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A Christmas Romance in the Scottish Highlands–echoes of Cinderella
A Christmas Romance in the Scottish Highlands
by Donna Ashcroft
With a Christmas backdrop, we meet the talented Ella McNally who left art school to take care of her father. After he passed away, she took on the failing family house cleaning business. She is exhausting herself trying to pick up the load for her helpless stepmother and her selfish stepbrothers who frequently claim illness when it is time to work. Ella is too kind for her own good as she tries to fulfill a promise to her dying dad that she will keep the business afloat.
Alex is sent by his father from the family business in Edinburgh to the town of Mistletoe on a sabbatical of sorts to pursue his art interest under the world renown Scottish watercolor artist Henry Lockhart. He expects Alex to return with a landscape for the company’s main lobby. Alex can not remember a time when he has met his father’s expectations.
Ella and Alex get off to a rocky start, but they have to work together under Henry’s tutelage. He demands they look inside for their “truth” and put that into their art. Henry involves Alex in painting the set for the Christmas pantomime which will be “Cinderella” with Ella playing the part of Cinderella. When the actor playing the prince breaks both his ankles, they need to find a replacement quickly. By the way, Alex’s last name is “Charming.” There are fun, subtle echoes of the Cinderella fairy tale sprinkled through the book.
There is a nice subplot as the artist Henry tries to reconcile with Mae, Ella’s godmother who owns an art gallery. Henry learns a lesson about “truth” in art. Alex has never had a pet or been around children. In Mistletoe he finds that a little Yorkshire terrier is very attracted to him as is the housekeeper’s grandchild, Hunter. Hunter is like Alex in that his father doesn’t appreciate his interest in art and is disparaging of anything he does. Alex reaches out and tries to be an affirming father figure to the enthusiastic little boy.
Both Ella and Alex try to help each other with their respective domestic issues. but sometimes those efforts can backfire. It doesn’t help that Alex’s father is very much like The Grinch, and Alex himself has been raised under a philosophy reminiscent of Scrooge. You’ll need to read this romance to watch their attraction to each other blossom and discover how they attack the hurdles life throws at them.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Fiction, Romance
Notes: As the book is a romance, one can expect a relationship between Ella and Alex. It starts off as enemies and progresses to a slow burn. Then the connection plummets off to an open door scene that was not necessary to the plot. Ashcroft is a good writer, but she missed the opportunity to be discreet and avoid an intimate descriptive passage. Is innuendo a lost art?
Publication: 10/18/2024—Bookouture
Memorable Lines:
He was used to proving himself—but for the first time in a long time, he wondered if he’d ever reach a point in his life when he wouldn’t have to. Whether he’d ever be enough just as he was??
“No one is irreplaceable, not even you.” Alex nodded, numb to the ‘pep talk’ which was designed to make him feel insecure.
Alex mulled what to say. He knew every word counted, mere syllables had the power to snap a spirit or build it. His father had always had the same choice—why had he chosen to break it every time?
Mistletoe Season —Three Christmas Stories
Mistletoe Season —Three Christmas Stories
Return to Mistletoe
by Kathleen Fuller
Emmy Banks owns Mistletoe Antiques in the little town of Mistletoe, Missouri, where she grew up. Her 21 year old adopted daughter Carina and Emmy’s best friend Sheryl help out in the shop. At Christmas time Mistletoe is even more magical than ever.
A Christmas surprise is in store for Emmy, Sheryl, and Sheryl’s mother Maggie when Kieran shows up after a twenty-two year absence from the U.S. Kieran is Sheryl’s older brother. Emmy had a crush on him in high school, but he left for Ireland immediately after he graduated. There he acquired an Irish accent and spent 15 years renovating the family castle. Did he feel anything for Emmy fifteen years ago? Is there anything left to be rekindled? Will he just escape again when life gets hard?
Novellas are hard to write as there is so little time for character development. Fuller made me happy with this one. She filled in all the blanks, solved some problems, and provided a clean, gentle romance all the in the space of one short novella.
A Mistletoe Prince
by Pepper Basham
Most little girls at one time or another want to believe in the fairy tale future of marrying a prince and becoming a beautiful princess. Hardworking Charlotte Edgewood, despite having been told all her life by her druggie mother that she wasn’t good enough at anything, had held on to the dream of a rescue by a prince—until she couldn’t anymore. Raised by her father and an extended family of Edgewoods in the Appalachian mountains, she became an introverted carpenter with the nickname Charlie. She is forced into a leadership position when the manager of the annual Christmas fundraiser for The Wish that raised funds for children who would have no Christmas had to step aside. Charlie had worked with the program, but not in a capacity that would require speaking and managing.
