Merry and Bright: A Novel

Author:  Debbie Macomber
Genre:  Romance, Christmas

Hardcover; Large Print Paperback; Audio CD; Digital Book, Audiobook
ISBN #:  9780399181221; 9780525493068; 9780525491736
Ballantine Books/Random House Publishing
$13.98; $14.95; $23.97; $10.99 Amazon
272 Pages
October 3, 2017

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Merry Knight is pretty busy these days.  She's taking care of her family, baking cookies, decorating for the holidays, and hoping to stay out of the crosshairs of her stressed and by-the-book bosss at the consulting firm where she temps.  Her own social life is the last thing she has in mind, much less a man.  Without her knowledge, Merry's well-meaning mom and brother create an online dating profile for her - minus her photo - and the matches start rolling in.  Merry is incredulous, but she reluctantly decides to give it a whirl.

Soon Merry finds herself chatting with a charming stranger, a man with similar interests and unmistakably kind soul.  Their online exchanges become the brightest part of her day.  But meeting face-to-face is altogether different, and her special friend is the last person Merry expects - or desires.  Still, sometimes hearts can see what our eyes cannot.  In this satisfying seasonal tale, unanticipated love is only a click away.

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Merry Knight  is a young woman who's almost finished working a temp position at a consulting firm.  There's only a few days before Christmas, and she has a deadline at work, along with helping her disabled mother Robin and Down Syndrome brother Patrick decorate for the holidays.  Her father, a pharmaceutical salesman, is away quite a bit, and they've only the one car, she depends on public transportation to get anywhere.  She thinks her boss is mean-spirited and has it in for her, and she's just trying to stay employed until her contract is finished.  Her life is definitely complicated right now.

Jayson Bright, a young executive working for his uncle Matthew at Matt's company, has a potential contract with the Boeing Company, if he can make the deadline.  So he's pushing his employees to get the data finished before Christmas Eve, even if it means working mandatory overtime.  He has no time for nonsense, and believes in following everything by the book.  He's a hard worker and serious about his life.

But Merry's best friend is happily married and now pregnant.  She found her spouse on a dating website called Mix & Mingle, and Robin wants Merry to sign up, but Merry insists she's too busy.  Since her birthday is coming up close - December 26 - Robin and Patrick sign her up as an early birthday gift, and rather than use a photo of her, use one of their Golden Retriever, Bogie.  Merry, while surprised and not too happy about it, decides to see what just might be out there for her...

Jayson, receiving a surprise visit from his cousin and best friend Cooper, is stunned to hear that Cooper is getting married.  Both of them had lousy childhoods with multiple-married parents, and they decided early on that neither one would even start looking for a spouse until they were in their forties.  But it turns out that Cooper, on a fluke, met his soon-to-be wife on Mix & Mingle, and better yet, it's someone from his past.  After Cooper leaves, Jayson, realizing his life is empty, decides to take a look and see what might be just around the corner.  He sees Bogie, fills out an online form, and uses a photo of his own late retriever in return...

Soon Jayson and Merry are communicating without either knowing who the other is.  The more they talk, the more they like about each other.  But will deciding to meet face-to-face change their budding relationship?  Will they be able to survive the knowledge of knowing how they feel about each other?  Will they each decide to go their separate ways or will Christmas light its magic and bring two lonely people together?

Debbie Macomber has a lovely tradition of writing an annual Christmas story that touches your heart and brings warmth to the season.  This one is no different.  We read the story, chapter to chapter, from both Merry and Jayson's points of view.  Each one shows us their lives and the changes they are going through.  We watch their relationship begin warily, and then, as they start to trust each other, change slowly.  But it isn't an easy change.  Anyone who's seen the film The Shop Around the Corner will notice the similarity, but I don't think it matters if you enjoy anything of that nature.

