I am absolutely in love with all things Christmas, and I have been throwing myself into as many Christmas books, songs and movies that I possibly can. A short while ago I won the book "The Christmas Promise" by Kimberly Rose Johnson from author Trish Perry's blog Reading, Writing, and the Stuff in Between. I was absolutely delighted to read another Christmas book, and I am happy to get the chance to share a review here.
The Christmas Promise
By Kimberly Rose Johnson
About the book (from Goodreads):
Dr. Pete Harding doesn't date single moms.
No
matter how lovely Keira Noble's smile, or how adorable her
four-year-old son. He's been down that road before and knows it can lead
to a broken heart. But that doesn't mean he can't help the pretty widow
find a puppy to put under the Christmas tree for her son….
Pete
claims he only wants to help her find the perfect gift for Cody. Yet
Keira can't deny the tender feelings in his eyes whenever he looks at
her. Could this handsome Scrooge have a change of heart, and create a
new family for Christmas?
My review:
There really is nothing that gets me into the Christmas season more than a Christmas romance in a smallish town setting, and the Christmas Promise certainly delivers on that. Keira is a widow with a young son, who had lost her husband in a tragic accident on a snowy road. This loss has caused a seed of fear to sprout in Keira that has kept her from going far beyond her own town. Life has worked out well, she has a nice business, and she and her son have good friends, but love, there is simply no room in her life's equation for that, until a good friend decides it is really time for Keira to date again.
Dr. Pete has his own baggage from a failed relationship and like so many of us has vowed to not date anyone who has close similarities to that person. Basically anyone with a child. He hasn't really felt a problem with his decision, but when he meets Keira, he begins to second guess himself.
Filled with sweet characters and a delicious locale, The Christmas Promise, brings the magic of love and the Christmas season to life.
I enjoyed the story a great deal. It was sweet and not heavy handed. I enjoyed the characters a great deal, and the author was so adept at description, I was ready to pack my bags and move to Leavenworth! It was nice setting down my own life's concerns and picking up where I left off with Keira, Cody and Pete. If you are looking for a sweet seasonal story with a wonderful cast of characters who are extremely likeable, The Christmas Promise will provide a fine slide into the season.
As I wrote earlier, I did win this book, but there was no expectation of a review, and it did not impact my opinion.
25 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS MOVIES - MOVIE 3 - CHRISTMAS IN CONWAY
Is it Christmas without Hallmark Hall of Fame? Certainly not. So of course when "Christmas in Conway" was announced, I had to set the DVR for a viewing.
Christmas in Conway
Starring: Mary-Louise Parker, Andy Garcia, Mandy Moore, Riley Smith, Cheri Oteri, and Mark Jeffrey Miller.
About the film: Usually I share a plot summary from Amazon or IMDB, but I really didn't find a good summary there and the one at Hallmark might as well just blow the whole film for you. So here you go: Natalie a home-care hospice nurse moves in with Duncan and Suzy as Suzy returns from the hospital after deciding that she wants to forgo any further chemo and spend her last days at home. A distraught Duncan has to face that he cannot handle it all alone.
My review: Christmas in Conway is the typical Hallmark Hall of Fame Film in that it is absolutely dear with enough conflict to furrow your brow and enough soft moments to have you grasping for a tissue.
Initially I thought Christmas in Conway would focus on some sort of romance for young hospice nurse Natalie and while that is partially the case, the true romance is between Duncan and Suzy. Duncan first enters the film as a rude and arrogant man, but when you realize that his wife is dying and has decided to stop the fight and finish of the remainder of her days at home, it makes some sense that he might be a rough soul. As we learn more and more about Suzy and Duncan's romance, it becomes even more apparent that this man is tortured over the eventual loss of THE love of his life.
Being powerless to provide for certain aspects of her care, Duncan resigns himself to having a live-in hospice nurse, but he is hardly welcoming to Natalie or anyone else for that matter. It is a long road of healing for this man. The most important thing in Duncan's life is his wife, Suzy, and his decision to provide her with one last special gift is also the decision that just might bring healing to his broken heart.
Christmas in Conway is well written and acted. There are definitely some obvious moments, but I figure there are some things that really don't need to keep us guessing. The message of love is strong in this film and although loss is evidently going to rear its head, there is a joyful sadness in the film. It was truly beautiful.
Here's the trailer:
You can preorder the DVD from Hallmark if you missed it at this link.
PS I'm just adding that link in case you missed it. It really is charming, and if you like Christmas movies, this just might be one, you would enjoy owning.
After some serious cleaning and cooking (I made two soups with our ham leftovers from Thanksgiving), I was delighted to finish Debbie Macomber's "Starry Night." I won it from Angela at Griperang's Bookmarks. What an absolute wonderful win!
About the book (from Goodreads):
’Tis the season for romance, second chances, and Christmas cheer with this new novel from Debbie Macomber.
Carrie Slayton, a big-city society-page columnist, longs to write more
serious news stories. So her editor hands her a challenge: She can cover
any topic she wants, but only if she first scores the paper an
interview with Finn Dalton, the notoriously reclusive author.
Living in the remote Alaskan wilderness, Finn has written a
mega-bestselling memoir about surviving in the wild. But he stubbornly
declines to speak to anyone in the press, and no one even knows exactly
where he lives.
Digging deep into Finn’s past, Carrie develops
a theory on his whereabouts. It is the holidays, but her career is at
stake, so she forsakes her family celebrations and flies out to snowy
Alaska. When she finally finds Finn, she discovers a man both more
charismatic and more stubborn than she even expected. And soon she is
torn between pursuing the story of a lifetime and following her heart.
Filled with all the comforts and joys of Christmastime, Starry Night is a delightful novel of finding happiness in the most surprising places
My Review: I have read so many amazing reviews of Debbie Macomber's books. I have friends who simply go on and on about how amazing she is. They tell me about Hallmark type films and how romantic everything is. To be honest, because of all my friend's romantic hype, I stayed away, but then, I read a little bit about Debbie myself. I decided to read one book and see for myself. That book was "The Inn at Rose Harbor." Well, that did it. I decided to try my hand at one more. Thus...here we are with Starry Night.
Starry Night was a book that immediately pulled me right in. I was taken with Carrie and Finn from the get go. I could completely understand Carrie's willingness to do whatever it took to move onto a more meatier beat at work. Fly to Alaska? Why not? Of course when someone doesn't really want to be found, they aren't terribly joyful when they are located. Even if the person who locates them is absolutely adorable (which of course Carrie is).
I loved the direction the story went. I liked that it was a clean read, because I want to read a story and not a love scene. The characters were well developed and likeable. If I had any complaint it would simply be that they were a little too perfect. Is everyone always perfect looking in a romance novel? I don't read enough of them to really know.
The visual pictures created by the author were quite lovely too. I had a complete film flowing through my mind as I read the book. Which by the way, I had to slowly work my way through. I wanted to devour it in one sitting, but I didn't want it to end so I purposely would put Starry Night at the top of my bookshelf so I would do other things rather than read.
As it is a Christmas themed book, I will give it a snowflake rating. I give it four out of five snowflakes.
