The Perfect Christmas

The Perfect Christmas

Debbie Macombe

232 pages

Rating: 4/5

What would make your Christmas perfect?For Cassie Beaumont, it's meeting her perfect match. Cassie, at thirty-three, wants a husband and kids, and so far, nothing's worked. Not blind dates, not the Internet and certainly not leaving love to chance.
What's left? A professional matchmaker. He's Simon Dodson, and he's very choosy about the clients he takes on. Cassie finds Simon a difficult, acerbic know-it-all, and she's astonished when he accepts her as a client.
Claiming he has her perfect mate in mind, Simon assigns her three tasks to complete before she meets him. Three tasks that are all about Christmas: being a charity bell ringer, dressing up as Santa's elf at a children's party and preparing a traditional turkey dinner for her neighbors (whom she happens to dislike). Despite a number of comical mishaps, Cassie does it all—and she's finally ready to meet her match.
But just like the perfect Christmas gift, he turns out to be a wonderful surprise!

My Thoughts:
This Sunday afternoon as I listen to Christmas carols on Pandora and snuggle under a quilt on the couch, my Christmas spirit was complete as I read this fun Christmas romance by Debbie Macomber.  I have to admit that I was not expecting anything extraordinary, merely a romantic comedy with cute-but-cliched lines and a predictable plot.  However, this novel surprised me in that it captured my heart, made me laugh, and plunged it's way into the forefront of my Christmas favorites.

I have to admit that this novel is easily my favorite Debbie Macomber book so far.  I loved the characters, laughed with the mishaps, grunted with frustration over bits of stupidity, and sighed with happiness over the story ending.  I'm not sure that there was particularly something that made this novel stand out, but it captured my heart and made me smile this Christmas. 

Cassie is a fun, lovable character that, in fact, reminds me a bit of myself.  At 34, she decides to make a giant leap of faith and go to a matchmaker to find her perfect match.  She seems to take funny mishaps in stride, love her family and friends, and opens her heart to those around her.  I enjoyed reading about her journey for love.

The few small characteristics that annoyed me were not majorly present in the plot and became an afterthought for me.  Mainly, my biggest frustration would be the characters insistance on a perfect Christmas.  To me, Christmas cards hardly are an accurate representation of a person's life.  And I never can grasp the concept of looking for perfection in things, as I think they never exist.  If one goes into a relationship looking for the perfect mate, to me, it seems that you are giving yourself an out for when it fails because you did not put enough effort into it.  But that happens to be a personal pet peeve.

All in all, The Perfect Christmas was a heart-warming, fun Christmas story.  It did not annoy  or frustrate me as some other Christmas stories do.  It was a fun lovestory.  I enjoyed the subplots, even though I predicted them accurately.  I loved watching the love story come to life.  And I connected with Cassie as a character.  I thought there was a good amount of character development and the plot wasn't overly detailed from the characters' pasts.  I honestly can't say exactly why I loved this novel, but it's my favorite Christmas novel.  I plan to add it to my shelf of books to read each Christmas.  I lost myself in the story for a couple hours, and I emerged with a smile on my face.  I would recommend it to anyone who loves romance novels and is looking for a fun way to get into the Christmas spirit.

Home for the Holidays

Home for the Holidays

Johanna Lindsey

352 pages

Rating: 3/5

Facing eviction and worse at Christmastime Larissa Ascot is forced to accept shelter from a charming earl, Vincent Everett, the Baron of Windsmoor, who has been secretly scheming her family's destruction. But the highborn rogue is bewitched by Larissa--most unfortunate since the proud beauty despises him. But Christmas is a time for miracles.Left to handle the rumors other family's bankruptcy and impending eviction, Larissa Ascots wishes for a merry Christmas seem to be in peril for the first time in her sheltered life. A charming would-be "benefactor,"Vincent Everett, the Baron of Windsmoor, has offered to shelter Larissa and her young brother. But more than Yuletide spirit seems to have inspired the baron's generostity.From the moment he first set eyes on Larissa, the highborn rogue was bewitched. And now that she has taken up residence in his home, he aches with wanting her-a most unfortunate state of affairs, since the proud beauty obviously despises him . . . and since Vincent has sworn to seek a righteous vengeance on the Ascot family.

My Thoughts:

I read this book for my Christmas Challenge.  I received it in a goodreads swap.  I just picked it out because it sounded good.  It was my first book of Johanna Lindsey. 

The book would be what they call historical romance.  It was set in the 1800s, and I enjoyed the time period.  I found some of the historical stuff to be probably not accurate, but I enjoyed it nevertheless.  I also enjoyed the idea of the story - a sweet girl breaking down the walls of a cold-hearted lord.  The characters seemed a little underdeveloped, but they connected well, making it a fun story.

Unfortunately, there was one part of this book that made me enjoy it a little less.  It's a personal pet peeve of mine.  I appreciated the tack that Lindsey used in writing the love scenes, but I hate it when the girl gives it up too early.  I guess I wanted her to be strong and make him change first.  Perhaps that is an old fashioned but I hate it when a guy makes a scheme and the girl does exactly what he wants her to do.  I'm not sure how I would have written the book differently, but it really annoyed me.  I can understand how it worked into the plot well, but it wasn't want I wanted.

Alright, pet peeve moment over, I did enjoy this book.  It was a fun Christmas read, and it did not end the way I imagined it would.  I gave it a three because I enjoyed the plot, but there were parts of the book I didn't like and I probably won't read it again.  I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys fun romance books  and is looking for a light, fun Christmas read.

