🎄❄️🍪 “Christmas Joy” (2016) 🍪❄️🎄– Book Review
MY REVIEW
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1250106079
ISBN-13: 978-1250106070
⬅️ Click Photo for Purchase Information (cover may vary)
“Joy Holbrook might be all work and no play, but that changes when her Aunt Ruby takes a fall that lands her in a rehabilitation center before the holidays. Joy takes a leave of absence from her job as a market researcher to run the family farm, even though the timing may hinder her chance at garnering the promotion of her dreams.
Ben Andrews isn’t your average accountant. He also happens to be the handiest man in Crystal Falls. He’s helped his elderly neighbor, Ruby Johnson, decorate for the annual Christmas Home Tour―and win―the last several years. He’s not about to let some drop-in niece break their winning streak.
Ruby seems overly concerned about Joy being able to handle Molly. Under the impression she’s referring Molly the bunny that is one of the menagerie of animals, Joy’s not worried at all until the next morning when a little girl named Molly shows up. For the sake of her aunt, Joy is forced to partner with Ben while Ruby is on the mend to help with preparation for the Christmas tour and, in the process finds her career-focused heart dreaming of a family.
Will the magic of Christmas help her to open her heart and find her everlasting joy?”
As y’all might notice – no “free” book disclaimer here. That’s because – it wasn’t a “freebie” per se; it was a “gift” – and not from the author or anyone related to the book.
But, first … a bit of history.
In early 2019 I joined JustRead Publicity tours as not just a bookstagrammer, but a book reviewer. It is hard to believe I’ve been on this journey for almost three (3) years, and this blog is over two (2) years old as a result of that first step.
Right off – thank you all for reading my blogs and posts. I deeply appreciate y’all – the comments, the likes, the shares.
Moving on …
I also had the pleasure of being a part of a few launch teams before and after joining JustRead. In the past three years, I joined even more launch teams (I’m part of a few right now), some permanent review teams for authors, and other “book review” websites/groups (Prism, Interviews & Reviews, and Revell Reads).
As a result of my new bookish journey, I was introduced to a lot of “NEW” genres and authors. And, not just debut authors, but ones who had work out that I’d never heard about or read.
Once such author – Nancy Naigle.
The first book I read of hers – Christmas Angels (2019). It was part of a JustRead tour at the end of 2019. I had issues with the digital file (hence why I LOVE physical books), so I was VERY happy to see the book at my local library. I also found a few other “tour” books there when I picked it up. For being part of a host tour, I won a prize pack that included two of Naigle’s books (The Christmas Shop [aka: Dear Santa] and The Secret Ingredient).
As a result of reading, and absolutely LOVING Christmas Angels. My mother got me Christmas Joy and Hope at Christmas for my birthday in 2020, along with my own copy of Christmas Angels. I’m up for Christmas books ANY TIME OF THE YEAR as I LOVE the holiday (unlike poor Joy).
In May 2021, I got to be part of Naigle’s launch team for The Shell Collector. I also won a physical copy from her. And, after reading now three (3) books, I’m definitely a fan of her work.
I wondered why this book had a “Hallmark movie” vibe right off. The author has written the novelization for the first three Hallmark Original Movies in the popular Christmas in Evergreen series.
In addition, other books by her have inspired made-for-television movies. This one; Christmas Joy, Sand Dollar Cove and The Secret Ingredient are on the Hallmark Channel and Hope at Christmas is on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.
So, it’s fair enough to say these are “Hallmark” movie stories. Naigle is definitely a “Christmas” author, very close to Debbie Macomber, who I have associated with Christmas for years, especially with her Mrs. Miracle series and other standalone titles.
While Naigle had other novels out previously, Christmas Joy looks to be her first Christmas novel. It is also a standalone title; as are the other Christmas books: Hope at Christmas, Christmas Angels, and The Christmas Shop.
The books I’ve read by the author have had “clean” language, this one has only he!! and a$$ (referring to Todd) in it. I don’t recall those words in Christmas Angels or The Shell Collector though. That really isn’t that bad when compared to other books, however there are some readers who could have a problem with it.
The author manages a delightful and unique set of characters – Joy, her aunt Ruby, Ben, his grandmother Shirley, and sweet little Molly. Joy’s co-worker and friend Renee, and Joy’s boss Margie round out the cast. And, then there is Joy’s “boyfriend” – Todd. Let’s just face it, Todd certainly deserves the “a$$” title. At least Joy knew in advance what the man’s motives were, even more so later on when it came to a party or rather the “gala”.
Despite Joy’s name, that is the last thing she feels when it comes to Christmas. As usual for books and movies like this – she is “happily” stuck in her corporate life after leaving the small town of Crystal Falls behind after her mother’s death.
I had to laugh at poor Joy managing a children’s research/focus group as part of her job. It’s bad enough with adults. Children? That takes patience, worse when two of them belonged to her boss. Though, it was heartwarming towards the end when it came back to those two kids.
