Review: A Million Little Things

A Million Little Things 

About the Book:

Zoe Saldivar is more than just single—she's ALONE. She recently broke up with her longtime boyfriend, she works from home and her best friend Jen is so obsessed with her baby that she has practically abandoned their friendship. The day Zoe accidentally traps herself in her attic with her hungry-looking cat, she realizes that it's up to her to stop living in isolation. 

Her seemingly empty life takes a sudden turn for the complicated—her first new friend is Jen's widowed mom, Pam. The only guy to give her butterflies in a very long time is Jen's brother. And meanwhile, Pam is being very deliberately seduced by Zoe's own smooth-as-tequila father. Pam's flustered, Jen's annoyed and Zoe is beginning to think "alone" doesn't sound so bad, after all. 

My Comments:

The book is primarily about three women:  Zoe and Jen are probably in their early thirties and Pam is Jen's mom. 

 Jen is married and the mother of an eighteen month old who does not talk, at all.  She was already on the high-strung "supermom" side--organic everything, no chemicals or dirt in the house etc--but the lack of speech is highly concerning and no one else seems concerned, which makes her even more anxious. 

Zoe  just broke up with her long-term boyfriend because they wanted different things from their relationship, but now she is trying to start living the life she wants.  Part of that is dating Jen's brother. Part of that is exploring her career options.  Just when things look like they are falling into place, she gets some news that changes everything--or does it.

Pam is a couple of years younger than I am.  She's a grandmother and a widow.  She volunteers at a center that helps new businesses get off the ground or expand, though that tread of the story never really seemed to connect with the others.  She meets Zoe's dad at a party and accepts a lunch date with him, without really considering it a date.  She doesn't want to forget her husband, she really isn't ready to move on--or is she?

I liked the strong supporting characters.  Lucas was Jen's husband's partner.  During the course of the story he moves from being someone she dislikes and resents to being "like a big brother".  He is the one person in her life who seems unafraid to tell it like it is to her, and he convinces her to get the help she needs.  Steve, Jen's brother and Zoe's love is a real sweetheart.  Pam's traveling buddies, a group of widows she met on a cruise shortly after her husband died, sound like a lot of fun--women who are now alone but who aren't letting life leave them behind.  

For those who care, there are a couple of graphic romantic scenes.

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via Edelweiss.  Grade:  B. 

Maybe Its You: My Review

Maybe Its You

About the Book:

ER nurse Sloane Ferrell escaped her risky past—new name, zip code, job, and a fresh start. She’s finally safe, if she avoids a paper trail and doesn’t let people get too close. Like the hospital’s too-smooth marketing man with his relentless campaign to plaster one “lucky” employee’s face on freeway billboards.

Micah Prescott’s goal is to improve the Hope hospital image, but his role as a volunteer crisis responder is closer to his heart. The selfless work helps fill a void in his life left by family tragedy. So does a tentative new relationship with the compassionate, beautiful, and elusive Sloane Ferrell.

Then a string of brutal crimes makes headlines, summons responders . . . and exposes disturbing details of Sloane’s past.

My Comments:

Like Candace Calvert's other books, Maybe Its You features a nurse and is set in a hospital.  As we get to know her through the story, we realize that she is running from something and figure it is only a matter of time  until it catches her.  Calvert does a good job of making readers wonder who is working with the bad guy.  While the climax of the story was somewhat unrealistic, I enjoyed the romantic elements.

As it is published by Tyndale Press, Maybe Its You is considered Christian fiction.  However, the Christian elements are subtle--this is basically a clean medical romance.  

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  Grade:  B.  

Review: The Orphan's Tale

The Orphan's Tale

About the Book:

Sixteen-year-old Noa has been cast out in disgrace after becoming pregnant by a Nazi soldier and being forced to give up her baby. She lives above a small rail station, which she cleans in order to earn her keep… When Noa discovers a boxcar containing dozens of Jewish infants bound for a concentration camp, she is reminded of the child that was taken from her. And in a moment that will change the course of her life, she snatches one of the babies and flees into the snowy night. 

