Book Summary
One Charmed Christmas by Sheila Roberts has Catherine Pine looking forward to Christmas with her two children
and their families. The prior Christmas
was the first one without her husband, and Catherine knows that it was rough
for the family especially since she could not seem to stop crying. Catherine wants some special memories to help
her in the new year when she will be undergoing chemotherapy and
radiation. Unfortunately, Catherine’s
kids have made other plans leaving her high and dry. Her best friend, Denise is taking a Rhine River
Christmas Market Cruise and invites Catherine to come along with her. Catherine and Denise meet a diverse group of
people their first night on the cruise. Sophie Miles is a hypochondriac who
takes extreme measures to protect her health.
When she meets Dr. Rudy Nichols, Sophie believes he is the perfect man
for her. Rudy’s daughter, Athena has no
intention of letting another woman get her hooks into her dad. The last woman was a disaster who broke Rudy’s
heart. Athena came on this cruise to
keep on her outgoing and kindhearted father.
Sophie’s sister, Sierra booked the cruise as a surprise for her husband. Only the surprise was on Sierra when hubby
said he could not get the time off from work and encouraged her to go without
him. Sierra’s husband loss is Sophie’s
gain. Kurt is supervising his advanced
German class on this trip and convinced his chocolatier brother, Trevor March
to come along to assist him. Trevor
takes one look at Sophie and knows she is the woman for him. Trevor is hoping his stash of chocolates will
lure Sophie away from the good doctor. A
chocolate a day will keep the doctor away or at least that is what Trevor is
hoping. Rudy is drawn to the kindhearted
Catherine. Catherine likes Rudy but,
after he watched his first wife die from cancer, it would not be right to
encourage him considering her uncertain future.
Holiday magic is at work to make this One Charmed Christmas for our
travelers.
One Charmed Christmas by Sheila Roberts is a heartwarming Christmas story.
Our main character is Catherine Pine who is a widow and has been diagnosed
with cancer. She has already had extensive
surgery to remove the cancer, but Catherine will be having chemotherapy and
radiation treatments in the new year.
The prior Christmas was dismal because it was the first one without her
husband, so Catherine is looking forward to celebrating the holidays with her two
children and their families.
Unfortunately, the bleak holiday is still fresh in her children’s mind,
and they have made other plans.
Catherine’s best friend, Denise is taking a Rhine River Christmas Market
cruise and she needs a bunkmate. It will
be good for Catherine to get out of the house.
Once the pair are on the cruise, they meet a diverse group of people. I liked the different characters in the story
and the fact that they are varying ages.
We get to experience the story from each person’s point-of-view (Catherine,
Sophie, Athena, Rudy, Kurt, Trevor, etc.).
I liked seeing how people’s perceptions of each character changed as the
story progressed. It was hard to like
Athena and Sophie in the beginning, but they grow on you. Trevor is one of my
favorite characters. I loved that he was
a chocolatier who went around handing out his yummy chocolate. One of my favorite lines was, “Chocolate
cures everything.” The other line I liked was, “Don’t cry because
it’s over, smile because it happened.” I
picked up One Charmed Christmas and was immediately drawn into the story. I was up quite late reading because I wanted
to see how each person’s story ended. I
did feel the ending was a little rushed, but it was delightful and left me
smiling. I like how the story mixes
romance, friendship, family situations, health concerns, and humor into one
entertaining tale. I enjoyed the
descriptions of the boat, the towns they visited, the Christmas markets, and
the items they purchased. There is some mild
foul language in the book. I enjoyed
Sheila Roberts’ latest Christmas story.
It is a great escape book. One Charmed Christmas is a charming Christmas tale with a romantic river cruise, scrumptious
chocolate, present shopping, a stubborn student, spouse distress, cancer
concerns, and marvelous memories.
Kris
The Avid Reader
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