A Christmas Duet by Debbie Macomber

 

Do you enjoy Christmas music?  Do you have any favorite songs?  I love Christmas music and especially older songs.  My daughter gets annoyed about not updating the Christmas music list, so I’ve been adding in newer albums as time goes on.

Hailey Morgan decides to accept her friends offer to stay at a family cabin over Christmas break to have time to focus on her music.  She also doesn’t want to return home as her mother has invited her ex-boyfriend for Christmas in an attempt to get them back together.  While in the small town of Podunk, Washington, she asks for help removing the wild animals in resident.  The mayor/general store owner sends her son Jethro (Jay). As Hailey and Jay get to know each other, will Haily be able to have her Christmas dreams of love and music come true?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       I always enjoy reading Debbie Macomber’s Christmas novels and novellas every year at Christmas time. They really put me in the Christmas mood.

·       This novel was the December pick for the 2024 Brenda Novak Reading Challenge.

·       This was a nice, short cozy read for the holiday season.

·       I enjoyed that Hailey was able to take control of her life and do what she wanted to do.

·       I loved the romance between Hailey and Jay as they both seemed to really understand one another.

·       I also enjoyed the secondary characters such as Hailey’s sister Daisy and Jay’s Mom.  Hailey’s mom drove me crazy.

·       This was a clean read.

Overall, A Christmas Duet by Debbie Macomber was a sweet, cozy Christmas novella that will get you into the Christmas spirit.

Book Source:  E-book review copy from NetGalley.  Thank-you!  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Jack Frost by Debbie Macomber

 

Title:  Jack Frost

Author:  Debbie Macomber

Narrated by:  Lisa Negron

Publisher: Debbie Macomber Inc.

Length: Approximately 1 hours and 44 minutes

Source: Purchased from Amazon.com on Audible

 

Have you ever met anyone who seemed cranky at first but was really a wonderful person once you got to know them?  I worked at my local Dime Store in high school with an older woman named Ann.  She seemed very cranky when I first started working at the Dime Store, but as I got to know her, she turned out to be a wonderful person who has a reason to be cranky (her beloved husband died young). 

Jack Frost is this type of story.  Lindsay Calhoun’s family is on a cruise, and she will be spending Christmas alone.  She volunteers to organize the office Christmas party.  The office scrooge, Jack, is not happy about an office Christmas party and always seems grumpy.  When the power goes out as the two are tying up things at the end of the party, they find themselves trapped together in the office.  As they get to know each other better, they begin to really understand one another.  Will love blossom between these two?

Jack Frost was the November pick for the Brenda Novak Book Group, but I didn’t get to it until December.  It was a perfect light and uplifting Christmas book, perfect for the season.  I think this one would make a great Hallmark movie.  Lisa Negron was a good narrator.

The Christmas Spirit by Debbie Macomber

 

What is your favorite Christmas or holiday cookie or treat?

It’s not Christmas without a Debbie Macomber book.  This book was my December read for the Brenda Novak Book Group.  I still need to watch the meeting!  They are posted each month on Brenda Novak’s Facebook page and are delightful.

Peter Armstrong and Hank Colfax are best friends in the 1970’s.  Both lead very different lives.  Peter is the pastor at a local church, while Hank runs a local tavern.  Both believe the other has an easier time at their job so they decide to switch jobs for a week before Christmas.  Both discover that the other has a much harder job than they thought.  They also find that they can make a difference at their new jobs and perhaps find love along the way.

I loved this story.  I thought it was very heartwarming and really looked at the true meaning of Christmas.  I find it interesting that many books labeled “Christian” really are just stories that are a clean read, but have nothing about faith.  This book is not labeled as a Christian read, but it was a great one.  It had many thoughtful points such as are the church ladies judging rather than helping people in town?  Who should they be helping?  Do you know what anyone is going through if you haven’t walked in their shoes.   Everyone kept being surprised that Hank the bartender knew scripture and applied it in his life.  There are strippers and a biker gang in this book, which are not traditionally in a Christmas story.

The story is framed with a grandmother telling this story to her grandkids.  I kept wondering who she was going to end of being and it had a satisfying conclusion. 

Review Copy from NetGalley.  Thank-you! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Dear Santa by Debbie Macomber

It isn’t Christmas without a new Debbie Macomber novel.  Dear Santa, is a sweet story.  Lindy Carmichael has returned to her hometown for Christmas.  She doesn’t have the Christmas spirit after finding out that her boyfriend was cheating on her with her best friend.  Her mother tries to lift her spirits by showing her old letters she had written to Santa as a youth.  As a lark, Lindy writes an adult version to Santa asking for a new best friend and boyfriend.  She soon rediscovers her old childhood best friend Peggy and her nemesis Billy.  Will Lindy be able to put her life back together and rediscover the magic of Christmas?

