I was on a cruise when I started reading Banning Santa and I swear people must have thought I was weird chuckling to myself. Mikael Carlson is one great writer and has a deep understanding of how Congress works, I swore he must have been a staffer himself.

The premise of this story is, that a video goes viral, an obscure Congresswoman sees the awfulness of a drunk Santa punching a teenager and decides that Santa is the bane of Christmas and the cause of, in the words of Alfred in the movie A Miracle on 34th Street, "make a buck, make a buck, make a buck". She, the congresswoman, decides to write a bill and get bipartisan support from across the aisle to co-sponsor the bill. The bill is then opposed by a bipartisan duo who loves Christmas, loves Santa, and is ticked off that someone would use him as the bane of the holidays so they put their best staffers on the case to find Santa and bring him to the public hearing to show Santa is not the problem. All of this spins into hilarity, romance, and a tweaking familiarity to A Miracle on 34th Street's endearing Santa with a twist.
Honestly, I could see this happening in Congress right now.

If you love a good Hallmark Christmas story, you will love this book. If you love Holiday reads, you will love this book, if you hate politics, this book might piss you off even more, but you will still love this book. It's a quick read, it's entertaining and you won't regret picking it up at your local independent bookstore.

This story wasn't quite what I was expecting but I really enjoyed it. Some of it was cute while in other places I absolutely cringed.
This novel kind of reminded me of A Christmas Carol.
Banning Santa is just plain mean. I thought Camilla represented Scrooge in a way.
I loved the outcome of the book and I cheered when the real meaning of Christmas came forward.
I liked also liked the book from the Congress's POV too. I learned much about the inner workings of what might be going on in the inside.
In my opinion, I think Christmas has gone too commercializated. People have forgotten the real meaning so I was rooting for these characters to find out for themselves.
I was sorry to see this delightful and fun novel end. But, I've been places in it that I never thought possible.
I'm giving this one 5 stars for a wonderful adventure and intriguing read.
I recommend this book I feel that it could be made into a Hallmark movie is how good this book was!
My thanks for a copy of this book. I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This book was incredible all around. This satirical situation that only got more absurd by the chapter highlights the real meaning of Christmas.

Will Camilla Guzman, a first-term congresswoman in the House of Representatives, succeed to ban Santa from appearing in public places? Camilla’s initial goal is to get the public’s attention for her re-election bid, but what ensues is an examination of the pros and cons of celebrating Christmas.

Reading about the inner workings of Congress is interesting, but I especially like the thought-provoking ideas related to observing Christmas versus commercializing Christmas. Who says, Christmas and politics don’t mix? Mikael Carlson successfully envelops the serious stuff in a heart-warming story. Thank you Warrington Publishing and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review an advance reader copy of BANNING SANTA .