I love this author. She always makes me happy with her stories. These characters make you ready for Christmas. There is no spice. But it makes you happy after reading her books.

Merry and Mary are not pronounced the same. Marry and Mary are pronounced the same. So that was a dumb "confusion" in this book. And as all Debbie Macomber books I've read (2? 3?), this was mediocre. I'm not reading Macomber looking for spice. I KNOW that's not what she writes. But this is just so bland. Nothing about the characters stood out. They were boring.

This was a light, fun; quick read. Fun characters. These short Christmas novellas are fun to read around the holidays. Thanks to the publisher for a copy.

Wonderful story for the holiday or say day! I love Debbie Macomber on any season but her Christmas stories always inspire me.

It’s Debbie Macomber so of course it was an absolutely wonderful Christmas story ! Yes it is reminiscent of the You’ve got mail movie (It’s even mentioned in the story) and that just added to the sweetness of the story.

***This ARC was provided by Netgalley for a free review***
Marry Knight Is a pretty busy young lady she takes care of her mom who has multiple sclerosis her brother who has down syndrome and her father who works way to hard. It’s Christmas time and she spends most of her time working at her temp job or helping bake and prepare gifts for friends and family. But since she’s always so busy she hasn’t had time to start any kind of social life so as an early present from her mother and brother they decide to sign her up for an online dating service. Merry isn’t sure she has the time for a relationship but she doesn’t want to upset her mom or brother by not using their gift.
Jayson Bright hears about the same online dating service from a friend who met the woman of his dreams and is now planning his wedding Jayson is hesitant but decides to check out the service anyway. He sees Merry’s account and the picture of her dog on her profile, he decides to take a chance and message her. Soon the two of them are spending any extra time they have having dates on computer night after night but when it comes to meeting in person there’s a big obstacle that might just keep them apart.

I read all her book just amazingly hooked fab plot lovely warm characters they become your friends you eill not want story to end i love her Christmas book i get each year lovely Christmas read

This novel is a sweet love story. Jay and Merry reluctantly enter the world of online dating and find themselves falling, fast. This short read is an easy Christmas read that is lighthearted and fun. The characters are well-developed and likeable. Highly recommend for readers who love a good romantic novel.

I loved this Christmas-time easy read book by Debbie Macomber!

This book feels familiar in the way that I'm right at home reading books by this author.

I enjoyed the characters and their development and the way they interacted with each other. I loved the way they met and got a few god chuckles out of me too.

The end had a bit of a twist which I enjoyed also. All in all a nice, quick, festive, feel good cozy book

This book was just ok. The plot had a lot of potential but Jayson and Merry fit most cliched stereotypes that it was hard to really care about both.

Merry is all about taking care of her family so much so that she basically has no life. She works but doesn’t date and her family thinks its time for that to change. So her brother makes an online profile for her and decides Merry needs a man in her life and makes it his mission to find her someone. Her brother has the best intentions and soon Merry meets someone who grabs her attention. They have great conversations and they share things with each other that neither one has shared with no one else. However, despite the flirting and great convos neither one has a profile picture so they don’t know who they are actually talking to.

Merry is a hard worker but her boss is not a very kind man. He doesn’t really appreciate his workers and honestly doesn’t really pay attention to things around him. He’s a smart and rich guy but decides he wants to try online dating and find someone real and soon he finds the perfect person and she is much closer than he realizes. As you can imagine that person is no other than Merry. Now, this isn't a spoiler since you find this out real quick but this book definitely has a You’ve Got Mail kind of vibe going on. He figures out who she is before she does and the things he does for Merry are so cute.

I really enjoyed this story all be it, it was so predictable it was really cute and heartwarming. I love Debbie Macomber’s Christmas reads because they have that element of Christmas magic to them and this one isn’t any different. So if you want something fun and romantic than look no further than this holiday rom-com.

This was a really good book, I enjoyed how Merry's mother and brother created her dating profile and who she was chatting to, turned out to be. I highly recommend this book. It is very entertaining and you will enjoy it.

Thank you Nettgalley and Ballantine Books for allowing me to read this title for an honest review.

I liked this 2017 Christmas tale better than the 2018 version. Macomber is usually reliable; reading her books is as satisfying as a Hallmark or Lifetime movie--of course everyone doesn't like every single plot, but this one had just enough suspense. Will they, won't they give true love a chance? I always like a kid in the plot and it doesn't get too sappy. All in all, a satisfying read.

What a fun Holiday romance. Merry certainly gets herself in a predicament or two. And her family is adorable. I enjoyed this book very much. A great Holiday, or anytime, read.

A gentle story, told in a typical Debbie Macomber way. Her books always leave me content and Merry and Bright was no exception. It was a great book to get into the holiday spirit and unwind.