Noa finds refuge with a German circus, but she must learn the flying trapeze act so she can blend in undetected, spurning the resentment of the lead aerialist, Astrid. At first rivals, Noa and Astrid soon forge a powerful bond. But as the facade that protects them proves increasingly tenuous, Noa and Astrid must decide whether their friendship is enough to save one another—or if the secrets that burn between them will destroy everything.

My Comments:

The book begins in the present day, with an old woman visiting a museum to see a circus train, and it is obvious she is doing more than looking at an artifact from someone else's life.  The story then moves back in time to World War II and becomes the story of two young women.

Noa is Dutch, and became pregnant via an affair with a German soldier, so not only was she disgraced for her pregnancy, she was also one who consorted with the enemy.  She gave birth in a Nazi maternity home and her child was put up for adoption.  Since her parents had disowned her she had no place to go.  While cleaning a railway station she saved a Jewish baby boy from almost certain death and then finds herself on the run to keep him secret.  

The other young woman, Astrid,  is a Jew who we meet as her husband, a Nazi officer, informs her that they must divorce.  She is from a family that owns a circus and she returns to her parents' home, planning to re-join the circus.  Unfortunately, she cannot find them.  Fortunately the neighbors, who also own a circus, take her in and give her a false identity.  

Noa eventually finds her way to the circus and the book is the story of the relationship between the two women, and their relationships with the men in their lives.  Since the book is set during WWII, we know that the lives of Noa's "adopted" baby and Astrid are constantly in danger, as are the lives of those who knowingly harbor Jews.  

The question running through my mind throughout the whole book of course was the identity of that old woman. Was she Astrid?  Noa?  One of their friends?  

Pam Jenoff did a great job of capturing both the mundane parts of everyday life in the circus and the fear of discovery that permeated life for Noa and Astrid.  We see the absolute evil in some Nazis and yet realize that others really are human, with good and bad.  Set in wartime, it is a book that includes death and loss but in the end, there is hope.

I'd like to thank the publisher for providing a review copy via NetGalley.  Grade:  B+

Review: The Life She Wants

The Life She Wants

About the Book:

In the aftermath of her financier husband’s suicide, Emma Shay Compton’s dream life is shattered. Richard Compton stole his clients’ life savings to fund a lavish life in New York City and, although she was never involved in the business, Emma bears the burden of her husband’s crimes. She is left with nothing. 

Only one friend stands by her, a friend she’s known since high school, who encourages her to come home to Sonoma County. But starting over isn’t easy, and Sonoma is full of unhappy memories, too. And people she’d rather not face, especially Riley Kerrigan. 

Riley and Emma were like sisters—until Riley betrayed Emma, ending their friendship. Emma left town, planning to never look back. Now, trying to stand on her own two feet, Emma can’t escape her husband’s reputation and is forced to turn to the last person she thought she’d ever ask for help—her former best friend. It’s an uneasy reunion as both women face the mistakes they’ve made over the years. Only if they find a way to forgive each other—and themselves—can each of them find the life she wants.

My Comments:

This is definitely not one of Robyn Carr's better books.  It is the story of Emma, who is starting over with almost nothing after the suicide of her husband, who had been convicted of bilking people out of millions of dollars.  She returns to her hometown but because of her husband's notoriety, the only work she can find is low-wage jobs like working at a fast food place or in housekeeping.  

When Emma was off at college, Emma's best friend and boyfriend got too close and ended up pregnant.  Of course Emma felt betrayed, even though her life was quickly moving beyond that small town.  Emma and Riley haven't spoken since, but when she couldn't find any other job, Emma swallows her pride and asks for a job with Riley's cleaning company.  

The main problem with the book is that it just wasn't realistic.  Riley has been keeping people at arm's length ever since her fallout with Emma.  Now all of the sudden she starts dating--and then quits because she realizes the guy who has been under her nose all these years...

Emma's love story is actually pretty believeable, but her work life after she gets home--absolutely not.  Her relationship with her stepmom was equally unrealistic.  She ends up rescuing a troubled teen, and a few months later everything is fine with that teen.  Basically the whole problem with the book is that all the endings were happy and many of them seemed hurried and forced.  

