Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor [Bargain Price] [Hardcover]

Lisa Kleypas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 26, 2010

New York Times bestselling author Lisa Kleypas’s new series begins during the most magical time of year

ONE LITTLE GIRL NEEDS A FAMILY

One rain-slicked night, six-year-old Holly lost the only parent she knew, her beloved mother Victoria. And since that night, she has never again spoken a word.

ONE SINGLE MAN NEEDS A WIFE

The last thing Mark Nolan needs is a six-year-old girl in his life. But he soon realizes that he will do everything he can to make her life whole again. His sister’s will gives him the instructions: There’s no other choice but you. Just start by loving her. The rest will follow.

SOMETIMES, IT TAKES A LITTLE MAGIC…

Maggie Collins doesn’t dare believe in love again, after losing her husband of one year. But she does believe in the magic of imagination. As the owner of a toy shop, she lives what she loves. And when she meets Holly Nolan, she sees a little girl in desperate need of a little magic.

…TO MAKE DREAMS COME TRUE

Three lonely people. Three lives at the crossroads. Three people who are about to discover that Christmas is the time of year when anything is possible, and when wishes have a way of finding the path home…

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Kleypas (Love in the Afternoon) finds a little romantic magic in this spritely charmer. Mark Nolan's happy-go-lucky bachelorhood is interrupted by the death of his sister and his subsequent guardianship of her six-year-old daughter, Holly, who is traumatized into muteness and desperately seeking a maternal figure. Enter Maggie Collins, a toy shop owner who lost her own husband to cancer. As the holiday season draws closer, Maggie, Mark, and Holly begin to spend more time together, and Maggie and Mark's attraction becomes too powerful to ignore. Kleypas's holiday offering is sweet, romantic, and genuine, and avoids, thankfully, all the cheesy holiday miracle clichés. A solid romance with strong leads, this is a refreshing holiday treat. (Nov.) (c)
Copyright © PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Review

“Sweet, romantic, and genuine…a refreshing holiday treat.”—Publishers Weekly

“Poignant, heartbreaking, and deeply satisfying.”—RT Book Reviews

“A charmer from start to finish.”—Library Journal

“The genius [of Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor] comes in Kleypas’s writing. She weaves words that paint pictures of the Pacific Northwest so beautifully that it comes alive...” —Affaire de Coeur

“A sweet and romantic holiday love story…Friday Harbor [is] a memorable place to visit.”—A Romance Review

And these other novels of contemporary romance from New York Times bestselling author

Lisa Kleypas

SMOOTH TALKING STRANGER

“A romantic novel with considerable depth.”—Brazosport Facts

“Kleypas’s clever pairing of a testosterone-rich hero and a wonderfully endearing heroine gives her latest romance its irresistibly sexy flavor …[a] richly rewarding story of love, commitment, and family.”—Booklist

“Masterfully crafted…extraordinarily real. Readers will be thinking about these superb characters long after closing the pages and rushing out to grab everything Kleypas has ever written.”

—Romantic Times BOOKreviews

“Intelligent and gripping…Smooth Talking Stranger is sharp, sexy and will keep you captivated from beginning to end.”—ArmchairInterviews.com

“Filled with charm, wit, and an interesting and adult love story…Kleypas comes out on top again!”—ARomanceReview.com

“Simply irresistible.”—Likesbooks.com

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1 edition (October 26, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312605862
• ASIN: B004Y6MTLE
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (167 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #47,106 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lisa Kleypas graduated from Wellesley College with a political science degree. She is a RITA award winning author of both historical romance and contemporary women's fiction. Her novels are published in fourteen different languages and are bestsellers all over the world. She lives in Washington State with her husband Gregory and their two children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Short and sweet. This is a story fans of Christmas and those who like Debbie Macomber books will enjoy., September 6, 2010

By 

Steph "booklover" (California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor is a short, slow, sweet and heartwarming romance perfect for the holiday season.

It is a light romance about 3 brothers who live on an island. The Nolan men have had a troubled young life. Christmas for them is just another day. But tragedy strikes when their only sister dies in a car accident and she gives legal guardianship to her brother Mark. A single guy in his prime Mark doesn't know what to do. He persuades his brother Sam to share responsibility. But their niece Holly has been traumatized and can't or won't speak since the accident. That is until the owner of a new toy shop named Maggie Collins gives Holly a magical shell. Holly seems to bond with Maggie immediately. Maggie and Mark find an undeniable attraction but Mark already has a girlfriend named Shelby and Maggie is recovering from her husband's recent death from cancer. Their emotions are conflicted. Shelby would be the perfect mother for Holly. Maggie feels guilt over finding another man attractive. Both are in a transitional period but can't seem to stop thinking about each other. Will they overcome their obstacles?

This was a soft and sweet romance. There was once sex scene and it was very tame. Although short the 2 characters do have a real connection. I loved how they flirted and their conversations together were fun to read. Both are decent people who are unsure and don't want to cause the other person pain. I really liked how they respected each other and were good people from the beginning. However, I have enjoyed the author's other contemporary books a bit more probably because she has more time to develop the couple's relationship. So the only problem for me is that this book's price is rather high for one that is ~ 200 pages long.

This is a story fans of Christmas and those who like Debbie Macomber books will enjoy. Heartfelt and joyous, it definitely brings holiday magic!

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, November 23, 2010

By 

Lisa D. "reading mama" (champaign, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor (Hardcover)

I love Lisa Kleypas. I love her historicals and her Texas series. But this book was disappointing.

To start with, it's way too expensive for how short it is. If I was paying $5 for a category romance from Harlequin, it would have been a 5 star read. At almost $16 for the full price hardcover, it's just simply not worth the price. It's barely over 200 pages of larger type. There's just not enough to it.

The story has merit, true, but it read way to rushed at the end. There's build up, but then suddenly it all wraps up and it's over. For the majority of the book (more than 1/2 the pages) the hero isn't even available! He's dating someone else. Then all of a sudden he's not and they're together. It felt rushed to me.

If this had another 100 pages to it, the story might have been more believably developed. As it is, I was disappointed to pay so much to get so little. Even for a holiday book, it's just not up to Lisa Kleypas's usual best.

48 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best Christmas story I've ever read, August 29, 2010

By 

Sheri Fogarty (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

I love Lisa Kleypas' writing and have read many of her books, mostly her historical novels. This one is a contemporary, set in the Seattle area.

It's the story of Mark Nolan who becomes guardian of his niece Holly after his sister dies in a car accident and Maggie, a widow, who has moved to the island after the death of her husband.

I must have teared up at least three or four times while reading this and I absolutely loved it. What I've always loved about Lisa's books are how real and alive her characters are, I was pulled right in to the story and couldn't put this down until I had finished it. My fingers are crossed that Mark's brothers get their own stories, I think this is going to be a series.

It's a sweet and wonderful story, full of joy, magic and happy tears. Highly recommended!