Merry Knight is pretty busy these days. She’s taking care of her family, baking cookies, decorating for the holidays, and hoping to stay out of the crosshairs of her stressed and by-the-book boss at the consulting firm where she temps. Her own social life is the last thing she has in mind, much less a man. Without her knowledge, Merry’s well-meaning mom and brother create an online dating profile for her—minus her photo—and the matches start rolling in. Initially, Merry is incredulous, but she reluctantly decides to give it a whirl. Soon Merry finds herself chatting with a charming stranger, a man with similar interests and an unmistakably kind soul. Their online exchanges become the brightest part of her day. But meeting face-to-face is altogether different, and her special friend is the last person Merry expects—or desires. Still, sometimes hearts can see what our eyes cannot. In this satisfying seasonal tale, unanticipated love is only a click away.
The book was good. I liked both main characters as they went through the story. Both characters were well written. I enjoyed the plot. I recommend.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

I may be in the minority, but this book just didn't work very well for me. When the story began, I thought Jayson, the "hero," was a jerk, and my opinion of him hadn't changed very much by the end. I understand that his privileged childhood and strained relationship with his parents may have made it more difficult for him to relate to his employees and others around him, but that's no excuse for the crappy way he sometimes acted towards others. For example, he was such a stickler for the workplace rules that Merry's co-worker wasn't even allowed to call home to check on her sick son during work hours (and that after Jayson called the woman at home and basically told her that she had to come in to work or she'd be fired, sick child or no). However, he himself had no problem calling his cousin Cooper during the workday to chat about his feelings for Mary/Merry and what he should do about them. That seemed not only hypocritical but selfish to me. Why was it okay for Jayson to make personal phone calls but no one else? His personal business certainly wasn't more important than a mother being able to ensure that her child was well! Jayson's actions toward the homeless man outside his condo building weren't much better. When he first noticed the man, he was only concerned about how his presence would affect the neighborhood's property values, not the man's well-being. He even tried to get his doorman to "move him along," without showing any concern over where the man would go. Sure, he gave the man the grand sum of $100 at the end of the book, but it seemed like a throwaway gesture more than any real effort to help. His main concern was still to get rid of the man because of the impact he was having on Jayson's life.

Further, Jayson's "grand gesture" at the end of the book, meant to win Merry and her family over, showed that he still didn't understand what Merry had been trying to explain to him all along about the true meaning of Christmas and family. He showed up at the Knights' house with an expensive dinner, along with a carload of expensive gifts including a brand-new laptop for Merry's brother Patrick. However, Merry had already told Jayson that Christmas wasn't about expensive gifts for her family, but about being together and celebrating the joy of the season. I thought Jayson was starting to understand Merry's point of view when he made the observation that Merry's homemade cookies were actually a gift of herself, but he seemed to have forgotten by the end of the book.

Overall, I think the pace and timeline of the story (less than a month!) were just too rushed for there to be much in the way of actual character growth. If the story had unfolded over a longer period of time, and if Jayson had made a few different choices, maybe I could have seen him as a better match for Merry. As it is, I can't see how either of them will be happy in the relationship given their vastly different viewpoints.

*ARC provided by the publisher via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Such a great Christmas story. Gets you in the mood for the Holidays. A great love story also. I could not put the book down until I finished.

Merry and Bright is a likable enough Christmas story - a clean and sweet romance. I especially enjoyed the inclusion of main character Merry's brother with Down Syndrome, Patrick. He brought depth to Merry's family.

The dating site match trope is just okay here, making the story predictable. (I think Denise Hunter did it better in On Magnolia Lane.) But again, if you're looking for a light, quick Christmas read, Merry and Bright fits the bill.

Catching Christmas
Terri Blackstock. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2018. 304 pp. (Hardcover).

Reviewed by Martine Bates Fairbanks

I absolutely love Terri Blackstock’s books, and I think I loved “Catching Christmas” most of all! Who cares if I say that every time I read a new one? She’s just GOOD!

In this book, master chef turned cab driver Finn Parrish takes turns narrating chapters with new lawyer Sydney Batson. Finn enters Sydney’s life by picking up Sydney’s grandmother for a doctor’s appointment and discovering the older lady is confused and probably very sick. Sydney, meanwhile, is fighting to retain her stressful job amid threatened layoffs and trying to care for her grandmother at the same time.

A recipe for disaster? It certainly appears so—for both Finn and Sydney, not to mention poor, sweet (and determined, once she begins to recover) Miss Callie. As Christmas draws nearer, the plot continues to thicken.

Although this book is clearly a romance, it is not JUST a romance. It is more complex, with threads of wrong, regret, and redemption running through it—and, of course, Christmas!

Published in The Alabama Baptist December 5, 2018