I bought this book with my own money and can say whatever I want about it.  Grade:  B-

Worth the Risk: My Review

Worth the Risk

About the Book:

When Jackson St. James decided that six weeks in Vermont’s Green Mountains would help him get his life together, he didn’t anticipate replacing his craving for whiskey with a craving for his alluring new landlord, Gabby. Now, instead of prioritizing his sobriety and the resolution of the lawsuit threatening his business, he’s making excuses to spend time with the spunky young landscaper whose candor is more than a little addictive.

Gabby Bouchard refuses to let her pill-popping mother and unreliable baby daddy turn her into a cynic, so she doesn’t fight her attraction to her enigmatic new tenant. Although Jackson’s smile rarely reaches his eyes, his generosity and dependability make her willing to overlook his demons. But once she convinces him to give in to temptation, Gabby’s jealous ex threatens to disrupt the life she has built for herself and her son.

With so much at stake, Gabby and Jackson must decide if love is worth the risk.

My Comments:

All too often these days people seem to think that they need to have life figured out or working perfectly before they take a chance on love.  Hook-ups, it seems, are fine for people whose lives are messy, but not love.  Jackson in counselled throughout this book not to get involved but in a lot of ways, having someone who is there for him, and for whom he can care, is healing for him.  While Gabby had a lot to lose if things went way wrong with Jackson, she gained so much when they went right.  

Worth the Risk is the story of a man who doesn't have it all together.  Jackson's drinking has started to cause problems with his business.  He has been sued, and his family life is a mess.  Rather than go into rehab for his drinking, Jackson decides to take a six week vacation and to see a counsellor while there.  He rents a garage apartment from Gabby's dad.

Gabby was a girl who was going places until one night she got too close to the wrong guy and ended up pregnant.  College is tough for a single mom so she stays home with her dad where she is chief cook and bottle washer, in addition to running a landscape business. 

Jackson is used to being busy and when things happen such that Gabby needs help, he steps up to the plate.  Since her baby's father has never done that, Gabby is suitably impressed.  Still, she knows he has demons and even gets him to talk about them, a little.

This is the third book in the series but I did not feel I had missed too much backstory; this book stood alone well.  

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  While not "squeaky clean", the bedrooms scenes were not terribly graphic.  Grade B+

Review: Birds in the Air

Birds in the Air

About the Book:

From Frances O'Roark Dowell -- bestselling author of Dovey Coe, The Secret Language of Girls, Trouble the Water and other "beloved books for tweens and teenagers" (New York Times Sunday Book Review) -- comes Birds in the Air, Dowell's first novel for adults.

In the tradition of Marie Bostwick and Jennifer Chiaverini, Dowell combines her deep connection to the quilting life and her love of storytelling to create a novel about the abiding friendships that bind together a community of women who share a passion for making quilts.

When Emma Byrd moves into the house of her dreams in the small mountain community of Sweet Anne's Gap, she knows that making friends may prove to be her biggest challenge. Her husband loves his new job and her kids are finding their way at school. But Emma -- no natural when it comes to talking to strangers -- will have to try a little harder, especially after the sweet, white-haired neighbor she first visits slams the door in her face.

Luckily, a few of the quilters of Sweet Anne's Gap adopt Emma and she soon finds herself organizing the quilt show for the town's centennial celebration. But not everyone is happy to see the job go to an outsider, especially one who has befriended an outcast pursuing her own last best chance at redemption.

With Birds in the Air, Frances O'Roark Dowell (winner of the Edgar Award, the William Allen White Award and the Christopher Medal) has created a warm, funny novel about fitting in, falling out and mending frayed relationships one stitch at a time.

My Comments:

It seems that knitting is on its way out and quilting is on its way in as a literary craft.  

In Birds in the Air, the two centers of action are a quilt shop and a church quilt exhibit.  At the quilt shop newcomer Emma Byrd meets her first friends in her new community, and through them becomes involved in the quilt show.  She learns that old loyalites, friendships and fueds go deep in a community where everyone knows everyone (and where most people are related in one way or another).

