Review: Sweet Christmas Story
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 3, 2013
Thank you, Danica Winters, for sending me a copy of Christmas Wishes for review.SPOILERS!!!The heroine, Lee, is a strong yet emotionally damaged woman who lost her son due to an accident and her husband through the divorce that followed. Three years had passed since her life turned upside down. Without friends or family, she's all alone and is desperate for a reason to live again.While visiting her son's tombstone, she meets the hero, Albert, as he visited the grave of his departed wife. Though they don't speak of it, she realizes that he is going through emotional trauma not much different than her own. Later that evening, she unexpectedly met up with him again and also met his adorable six-year old daughter, Penny.Albert struggles to provide a cheerful, happy home for Penny. He had raised her all alone since she was around two and loves her unconditionally, yet the home isn't happy and neither is he. Albert feels empty and lost, but puts on a brave face for his inquisitive little princess.Told solely from Lee's POV, we see and feel her regret over losing both her son and husband and her desire to find love and to start life all over again. Even though she will always love her son and cherish her memories of him, she desperately wants something or someone to pull her out of her miserable rut.The answer comes in a man dressed in cowboy boots and as dusty black cowboy hat with a blonde princess in tow!!!REVIEW!!!I adored this delightful yet teary-eyed short story. Even with the tearjerker plot, the author weaves humor into mix. Like when Lee ruins Christmas dinner in the most outlandish way I've ever read. Wow! What was that woman thinking? I laughed out loud and couldn't stop smiling.I totally got all teary with the pain Lee felt after losing her son. I'm not a mother but I couldn't imagine losing my baby. Since I'm married, I connected better with Albert because he lost his wife. My stomach churns whenever I think about losing my husband. I wish I could have learned more about Albert and his past (like his relationship with his wife and how she died).The romance between Lee and Albert felt kinda rushed to me. I mean, they only knew each other for about 24 hours before they realized that the other person was the one they were waiting on to fulfill them and to move on with. I understand both characters were lonely and needed companionship/understanding but if they became friends first, with love coming later, the connection between them would have been stronger and more fulfilling in my opinion.The motto of this story is to never give up on living. When life kicks you down, you gotta pick yourself back up. It's about trust and the kindness of strangers, about following your heart and putting yourself out there, despite potential rejection and more pain. It's about Christmas wishes and miracles!Lee and Albert were great characters. I wanted to know more about them and see their new found love progress. I didn't want the book to end.Thanks again, Danica, for this wonderful story.4 Stars.