I loved this shorty and cozy story.  It was filled with the spirit of Christmas.  I really loved this premise with the letters to Santa.  It made me wonder what I wrote to Santa about as a kid.  I loved Billy’s story as well.  Isn’t it interesting as an adult to really learn about others that you grew up with and discover that there was a lot going on that you didn’t know about?  This book is a clean read and does have a magical Santa in it as well.  I liked the reconnection with family and friends, and the rethinking of life after it falls apart. 

I read Dear Santa as the December pick for the Brenda Novak Book Group.  Brenda Novak had a fun Christmas party with Debbie Macomber which can still be viewed on her Facebook page.  Debbie Macomber talks about her inspiration for this novel.  It was a lot of fun!

Overall, Dear Santa is an enjoyable Christmas novel.

Book Source:  Review copy from Netgalley. Thank-you! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Dashing Through the Snow by Debbie Macomber

Debbie Macomber is the queen of Christmas novels, and several of her novels have been made into Hallmark movies (including this one).  I have not yet seen the movie, but I greatly enjoyed the book.

Ashley Davison is a grad student in California and a waitress.  She unexpectedly gets time off for Christmas and decides to go home to visit her mother in Seattle.  The problem is, there are no flights available and only one rental car.  She is too young to rent the car, but unexpectedly can rent a car with a handsome stranger that was behind her and needs to get to Seattle for a job interview.  Dashiell Sutherland is a former army intelligence officer and reluctantly agrees to share a car with Ashley.  He is not happy about the situation but is hoping they can both make it to Seattle on time.

Ashley and Dash start off with not much to say, but soon find a spark between them.  Their journey does not run smoothly and there is a fair share of comedy involving mistaken identity, a puppy, a motorcycle game, etc.  I thought it was all very entertaining and I’ll admit, I laughed out loud quite a few times in the story.  I thought it was a fun yarn, although I admit I did not want Ashley to ride in car with a strange man even thought he was handsome and his mother vouched for him via a phone call.

Dashing Through the Snow is the fun December pick for the Kewaunee Book Club.  It will be interesting next week to see what everyone thinks about this book.

Favorite Quote:

“I think a lot more of you for admitting you were wrong.  You didn’t need to, and you did.  That tells me you’re not a man with a high sense of self-importance.”

Overall, Dashing Through the Snow is an entertaining and fun Christmas tale that involves a road trip, romance, and humor.

Book Source:  The Kewaunee Public Library

The Perfect Christmas by Debbie Macomber

What is a “perfect Christmas?” Cassie Beaumont thinks that her perfect Christmas would be to meet her very own “Mr. Right,” get married, have adorable children and a future of perfect Christmases together. Cassie has tried everything to meet her perfect match, but it all has failed. She finally decides to take drastic measures and use a professional matchmaker to find him.

Simon Dodson is a very opinionated and very expensive matchmaker. Simon and Cassie clash as they get to know one another. Simon makes Cassie fulfill three tasks in order to prove that she is the correct chose for the perfect match he has selected for her. Hilarity ensues and there is a heartwarming ending.

While this book was a cheerful holiday story, it held no mystery. It was very obvious from the beginning of the book what was going to happen. It is a quick, happy story, but overall it was not fulfilling.

The Perfect Christmas is the first book for the Christmas Reading Challenge list and is also a book club selection for my FLICKS Book and Movie Club.

Book Source: The Kewaunee Public Library

Glad Tidings by Debbie Macomber

I read Glad Tidings by Debbie Macomber over the Christmas holiday. This novel contained two stories - "There is Something About Christmas" and "Here Comes Trouble!"

"There is Something About Christmas" is the story of reporter Emma Collins. She has a hatred for fruitcake, but has to write several columsn about three different Washington State women who are finalists in a national fruitcake contest. Each woman has a unique story to tell. Unfortunately Emma (who is afraid of flying) has to fly with a hot pilot named Oliver Hamilton to interview each lady. Sparks fly and romance abounds.

"Here Comes Trouble!" is a nice story where Nolan and Maryanne Adams tell their children how they met and got together at Christmas. They were once rival columnists at Seattle papers. Maryanne was a "debutante" out to prove herself and Nolan had some baggage himself. Soon these two rivals get together and can't stay apart.

I enjoyed this book. Both stories were well written nice romantic tales. It's a good book for Christmas.