I was sadly bored by "Where The Heart Is," by Billie Letts. It was a little too drawn out for me. At any rate, it's not worth blogging about. I do, however, recommend the movie. That being said, I'm ready to start "The Mistletoe Promise," the most recent holiday novel by Richard Paul Evans.
"The Mistletoe Promise" is narrated by Elise Dutton, who dreads the arrival of another holiday season. Three years earlier, her husband cheated on her with her best friend, resulting in a bitter divorce that left her alone, broken, and distrustful.
Then, one November day, a stranger approaches Elise in the mall food court. Though she recognizes the man from her building, Elise has never formally met him. Tired of spending the holidays alone, the man offers her a proposition. For the next eight weeks—until the evening of December 24—he suggests that they pretend to be a couple. He draws up a contract with four rules:
1. No deep, probing personal questions
2. No drama
3. No telling anyone the truth about the relationship
4. The contract is void on Christmas Day
The lonely Elise surprises herself by agreeing to the idea. As the charade progresses, the safety of her fake relationship begins to mend her badly broken heart. But just as she begins to find joy again, her long-held secret threatens to unravel the emerging relationship. But she might not be the only one with secrets.
I've got my box of Kleenex ready, as I'm expecting a tearjerker. I've come to anticipate the necessity of tissues when dealing with Evan's novels, and I suspect that "The Mistletoe Promise" will elicit a few tears.
I also hope to FINALLY be able to finish "Tied Up In Tinsel" by Ngaio Marsh this year. I keep starting it, but end up misplacing it before I'm through reading the first chapter! Things are going to be different this year! I will read "Tied Up In Tinsel" from beginning to end, and I will blog about it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Holed up at Hilary Bill-Tasman's manor estate for Christmas, Troy Alleyn is to paint the man's portrait and, while she's there, view the Druid Christmas pageant. Along with a pack of eccentric guests, Troy enjoys the festivities-- until one of the pageant's players mysteriously disappears into the snowy night. Did the hired help-- each a paroled murderer from the nearby prison-- have a deadly hand in this Christmas conundrum? Inspector Roderick Alleyn arrives to join his wife in finding the lost man- and unraveling the glaring truth from the glittering tinsel.
I wonder if I'll have time to start Glenn Beck's "The Christmas Sweater?" Only time will tell!
When Eddie was twelve years old, all he wanted for Christmas was a bike. Although his life had gotten harder -- and money tighter -- since his father died and the family bakery closed...Eddie dreamed that somehow his mother would find a way to have his dream bike gleaming beside their modest Christmas tree that magical morning.
What he got from her instead was a sweater. "A stupid, handmade, ugly sweater" that young Eddie left in a crumpled ball in the corner of his room.
Scarred deeply by the realization that kids don't always get what they want, and too young to understand that he already owned life's most valuable treasures, that Christmas morning was the beginning of Eddie's dark and painful journey on the road to manhood. It will take wrestling with himself, his faith, and his family -- and the guidance of a mysterious neighbor named Russell -- to help Eddie find his path through the storm clouds of life and finally see the real significance of that simple gift his mother had crafted by hand with love in her heart.
Based on a deeply personal true story, The Christmas Sweater is a warm and poignant tale of family, faith and forgiveness that offers us a glimpse of our own lives -- while also making us question if we really know what's most important in them.
Wow! If I'm going to finish reading all of these books by the end of this month, I'd better get started on my "Journey" right now!
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