I enjoyed watching Emma find her way in her new home, and thought the fact that she ruffled a few feathers in the "in" crowd and learned to find good in an outcast gave a sense of realism to the book.

Quilt patterns were discussed but not to the extent than non-quilters would tire of them and though I'm not a quilter I am fascinated by those works of domestic art.

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available through NetGalley.  Grade:  B

Quick Review: Taming His Montana Heart

Taming His Montana Heart

About the Book:

Lake Serene resort manager, Shaw Chamberlin – having recently left a turbulent career in a big, bustling city – is determined to throw his efforts into overseeing renovating the family’s resort. Parts of his past still haunt him, but he's resolved to try to move forward.

The enigmatic woman Shaw hired to run his snowmobile operation, Haley Walters, is looking to start over. She's competent and opinionated, and seems to be the only person able to draw Shaw out of his own self-scrutiny; she's the only person who makes him feel alive.

When a new remote project has Shaw and Haley working together in close quarters, they allow themselves to explore feelings they've long kept buried. Do these two lonely hearts dare to bare their souls to each other, or are their pasts too near the surface to let them ?

My Comments:

I read this one a month or so ago and forgot to review it at the time.

I enjoyed it but I don't really remember it.  In short, I'm sure it was a pretty typical romance set in Montana in the winter.

It's part of a series and I haven't read any of the others.  

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  Grade:  B. 

Christmas with an Angel.

Christmas with an Angel 

About the Book:

It's been eight long years since Michael Gallagher has laid eyes on Shay Angel, back when he was a boy from the most prominent family in town and she was a girl from the wrong side of the tracks. But he hadn't cared about their differences - until one bad decision landed her in jail.

That was years ago and now he's back in Harmony Harbor for the holidays. So when Shay goes missing, Michael is intent on finding her - and finding out if their sizzling attraction is still there. But he's now a district attorney, and it looks like Shay is once again on the wrong side of the law. 

My Comments:

I recently reviewed Mistletoe Cottage.  Christmas with an Angel is the second story in the series but as noted on the cover, it is a short story, not a full-length novel. I liked both Shay and Michael and though I thought the climax was a bit unrealistic, I enjoyed the fun holiday romance and look forward to the rest of the series.

Thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy via NetGalley.    Grade:  B.

Review: Maggie's Montanta

Maggie's Montana

About the Book:

Maggie Abernathy, best friend Judy, and Judy’s two young sons travel cross country to visit John McIntyre and daughter Chloe at their Montana ranch. Maggie’s convinced herself that she’s only making the trip to fulfill her promise to visit Chloe, but once there she can’t help but fall in love with the horses, the land, the ranch, and the Montana ways of life. With Chloe’s loving antics, Winston’s gift, and a handful of wranglers showing her the ropes, will Maggie have the heart to say goodbye?

My Comments:

The story started with Maggie's Way which followed Maggie through a summer of breast cancer treatments, coupled with a divorce from a husband who came out as gay.  That summer she met Chloe, the seven year old who lived next door, and Chloe's dad.  

Maggie's Fork in the Road lets us know that Chloe and her dad are moving to Montana, and that they would like Maggie to move too.

Now, in Maggie's Montana, Maggie and a friend who has two boys who are friends with Chloe drive from Michigan to Montana to spend time on the ranch with Chloe and her dad.  Maggie realizes she has a choice to make.  She can give up what little is left of her earlier life and move to Montana with people she loves, or she can stay in Michigan with her mother, a job she likes less every day, and a gay ex-husband.  Guess which choice she makes?

As the third book in a series titled "Montana Bound" is it easy to predict the ending, yet I can see how hard the decision must have been for Maggie.  I'm at the stage where my chicks are poking their heads out of the nest.  I know that leaving the nest is normal, yet one thing I've enjoyed about today is having my table full with all members of my family.  Change is a normal part of life and I've never considered myself to be afraid of it, yet the older I get, the more I like comfort and routine.  Even going with those I love, I think a move to another community would be much harder now that it was in my twenties.  

