The Mistletoe Promise by Richard Paul Evans

I'm already in the mood for Christmas!  OK, fine, I was never really out of the mood for Christmas.  Still...

My favorite Christmas activity is watching all the Hallmark Christmas movies.  I love them!  And one of my favorites (Top 5) just happens to be The Mistletoe Promise.  Which, incidentally, is not out on DVD/BluRay.  This hurts my heart.  Hallmark, are you reading this??

Anyway...

As previously stated, The Mistletoe Promise was made into a Hallmark movie.  As soon as I found out it was based on a Richard Paul Evans novel, I just had to snap it up.  I'm glad I did.  As is so often the case, the book was so much better than the movie.  Sadly, Hallmark actually gutted the story.  The Hallmark movie barely resembles the book.  I understand why Hallmark did it, but I still like the book much better.  (Not to worry, I'll still buy the  movie if it comes out on DVD/BluRay.)

As for the book:

The Mistletoe Promise is not a long book by any means.  I easily read it in just a few hours.  Honestly, I couldn't put it down.  Richard Paul Evans's writing is easy to read.  The prose flows easily and is simply enjoyable.  Neither scholarly nor elementary, the writing hits the Goldilocks zone -- just right.  It's perfect for a weekend read.

Likewise, the plot and pacing of the book are also in the Goldilocks zone.  There is some depth to the plot, but the book never gets too weighty.  Yes, the issues that give the story depth are heart wrenching, but because the author doesn't dwell on them and drag them out they don't detract from enjoying what is ultimately a great and relaxing weekend read.

I really did like the characters in The Mistletoe Promise.  Elise is believable and relatable.  She is very much every one of us.  In Elise I saw facets of myself, as I'm sure others will too.  Elise was well written with compassion and understanding -- something all of us want, which is why I was drawn to her.  Nick was also a good character.  He wasn't as well rounded as Elise, nor did he enjoy the same character development, but he was still a good character and was exactly what the story (and Elise) needed.

All things considered, I would recommend this book to anyone.  There is nothing objectionable -- no profanity, no sex, no questionable morals or ethics.  This book is a simple, sweet, utterly enjoyable read.  A perfect holiday read, but also a book that can be enjoyed any time.  Just because the story is set at Christmastime doesn't mean it should be limited to Christmas time.

Happy reading!

Trading Christmas by Debbie Macomber

'Tis the season!  Well the season for reading Christmas books, that is.  And believe me, I have plenty in my stack to read!  Because I like Hallmark Christmas movies so much, I decided to start with a sappy sweet Hallmark-esque book.  As Trading Christmas had been made into a Hallmark movie, I figured this was a good one to start with.  Let me just say, the book and the movie only share very loose similarities.  Very loose similarities!

Overall the book was fine.  It really is only a short story, not even a full length novel.  The author's ability to write clear, concise sentences with acceptable vocabulary was about what I would have expected from a bestselling author in this genre.  Certainly, the writing isn't scholarly, but I don't expect scholarly from romance.  In fact, from a purely technical aspect, I find Debbie Macomber to be one of the better romance writers.  Her style isn't complex, but it is sound and enjoyable. 

Likewise, I found the characters in this book appealing.  Although this wasn't a full length novel, I had no problem enjoying the characters.  I found the characters to be real and easy to identify with.  The only character that wasn't as well developed was Heather, Emily's daughter.  Of course, she was a supporting character, but she was still flat and, frankly, not very likable at all.  I truly enjoyed the character of Bernice Brewster.  Although another supporting character, she was quite enjoyable and entertaining.  Flamboyant and dramatic, she was still lovable and made me smile every time she showed up in the story.  As Charles and Ray's mother, she brought fun and humor to a story that would otherwise have suffered from being too serious.

The story itself was also easy to identify with, in as much as, it is a story about the changes a family faces as a child grows up and Christmas traditions are turned upside down.  Now perhaps few people would have dealt with these changes quite on the level of trading residences, but that doesn't matter.  It does happen in "real life" so at least it is still believable.  And honestly, I enjoyed this perhaps unorthodox way of dealing with change.  It opened up a lot of avenues for the story to develop that otherwise simply wouldn't have been there.

Perhaps my only real complaint is that the story felt rushed.  I attribute this to the fact that this isn't a full length novel.  However, that does detract some from my enjoyment of the story.  I do believe the story would have been better served had it been written as a full length novel. 

All things considered, I do recommend this book as an enjoyable Christmas read.  Due to its abbreviated nature, it would be very easy to cozy up in a blanket and read this story in one sitting.  There really isn't anything objectionable in this book so I can safely say anybody could read Trading Christmas with no worries whatsoever.  However, that being said, I do believe this book will appeal mostly to the mid-30s and beyond set.

Regency Christmas Magic by Various Authors

Regency Christmas Magic by Amanda McCabe, Allison Lane, Edith Layton, Barbara Metzger, Sandra Heath


As I do every Christmas, I just had to indulge in a good sappy Christmas read.  I always make it a point to read at least one Regency Christmas romance during the Christmas season.  Although I will admit I sometimes indulge in one of my Christmas books in the middle of summer!

This particular book was a mixed bag. I find this often happens with short story anthologies. Overall, I’d say the book was “ok”. I liked it, but speaking generally of the book, it didn’t exactly take my breath away. That said, certain stories within the anthology were great and I really enjoyed them.

My one complaint about this book was that it really took the whole “Christmas Magic” thing to heart. I wasn’t thinking in terms of “real” magic when I picked the book up. I thought the magic in the title referred more to an improbable match that worked out more than the whole concept of magic and fairies, etc. Not generally something that I would associate with the Christmas season.

The first short story in the book was “Upon a Midnight Clear” by Amanda McCabe. Now I truly enjoyed this story about two lonely souls, one far from home and the other suffering the after effects of a major trauma that left him scarred for life. I’m a sucker for sad characters like Captain Payne. And an even bigger sucker for happy endings where the downtrodden find happiness.

The second story was “The Ultimate Magic” by Allison Lane. This story really didn’t appeal to me. The whole story seemed a bit contrived and was rather forced. Throughout the story the leads really didn’t seem to see each other as a love interest. There was no spark. Then suddenly, in an effort to finish the story in the allotted space, they declared their love and found themselves in a passionate embrace. Huh? Where did that come from? It just sort of blindsided me. This story could have been left out of the anthology and it would have been fine.

The third story was “The Two Dancing Daughters” by Edith Layton. This story I liked. Again, we have a wounded male lead who ends up happy by the end of the story. The story itself was a little far fetched. I found the supporting character of the father to be a bit unbelievable and the ending of the story was a bit contrived, but I don’t want to give anything away by discussing that. Truthfully, the things I didn’t like about the story didn’t detract enough from the things I did like to make me give it a low rating.

The fourth story was “The Enchanted Earl” by Barbara Metzger. This story wasn’t bad. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t bad. I’m a sucker for any “remake” of the Beauty and the Beast story so I enjoyed this story simply because it was a different take on Beauty and the Beast.

And the last story was “Green Gauze Gown” by Sandra Heath. I really can’t say I liked this story. It was OK, but it really didn’t resonate with me. I found that surprising since there was another wounded male lead in this story as well. I think what detracted from this story was the whole fairy thing. Had that been left out, I think I would have enjoyed the story much more. I just found it much too far fetched. Especially the ending about the dress. That was really the deal breaker for me. Again, I don’t want to give anything away so I won’t go into more detail.

All in all, the book is fine for a quick read. However, there are better collections of Christmas short stories out there. I would skip this book and try something else if you’re interested in a truly satisfying holiday read.