This is a delightful book. I know it touches on some sad truth of life, yet it weaves a story of hope for all as it brings in the wonder of the truth of Christmas. It is all love.

I was so excited to read this book by Emily March. I have read the previous books in the Eternity Springs series, so it was so great to catch up with my favorite characters in the series. If this is the first book you want to read in the series, don’t worry, Emily March does a fabulous job of explaining all the characters and their relationships to one another. This story is about Devin Murphy a familiar character in Eternity Springs while Jenna and her son Reilly are new characters to the story.
Jenna is a doctor with an adopted son Reilly. She has been stalked for over a year with no arrests taken place. No matter where they go, their stalker seems to find them. Jenna is at her wits end! In Eternity Springs, Devin is home for the holidays when his phone gets “accidently” wet and the beloved Celeste Blessing offers him a spare phone. If you know Celeste, there is no such thing as an accident! One day the phone rings, and this little boy called Reilly thinks he has called Santa. All Reilly wants for Christmas is a dad! How is Devin going to grant that wish? Devin plays along that he is Santa to not hurt Reilly’s feelings. He then tries to contact Jenna to let her know what is happening. They do connect and the story starts to unfold. Jenna and Reilly make a trip to Eternity Springs for Christmas and soon are embraced by the wonderful people of Eternity Springs.
The story doesn’t end there as we see Jenna and Reilly once again traumatized by their stalker and a return visit to Eternity Springs. Will Devin be able to grant Reilly’s Christmas wish? Will Jenna let the community of Eternity Springs help her bring her stalker to justice? I can’t tell you the ending, because trust me you are going to want to read the story for yourself.
Thank you to St. Martin’s press for an advanced copy of this book to review.

This was a really sweet, tender romance with suspenseful elements. Jenna Stockton and her son Reilley have been moving constantly with their fifth wheel travel trailer. Jenna is being harassed and has received unsettling calls that scare her. The nomadic lifestyle suits them, and what began as a flight has evolved into a way of life they enjoy. They have found a slot at Stardance Ranch and they hope they will be able to stay in Eternity Springs for a while. Devin Murphy has come home for the summer. And despite her best efforts, Jenna is not immune to Devin’s charm.

Part of what I enjoyed about this book is watching Jenna and Devin slowly but surely come to terms with their feelings for each other. There were a few angsty moments but other than that, this was a fun and romantic read. It was truly heartwarming to see how Devin dealt with Jenna’s son, Reilley.

With them both being a little commitment shy, the path of true love didn’t run as smoothly as one could expect. To be honest, Devin made me a bit frustrated being a typical guy with commitment phobia. But meddling family members and friends helped make the romance even more enjoyable.

The Christmas Wishing Tree (Eternity Springs, #15)
by Emily March

A Superbly Written Heart Touching Magnificent Read.

If there is such a town.... someone needs to send me the address. I want to move there now! From the very first page the story caught me. As each piece unfolded like layers I was totally engrossed. Each character in the book had my heart. I just wanted to be there. The entire story was like real life played out in my head like a movie. I loved loved loved loved loved this book. I cannot say enough how it will touch and enhance your day. I read then reread it. If there is such a place then I want to be there! The book has romance, life, heart, some suspense. It has joy and laughter . So you really need to buy this one and just enjoy and keep it around for a keeper to reread on days you need warmth in the heart. I was given this ARC via NetGalley. All opinions expressed here are my own! Regards, Anna

This is the 15th book in Emily March's Eternity Springs series, but they can also be read as stand-alone books. The past characters make appearances, but enough backstory is explained, so newcomers to Eternity Springs can start the series anywhere. But you will fall in love with Eternity Springs and want to read the other books in the series and discover the magic of Eternity Springs. This book had a bit more intrigue and mystery than the previous books,but it is still an enjoyable read. Although this book has Christmas in its title, it would be especially good for any season, since a good part of the book also takes place in the summer as well. Whether, you are a newcomer to the series or Eternity Springs is already a favorite destination for you to visit, come enjoy the magic of Eternity Springs.

