All Emma Daley wants this holiday season is a white
Christmas. But the young teacher and struggling musician sure can't find that
in sunny Arizona. Luckily, there's someone living in a perfect mountain home in
the Colorado Rockies looking to make a vacation trade.
West Prescott is an in-demand songwriter and talented musician who put his own
singing career on hold to write songs for celebrity acts to perform. When his
mother convinces him to do a vacation trade for Christmas, he never imagined
one of the houseguests would be so sweet--or so strikingly pretty. Naturally,
he decides to stick around, and to get better acquainted, he poses as the
caretaker of his own house. But when Emma's friend Gillian discovers his true
identity and sets her sights on him, things get . . . messy.
LINK TO EXCERPT COURTESY OF THE PUBLISHER
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Melody Carlson is the award-winning author of over 200 books with sales of more than 7 million, including many bestselling Christmas novellas, young adult titles, and contemporary romances. She received a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award in the inspirational market for her many books, including Finding Alice. She and her husband live in central Oregon. Learn more at www.melodycarlson.com.
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MY THOUGHTS:
I have read several of this author's previous Christmas novellas, so when 'The Christmas Swap' came up for review through the Revell Reads Blogger Program I requested a copy of the book.
The cover of this holiday season story is absolutely beautiful and it beckons readers to open up the book and enter a snowy world of Christmas glee. The story is well-written and the plot line is clever, but I greatly missed the inclusion of a faith theme or any mention of the true meaning of Christmas throughout the story.
There was a lot of snow skiing, some shopping, and a fair amount of family dysfunction. At least of two of the supporting characters were not filled with the Christmas spirit. Unfortunately, I felt that their negative attitudes, manipulative behavior, jealousy, and temper tantrums changed the feeling tone of the holiday season for the rest of the characters.
The two lead characters, Emma Daley and West Prescott, are well-developed, likable characters. Their romance is realistic and viable. Each of them is a talented musician, and I kept hoping we would be able to read some of the lyrics to the songs they each composed.
The setting is well-described and appealing because of the natural beauty of Colorado in December. I enjoyed reading Emma's thoughts about the night skies, stars, and rugged snow-capped mountains because the Rocky Mountains sound like a captivating place to visit.
This book is completely clean in language and content.
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Disclosure from blogger: I received a hardcover copy of this book from the publisher. I was not compensated in any way to post my review here or on any other site. These opinions are solely my own.
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