It's a lovely book for the holidays, and I enjoyed reading it.  I have no doubt that everyone who has read it - or is going to - knows that the magic of Christmas will bring a happy ending.  But then again, isn't that what we want to see anyway?  A warm, inviting book that will have you longing for snow and a glowing fire to read by.  Highly recommended.  (To see a hidden spoiler regarding this book, please look for it on Goodreads).

https://www.amazon.com/Merry-Bright-Novel-Debbie-Macomber/dp/0399181229/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2172026964

More on Debbie Macomber's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/m/debbie-macomber/

Mr. Miracle: A Christmas Novel

Author:  Debbie Macomber
Genre:  Christmas/Angels

Five Stars

 

Harry Mills is a guardian angel on a mission: help twenty-four-year-old Addie Folsom get her life back on track—and, if the right moment strikes, help her find love. Posing as a teacher at a local college in Tacoma, Washington, Harry is up to the task, but not even he can predict the surprises that lay in store.

After trying to make it on her own, Addie has returned home to Tacoma for the holidays, but this time she plans to stay for good, enrolling in the local community college to earn her degree. What she doesn’t plan to do is run into Erich Simmons.

Addie and her next-door neighbor, Erich, are like night and day. Growing up, he was popular and outgoing while she was rebellious and headstrong, and he never missed an opportunity to tease her. Now she intends to avoid him entirely, yet when they’re suddenly forced to spend Christmas together, Addie braces for trouble.

Perhaps it’s the spirit of the season or the magic of mistletoe, but Addie and Erich soon find they have more in common than they thought—and that two people who seem so wrong for each other may actually be just right. With a little prompting from a certain angelic teacher, the two are in for a holiday miracle they’ll never forget.

 

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Addie Folsom has returned from Montana with her tail between her legs.  She is home for the first Christmas since her father's death, and home for good.  For the past six years she has been trying to make a living on her own, but has been unable to do so.  She has returned home to finish high school (she is lacking one credit) and then go to college in order to become a doctor, as her father was.

 

Believing it will be just her and her mother for Christmas, she decides to decorate the trees outside her house the way her father always did.  That's when her mother decides to drop a bombshell...since  her mother and their next door neighbor Julia are both widows, they have booked a Christmas cruise and Addie will be alone for the holidays.  After discussing it, Addie decides her mother should go and she will be fine.

 

While decorating the trees, her neighbor's son Erich Simmons shows up to help, which she doesn't want.  You see, Erich is the bane of her existence.  All through school he was her brother's best friend, and she idolized him.  However, the feelings weren't mutual.  While she was following him around, trying to get him to notice her, he was doing the exact opposite: trying to get her to leave him alone.  Still humiliated by his past actions, she doesn't want anything to do with him.

 

But now there's a problem:  the next day, Addie finds out Erich was in a car accident and broke both his wrists.  He is in casts up to his elbows and virtually helpless, and will need constant care, Julia can't afford a full-time nurse.  Which means her mother will have to cancel her trip, and won't be able to afford another one.

 

Enter Harry Mills, her guardian angel/literature teacher at the college.  Harry is here to help Addie find her way, and he must find his also.  You see, this is Harry's first earthly assignment, and his new body and emotions are giving him trouble.  Luckily, he has help in his supervisor, Celeste, but she is allowing him to also find his own way, while watching the proceedings.

 

So Harry, in order to help Addie, must convince her to help Erich.  In doing so, Addie and Erich must face their past, their present, and what they both want out of life.

 

I found this book delightful.  It is the type of book that gives you a warm fuzzy feeling when you finally finish it.  I believe it is a lovely addition to Ms. Macomber's Christmas tales, and I think anyone who reads it will enjoy it.  Watching Addie and Erich navigate their feelings for each other (and I don't think it's a spoiler since anyone who is familiar with her work knows that this is what the book is about) is nice to watch; and the secondary characters of Addie's co-students in her class bring a little more heart to the story.  Highly recommended.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Miracle-Christmas-Debbie-Macomber/dp/0553391151/

 

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1064960139