Reviewing: The Christmas Inn by Pamela Kelley

 from the publisher:

Explore this delightfully cozy and joyful novel of second chances at the most wonderful time of the year, from USA Today bestselling author Pamela Kelley.

A feel-good novel as delightful and comforting as a cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter’s night, The Christmas Inn is bestselling author Pamela Kelley’s most heartwarming and magical book yet.

Riley Sanders didn’t plan on losing her job as a content marketing manager right before Christmas. When she calls her sister Amy to vent, she learns that their mother has broken her leg and could really use some help at the inn. Riley decides to head home to the inn, nestled along the shores of Cape Cod, in time for the Christmas rush. She is happy to help and needs something to distract her as mistletoe is hung and snowflakes begin to fall.

When she gets there, she not only finds delicious cookies and a crackling fire to lift her spirits, but also the sense of family she’s been missing all along. There’s Franny, a woman who has just lost her sister and has four unopened letters from her that she plans to use to open her up to new experiences on the Cape. And there’s Aidan, her high school sweetheart, now a widower, who is staying at the inn with his nine year-old son, Luke. What begins as a quick stay over the holidays to help her mom turns into something that means much more—a second chance at romance, a deeper sense of found family, and all the joy and wonder that comes with Christmas time on Cape Cod.

my thoughts:

The Christmas Inn is my first foray into Christmas reading this season.  I enjoyed the story from the beginning.  I felt the cold chill of winter when Riley's position as a contente editor is  replaced by artificial intelligence just before Christmas as makes her way alone to her apartment.  Her boyfriend, who is on track to make partner at his law firm, cancels their date, making the day that much colder. 

 If this were a made for television Christmas movie, I could almost cast the characters with todays favorite actors.  It is not, however, because it is a book and a book is always better. Pamela Kelley has developed likable characters that come alive on the Cape at Christmas.  

Life doesn't just happen in the big city.  After losing her job, Riley returns ho
me to help her mother recover from a broken leg. As she sends out resumes for a new job, she learns more about herself than she could possibly dream of.  Her life is in New York, her boyfriend is in New York.  As the story grows, so does Riley. Just as others before her, she has some decisions to make and soon.

The story is a little predictable, it is a Christmas romance story after all but there is always one little thing that keeps you interested because the story twists are just enough to keep you reaching for this heartwarming story.  So, grab that hot chocolate, or pretend you are visiting the local wine and cheese shop for that glass of Cabernet. It is time to start reading your Christmas to-be-read pile and The Christmas Inn is just the book begin. It has all the charm and elements to make you smile.

Rachel Fordham A Lady in Attendance

...from the publisher...

Five years in a New York state reformatory have left a blemish on Hazel's real name. So when she takes a job as Doctor Gilbert Watts's lady in attendance in 1898, she does so under an alias. In the presence of her quiet and pious employer, Hazel finds more than an income. She finds a friend and a hope that if she can set her tarnished past in order, she might have a future after all.

As Gilbert becomes accustomed to the pleasant chatter of his new dental assistant, he can't help but sense something secretive about her. Perhaps there is more to this woman than meets the eye. Can the questions that loom between them ever be answered? Or will the deeds of days gone by forever rob the future of its possibilities?

Rachel Fordham pens a tender tale of a soft-spoken man, a hardened woman, and the friends that stand by them as they work toward a common purpose--to expunge the record of someone society deemed beyond saving--and perhaps find love along the way.

...my thoughts... 

I enjoyed reading A Lady in Attendance!  What a novel idea for it's time, to have a lady in attendance at a dental office in 1898.  This is the second book by Rachel Fordham for me and she is becoming a favorite author for me. I like her style and this book hooked me from the beginning. 

Shy Gilbert had no idea what he was getting into when  he engaged Hazel as his Lady in Attendance.  Happily, she was much more than he could have dreamed of for efficiency and congenial personality with his patients.  Too shy for much of a chairside manner, she made up the difference.  Efficiency and quick thinking on her feet made him look forward to each morning when they began their day together. 

The dark side of the story was formidable, but wrapped up neatly in the end.  A little faith, compassion and love ruled the day and strategic writing made this book one you should add to your reading pile this summer!