One thing I really liked about the series is that it featured a woman about my age.  The book mentions Maggie's hot flashes but also mentions that they were brought on by her breast cancer treatment, so her exact age is difficult to discern.  However, she is the mother of a twenty-something, who suffered from infertility prior to having him, so she must be close to 50.  

If it is important to you, John and Maggie are intimate, but the scene is not graphic.  

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  Grade;  B.  

RaeAnne Thayne's The Holiday Gift

The Holiday Gift

About the Book:

With two kids and an active life, widow Faith Dustin only wants peace and quiet for Christmas. But her snowy Pine Gulch ranch is nothing but chaotic. All that keeps Faith going is her helpful neighbor, cowboy Chase Brannon. He's always been "good ol' Chase," her faithful friend. Until he kisses her under the mistletoe… 

Years ago Chase blew his chance with the woman he's loved since childhood. Now he's determined to step out of the friend zone…and into the role of husband. But the scared and stubborn Faith won't let herself fall. With Christmas just days away, Chase will need all the magic of the season—and the help of her two matchmaking children—to unwrap a second chance at love.

My Comments:

Can you remain friends when one of you wants to be lovers?  That's the question in this book.  Chase has always loved Faith, but she fell for his best friend.  Since his friend died Chase has tried to be there for Faith but she is afraid to get hurt again.  She likes their relationship the way it is.  At times Faith came across as selfish and uncaring, and Chase was almost too good to be true, but in the end...

This is the third book in the series--we've already married off Faith's sisters and it nice to visit with old friends in this beautiful Christmas setting.  I'm not sure new readers would "get" the parts of the  story brought forward from the other books.

As with Thayne's other books, this is sqeaky clean.  

I'd like to thank the publisher for makinga review copy available via NetGalley.  Grade: B. 

A Second Christmas Wish

A Second Christmas Wish

About the Book:

Do you believe in Father Christmas?

For Melissa, Christmas has always been overrated. From her cold, distant parents to her manipulative ex-husband, Lawrence, she’s never experienced the warmth and contentment of the festive season with a big, happy family sitting around the table.

And Melissa has learned to live with it, but it breaks her heart that her seven-year-old son, William, has had to live with it too. Whilst most little boys wait with excitement for the big day, William finds it difficult to believe that Father Christmas even exists.

But then Daniel McCormick comes into their lives. And with his help, Melissa and William might just be able to find their festive spirit, and finally have a Christmas where all of their wishes come true …

My Comments:

What could be sweeter than a little boy learning to believe in Santa?  Maybe his mother learning to believe in love?  

Melissa's ex wanted her, but he didn't want competition for her love.  When she got pregnant, he insisted on an abortion and when she refused, he refused to love the child. Eventually they split and Melissa went from being a  model to being a fashion designer. Then she met Daniel.  She didn't want to love him, she didn't want to let him get close, but....he loved her boy and what woman can resist that?  

The title refers to her son, William's visit to Father Christmas (the story is set in England).  William doesn't believe, but tells Father Christmas two things he wants.  What are they?  Will he get them?  Read the book--it is an inexpensive ebook and definitely worth it. 

Thanks to the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  Grade:  B.   

Review of Rachel Allord's Mother of My Son

Mother of My Son

About the Book

College student Amber Swansen gives birth alone. In desperation, she abandons the newborn, buries her secret, and attempts to get on with her life. No matter how far she runs, she can't escape the guilt. Years later and still haunted by her past, Amber meets Beth Dilinger. Friendship blossoms between the two women, but Beth's son is a constant, painful reminder to Amber of the child she abandoned. When heartache hits, causing Amber to grapple with the answers to life's deeper questions, Beth stands by her side. Yet just when peace seems to be within Amber's grasp, the truth of her past and the parentage of Beth's son comes to light and threatens to shatter not only their worlds, but the life of the teenager they both love.

My Comments

Over the years I've read a lot of Christian fiction.  Some of the books are stories about people who happen to go to church on Sunday.  Some are stories that really delve into at least one character's spiritual life, and are basically about that character's relationship with God.  Others are sermons dressed up as stories.

