The Christmas Angel by Thomas Kinkade

I kind of went out of order with this book. This book is from one of my favorite series, The Cape Light series by Thomas Kinkade. In this book, Emily finds an abandoned baby who had been left in the manger in the Nativity Scene outside the church. The baby goes into the hospital for a few days, and Emily is able to go see her and hold her everyday. When the baby gets out of the hospital, Emily and her husband Dan, become her legal guardians, and eventually Emily talks him into applying to be the baby's adoptive parents. In the beginning, Dan was opposed to this idea because he and Emily had agreed when they got married that they wouldn't have kids. But it was actually him who changed his mind in the end, as Emily started having doubts about adopting the baby, and it was Dan who called the social worker and told her they wanted to adopt the baby.

This was definitely one of my favorite books in the series, if not my most favorite.

The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans

This book was so touching I was able to finish it all in one sitting.

It told the story of how after Richard and his wife had their first child, they went to live with this older women who had posted an ad for renters in exchange for helping keep up the house. It told the story of how their relationship grew and how special Mary became to them.

After reading this, I couldn't wait to continue on with this series....and I ended up finding the next book, Timepiece, a couple days later, while I was at the goodwill store.

Those Christmas Angels

This is another one of Debbie Macomber's Angel books......I loved this book just as much as Where Angels Go. Julie was just what Roy needed.

Roy was single and a workaholic, who never allowed himself to have much fun. His mom, Anne really wanted him to meet a woman to share his life with. Eventually, Roy hires this man, Dean, who'd recently lost his wife, and him and his Daughter Julie were trying to get over their loss. In the beginning, Julie and Roy DO NOT get along, then they eventually become attracted to each other.

Ann was also previously married to Roy's father, and their marriage ended in a bitter divorce, when Burton cheated Ann out of all their assets. This also ruined Roy's relationship with his father. After the divorce she begins painting again, a hobby she's had that has never been appreciated by her ex-husband. She eventually gets offers from galleries to sell her paintings and by the end of the book will be able to sell enough paintings to make a secure income.

At the end of the book the Angels predict that Ann will continue to paint for many years, and Burton and Roy will reconcile. They also predicted that Burton and Julie will get married and have 3 children- 2 boys and 1 girl- all athletic.

Home For the Holidays by Debbie Macomber

I will say that it did take me a little bit to get into this book, but that is partly because I haven't had much reading time this week. But once I got started, there was NO stopping me....I read during every break and at lunchtime at work, after work when I came home, and before bed. Anyway, here's my review.....The Forgetful Bride was quite entertaining.....I kinda thought Cait was a bit self-centered, but I thought Joe was absolutely hilarious and was touched by how far he went to show Cait how he felt. Paul Seemed stuck up and I'd much rather have a fun-loving boyfriend like Joe. The part with Paul and Lindy was kinda predictable though....I expected that from the first time Lindy seemed to avoid Cait. But oh well. Cait found her better match anyway. When Christmas Comes.... I got a big kick out of this story...I think it would be fun to trade houses with someone like they did. I don't blame Heather for wanting to do her own thing, but I did not like Elijah. I am glad she came to her senses and got back with Ben. And I got a big kick out of Charlie and Ray too. I only wish Ray and Emily could've had a baby too- or even better, could've ADOPTED a baby. My mom is actually from Washington- Wenatchee to be exact, so I think I have actually been to Leavenworth before. I'll have to read my mom the description and ask her if that fits the description of leavenworth. I'm always asking her how far the towns in Debbie's books are from where she lived.

Now, I'm moving onto Glad Tidings. I'm having a great time doing all this Christmas reading.....I can't believe how many books I've read in such a short time.......and also how many books I still have left to read....I'm sure I'll have to save some for next year though...because come January I think I'll be ready to move on. But it's not even December yet so I still have PLENTY of time.

Where Angels Go- Debbie Macomber

IWHERE ANGELS GO:

This book had extra special meaning to me because Josh gave it to me for my birthday. It was also the first of Debbie Macomber's Angel books that I read. I loved them so much, I rushed out and tried to find all the other angel books she's written, and I hope she continues to write books featuring these angels. Between the library and the used bookstore, I think I have all the ones she's written so far.

Where Angels Go featured 3 different stories. The First story was about a boy named Carter who desperately wanted a dog for Christmas. His dad had recently lost a job, and they couldn't afford the expense of having a dog. One day at school, Carter comes across a stray dog, named Rusty who he really loves. He prays that Rusty will somehow follow his school bus home. Rusty manages to find Carter's house, but Carter's dad still says no. They take him to the animal shelter and Carter is just crushed. A little while later, Rusty finds his way back to Carter's house, and then after a fire one night, Rusty gets to stay because if it hadn't been for his barking, the family wouldn't have woken up and gotten out when they did. At the end of the book the Angels predict that Rusty will stay with the family until he's 16 years old in people years and Carter will remember him for the rest of his life. Carter's father will soon be offered a job at Higer pay, and Carter's mom will also start working with the school district.