A sweet Christmas read that will sweep you off your feet. Return to Eternity Springs for puppies, Santa, babies, and love, lots and lots of love. The Christmas Wishing Tree even has a stalker twist; now what more could you want from a holiday read!!!

An ARC was generously provided in exchange for an honest review of which this is both honest and completely voluntary.

t’s the most wonderful time of the year! And what a great way to start off the Holiday Season in Romance! Although this book is a part of a series, it can easily be read as a stand-alone, which is exactly what I did.

The Christmas Wishing Tree is the perfect blend of sweet romance with a little suspense thrown in. And let me tell you right now that Reilly absolutely steals the show. You will fall for this little guy from the moment you meet him!

If you’re looking for a good book to jump into the season with The Christmas Wishing tree will give you a little intrigue along with the Holiday Spirit!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

When Devin Murray's cell phone falls in the river while home visiting family in Eternity Springs, Celeste Blessing gives him a burner phone while she tries to fix his. On Christmas Eve, he received a call on that phone from 6-year-old Reilly in Nashville, who has called Santa to ask for a dad. He eventually connects with Reilly's mom, Jenna Stockton, to let her know about the call. When Jenna needs to go off the radar due to a stalker, she remembers Eternity Springs, and she and Reilly go for a summer visit. Shortly after their arrival, they meet Devin, and Reilly's Santa Claus can't help but get involved in their lives.

This wasn't my favorite of the Eternity Springs books, but it was still a cute story. Followers of the series will love to see that several women from the previous books now have little ones on the way. The book could also be read as a standalone, although the large cast of characters might be a bit overwhelming. I look forward to the next book in the series.

One of the most heartwarming, books I have ever read. The town, characters, and storyline are believable,, entertaining, and you will want to know these characters in real life. Truly exemplifies the importance of love, family, and friendship. You do not want to pass up this book!

Sweet holiday romance. I have not read other books in the series which may have put me at a slight disadvantage but didn't take away too much from the story. It could have used some editing and seemed to manufacture some issues in the romance just to extend the page count but overall, a very enjoyable contemporary holiday story that I expect to see pop up on the Hallmark Channel at some point (and that is not a complaint)

This is another in a wonderful series, in my opinion. In this story, Jenna and her young son Reilly are targeted by a stalker. The stalker really does some strange and often despicable things to frighten and supposedly to get even with Jenna, who is an OB doctor at a local hospital, and has no idea what she has ever done to deserve a stalker. Jenna adopted Reilly at a young age because he had a mother who could not take care of him and a father who never did want him. Thus, Jenna is a very protective mother, and the actions of this stalker leave her shaken. In the middle of all this, Reilly makes a phone call, on a burner phone, to someone he believes is Santa. Reilly got the phone from a woman in a store he and his mother had visited. Devin Murphy loves his life and job leading fishing tours in Australia. However, he loves and misses his family, who live in Eternity Springs, just as much, so tries to divide his time between his life and job in Australia and his family in Eternity Springs. When Riley calls “Santa”, he is actually calling Devin, but Devin, not wanting to disappoint Reilly, goes along with the ruse, pretending he is Santa. After losing his phone in an accident, Devin received his phone, a replacement, from Celeste Blessing, Eternity Springs’ resident “angel”, who, throughout the series, has used her “powers” to help people she encounters find answers to their problems while becoming more of a person. As the story unwinds, Jenna and Reilly visit Eternity Springs and are taken in by the charm and friendliness of this small Colorado town and its residents. When the stalker strikes again a few months later, Jenna and Reilly make a run for it, moving around national parks in an RV, but ultimately ending up in Eternity Springs. What Jenna does not realize is that Devin is there also. Thus, this story follows a well-done two-step in which Jenna and Devin dance in and out of and around a relationship, all the while never really facing the big wish Reilly has: to get a father. The town is magical, and everyone soon figures out what is going on with Jenna and Reilly and becomes involved in trying to figure out who the stalker is and why he is stalking Jenna, while making her and Reilly an integral part of their town and its life. Can things finally work out for Jenna and Reilly? Is Eternity Springs magic enough to solve their problems and, at the same time, fulfill Reilly’s wish for a father?

