A Cedar Cove Christmas
by Debbie Macomber
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Book Reviews of A Cedar Cove Christmas
Book Review: A Cedar Cove Christmas
Summary: 5 Stars
Mary Jo Wyse had the unfortunate luck to meet and fall in love with the scoundrel David Rhodes. Now carrying his child and due in two weeks, Mary Jo goes in search of David in Cedar Cove where he is supposed to be spending Christmas with his dad and stepmother, Ben and Charlotte Rhodes. Unsure of where to look, Mary Jo starts off at the local coffee shop and is directed to the town librarian, Grace Harding. At the library she learns David's parents are gone for the holiday and David is not expected in town just as she had begun to suspect.
Before Mary Jo can leave the library she nearly collapses to the floor, and would have if not for Grace's fast catch. Worried, Grace calls 911 to have the very expectant mother examined. Upon arrival Mack McAfee checks Mary Jo's vitals, and finds nothing wrong, but suggests she remain quiet for the remainder of the day. Grace finds there is no room or inn available with the holiday so close by and invites her back to the farm to stay in the loft apartment over the barn. In an unusual turn of events, the Harding's barn is housing animals for the town's live Nativity scene, which includes a donkey and one obnoxious camel who bites.
Later that day Mack is still thinking about the young, pretty and very alone Mary Jo and wondering how she is doing. Then her three brothers show up looking for their runaway sister. Mack calls the Harding farmhouse and learns that Mary Jo is happy to hear her brothers have arrived. They are given directions to the farm as she wishes to head for home. Not long after the Wyse men leave, Mack receives and heads out responding to an emergency phone call.
You cannot help but fall in love with the new characters currently visiting the Cedar Cove community. A Cedar Cove Christmas is a heart-warming holiday story based on the Original Christmas Story. You will be swept up into A Cedar Cove Christmas from page one as Mary Jo's dilemma unfolds. A Cedar Cove Christmas will uplift your spirits as the community comes together once more to help a person in need. You will be held captive and experience sheer happiness as the story progresses to a beautifully written paralleled conclusion. If you have followed the Cedar Cove Series this is a must read, if you have not you will still love A Cedar Cove Christmas, it is written so well it could stand alone.
Raine
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed
Book Review: The Greatest Gift!
Summary: 5 Stars
Fans of Debbie Macomber have found her Christmas novels to be nothing short of a delightfully necessary part of Yuletide cheer. A Cedar Cove Christmas will exceed these expectations!
Mary Joe Wyse has previously believed everything David Rhodes said but is now having intense doubts that don't bode well for the future, especially a future with a soon-to-be-born baby he fathered. Mary's brothers, Linc, Mel and Ned have blown it as well, with their overbearing, albeit loving, intentions. They're threatening to find David and give him a message to treat their sister honorably and perhaps give David a sound thrashing as well, not necessarily in that order. Mary decides to beat them to the punch and find David herself to discover whether she has his support or not, not a hopeful sign at all based on his former lack of connection to her after discovering her pregnancy.
Traveling to the festively decorated Cedar Cove town, Mary finds a wealth of friends who offer her neutral but wise advice to help her in searching for David's home and parents. But the search becomes almost insignificant compared to the beautiful reception Mary receives from these very special Cedar Cove residents.
Meet Grace and Cliff Harding who offer Mary a room above their barn to stay through the snowstorm-driven, Christmas Eve night, a place holding an ox, some sheep, a donkey and one ornery, human-biting camel. You'll meet several other memorable characters who are graciously and warmly present to Mary in her moment of need, even before her searching brothers arrive to find an unexpected moment and a smitten young man helping their beloved sister.
Yes, you might think you know the outcome in this wondrous Christmas tale, but you really don't because Debbie Macomber has created uniquely inspiring characters who equally care for each other and the stranger who arrives to find "there's no room at the local inn..." How they interact will absolutely thrill each reader and remind one anew that love is truly the greatest Christmas gift anyone can give or receive! A Cedar Cove Christmas is a grace-filled, romantic tale you will want to buy, keep, share and reread each holiday season.
