Samantha doesn't have time for Christmas or love. As a single mom, she's too busy opening her own "meal-ready-to-cook" business. Her daughter has genius level IQ, and Sam is determined to buy everything her daughter deserves... Except her daughter Patty wanted her to be happy... and Patty has concluded that only a good man can do that. When Patty met Murphy at the 4th grade career day, Sam's life will never be the same. However, Sam is one stubborn woman... They don't call her "Mrs. Scrooge" for nothing... Can an ex-reporter, now bartender, and a ten-year-old genius show this single mom that Christmas (and love) are worth having?
Hmmm... Very nice. The "kids as matchmakers" can be a trope, and indeed, their slightly naive and direct mindset makes a great contrast to the adult's inability to speak plainly. But Barbara Bretton has an ability to build characters that are NOT billionaires or otherwise fit tropes like firefighters and cowboys, and this is no exception. 5/5
Category: Contemporary
Overall Rating: 5/5
NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below.
Showing posts with label Barbara Bretton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barbara Bretton. Show all posts
GRR Reviews Annie's Gift: A Rocky Hill Holiday Novella by Barbara Bretton
Annie's Gift is a Christmas Redemption Story featuring a bit of supernatural. And it's a real tear jerker too. It is not a romance, but it is about love.
Harry Barnes does not hate Christmas... He simply wished it to be over. His wife and daughter are gone. He can't bear to think of them, so he won't. He hadn't spoken to his son, Sam, in years. Elsewhere, Sam Barnes had moved his family around the world for his military duty, but now he's back to stay, but his father still won't talk to him. When his own daughter Riley wanted to meet grandpa, he couldn't refuse. On a snowy Christmas Eve, Harry and Sam, father and son, are visited by the spirits of mother and daughter, who only has a few earthly hours to bring this broken family back together...
It's basically a Christmas Carol, albeit kinder and gentler, where the two ghosts are there to make the two men see the errors of their ways. it's sad, it's sentimental, it'll likely make you reach for Kleenex (tm), as the ghosts have to reveal some secrets that will cast all the men's decisions in a new light... and make them see family is a bond that endures.
Category: Contemporary
Primary Plot: Can two ghosts bring estranged father and son back together and reunite a broken family?
Overall Rating: 4/5
NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below.
GRR Reviews Annie's Gift by Barbara Bretton
Annie's Gift is like a slightly more modern A Christmas Carol, complete with spirits and redemption. Add a bit of family trauma and healing and it's a find tear-jerker of a story, albeit not a typical romance.
Harry Barnes does not hate Christmas... He simply wished it to be over. His wife and daughter are gone, and he hadn't spoken to his son, Sam, in years. He can't bear to think of them, so he won't. Elsewhere, Sam Barnes had moved his family around the world for his military duty, but now he's back to stay, but his father still blamed him for that one night. But when his own daughter Riley wanted to meet grandpa, he couldn't refuse. On a snowy Christmas Eve, Harry and Sam, are visited by the spirits of mother and daughter, who only have a few earthly hours to bring this family back together... Old secrets are revealed, old sins redeemed, and a love that is everlasting.
Yes, I classified this under paranormal, but it's like A Christmas Carol is paranormal when Ghosts move Scrooge around and show him the error of his ways. In this case, the spirits showed some secrets that it was wrong to hold a grudge for something that is no one's fault. Sometimes things just happen. And forgiveness is necessary.
Category: Paranormal
Primary Plot: A father and son were visited by wife and sister respectively just before Christmas to bring them back together and redeem a family broken by loss years ago
Tropes: Holiday, family secrets, scars
Overall Rating: 4/5
Harry Barnes does not hate Christmas... He simply wished it to be over. His wife and daughter are gone, and he hadn't spoken to his son, Sam, in years. He can't bear to think of them, so he won't. Elsewhere, Sam Barnes had moved his family around the world for his military duty, but now he's back to stay, but his father still blamed him for that one night. But when his own daughter Riley wanted to meet grandpa, he couldn't refuse. On a snowy Christmas Eve, Harry and Sam, are visited by the spirits of mother and daughter, who only have a few earthly hours to bring this family back together... Old secrets are revealed, old sins redeemed, and a love that is everlasting.
Yes, I classified this under paranormal, but it's like A Christmas Carol is paranormal when Ghosts move Scrooge around and show him the error of his ways. In this case, the spirits showed some secrets that it was wrong to hold a grudge for something that is no one's fault. Sometimes things just happen. And forgiveness is necessary.
Category: Paranormal
Primary Plot: A father and son were visited by wife and sister respectively just before Christmas to bring them back together and redeem a family broken by loss years ago
Tropes: Holiday, family secrets, scars
Overall Rating: 4/5
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