Mother of My Son is the story of how guilt can ruin your life.  Amber has been self-destructive since that day when she abandoned her son and it is only after she finds Jesus that she finds peace.  The good people in the book are all faith-filled and the bad ones aren't.  Once Amber accepted Christ, all the pieces fell into place and everyone lived happily ever after.  

If you like explicit religion in books, this one will not disappoint.  Beth hosts a Bible study on the Gospel of John and as readers, we are invited.  Amber's conversion scene involves a heart-to-heart with her grandmother's friend, and we get the lyrics to a favorite hymn.  

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  Grade B- (I'm not crazy about sermons dressed as stories). 

Review of Barbara Claypole White's Echoes of Family

Echoes of Family

About the Book:

Marianne Stokes fled England at seventeen, spiraling into the manic depression that would become her shadow. She left behind secrets, memories, and tragedy: one teen dead, and her first love, Gabriel, badly injured. Three decades later she’s finally found peace in the North Carolina recording studio she runs with her husband, Darius, and her almost-daughter, Jade…until another fatality propels her back across the ocean to confront the long-buried past.

In her picturesque childhood village, the first person she meets is the last person she wants to see again: Gabriel. Now the village vicar, he takes her in without question, and ripples of what if reverberate through both their hearts. As Marianne’s mind unravels, Jade and Darius track her down. Tempers clash when everyone tries to help, but only by finding the courage to face her illness can Marianne heal herself and her offbeat family.

My Comments

Barbara Claypole White's Echoes of Family explores the intersection of mental illness, guilt and secrets.  Marianne suffers from manic depression, which means that in an unmedicated state she swings between extreme energy and high emotion on the one hand and suicidal, do-nothing depression on the other.  On medication she functions well, most of the time.

Her husband loves her dearly, even if he is an (ex) alcoholic, music producer with tattoos.  He'll do anything for her.  She has a "daughter", a young woman who was "thrown away" by her family and taken in my Marianne.  The three of them run a small but successful recording studio which also provides opportunities for other "thrown away" girls.  Everything is fine until one day Marianne is in an accident and it reminds her of one she was in as a teen--the accident that brought forth her mental illness in all its glory (though there had been signs of it earlier). 

Marianne decides she needs to return to her childhood home in England, alone, to deal with the past.  When she gets there, she meets her first love, who is now the parish vicar.  He takes her in and though the two of them were once very close, they are each keeping secrets from the other.  Neither has been able to completely let go of what happened that tragic night.

Before long Marianne's husband and her "daughter" follow her to England and try to help her.  Watching her husband and her first love interact was interesting to say the least.  

I don't pretend to know much about mental illness but I loved the way Barbara Claypole White gave Marianne a real personality and life beyond being insane.  Marianne was a person with a mental illness, not a mentally ill person (the person was primary, the mental illness secondary). 

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  If you are a regular reader, you know not many books get A's from me, but this one does.  

Review: Mistletoe Cottage

Mistletoe Cottage

About the Book:

Sophie DiRossi loved growing up in Harmony Harbor. But after fleeing in disgrace many years ago, it is the last place she wants to be. Left homeless by a fire, she's forced to go back to the small coastal town that harbors a million secrets, including her own. Sophie sees this secret reflected every day in her daughter's blue eyes-and she must keep it hidden from the only man she has ever loved.

Sophie's return is a shock for everyone . . . especially Liam Gallagher. The firefighter had some serious feelings for Sophie-and seeing her again sparks a desire so fierce it takes his breath away. Now Liam will do whatever it takes to show Sophie that they deserve a second chance at love, even if everything they've concealed threatens to keep them apart. In this special town at this special time of the year, Sophie and Liam can only hope for a little holiday magic . . .

My Comments:

What can we say?  It's a Christmas romance so the end was pretty apparent from the start.  Nevertheless, I enjoyed this heartwarming story of two people who weren't really sure they were loveable.  