Reviewed by Viviane Crystal on September 15, 2008
Book Review: Very Sweet Christmas Romance
Summary: 5 Stars
It's Christmas Eve and Mary Jo Wyse hasn't heard from David Rhodes, the father of her soon to be born baby, in months. Her three brothers want to confront him, so she slips off to Cedar Cove, where she thinks he is staying, to warn him. She doesn't find him, but is feeling unwell, and decides to spend the night in Cedar Cove. The problem is - there's no room at the Inn and soon Mary Jo finds herself staying in a room above a stable filled with animals used in a Nativity pageant. All of this sounds familiar to Mary Jo and she wonders if she'll have a Christmas miracle of her own, perhaps delivered by Mack McAfee.
"A Cedar Cove Christmas" is Debbie Macomber's very cute take on the Nativity story. She doesn't waste any time referencing the story - the heroine's name is Mary Jo Wyse and she has three brothers (the Wyse men) who bring her the appropriate gifts. Macomber throws in several other references to the Nativity story that I won't spoil for readers. All of this is very cute, if unbelievable, and I read the entire book with a smile on my face. Setting the novel in Cedar Cove is an added bonus for Macomber fans and it's nice to visit the Cedar Cove residents in between books in the popular series. Grace and Cliff Harding and Olivia and Jack Griffin are featured prominently in this book and it's nice to see them, especially to see how Olivia is doing in her struggle with cancer. There are also some nice surprises involving some of the series regulars. Unfortunately while the developing romance between Mack and Mary Jo is sweet it's not totally believable and I hope Macomber develops it further in future books.
"A Cedar Cove Christmas" is a very sweet romance that is perfect holiday reading.
Book Review: Joy to the World, Cedar Cove Style
Summary: 5 Stars
What better gift could Debbie Macomber give her readers than a second visit to Cedar Cove this year? At the end of the previous story, 8 Sandpiper Way, the residents were nearing Christmas and in this latest entry into the series, Christmas Eve has arrived.
The story, as the author readily admits, is not original, but her modern day version of the famous story recorded in Luke. Instead of Mary and Joseph, we have young Mary Jo, single and pregnant, searching for the father of her baby. He was supposed to be in Cedar Cove for Christmas, for as we learn he is the errant son of Ben Rhodes. Unlike his father, David is a manipulative man we have met before when he tried to swindle Charlotte. The parallels are numerous down to Mary Jo's brothers, the three Wyse men. Linc, Mel, and Ned are no Balthazar, Gaspar, and Melchior. But they are a loving family, often slapstick, often irritating, but always endearing, even down to the modern day equivalents to gold, frankincense, and myrrh they bring for Mary Jo and her baby. And indeed, a baby is delivered, young Noelle whose arrival in Grace and Cliff Harding's barn brings joy to many of the beloved characters we know from previous visits to Cedar Cove.
The story is light-hearted and warm, a sure way to brighten your Christmas reading. It's also a story you can easily complete in one or two readings, so pour yourself a cup of hot cocoa with a dollop of whipped cream, and enjoy this joyful holiday visit to the most charming little city I can name.
Book Review: Huge Disappointment
Summary: 2 Stars
Every year I look forward to reading a few Christmas themed books. Debbie Macomber is not an author I read (I only tend to read her Christmas books). A Cedar Cove Christmas this years book was a disappointment. It was just so predictable, that you could have just read the dust jacket and figured out the story.
POSSIBLE SPOILERS
Mary Jo Wyse who is very pregnant goes to Cedar Cove on Christmas Eve, searching for David Rhodes, her baby's father. He told Mary Jo he'd be in town, but he's no where to be found. Mary Jo is stranded and there is no room at the local inn so Grace Harding brings Mary Jo home to her nearby ranch. She and her husband, have a houseful of guests, but they offer her a room over their stable, which is currently sheltering the animals--including a donkey and a camel--for Cedar Cove's Nativity pageant.
Predictably, Mary Jo goes into labor that night. Mack McAfee, a paramedic, comes to her rescue, just as her brothers--the three Wyse men -- show up in town. The people of Cedar Cove join them in celebrating the birth of baby Noel, and as far as Mack and Mary Jo well you can plainly see where that's headed.