Review & Giveaway: Dashing Through the Snow by Debbie Macomber

Dashing Through the Snow by Debbie Macomber
Published October 6th 2015 by Ballantine Books

Savor the magic of the season with Debbie Macomber’s newest Christmas novel, filled with warmth, humor, the promise of love, and a dash of unexpected adventure.

Ashley Davison, a graduate student in California, desperately wants to spend the holidays with her family in Seattle. Dashiell Sutherland, a former army intelligence officer, has a job interview in Seattle and must arrive by December 23. Though frantic to book a last-minute flight out of San Francisco, both are out of luck: Every flight is full, and there’s only one rental car available. Ashley and Dash reluctantly decide to share the car, but neither anticipates the wild ride ahead.

At first they drive in silence, but forced into close quarters Ashley and Dash can’t help but open up. Not only do they find they have a lot in common, but there’s even a spark of romance in the air. Their feelings catch them off guard—never before has either been so excited about a first meeting. But the two are in for more twists and turns along the way as they rescue a lost puppy, run into petty thieves, and even get caught up in a case of mistaken identity. Though Ashley and Dash may never reach Seattle in time for Christmas, the season is still full of surprises—and their greatest wishes may yet come true.

Praise for Dashing Through the Snow

“This Christmas romance from [Debbie] Macomber is both sweet and sincere.”—Library Journal

“Quirky heroine Ashley brings the laughs and is the driving force behind this hilarious read, while Dash brings a sense of groundedness with his stable military persona. There’s just the right amount of holiday cheer to remind you it’s Christmas. Ashley and Dash are a realistic example of how opposites attract. This road-trip romance is full of high jinks and the kooky characters Macomber does so well.”—RT Book Reviews 

My Thoughts

Dashing Through the Snow by Debbie Macomber is another light, enjoyable, holiday read to dive into this Christmas season. It’s quick, easy to breeze through, and filled with light adventure.

Ashley Davison is hoping to get from San Francisco to Seattle in time to surprise her mother for Christmas. When she arrives at the airport there are no flights available, and in her desperate situation she agrees to share a ride with Dashiell Sutherland who is also on his way up north for a job interview.

As they head off on their road trip, they encounter a series of humorous and interesting situations, which eventually has these two characters falling for each other. When they close in on their final destination, the authorities derail them, due to a case of mistaken identity.

Dashing Through the Snow was definitely an easy read. However, I have to say the main plot of mistaken identify felt a bit half-baked. Despite that small misconnect, the road trip, romance and cute puppy more than compensated for the weak plot.

Overall, I enjoyed Ashley and Dash’s adventure. Debbie Macomber definitely knows how to sprinkle the Christmas season with her own blend of holiday cheer!

3 Suns

If this sounds like a holiday story you would enjoy, we are giving away a Paperback Copy of Dashing Through the Snow by Debbie Macomber for one lucky Waves of Fiction follower. This giveaway is open to US residents only. Simply fill in the rafflecopter for a chance to win and share a comment on a holiday story you've enjoyed this season. Good luck. 

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Review: Twelve Days of Christmas by Debbie Macomber

Twelve Days of Christmas by Debbie Macomber 

Published October 4th 2016 by Ballantine Books

Continuing in a festive annual tradition, #1 New York Timesbestselling author Debbie Macomber returns with a new original holiday novel full of romance and cheer—and the magical prospect of finding love in the most unexpected places.

Friendly and bubbly, Julia Padden likes nearly everyone, but her standoffish neighbor, Cain Maddox, presents a particular challenge. No matter how hard she’s tried to be nice, Cain rudely rebuffs her at every turn, preferring to keep to himself. But when Julia catches Cain stealing her newspaper from the lobby of their apartment building, that’s the last straw. She’s going to break through Cain’s Scrooge-like exterior the only way she knows how: by killing him with kindness.

To track her progress, Julia starts a blog called The Twelve Days of Christmas. Her first attempts to humanize Cain are far from successful. Julia brings him homemade Christmas treats and the disagreeable grinch won’t even accept them. Meanwhile, Julie’s blog becomes an online sensation, as an astonishing number of people start following her adventures. Julia continues to find ways to express kindness and, little by little, chips away at Cain’s gruff façade to reveal the caring man underneath. Unbelievably, Julia feels herself falling for Cain—and she suspects that he may be falling for her as well. But as the popularity of her blog continues to grow, Julia must decide if telling Cain the truth about having chronicled their relationship to the rest of the world is worth risking their chance at love.

My Thoughts

Debbie Macomber’s Twelve Days of Christmas was the perfect holiday novel to get me in the spirit of Christmas reading. What an inspirational story about giving love a chance and showing acts of kindness.