Prince Arran of Skymar arrives in the U.S. to work with Luke Edgewood, Charlie’s cousin who is married to Arran’s sister. His parents want to expose him to carpentry work and service with The Wish to pull him out of a disastrous two year slump with outrageous behavior in response to a failed romance.
When their paths cross, Arran is certainly not the prince of Charlie’s dreams. I’ll let the author tell you how they met and if they were able to overcome their initial inauspicious meeting.
A Mistletoe Prince is a fun, Christmas romance that will leave you smiling and wanting to read more by Pepper Basham.
Say No to Mistletoe
by Sheila Roberts
Hailey Fairchild feels like a fraud because she has a blossoming career as a romance author, but she doesn’t have a stable relationship in her own life. As she says, mistletoe is her kryptonite; a kiss under the mistletoe dooms any possible romance to failure going all the way back to her sophomore year in high school when her neighbor Carwyn kissed her under the mistletoe. Extremely shy and introverted, bullied at school, and crushing on Carwyn, Hailey is totally embarrassed.
Many years later, when Hailey returns home for the Christmas celebration, she still has feelings for Carwyn who remains both handsome and nice, but how does he feel about her? Hailey is feted as the hometown hero with a book signing and speeches. She is stunned to learn that her brother Sam is dating Gwendolyn, her high school mean girl bully who hasn’t changed. Hailey is a very likable protagonist, trying to get along with her brother’s girlfriend, but Gwendolyn is everything a nemesis should be. Still mean. Still vindictive. Still out to belittle Hailey.
Roberts tells the story with flair from Hailey’s point of view. We get to hear what Hailey says in conversations, but also what she thinks. There is also some insight into the workings of a romance author. Say No to Mistletoe is a fun short read. It is the perfect length for this story with its interesting plot. It doesn’t require a lot of background to set up the story, and there is sufficient time and space for all of the elements of a good tale without lengthy character development.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Romance, Women’s Fiction
Notes: As a rule, I find novellas lacking, usually in the area of character development. There is just not enough time.I expected Say No to Mistletoe, as the last of the three novellas in Mistletoe Season, to be the one I didn’t like because the other two were so good, but I was certainly wrong. When the publisher chose these three authors for a mistletoe theme, they selected three authors known for their work in romance. These ladies created success with their well-written stories with good plots and lots of fun.
Publication: October 8, 2024—Harper Collins Christian Publishing (Thomas Nelson)
Memorable Lines:
Return to Mistletoe: Her cheeks reddened, and he would have thought it was cute if the tension between them wasn’t as thick as a castle wall.
A Mistletoe Prince: But deep inside, she wondered if her tomboyishness had something to do with the fact that if she put forth effort to look attractive or poised, and failed…then she was only proving Mama right. That Charlie wasn’t enough. And proving her mama right was the last thing she ever wanted to do.
Say No to Mistletoe: Moving away and adulting is all well and good, but their excitement over welcoming me back into the nest, knowing they love me and always will, no matter what? That makes me go all mushy inside and happy to have flown back.
Sisters Under the Rising Sun–cruelty and bravery
Sisters Under the Rising Sun
by Heather Morris
There are so many books that vividly describe the horrors of concentration camps in Europe during World War II, and Heather Morris has written several of these. In Sisters Under the Rising Sun, a work of historical fiction, Morris takes readers to the other side of the world to examine the equally dreadful treatment of civilians and Australian Army nurses in Japanese prisoner of war camps in World War II. Any sense of humanity went out the door on the part of the Japanese captors as their captives struggled to stay alive for almost 4 years with very little food, no medical supplies, unsanitary living conditions, and brutal treatment. There were many deaths, but also many examples of prisoners who survived by faith, loving and supporting each other with survival and hoping for a reunion with loved ones.
One prisoner has an extensive musical background and a lot of talent. She organizes a “voice orchestra” with women’s voices taking the parts of various musical instruments producing classical pieces to the amazement of all and with enthusiastic members. She refuses, however, the request of the camp captain to play a Japanese song, and she is harshly punished.
The groups are moved from camp to camp, each time having to restore the camp into a semi-livable place. They are given only a few inadequate tools for their work (e.g. two machetes to dig graves). Depending on the circumstances, they have to carry water quite a distance or dig wells with coconut shells or their hands. With very little to eat, they have very little energy for the work and weak immune systems. Vermin and rodents are a problem all the time. When the monsoons arrive, they have to repair their roofs with leaves. The heat is unbearable, and thirst is a common companion.