This book is part of a series that has many books. While it not necessary to have read the rest of the books, there is not a lot of back story provided, so it might be difficult and possibly unnerving for a reader to fully understand and appreciate the tale if he/she has not read the rest of the books—or, at least, some of them. Having read nearly all of them, I had little or no difficulty. I once again thoroughly enjoyed the author’s transport to this wonderful, magical town, where everyone and thing make more sense than real life, and things always turn out for the best. The chemistry between Devin and Jenna was well done and kept me wondering when the pair would give up trying to avoid the obvious and give into what was meant to be. The ending was pretty much obvious from the outset. I thought the insertion of the stalker issue added something, but I am not so sure I found the neat way the Eternity Springs sleuths managed to tie things up so neatly so quickly and with what seemed like little effort all that believable. However, I do not think this was the main thrust of the plot. Jenna and Reilly solving their own problems was, and that was handled nicely, though also a bit too easily, in my opinion. I once again fell in love with this small town and its people and the magic that seems to pervade. I think that anyone who enjoyed the rest of the series, even if they have not read all the books, will find this a nice addition to the series. It has the same sweet, gentleness and romance the rest of the series books do. Since I do not think the books have come out in too rapid a time frame, I think, at least for me, the spacing of the stories kept me from becoming tired and leery of the stories. I received this form NetGalley to read and review.

I'd forgotten how much I enjoy Emily March's writing style. The story was sweet and it was fun seeing some of the other characters I remember reading in the past. A stand alone complete story for someone just picking up this as a first book of Ms March's, but a goos addition to here Eternity Springs serie.

Jenna and her adopted son, Reilly, need to go off the grid, thanks to a malicious stalker, and Eternity Springs just may be the ticket to healing both their broken hearts. After all, it's where Reilly's pseudo Santa Claus is from, and Jenna's been thinking about him ever since Reilly dialed his number thinking he was reaching out to the North Pole.

Devin is a man who loves the sea. It's where he makes his livelihood and where he feels the most at home. But, still, his family lives in Eternity Springs and he visits them as often as he can. When a young boy starts calling his new replacement phone, and thinks he's talking to Santa, who is Devin to disabuse him of the notion? Even when the boy starts telling him he wants a daddy for Christmas, which is something Devin is pretty sure he'll never be, nor something he can promise Reilly that Santa can give him.

The Christmas Wishing Tree is a charming, feelgood holiday-ish tale. It's got all the good things the holidays are known for - love, healing, family time, and Santa, and it's got the added bonus of an interesting concurrent suspense plot. Although it's a clean (fade to black) romance, the meat of the relationship between Jenna and Devin is more than enough to make up for a lack of steam. Add in all the wonderful secondary characters, and what you've got in The Christmas Wishing Tree is a sweet, good old-fashioned holiday love story.

The Christmas Wishing Tree by Emily March

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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Story Notes

Let me begin with an apology to St. Martin’s Press: I mistakenly thought I was to post my review of this story on October 4th, 2018 but the set date was in fact October 2nd, 2018. I hope this causes them no issue but wanted to be sure that it was understood that this was my mistake and not theirs. I appreciate their time and efforts in offering me books for review and will strive to better honor these offers in the future.



Emily March returns to Eternity Springs with her sixteenth book in the Eternity Springs Novel series – a story that will keep you guessing and cheering in turn with the happenings within the pages.

