Comfort & Joy

October 31, 2005
It's the last day before Christmas vacation, and Joy Faith Candellaro, a Bakersfield, Calif., high school librarian, is still fretting over finding her husband, Thom, in bed with her sister, Stacey. Although divorced nearly three months - and urged by everyone to move on with her life - Joy just isn't joyful. She's trying, though: she buys a Christmas tree and plans to get herself something spectacular to put under it. Too bad that Stacey's waiting in her driveway with a wedding invitation and the news that she's pregnant with Thom's child. Enraged and betrayed, Joy drives off - and ends up at the airport, holding a ticket to Hope, Canada. What will she do when she gets there? Who cares? All she knows is that life has to be better elsewhere. What happens next is Hannah's version of a Christmas ghost story, as Joy encounters a father and son whose own misery gives her a new perspective. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love ) fans will enjoy this fare, but from the subtle-as-a-50-pound-fruitcake irony of Joy Faith's name to a plot twist that necessitates hanging disbelief on the mantel alongside the Christmas stockings, it may be a bit too much for the more skeptical to swallow.

October 15, 2005
Things aren't going well this holiday season for librarian Joy Candellaro. It was bad enough that her husband cheated on her with her own sister, but discovering that the couple is expecting a baby and receiving an invitation to their wedding sends her over the top. She flees to the airport and on a whim catches a charter plane to the Pacific Northwest. When the plane makes a crash landing, Joy survives but is left stranded at an old fishing lodge, where she meets the proprietor, a handsome widower, and his young son. She finds herself unexpectedly falling in love with both the precocious boy and his gruff father. Come Christmas Eve, Joy must decide if she can stand up to her real life or get lost in a dream world. This tale of magic, love, and fantasy will appeal to Hannah's many fans, but a clunky paranormal aspect may leave others scratching their heads. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 7/05.]

Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.