Everyone has secrets and as they are revealed, love is allowed to grow.  Sophie fled town years ago when she learned she was pregnant.  She understood she wasn't good enough for the father, and he clearly didn't want her.  One day she asked her mother (she had moved near her somewhat estranged mother) to watch her child and on her mother's watch, the house was set afire.  As she is driving through her home town, her car dies and she is forced to stay.  Fortunately, a local hotel is looking for a manager and she is hired.  The only problem is that the owner of the hotel is her baby's great grandmother--and doesn't know it, or does she?

Great Grandmother dies shortly thereafter and, as a ghost, continues to meddle in the lives of her loved ones.  

The book is the beginning of another series and I look forward to reading about other characters introduced in this story,  Thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy via NetGalley. Grade: B

Restoring Christmas: My Review

Restoring Christmas 

About the Book:

Alexis Blake has one chance to land her own show on the Home Project Network and nothing, not an uncooperative client, a job site without indoor plumbing, or a challenging videographer, is going to stand in her way. Elsie, at seventy-plus, is far from the ideal client, but she knows exactly what she wants her fieldstone house to look like, and no designer can tell her otherwise. Gabe Langley, the man with the camera, is caught in the middle and it is his wisdom and warmth that just may be the bridge that will bring these two women together. Can they restore more than just a house and bring about special, almost lost forever Christmas memories?

My Comments:

As noted above, nothing goes as planned when Alexis wins a spot on a decorating show.  She's an interior designer who is trying to make a name (and business) for herself.  Unlike some reality shows that have producers adding drama and cameras from the show watching the participants at all times, Alexis has to provide her own video.  The show provided the client and the budget; she has to provide everything else.  I like that because frankly I think most reality show drama is silly, and home renovation projects have enough problems without adding more.

The first problem is that the professional videographer she hired has to bail on her because of an injury--luckily his handsome young son is available.  I loved watching Alexis and Gabe get to know each other and I loved the way Cynthia Ruchti compared the redemption and Light brought by Christmas to the redemption of the house, of the lives of her characters and light brought into their worlds by each other.  

As a novella, Restoring Christmas is a short easy read, however Ruchti has a way with words that gives the story additional beauty and depth and makes it a bit more than the typical heartwarming Christmas romance.  

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  Grade:  B+

Review: Saving Jake

Saving Jake

About the Book:

There is always hope.

After eight years in the Marines, Jacob Lorde returns to Blessings, Georgia, with no plans other than to hole up in his empty house and heal what's left of his soul. But with a charming next door neighbor and a town full of friendly people, keeping to himself is easier said than done.

Review: Twelve Days of Christmas

Twelve Days of Christmas

About the Book:

Friendly and bubbly, Julia Padden likes nearly everyone, but her standoffish neighbor, Cain Maddox, presents a particular challenge. No matter how hard she’s tried to be nice, Cain rudely rebuffs her at every turn, preferring to keep to himself. But when Julia catches Cain stealing her newspaper from the lobby of their apartment building, that’s the last straw. She’s going to break through Cain’s Scrooge-like exterior the only way she knows how: by killing him with kindness.

Snowfall on Haven Point: My Review

Snowfall on Haven Point

About the Book:

It's been two rough years since Andrea Montgomery lost her husband, and all she wants is for her children to enjoy their first Christmas in Haven Point. But then Andie's friend asks a favor—to keep an eye on her brother, Sheriff Marshall Bailey, who's recovering from a hit and run. Andie will do anything for Wyn, even park her own misgivings to check on her grouchy, wounded bear of a brother.

Book Review: A Christmas Bride

A Christmas Bride

About the Book:

'Tis the season in Shenandoah Falls and the first time Willow Peterson has been home in years. But she's determined to fulfill the wishes of her recently deceased best friend and restore Eagle Hill Manor to its former glory-all in time to host the perfect holiday wedding. She just has to get the owner of the historic inn to hire her. Unfortunately, that means dealing with Scrooge himself...

Review: Irena's Children

Irena's Children

About the Book:

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Widow Clicquot comes an extraordinary and gripping true account of Irena Sendler—the “female Oskar Schindler”—who took staggering risks to save 2,500 children from death and deportation in Nazi-occupied Poland during World War II.