A Town Called Noelle

This is a perfect Christmas novella -- short, sweet, MCs on opposite sides of a problem, scars of the past, warmth, community, family, love.

Brooke Hawkins inherits three properties when her mother dies. The properties are in the small town, Noelle, a place Brooke couldn’t leave behind fast enough when she was younger. With no love lost for the place or her mother, all Brooke wants to do is finish the legalities and sell the properties to a spa that is interested in buying all three of them together – asap. Holly Jackson has a bakery and café in one of Brooke’s properties and feels her world collapsing when she is informed that she is going to have to vacate. When she finally meets Brooke, Holly justifiably throws Brooke out of her shop. However, life as a single mom isn’t easy, and the bakery is just about pulling in business, so Holly needs to have at least one conversation with Brooke to explore alternatives. That conversation doesn’t go too well. However, Brooke cannot make the quick getaway from Noelle because the weather Gods have decided otherwise. During the time Brooke stays back, she runs into Holly again and Holly is unfailingly warm and kind-hearted.

Like we said this book is just so sweet. Holly and her daughter Maya are adorable. Brooke is perfectly understandable. We love the little technique of incomplete, deleted text messages that the author uses to tell us about the characters’ state of mind. It is a very effective method of communicating using very few words. Of course, we totally love the ending too.