In this novel, Julia Padden can’t get over how rude and disagreeable her neighbor Cain Maddox can be, so she puts a plan into motion to kill him with kindness. To track her kindness progress, she decides to blog about her project and use the results to hopefully land the social media job of her dreams. All seems to be going perfectly… the hits to her blog are rising exponentially and her readers are also trying the kindness experiment for themselves.

However, when Julia and Cain begin to develop feelings for each other, she knows keeping the blog a secret will hurt their chance at romance. Not to mention the fact that Cain started off with a guarded heart and reluctantly fell for her not knowing he was the subject of her experiment and blog.

The Twelve Days of Christmas is definitely one that holiday readers with enjoy. Its steady pace and likable characters had me breezing through the novel in record pace. I really enjoyed Julia’s blog posts, and it was fun to witness her experiment with kindness with her grinchy neighbor Cain.

I also enjoyed watching Cain slowly but surely drop his guard and rough manner. He definitely had some tender moments when it came to falling for Julia. The scarf and hot peppermint mocha had me falling for this character!

Overall, the Twelve Days of Christmas is the perfect holiday read to curl up with this winter. If you’re looking for something heartfelt and enjoyable, Macomber definitely delivers!

4 Suns

Review: A Girl's Guide to Moving On (New Beginnings #2) by Debbie Macomber

A Girl's Guide to Moving On (New Beginnings #2) by Debbie Macomber
Published February 23rd 2016 by Ballantine Books

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In this powerful and uplifting novel, a mother and her daughter-in-law bravely leave their troubled marriages and face the challenge of starting over. Leaning on each other, Nichole and Leanne discover that their inner strength and capacity for love are greater than they ever imagined.

When Nichole discovers that her husband, Jake, has been unfaithful, the illusion of her perfect life is indelibly shattered. While juggling her young son, a new job, and volunteer work, Nichole meets Rocco, who is the opposite of Jake in nearly every way. Though blunt-spoken and rough around the edges, Rocco proves to be a dedicated father and thoughtful friend. But just as their relationship begins to blossom, Jake wagers everything on winning Nichole back—including their son Owen’s happiness. Somehow, Nichole must find the courage to defy her fears and follow her heart, with far-reaching consequences for them all.

Leanne has quietly ignored her husband’s cheating for decades, but is jolted into action by the echo of Nichole’s all-too-familiar crisis. While volunteering as a teacher of English as a second language, Leanne meets Nikolai, a charming, talented baker from Ukraine. Resolved to avoid the heartache and complications of romantic entanglements, Leanne nonetheless finds it difficult to resist Nikolai’s effusive overtures—until an unexpected tragedy tests the very fabric of her commitments.

An inspiring novel of friendship, reinvention, and hope, A Girl’s Guide to Moving On affirms the ability of every woman to forge a new path, believe in love, and fearlessly find happiness.

Praise for A Girl’s Guide to Moving On

“Debbie Macomber’s finest novel. Betrayal and sorrow can happen in any stage of life and, in this wonderful story, her very nimble hands weave a spectacular kaleidoscope of courage, struggles, and finally joyous redemption and reinvention. Macomber totally understands the human heart. I absolutely loved it!”—Dorothea Benton Frank, New York Timesbestselling author of All the Single Ladies

“Whispers a message of love, hope, and, yes, reinvention to every woman who has ever wondered ‘Is that all there is?’ I predict every diehard Macomber fan—as well as legions of readers new to the Macomber magic—will be cheering for Leanne and Nichole, and clamoring for more, more, more.”—Mary Kay Andrews, New York Times bestselling author of Beach Town, Ladies’ Night, and Summer Rental

“Macomber is a master at pulling heartstrings, and readers will delight in this heartwarming story of friendship, love, and second chances. Leanne, Nichole, Rocco, and Nikolai will renew your faith in love and hope. The perfect read curled up in front of the fire or on a beach, it’s as satisfying as a slice of freshly baked bread—wholesome, pleasantly filling, and delicious.”—Karen White, New York Times bestselling author of Flight Patterns

“Beloved author Debbie Macomber reaches new heights in this wise and beautiful novel. It’s the kind of reading experience that comes along only rarely, bearing the hallmarks of a classic. The timeless wisdom in these pages will stay with you long after the book is closed.”—Susan Wiggs, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Starlight on Willow Lake

“Debbie dazzles! A wonderful story of friendship, forgiveness and the power of love. I devoured every page!”—Susan Mallery, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Friends We Keep.