I’ve not had the opportunity to read Emily March before this book and I really did like this story. There were some parts that I had issue with but I’ll discuss those later. I was excited to read a Christmas-time story as its my favorite season of the year and this story had all the fun traditions I expected as well as a few I’d like to try out at my home. The story begins with busy Dr. Jenna Stockton who is flustered by the problems she’s encountering with the pediatric cancer patients Christmas Party she is organizing. Trying to keep her cool while also getting everything taken care of is becoming harder by the second. But sorting out that problem will be much easier than sorting out her son Reilly’s desire for a father. He has been asking for a dad for quite a while now but Jenna doesn’t have time to date. Between her busy Gynecology practice, her volunteer responsibilities and taking care of Reilly, she has more than enough to fill her daily hours without adding in a man. Not that she wouldn’t like to be married but its not a priority at the moment. She adopted Reilly when his mother passed away and has found contentment in making a home for the two of them for the past few years. Reilly takes matters into his own hands when he calls “Santa” to ask for a dad for Christmas. Devin Murphy never expected to get a call from a child looking for Santa but is unwilling to destroy the boy’s beliefs. Pretending he is Santa is easy with the first call, however, Reilly doesn’t just call once. As Devin gets to know Reilly a little better over the next few calls, he will begin to care for the sweet boy and his earnest desire for a “real family”. When Devin finally gets a chance to talk to Jenna, she is very suspicious of him and gives him a blistering set down about talking with her son. Devin convinces her of his honesty in only talking with Reilly because Reilly called him, not the other way around, and Jenna slowly begins to trust his assurances. Subsequent calls show Devin to be kind and caring, and Jenna loses a little of her heart to this sweet stranger who offers encouragement and good advice to both her and Reilly. But these new friendships both end when a stalker begins targeting Jenna with texts, phone calls and bizarre pizza deliveries. She stays pretty calm and reports each incident until New Years Eve when a SWAT team bursts into her home, terrifying them both and ending with a broken arm for Reilly. So begins their venture to hide away from whoever is responsible. But before they can really disappear, they are victims of another “SWATting”, leading Jenna to create disguises for them and go off the grid. As they travel around visiting all the National Parks and monuments, they will find themselves back in Eternity Springs for a few weeks break during the summer. They had visited Eternity Springs at Christmas a couple years before and had loved everything about the quaint quiet town. Now if they can just keep from running into their former friends they will be fine. Devin Murphy is a off and on resident of Eternity Springs who is back in town for the summer. He is only staying for two family events as well as to help out his parents with their bakery. Having never forgotten Reilly and “Reilly’s Mom”, Devin is carrying the regret of the loss of a budding relationship. When he meets a young mom with her son on the shore of his favorite lake, Devin is sharply reminded of the past. But these two look nothing like what “Reilly’s Mom” described and it seems too much of a coincidence for them to be in his hometown at the same time as him. As Devin gets to know them better, he finds out just why they disappeared and why they are still hiding. With his help and the help of kind family friends, Jenna and Devin will confront the terror in Jenna’s past. And as they get closer to finding out who that is, they will also grow closer to each other, with a chance at a real future together. But what will it require from both of them to make it work? And are they willing to set aside what they’ve always been for what they can become together now? Jenna Stockton was a character I could identify with pretty well so it made the story one I gladly read all the way through. Her desire to keep her son safe drove her to unconventional methods of living but she always tried make their home at the moment the most comfortable possible. Her fear of losing her son and her life keep her from making friends but returning to Eternity Springs shows her that its not always possible to do things alone. Devin was a fairly good character but I didn’t really connect well with him. From his crude language and thought processes, he seemed to be stuck in teenage guy mode most of the time(He’s in his late 20s). And then he would switch over to protective macho man who would drop the language in favor of responsible sentences – a bit odd to see how that worked throughout the story. It was mainly his crude language that kept me from giving this story 5 stars. I truly enjoyed reading the rest of the story and would have been just as happy to have that left out as it added nothing to the story. There was also the build up to and then after description of a sex scene but as it was not explicit in any way, I was more okay with that part of the story than if it had been totally described. I would have preferred that scene take place within a marriage but that is not how most authors write these days. I did feel a little lost during some parts of the story as I haven’t read the rest of the series but the references to earlier happenings weren’t so frequent that I couldn’t follow the plot. So, while I really loved the story, I will have to be careful in how and to whom I recommend it. I would certainly not recommend the story for anyone under 16 years old and would say that still depends on the maturity of the reader. I will recommend this book to mature readers with the caution about the language included, I hope it is enjoyed by others as well.