The book begins with a focus on two different groups. One is the brave and dedicated nurses who are addressed as “sisters.” The other is a family group consisting of two biological sisters and their husbands. It took me a little while to get into the story because initially the plot did not have a strong focus and kept going back and forth. Then the characters were united in one storyline which helped a lot. By the end of the story, I was smiling and crying at the resolutions for the various characters. They had become real to me.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Historical Fiction
Notes: 1. As I began Sisters Under the Rising Sun, I pegged this book as worthy of 4/5 stars. By the end, my heart had gone out to the characters. Any book that can do that to me is worthy of 5/5 stars.
2. There is an epilogue that ties up what happened to the major characters when families are reunited. Ena and her sister Norah were prisoners together throughout the whole imprisonment period of almost 4 years but they had no idea what had happened to their loved ones. Especially important are June, a child who got separated from her parents and swept up in the arrests. She was cared for by Ena. Norah’s daughter Sally left Singapore under precarious conditions before everything fell apart.
3. The book ends with notes about what happened to the historical characters that the fictional ones are based on.
Publication: October 24, 2023—St. Martin’s Press
Memorable Lines:
“Be my life short or long, I’ll remember this moment forever. How in the worst possible circumstances two women, who I love more than life itself, found a way to laugh and make me laugh. Thank you, my darlings.’
“No, Sister, we’re not going anywhere. Can’t you see there are people here who need us? Yes, they have probably killed the men, but all our training and everything we stand for means we do not abandon those who need our help. I want you all to remember that where there is life there is hope.”
“I served in the Great War and I’ve been fighting in this one for two years. I thought I had seen and heard the worst of humanity. But today, just now, you have shown me that human brutality knows no bounds. What happened on that beach will not be forgotten. I’ll find a way to make it known and all I ask of you is that you say nothing to another living soul until you are safely back at home.”
A Christmas Duet–musical inspiration
A Christmas Duet
by Debbie Macomber
If you are looking for an easy and fast read with a Christmas setting, I can recommend Macomber’s Christmas romance A Christmas Duet.
Hailey is a high school music teacher. She has been composing music since she was a child, but she lost her motivation when her expected fiancé popped her bubble saying she needed to abandon her dream because she was not good enough to make it in the music industry. Three years and one destroyed relationship later she decides not to go home for Christmas. A friend offers a family cabin where she can seclude herself and compose to her heart’s content in little Podunk, Oregon.
When Jethro (aka Jay) is sent to rescue her from a “rabid raccoon” in the cabin, there is immediate attraction which only intensifies when they discover their shared interest in music. He used to be in a band and now is establishing his own production company.
What starts out as a quiet, inspirational time deteriorates rapidly when Hilary’s sister Daisy, who is obviously having an issue, surprises her as do a succession of others who don’t seem to understand the concept of being alone.
I don’t want to disclose any more of the plot, but it is fun and Hilary and Jay are both great people. My one small problem with the book is that Hilary’s mother is overkill in the “you need to get married and have grandchildren for me” department. Her actions certainly add tension to the plot, but I hope no one really is as pushy with their daughters as this mother is. Jay’s mother is much more reasonable and for me believable as a character. This is a feel good Christmas romance that I very much enjoyed.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Fiction, Romance, Women’s Fiction
Publication: October 15, 2024—Random House (Ballentine)
Memorable Lines:
Not until his vehicle was out of sight did Hailey panic. She didn’t cook. What was she thinking? The poor man didn’t have any idea of what he was getting himself in for.
Since she’d taken a job at the high school, she’d become staid, caught up in routine and rarely venturing beyond what was comfortable. Being with Jay felt like she’d walked from winter into spring, where everything felt fresh and new.
This secluded cabin had more traffic than a Macy’s department store during the holidays.
I’ll Be Home for Mischief–giant gingerbread man
I’ll Be Home for Mischief
by Jacqueline Frost
The weather outside may be “frightful,” but an afternoon spent in Mistletoe, Maine, will be quite delightful for the readers of Jacqueline Frost’s I’ll Be Home for Mischief. With the whole tourist town celebrating its 150th Anniversary with full Victorian decor, the reader is immersed in all things Christmas. In fact, that is the town’s goal for visitors year round.
