Christmas Joy

October 15, 2016

Since her mom died at Christmastime, Joy Holbrook avoids anything to do with the holiday, including visiting her Aunt Ruby, who helped raise her. Instead she focuses on her career, but when her elderly aunt falls and is hospitalized, Joy heads home to Crystal Falls, NC, to care for her. While Ruby recovers, Joy takes over her farm chores and Christmas decorating for the annual home tour. Handsome local accountant and handyman Ben Andrews also complicates matters. But the longer Joy stays, the more she appreciates the small town and begins to open her heart back up again to the possibility of love and all the heartache that goes with it. VERDICT An exhilarating holiday romance by the author of the popular "Adams Grove" series (Sweet Tea and Secrets; Out of Focus).

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2016
Joy Holbrook is all set to work through the holidays, virtually guaranteeing her promotion at her prestigious D.C. market-research firm. Then she gets a call that her aunt Ruby has fallen and broken her leg. Joy hasn't been back to tiny Crystal Falls, North Carolina, since the Christmas her mother died, but her guilt at being an absentee niece has her packing up her Prius for the five-hour drive south. Ruby's broken leg couldn't come at a worse time. All of Crystal Falls is obsessed with the holidays, and Ruby won't let her injury stop her from decking her farm's halls for the Christmas Cookie Crawl. Good thing that Ben Andrews (aka Handy Andy) shares her holiday spirit. Too bad Joy thinks the handsome accountant is nothing but bad luck. Oh, and she hates Christmas. Or does she? This is a sweet, Hallmark-movie-style story of a woman figuring out what she really wants with the help of a hunk, a stray kid, and enough decorations for several Pinterest boards. Steer fans of inspirational fiction toward this one as well.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)