I received this E-book free of charge from St. Martin’s Press Publishing in exchange for a fair and honest review. I will receive no fiscal compensation from this company for this review and the opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.

The Christmas Wishing Tree is my first foray into the small fictional town of Eternity Springs. I did feel slightly lost a couple times since there are A LOT of characters from previous books who I wasn't familiar with but halfway through the book, I pretty much got the hang of who was who. All the characters are lovely so it was nice and I didn't mind getting to know them.

This is a contemporary romance set throughout the year but a lot of it takes places around Christmas. If you're looking for a holiday read, this will give you enough Christmas feels but can be read all year round since it's not the sole focus.

As for the characters, while enjoyable, I think they fell a little flat. Devin and Jenna didn't have a ton of chemistry in my opinion. And Jenna's son acted and spoke well above his age level. The story itself was also a little fantastical regarding the mystery/suspense aspect. It's not that I didn't like this book at all, it just wasn't a great book for me. The ending felt rushed and I was a little disappointed by the twist.

Three stars make sense because I thought it was ok but didn't love it. If you're invested in this series, I'm sure this is a great addition. I just wouldn't recommend starting here.

This is one of those stories that as they say "warms the heart" by the end but on the way some pretty awful things happen. The on/off relationship is a bit frustrating but understandable under the circumstances.

The hook of having the small boy call the "north pole" to talk to Santa and it turns out to be the phone belonging to our hero is a nice touch and keeps you entertained for the first part of the story while the author builds a background for our couple.

Bottom Line: This starts and ends as a Christmas story (sappy ending that leaves you smiling included) but is a bit of thriller and frustrating romance in the middle. I did not scan and this is a "closed door" story sexually. I was not really satisfied with the resolution of the stalker part of the plot but it did not detract too badly since there were a few other things that had to be dealt with before the ending. So since I ended with a smile on my face and could hardly put it down once it got going good 4 Stars it is.

I love visiting Eternity Springs in Emily March’s books and this one did not disappoint.
Christmas in Eternity Springs is always magical and this time it didn’t disappoint. A little boy looking for a dad, a single mother running away from danger trying to keep her son safe and they end up in the most magical place on earth to find what they are looking for.

Devin Murphy is home for the holidays. He receives a phone call from a small boy named Reilly. Reilly thinks he is talking to Santa. And he wants Santa to bring him a Daddy! Devin continues to talk to Reilly off and on for a long while. This leads to an adventure for Reilly and Jenna. See, Jenna has a stalker and she is terrified. No way is she allowing someone to hurt her son. She buys and camper and starts traveling around the United States. Well, she ends up in Eternity Springs.

I adore these characters. Jenna is just a good, hardworking girl determined not to let anything happen to her son. Devin is a kind soul. I fell in love with Devin the moment he pretended to be Santa. These two characters are perfect for each other. And when Jenna is threatened, the whole town of Eternity Springs comes to her rescue.

I have just recently discovered Emily March. She writes the sweetest, most heartwarming reads. This one needs to be a Hallmark Christmas movie! Great setting, great story, and fabulous characters, what is not to like!

I received this novel from St. Martin’s Press via Netgalley for a honest review.

Magical heartwarming Christmas story that was very sweet. Eternity Springs once again works it magic.

This was a beautiful story of love and the magic of Santa. I loved the chemistry between Jenna and Devin and the relationship the town has. The tradition Celeste has is beautiful and now I'm in the Christmas spirit. This is a wonderful series and I cant wait to read the next one.