Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball...Review

About the book:
Can mysterious matchmaking booksellers bring two lonely hearts together in time for Christmas?

In a sleepy, snow-covered city, Cora Crowder is busy preparing for the holiday season. Searching for a perfect gift, a fortuitous trip to Warner, Werner, and Wizbotterdad’s (a most unusual bookshop) leads to an unexpected encounter with co-worker Simon Derrick. And the surprise discovery of a ticket for a truly one-of-a-kind Christmas Ball.

Every year, the matchmaking booksellers of the Sage Street bookshop host an enchanting, old-fashioned Christmas Ball for the romantic matches they’ve decided to bring together.

This year, will Simon and Cora discover a perfect chemistry in their opposite personalities and shared faith? Or will the matchmakers’ best laid plans end up ruining everything this holiday?

I found this to be a delightful little story.  It was sweet: a sweet premise, a sweet shop, sweet characters and a sweet, charming bookstore.  Love it!   I will admit to not loving the sentence fragment style of writing, but the story itself was a bit enchanting.  I liked Cora and Simon and I loved Sandy.  What a sweetheart.  Cora grew up in a very dysfunctional, non-Christian home and she struggles with integrating the worldly Christmas traditions with her Christian beliefs. I think this is something that many people struggle with: how to blend the materialistic Christmas trappings with the celebration of Christ's birth.

I've seen reviews where people thought the magical and Christian elements didn't mix.  I had no problems with it.  Christmas itself is a magical time for me.  It's a time of miracles, and celebrating our Savior's miraculous birth is the reason for the holiday itself.  The Christmas season is a time when many people are focused on others and give of themselves and their time, talents, energy and money.  You don't get much more Christian than that. Christmas is a time when children's eyes sparkle, people are a bit kinder, and yes, everything is magical.

I loved the magical, wizard characters.  Nothing about them took away the spirit of Christmas, or the Spirit of God itself from the story or the characters.  They were funny and everything they did was to help other people find each other.

I have other, more favorite Christmas stories.  But, this is a sweet story, just like Christmas stories should be. It's a short, easy read and perfect for a cozy afternoon by the fire.

Thanks to First Wildcard and Ashley Boyer and Staci Carmichael of Waterbrook Multnomah for the opportunity to review this book.  You can learn more about Donita K. Paul here.  You can read the first chapter here.  You can purchase your own copy here.

Read 10/10

* * * *
4/5 Stars

Comments

  1. Ohhh, how cool that you just reviewd this book! I've had my eye on it for about a week now and decided yesterday that it is my next book to read. I am currently on a Christmas book kick,lol. Now I am even more excited about reading it.

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