The main character, Holly, is the innkeeper for Reindeer Games Inn located on her parents’ Reindeer Games Tree Farm. As with most things in Mistletoe, citizens jump in to help each other when needed. Everything in Mistletoe has a Christmas theme and is intended to generate excitement and sales throughout the year.
Holly’s mom is determined to keep Mistletoe on everyone’s radar as she attempts to win the Guinness Book of World Records by baking the world’s largest gingerbread man. Everything has been carefully thought through and prepared, but when the dump truck disguised as a huge sleigh receives the tray with cookie dough on it via a crane, the unveiling for the audience produces an unwelcome surprise. Holly’s husband Evan is the local sheriff and he is immediately called to the scene.
The rest of I’ll Be Home for Mischief follows the usual next steps for a cozy mystery. Holly, who has a reputation for amateur investigating, just can’t resist despite her husband’s concern and warnings. There are lots of suspects and some danger lurking in the shadows. A little romance and some positive surprises are thrown into the mix.
Warning: these people bake and eat high carb treats like there is no tomorrow. They also caffeinate regularly. I think that must be how people survive the cold and snow of Maine. So, have some snacks and hot chocolate available for yourself while reading. After all, ambiance is critical when reading Christmas books!
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery, Fiction, Women’s Fiction
Notes: #5 in the Christmas Tree Farm Mystery Series. Thanks to the author’s skillful writing, it can easily be read as a standalone.
Publication: November 12, 2024—Crooked Lane Books
Memorable Lines:
My maternal grandmother had infuriatingly tight lips. She never repeated anything that might be construed as gossip. Her advice, on the other hand, rarely stopped flowing. Especially when no one asked.
No amount of caffeine would ever get me moving like a ten-degree morning.
The lesson I hated most was that people sometimes did things in the space of a few minutes that they’d regret for the rest of their lives.
The Christmas Inn–big city or little town
The Christmas Inn
by Pamela M. Kelley
Riley Sanders left the Cape Cod area after high school graduation for the big city. After college she settled into life as a website content creator and manager in Manhattan. Her boyfriend works an obscene number of hours for a law firm. She thinks she has it all until life circumstances return her to the town of Chatham—at least temporarily. There she finds the family, friends, and community that she hadn’t realized she missed.
Her mother Beth is trying to manage a gradually failing inn with a broken leg. Riley is needed to help run the inn physically but also to expand the inn’s presence on the web to increase exposure and entice new visitors. There are lots of interesting characters in the story with several people reuniting with old flames.
The Christmas Inn is a clean, sweet romance with all the Christmas vibes. Between divorces and deaths, several people have difficult memories associated with Christmas, but they put on a happy face each year and muddle through. Riley’s former boyfriend has a sweet little boy who is excited about Christmas. He and his dad are staying at the inn while extensive repairs are being done on their house. His presence adds youthful enthusiasm to the extensive festivities in the community.
The book is replete with descriptions of the food and drink the characters consume. Everyone likes hot chocolate, and it goes well with the many cold, snowy events. The adults also enjoy a variety of wines and cheeses chosen from a local shop which is located near a bookshop in the friendly town. Riley has some big personal and professional decisions to make in this relaxing Christmas story, so grab a cup of cocoa and enjoy the plot.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Romance, Fiction, Women’s Fiction
Notes: clean
Publication: September 24, 2024—St. Martin’s Press
Memorable Lines:
“We do use some AI here, but not at the expense of anyone’s jobs. We use it to enhance what we are already doing. I don’t believe in replacing people with machines.”
It was a mix of attorneys and financial types. The traders had a certain air about them, a cockiness that swarmed around them. They were incredibly impressed with themselves and expected everyone else to be equally impressed. Riley found it tiresome.
She’d thought they were on the same page. But maybe they were reading a very different book.
The More the Terrier–guilty or not?
The More the Terrier
by David Rosenfelt
To read this book as a stand alone, you really only need to know two things. Both the author David Rosenfelt and the protagonist Andy Carpenter are crazy about dogs, particularly rescue dogs. Also, you will soon find out that Andy Carpenter is a crack, trying to retire lawyer in New Jersey who seems not to need money but maintains a small office above a fruit stand and a team of specialists to help him with investigations. Marcus is a man no one would want to mess with. Andy’s wife Laurie is a former cop. He also has a computer specialist on his staff along with others who can do research, act as bodyguards, etc.