Home for the Holidays

Home for the Holidays

Debbie Macomber

384 pages

Rating: 3/5

Home for the Holidays is a combo book made up of two previously published Debbie Macomber books: The Forgetful Bride and When Christmas Comes.

The Forgetful Bride
Caitlin Marshall's trying to go home to Minnesota, but at the last minute she gives her airline ticket to a stranded soldier. So Cait spends Christmas with Joe Rockwell, who was a childhood friend -- and is still a terrible tease, claiming that Cait's his wife. Oh, sure, they were "married" in a pretend ceremony when she was eight, but now Joe wants to make their "marriage" real!

When Christmas Comes
Emily Springer trades her Leavenworth, Washington, home for Charles Brewster's Boston condo. Then Emily's friend Faith comes to visit her in Washington -- and instead finds Charles, a complete stranger and a curmudgeon, to boot. His brother, Ray, meanwhile shows up at Charlie's place, only to discover Emily living there. But through all the mix-ups and misunderstandings, among the chaos and confusion, romance begins to emerge . . .

 My Thoughts:
I read this book solely for the purpose of my Christmas Challenge.  There is nothing like Christmas romance to put you in the mood for Christmas.  And no one writes a fun Christmas story quite like Debbie Macomber.

Both novels in this book are fun, lighthearted romance stories.  It put me in the Christmas spirit, but they weren't wonderful literay reads.  I read the entire book in one afternoon and had some laughs from it.  It's perfect for a snuggle up with a blanket and hot chocolate and a book, but I wouldn't put it on a literature syllabus or have a group discussion around it.


The Forgetful Bride was a fun novel about Caitlin, who is "in love" with one guy but actually falling in love with another.  I'm sure all of us girls have made a fool of ourselves over a guy before, who so obviously does not like us (but we don't see that until after the episode is over).  I felt for Caitlin, because I could see the plot unfolding but I knew she would not get it.  I loved Joe who weaseled his way into her heart.  I enjoyed Joe's antics, and their story made me laugh several times.  I felt embarrassed for Caitlin, which made me just want to read the book faster.  It was an enjoyable story, but probably one I won't reread even during Christmas time.


When Christmas Comes was a fun light story that reminded me of the movie The Holiday.  I enjoyed the two parallel stories, but I have to say that I did not get the chemistry between the two relationships. It seemed almost forced, and I might have enjoyed it more if there was more subtlety within the dialog and character development.  I also felt that the story was told from two many perspectives.  Perhaps if it was only told from Emily and Faith, instead of added several other minor characters in it.  I guess it seemed like there was a whole story that was smashed into a small novel, instead of having it develop in the details.


Overall, I really enjoyed these stories as a Christmas fun.  But I won't read them again, and I probably won't remember the plots or characters in years to come.  It was an enjoyable read, but did not impact me much.  I felt that the stories could have used more (or better) development.  I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a fun, Christmasy read without much thought needed.

Christmas Wishes

Christmas Wishes

Debbie Macomber

384 pages

Rating: 3/5

Christmas Wishes is a combo book, which holds both Christmas Letters and Rainy Day Kisses.

Christmas Letters: Katherine O'Connor (known as K.O.) adores her five-year-old twin nieces— and strongly objects to her sister's plans to dispense with Christmas. Zelda is following the theories of child psychologist Wynn Jeffries, author of The Free Child (and, as it happens, K.O.'s neighbor). K.O. is particularly horrified by his edict to "bury Santa under the sleigh," and she's out to prove that Wynn and his ideas are full of snow. He's not going to ruin her nieces' Christmas! Too bad the guy's so darned attractive.

Rainy Day Kisses: Seventeen years ago Susannah Simmons was a career girl who knew nothing about babies. But after babysitting her infant niece, Michelle, Susannah learned that one determined— and screaming—baby can make the corporate world look like?child's play. Thank goodness for her charming neighbor Nate Townsend. Now he's her charming husband, and Susannah's a mother as well as an aunt. And every Christmas Eve, Michelle tells her cousins how their mom met their dad— a story in which she plays a starring role!

My Thoughts:
I enjoyed reading this Christmas book by Debbie Macomber.  It contains two short novels, both of which were fun.  I read this book for my Holiday Challenge, which is a perfect way for me to start the Christmas season.

Christmas Letters was a fun novel with many different laughs in it.  K.O., the main character, has a small side business writing humorous Christmas letters.  She made me laugh out loud.  Some of those comments truly made me giggle.  However, I found almost all of the characters to be too strong.  The characters could have used more depth, and so I did not understand their actions and they seemed to portray the extremes of their particular characteristics.  It caused me to be annoyed with the novel at times.  However, overall it was a cute story, and one that teaches the lessons of compromise and not judging a person too quickly.

Rainy Day Kisses I found to be quite cute.  The novel is based around Susannah, a corporate career woman, and Nick, her neighbor, as Susannah attempts to take care of her 9-month-old niece Michelle.  It was a typical romance novel.  I enjoyed the characters more than Christmas Letters, though I was annoyed by Susannah's stubborness to judge a person by his cover not the person himself.  Of course, it had a happy ending that tied things up beautifully.  And really it was a cute, quick read without major depth in it.

Ultimately, I gave Christmas Wishes a 3/5 because I enjoyed it, but I probably won't read it again.  I love Christmas, and I read it purely for the Christmas aspect.  I found some things annoying at times, but it is an enjoyable quick read.  I recommend it to anyone who enjoys romance and chick-lit.