The next story was about Harry Alderwood, who was dying of heart failure. He had a wife, Rosalie, who he'd been married to for 60 years. They also had children and grandchildren. This is Harry's last Christmas on earth, and one night he swears he sees an Angel. He is always trying to talk Rosalie, who's memory seems to be going, into moving to a assisted-living center. Harry died while taking a nap on Christmas Eve. All of his family had been at his house that day. His daughter had also just paid the deposit for them to move to Libery Orchard, and now Rosalie would be able to. At the end of the story, the angels predict that Rosalie will move into Liberty Orchard and

The third story was about a girl who met this guy through playing an Online Game, World of Warcraft. His name was Peter and he was sweet, charming, and wonderful. She was also divorced and seemed scared to get into another relationship. Her and Peter agreed to meet in person, and it was then that she figured out that Peter was actually her ex-husband John, but was going by his middle name now. After realizing how well they got along without realizing who they really were, they decided to give their relationship another try. At the end of the story, the Angels predict that Peter and Beth will remarry and eventually have three children- John, Mary, and Tim.

I honestly don't knw which story I liked best....I really enjoyed each one of them and I can't wait to read more of Debbie's Angel books.

Finished: Early November 2007

On A Snowy Night

On A Snowy night includes two stories "A Christmas Basket" and "The Snow Bride". Both are pretty short, but they were fun to read anyway. My favorite of the two was The Christmas Basket, but I loved the ending of "The Snow Bride".

The Christmas Basket is about this guy and a girl, Thomas Sutton and Noelle McDowell who were high school sweethearts, but then after a big misunderstanding (they just didn't realize it) went their seperate ways. They meet again 10 years later when Noelle comes home for Christmas. Meanwhile, their mothers can't stand each other after Noelle's mom, Sarah, borrows a very special tea set and lies to Thomas' mom (Mary) about what she's using it for. It gets lost, and Mary never forgives Sarah. They are both assigned to work on the Christmas Baskets for the church and are forced to be civil to each other....they almost can't even do that.....it takes them having car trouble on the side of the road and being stranded to call it a truce....then when they find out that their children are getting married, everyone is overjoyed.

The Snow Bride is about a girl named Jenna who meets this guy, Dalton over the internet. She then makes plans to go to Alaska and meet him in person. She really wants this to work, but unfortunately, little does she know, Dalton is not who he says he is. Luckily, when she arrives at the airport, Dalton is nowhere to be found, and instead she runs into Reid, who knows exactly what kind of person Dalton is. Reid kidnaps Jenna and takes her to Snowbound, Alaska, a town so small, there is only ONE woman living in that town. Everyone grows to love Jenna and is sad when she's finally able to leave after the storm. In the meantime, Reid and Jenna fall in love and just don't know how to express their feelings to each other, and neither really want to BELIEVE their feelings....so it takes Jenna going back home to realize how they really feel about each other. They end up getting married in the end.

Since these stories were both so short, I really didn't have much time to have opinions about anyone....I thought Dalton was a scumbag, and I could tell the attraction between Jenna and Reid right from the start. I LOVED Lucy.

I finished this book on 10/31/07

A New Leaf- Thomas Kinkade

I didn't like this book as much as the other books in the series.

A New Leaf focused mainly on Tucker Tulley's brother, Carl, who has recently come back to Cape Light. Not too many people are too happy to see him because long ago, he was accused of stealing from the Clam Box restuarant and was convicted and sent to prison for 15 years for committing manslaughter. A few things happen while Carl is in town, and of course everyone accuses Carl again (and as a result, Carl Leaves town), but it is eventually discovered that Carl is, in fact, NOT guilty. At the end of the book, Carl returns to Cape Light and it seems that he is here to stay.

Molly's Willoughby's ex-husband is also back. He surprises them by showing up at the apartment one day, and has been spending more time with Molly's daughters lately. Meanwhile, Molly is becoming friends with Matthew Harding, and things are quickly becoming serious for them, and they're falling in love with each other. Although, in the beginning they were each too stubborn to admit their feelings for each other. Molly is also starting her own catering company and has even found a plan to have her own shop. Her very first customer was Emily Warwick, who hired Molly to cater her engagement party. Can't wait to hear about Emily and Dan getting married.

I got tears to my eyes when I was reading the part when Gus died....luckily he was able to die peacefully in his home surrounded by his loved ones. I was also glad that Sophie stood up for herself and stayed on the orchard, despite everyone's opposing the idea.

I think I'm gonna take a little break from the Cape Light Series and move on to a couple other library books I have, and save the next books in the Cape Light Series (which are Christmas books) for when it gets a little closer to Christmas. That will kick off my plan for reading books with a Christmas/Winter theme in November and December.

Started 9/30/07

Finished 10/2/07 12:26am