Andy’s passion for dogs and justice intersect in The More the Terrier when a dog Andy formerly fostered finds his way back to Andy’s house. When he tries to return him to Brian, the young man who adopted him, Andy discovers Brian has been jailed for murder and has a lawyer with a dubious funding source. The prosecutor claims it is a clear case of guilt. Andy can’t imagine Brian doing anything violent, and the case is anything but clear cut. Throw in Russian gangs, professors who write secretive software, multiple other deaths and kidnappings, and a girl whose avatar was sexually attacked on metaverse. What emerges is no proof that Brian is innocent, but lots of criminal types who could have tried to frame him. It’s up to Andy to figure it all out if Brian is not going to spend the rest of his life in prison.
I like a good mystery, one that takes thought to figure out, a puzzle. This novel ranks high in that category, but my favorite aspect is Andy’s dry wit. He is able to insult and move on without the other person being able to figure out how to respond. Although there is a lot of planning, there is also action. All of his team are players; they do their jobs well, giving input as appropriate, but when all is said and done, Andy takes responsibility for the results and feels the pressure of doing what is right while helping his client. Andy has three dogs who are family and so are mentioned a lot. Murphy, Brian’s terrier, kicks off the story and is there when the plot comes full circle and resolves. The author says of Murphy: “…perky is pretty much his default position. Murphy is the type of dog that brightens up every room and car he is in.” The author’s love of dogs shines through in his books.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery, Fiction
Notes: 1.#30 in the Andy Carpenter Mystery Series, but can be read as a standalone. I have only read a few in the series, but I found background information was not needed to enjoy them.
2. Clean in all aspects
Publication: October 15, 2024—St. Martin’s Press (Minotaur Books)
Memorable Lines:
I can’t understand why anyone would want to barrel down a frozen mountain at high speed on two narrow ironing boards, carrying a couple of sticks and dodging trees and other lunatics out on the same mountain.
She is counting on me to give her back her son. That pretty much defines the word pressure.
Winter is coming to an end; the weather people are saying we won’t be getting any more snow. That means we’re heading for a few pleasant weather days before the mosquitoes start arriving. They’re probably making travel plans now.
Christmas at the Little Paris Hotel–romance in Paris
Christmas at the Little Paris Hotel
by Rebecca Raisin
When Anais discovers her husband and new housekeeper in bed, she divorces him. He is a smarmy leech and a serial adulterer. Using the many lawyers in his family, Francois-Xavier drains Anais’ financial resources leaving her with a decrepit hotel in Paris. As a romance writer, the dissolution of her marriage drains her of her professional motivation as well. She has the dreaded writer’s block, has spent her advance, and has a deadline looming.
Anais’ wild and unpredictable cousin Manon undertakes the rehabilitation of the hotel with her. Together they dedicate themselves to making the boutique hotel profitable so they can sell it. Along the way, there are potential romances and roadblocks in the reconstruction. More importantly, they discover a wall that blocks off two rooms on the top floor. Thus emerges a bookish mystery, and they have to discover why the rooms are sealed and who occupied them.
If you have any interest in Paris, you will enjoy this book. There are French phrases thrown in for flavor along with descriptions of the neighborhoods, foods, and Christmas markets. Manon is French and Anais is of mixed heritage and speaks French with a British accent. She has lived in Paris for 16 years. Friends since childhood, they are very different but get along well. There is a lot of humor that is derived from this pair.
Christmas at the Little Paris Hotel is a very literary book. The hotel will have a library, and the rooms will be named for authors. Anais and Manon seek out bookish items to be part of the decor and are researching bookish places to provide on a map for their guests. They visit many of Paris’ various vintage shops, libraries, and bookshops in their search for decorative items and furniture for the hotel.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Fiction, Romance, Women’s Fiction
Notes: a small amount of swearing in English and French
Publication: September 26, 2023—Boldwood Books
Memorable Lines:
“We’re stuck in a time-warp. The seventies called and they want their avocado green drapes back.”
“He has the IQ of an oyster.” “That’s being unkind to oysters.”
I must leave for my own sanity. While he may do his best to besmirch me, he cannot take away the words I am yet to pen. Those words, they are all that matter. I’ll never publish another novel as long as I shall live, thus he cannot profit from me. That will be the best revenge. The man is dangerous. I must tread ever so carefully.
Gingerbread Danger–compulsive thief
Gingerbread Danger
by Amanda Flower
Bailey is a prominent chocolatier who owns and manages a candy shop in Harvest, Ohio, with her grandmother. She returns to New York occasionally to film episodes of a cooking show. In Gingerbread Danger, she has just opened a candy factory, Swissmen Candyworks, now selling her famous candy online. Her best seller is Jethro the polka-dotted pig bars, fashioned after her mother-in-law-to-be’s potbellied pig who is frequently left with Bailey for pig sitting duties. Fortunately, Jethro gets along well with Bailey’s huge rabbit Puff and her grandmother’s cat.