My Thoughts

I definitely enjoyed this story. It did have a few bumps in the road but overall okay.

In A Girl’s Guide to Moving On, Nichole finds an unlikely ally in her mother-in-law when she discovers her husband has been cheating on her. Both Leanne and Nichole are devastated to have to make a choice to move on from their marriages after both experiencing the heartbreak of unfaithful husbands. As these two women begin to build a new life for themselves, they rely on each other for comfort and advice, thus coming up with a few guidelines to moving on.

Their first rule to ease the pain is to distract themselves by giving to others. When Nichole volunteers at a clothing store that helps women dress for success as they are striving for a better life, she meets Rocco and they soon become fast friends. Leanne decides to volunteer as an English teacher for adults learning it as a second language. That is where she meets Nikolai, and they immediately begin to develop a tender relationship.

Overall, I really enjoyed Nichole’s story. She was easy to relate to and her struggles and strength were applause-worthy in my book. I liked the relationship she built with Rocco because they both seemed like two sensible people that developed a believable love and romance for each other, all the while putting their own kids first.

I struggled a bit with Leanne’s story only because she put up with her husband’s cheating ways for decades and then suddenly decided to abandon the relationship. If she had chosen to stay with him for so long knowing his unfaithful ways, I would have liked to see her be more than a doormat by either trying to fix her marriage or at minimum confronting her husband. I wasn’t too keen on her relationship with Nikolai at all. He seemed so jealous and unreasonable and I could never stand to be with such a hot head of a man. I feel she went from one bad relationship to another.

If I followed the book closely enough, I only discovered two rules to this Guide to Moving On (1) ease the pain with distraction and (2) make new friends. There could have been more substance to this guide, such as (3) learn to love yourself before falling in love with someone else, (4) strive for a better relationship than your first, and (5) set yourself up for independence.

Overall, Debbie Macomber is an accomplished storyteller. I’ve enjoyed enough of her novels to know that she has a knack for capturing the hearts of her readers. Although A Girl’s Guide to Movie On is not at the top of my list of Macomber’s best, it’s definitely not my last. I look forward to finding another gem by this author.

3 Suns

Review: Starry Night by Debbie Macomber

Starry Night by Debbie Macomber

Published October 8th 2013 by Ballantine Books

’Tis the season for romance, second chances, and Christmas cheer with this new novel from Debbie Macomber.

Carrie Slayton, a big-city society-page columnist, longs to write more serious news stories. So her editor hands her a challenge: She can cover any topic she wants, but only if she first scores the paper an interview with Finn Dalton, the notoriously reclusive author.


Living in the remote Alaskan wilderness, Finn has written a mega-bestselling memoir about surviving in the wild. But he stubbornly declines to speak to anyone in the press, and no one even knows exactly where he lives.

Digging deep into Finn’s past, Carrie develops a theory on his whereabouts. It is the holidays, but her career is at stake, so she forsakes her family celebrations and flies out to snowy Alaska. When she finally finds Finn, she discovers a man both more charismatic and more stubborn than she even expected. And soon she is torn between pursuing the story of a lifetime and following her heart.

Filled with all the comforts and joys of Christmastime, Starry Night is a delightful novel of finding happiness in the most surprising places.

My Thoughts

Winter perfection!
Carrie Slayton is a reporter for a Chicago newspaper who takes on a writing assignment in an effort to be promoted from having to covering the Society section to something more fulfilling. She doesn’t realize how challenging this new assignment will be until she is informed that her task is to interview the elusive best selling author Finn Dalton that has published a memoir about surviving in the wild.

Carrie’s persistent ways take her to the Alaskan tundra and convinces a bush pilot to fly her to the remote location where she might find Finn and land an interview.

Forced to put up with a reported that’s invaded his quiet and isolated existence, Finn is determined to maintain his privacy and refuses to grant Carrie an interview that can change her career. However, when she’s forced to remain with him for 48 hours until the snow dies down and a pilot can safely return, these two begin to discover an attraction that surprises them both. Carrie is then forced to make a decision about her career, where publishing an article on Finn can disrupt his quiet existence and land her the job of a lifetime, or sacrifice a love the neither of them expected.

Starry Night is my favorite Christmas novel to date! It’s beautifully written and evenly paced, which makes the romance and connection between Finn and Carrie believable and romantic.

I loved their moments together, and especially enjoyed getting to know Carrie who was just a downright amazing character and good person! She won me over in a heartbeat and continued to prove by her actions that she was a worthy character.

Finn and Carrie truly had a wonderful Christmas love story to share, and I’m glad I came across Starry Night. Once again… beautiful!

4.5 Suns