As luck would have it, Joy has to return to her hometown when her aunt takes a tumble and ends up injured. What makes matters worse – her aunt is on the annual Christmas Cookie crawl route. With Ruby laid up recovering, there is no way she is going to be able to decorate and prepare the cookies. And, Joy begins to regret not coming home as often as she could’ve. She’s definitely going to try to make up for lost time.
Getting to the “crawl”, that’s where Ben comes in. Not only an accountant at the hospital, he is also Ruby’s handman and partner. They haven’t lost a contest yet, and he’s not about to let Joy’s “drop-in” status derail him. In addition, Joy has a “run-in” with his truck, and he takes it in stride though.
Joy thinks she has it under control, then Molly shows up – a shock for Joy who thinks her aunt was talking about an animal. And, Molly needs Ruby almost like Joy did when she was younger.
Ben’s grandma, and Ruby’s friend, Shirley thinks they’re doomed because Joy has done little in way of prep and decoration. And, Joy keeps rebuffing Ben’s offers of help. However, Joy eventually realizes she might need Ben. She even agrees once he seems to need her help for another event.
Joy, after being around Ben (and Molly), soon starts realizing what she’s been missing in her life. She eventually realizes she doesn’t know how to be happy without her mother and decides to make this Christmas about honoring her mother.
Of course, as usual, things happen – ex-boyfriend, possible romantic interest (Ben), possible work promotion, and a realization of what she has to give up to have what she didn’t know she wanted.
Christmas Joy was exactly that – a joy. It was truly a lift your heart, fill the soul, and warm the senses type of read. It is a happily-ever-after that makes the reader think about their life and choices more closely.
While this had NOTHING to do with the book, I have to apologize for taking so long to write a review for a book I really loved. It isn’t as if I didn’t enjoy this book, but life and the holidays did seem to get in the way.
Anyway …
The short chapters made the story flow quite well and kept me reading in between decorating my place for the holidays. Had I not been decorating, I likely would’ve read this in half of the five (5) days it took. Naigle definitely drew me into the story and not only was it a wonderful read, but an experience as well. I almost wanted to be right there in that little town. I had to laugh at the Hallmark Movie Channel reference in the story.
I honestly didn’t like Joy or her attitude in the beginning. She certainly had a tremendous amount of character development from the first page to the last. By the end of the book, she did “redeem” herself. I think that “redemption” had more to do with her relationship with Molly than Ben.
I adored Molly the most and didn’t feel there was enough of her. Ben was my favorite from the beginning. Aunt Ruby was definitely a hoot of a lady.
The Christmas Cookie Crawl sounds like something I would LOVE to participate in. Baking and decorating not so much as I am not that creative, but certainly going from house to house sounds like a great idea. And, the tree farm was a wonderful touch. I’d definitely pay $10 for a real tree, and I’m very thankful I don’t have goats! Though, I love how Ben and Joy salvaged that one. The NASCAR reference was a real gem for me too.
I love how natural Naigle kept the connection that Ben’s mom’s had to Joy’s mom. The hospital tree with the patients’ name was a beautiful touch.
The reference to keeping event tickets as souvenirs resonated with me very much. I do that with my NASCAR tickets, my movie tickets, and other event tickets (even Disneyland and up until 2016, Knotts Berry Farm).
The remark about the lights being a tumbleweed reminds me of my attempts every year to put them on my tree. After about 2-3 tries, they look FAIRLY decent. I mean, they’re not perfect, but I’m not ashamed to put the pictures on Instagram. The ornament Ben made for Joy is beautiful, and a replica was in my prize package from 2019.
One theme that I’ve been seeing; that I first saw in a 2001 movie, was “I can’t change the past. But I can definitely revisit the way I do things going forward.” (pg. 204). The line from the movie was “I can’t change the past, but I can change the future”. It is something I’ve lived by since seeing that movie. Occasionally I need a reminder as I think we all do.
There was SO much to love about this book, I could practically write a book talking about it.
That said, as I have more Christmas books by the author, I certainly can’t wait to dive into them in about 10-11 months from now. I’d dive in sooner – but I do have other books ahead.
Then again, if she needs a review for upcoming Christmas books, I’m right here.
Fans of the author won’t be disappointed, those who enjoy a clean Christmas romance will be certain to enjoy it. If you’ve seen the Hallmark movies – I hope you already have the books by now.
RATING:
5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Goodreads
5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Bookbub
5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Personal Rating (see rating explanation in this blog: https://readingexcursions.blogspot.com/2020/01/rating-system-2020-changes.html)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
USA Today bestselling author NANCY NAIGLE delivers small-town love stories filled with hope, joy, and a whole lot of heart. Now happily retired from a career in finance, she devotes her time to writing novels and antiquing. A Virginia girl at heart, Nancy now calls North Carolina home.
You can also find her on the following social media accounts:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ErinBartelsAuthor/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erinbartelswrites/
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