A young man falls off the icy roof of Bailey’s candy factory when he is setting up a sign for Harvest’s latest tourist attraction for the Christmas season—a life size version of the board game Candy Land. Is his fall an accident or murder? Meanwhile, Bailey’s parents are in town. Her mother has hired a wedding planner to create the wedding she has always dreamed of for herself, but this one would be for Bailey who really just wants a simple wedding. There are also multiple robberies occurring at Amish stores in Harvest. An Amish Robin Hood seems to be at work. Now Aiden, Bailey’s fiancé, has to try to keep her safe while she insists on investigating; and as sheriff, he is playing “whack a mole” with all the crimes in what should be a quiet tourist town.
Gingerbread Danger is a good cozy mystery, at Christmas, or year round.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: 1.#9 in the Amish Candy Shop Mysteries. I advise reading some of the other books in the series first for character development, but I recommend all of the books in this series. They contain a good mystery, humor, and both Englisch and Amish characters.
2. Do you like gingerbread? There is a gingerbread house contest for Bailey’s staff that produces a standout food artist. Also included is a recipe for Maami’s Gingerbread Fudge!
Publication: October 22, 2024—Kensington
Memorable Lines:
At times people could be so caught up in their own lives that they were unaware of the suffering around them. It happened to everyone. I was guilty of it myself. Now I couldn’t say it happened to me when I was standing twenty feet from a dead body…
Grief. It was a feeling I knew well…There was a ringing in my ears that wouldn’t go away for weeks. It was as if I was tuned in to every electric hum around me…I was in the candy shop. I was present. But at the same time, I wasn’t. My soul felt as if it was somewhere lost in space.
“I told my husband that I should at least be there to represent the mothers in the district and show our support. He told me nee.” She sniffed. “He is my husband and I must do his bidding, but if he thinks he is getting a roast when he comes home, he is sadly mistaken.”
Evergreen Christmas–a place to call home
Evergreen Christmas
by Janet Dailey
Tucked away in the Appalachians is Noel, North Carolina, known as “America’s Christmas Tree Capital.” In Evergreen Christmas, Jordyn moves to Noel looking for a home in a small town with big community feels. She spent most of her life bouncing from one home to another in foster care—no real home, no love, and certainly no Christmas trees. Jordyn establishes herself as a winning barrel racer and earns enough to buy a small house with acreage. Her goal is to breed horses and teach barrel racing.
A group of four women, known affectionately in the community as “The Nanas” immediately take her under their collective wing to help her get established and fit in. They also encourage her and mentor her with the goal of defeating her neighbor Nate in Noel’s annual Christmas Competition. He has won the Christmas Crown nine years in a row, but the Nanas think Jordyn could change that by entering “Fabio Fraser,” a fir tree on her property in the contest. There are actually 12 Christmas themed contests involved in winning the crown.
Nate is a handsome tree farmer who sells Christmas trees and has a gift and decorations shop on his property with his brother Tucker, a bull rider. Together they are raising Nate’s daughter Roxie. She is an adorable, polite, and kind six year old. Her mother died in childbirth and Nate has made himself “unavailable” to local women to protect his own heart and Roxie’s.
The story is a delightful adventure through many of the Christmas contests. Jordyn and little Roxie develop a friendship. Jordyn and Nate struggle with their attraction for each other, both wanting to do what is best for Roxie. The Nanas are in charge of the Christmas Competition which they champion to encourage town spirit. Except for one family who only appears in a few of the contests, all of the characters are people you would want to know making this a fun, clean Christmas romance.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Romance
Notes: #1 in the Frosted Firs Ranch series. Evergreen Christmas gives a hint at the end of the book that the next book in the series will probably feature Nate’s charming, handsome brother, Tucker.
Publication: September 24, 2024—Kensington
Memorable Lines:
She smiled full blast, her worries melting away like a mini marshmallow tossed into a blazing bonfire.
Life can be scary and painful—but the unexpected gifts it gives us along the way, especially when we’re not looking for them, make it all worth it in the end.
“The Nanas care about people. They help them when they’re in need, look for ways to make other people’s lives better. They fuss over you, bring welcome baskets if you’re new to town and”—she winked—“knit wool caps for your head so your ears don’t get cold.”
education pathways 