The Christmas Secret by Donna Van Liere

The Christmas Secret by Donna Van Liere
Copyright 2009
St. Martin's Press - Seasonal Fiction
291 pages

It's Christmas season and Christy is having a rough time. Her babysitter's frequently-late arrivals have already gotten her into trouble. When a woman has a heart attack on her driveway, Christy ends up losing her job for being late, again. Her ex-husband refuses to pay child support and she's already way behind on her rent. Will anything ever go right?

Jason hasn't found a job, yet, and he has a bad attitude. His grandfather invites him to come home to work in the family store. Jason thinks working in retail is below him; he's an accountant, after all. But, retail pay is better than no money at all. What he doesn't realize is that his grandfather has some ideas to knock a little sense into Jason's head. Can Marshall Wilson teach his grandson a lesson in humanity?

There's a lot more to this book than I shared in those two paragraphs, but I don't want to give too much away because I loved the way the author slowly created intersecting paths for the characters in this book, with humor and plenty of touching moments. It's best, I think, if most of the book is a bit of a surprise. The Christmas Secret is the first book I've read by Donna Van Liere.

Donna Van Liere sure can tell a story. Her writing isn't perfect, from a technical standpoint, but it was easy to turn off my editor brain after a short time; I loved the characters and the story is a sweet, happily-ever-after tale that is perfect reading for the season -- a lovely Christmas tale, highly recommended. Although I've never read any of her other books, the book is a stand-alone; it's not necessary to read any of the other books, first. I absolutely loved The Christmas Secret and plan to look up her other titles.

My thanks to Anne at AuthorsOnTheWeb for the review copy.