So Mom and I are diving into that “Christmas reading” thing. With both feet. And four paws. I’m not quite sure what ‘Christmas reading’ means. But if Mom likes it, then so do I!
We have some perennial favorites. Like Richard Paul Evans’ The Christmas Box. Earl Hamner Jr.’s The Homecoming. The Polar Express. That green dude, Whoville, and his dog Max. Luke 2.
We also grab some new titles every year. That’s how we found Dear Santa. By Nancy Naigle. I’ll let The ‘Ole Curmudgeon fill ya in:
You’ve Got WHAT?
This book is billed as “A holiday retelling of You’ve Got Mail that will make you fall in love with the Christmas Season!” Does it deliver?
The 4-1-1
Angela Carson runs her family’s holiday store, Heart of Christmas, in their old decommissioned lighthouse. But the national chain that set up shop in Pleasant Sands, NC may be more than Heart of Christmas can survive.
Encouraged by her niece to ask Santa for help, Angela lets the words fly in a letter to Santa. What’s the harm when it’s just a computer-generated response?
Geoff Paisley has been at his mother’s side running the mega-chain Christmas Galore. When his mother falls ill, Geoff promises to answer the Dear Santa letters in her stead. Soon he realizes the woman he’s been corresponding with on Dear Santa is Angela. How could the woman that grates his every last nerve in person have intrigued him so deeply through those letters?
When Geoff reveals that he’s her Dear Santa, will Angela be able to set aside their very public feud to embrace the magic of the holiday and possibly find true love?
Seemed Like a Good Idea at The Time
I grabbed this book at the library cuz I enjoyed another novel by the same author. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Which just shows ya what I know. Turns out this book is so flimsy and foggy, it needs Rudolph’s nose so bright on after-burners to clear out the cobwebs and clutter.
Runs Out
Dear Santa was a huge disappointment. Think Rudolph-less reindeer games. Especially since this author is capable of so much better. Not to mention the wooden characters. Redundant conversations. Trite, clichéd interactions. Contrived emotions. The plot is as thin as peanut brittle without the peanuts. It’s 338 pages. That’s about 200 pages too long. Cuz the story runs out long before the pages do.
DNFed
I could not force myself to finish this stinker. It moves with the alacrity of a three-toed sloth. Zzzzzz.
Pages & Paws 