to share the season of giving!

SUPPORTING CAST ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ Arlene & Roy. I want to be scrooged just to hang out with them for a day! (well, Kat too, obvi) And, Susan! What a trip! I couldn’t tell if she was drunk the entire movie….but I’m going with drunk on Christmas Spirit! 😉

FEELS ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ I am not going to list out all the things that got my heart going….I just really need you to watch it. I may have just felt every emotion possible in these 2 hours. I laughed, I swooned, I was sad & yearning….then shocked…got angry a few times…jolted into tears…missed people….felt Christmas spirit…wanted to punch someone….wanted to hug someone…ALL THE FEELS, my friends.

HALLMARK SURPRISE _{(what made this different from typical Hallmark movies)} ❤️❤️❤️ ❤️❤️ Holy Rooty Tooty! So much of this movie surprised me. The plot was fresh and fun. More than once I had my jaw on the floor. Again…you have to see it for yourself. I got to watch this with my whole family and even my husband said it was one of the best Hallmark movies he’s ever seen.

25/25 A Perfect score? Yes. I will watch this again and again!