Customer Reviews

Comfort & Joy: A Novel

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

Heartbroken after her husband falls in love with her sister, who is now pregnant with his child, Joy Candellaro impulsively decides to leave town right before Christmas and hops on a plane to Canada to get away. But her plane crashes and Joy wanders away only to end up at a fishing lodge owned by Daniel O'Shea, who has a young son, Bobby. Joy immediately bonds with Bobby who is still dealing with his mother's tragic death. She doesn't bond as easily with Daniel who has problems of his own - he was divorced from Bobby's mother and is struggling to establish a relationship with his young son. But just when Joy thinks she might be falling in love with Daniel, she is pulled away from them and has to fight her way back. While trying to do so, she begins to realize that things aren't what they seem and she begins to question what is and what isn't real. But in her heart, she knows she needs to find Daniel and Bobby before she'll be whole again.

"Comfort and Joy" is a unique type or romance and while it doesn't quite work in the end, Kristen Hannah deserves a lot of credit for attempting it. Joy is a believable heroine, devastated and needing to get away after the betrayal of her husband and sister. Bobby is very cute and very real, prone to having imaginary friends and seeing his dead mother, he very much needs loving parents. Unfortunately, not only because the book is from Joy's viewpoint but because of the whole premise of the book, Daniel is never a fully developed character and the romance between him and Joy never really worked for me. The book is divided into two parts and the second section goes in a totally different, Sixth Sense type of direction that may take readers off guard. It wasn't until I reread certain parts of the book that I realized how cleverly Hannah devised certain plot lines (like the way Joy was able to play games with Bobby and Daniel and a phone call she made) and how she placed little hints as to what was going on. Again, it ultimately didn't work, but it was a good attempt and well done.

Joy Candellaro used to LOVE the Christmas season. But after finding out about her husband and her sister, Joy is not feeling very joyful. Tired of it all, she hops on a plane and disappears from her frustrating life - at least for a little while.

Daniel O'Shea is a widow with an eight-year-old son, Bobby, who is about to have his first Christmas without his mother. Bobby is not adjusting too well and is making it harder on Daniel. In fact, Bobby seems to be distancing himself from the world around him and slipping into deep depression.

Then Joy and Bobby meet. These two disillusioned people may be able to help each other ... and Daniel as well.

***** In my opinion, this is one of the best novels I've read for this year's holiday season. Author Kristin Hannah has proven time-and-time-again that she has an almost mystical way of making her readers empathize with her characters. This story is no different. You will be snared quickly and be in no rush to free yourself. Awesome! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

I was very disappointed in this book. How could a woman take any blame and offer almost instant forgiveness in a situation like this? Joy had found her husband in bed with her sister. The sister is now pregnant with her ex-brother-in-law's child and is inviting Joy to their wedding. Joy "runs away" for a few weeks and comes back full of forgiveness, happily awaiting the birth of her niece and helping to plan her sister's wedding. Yuck! Through all of this absurdity the sister and ex-husband show no remorse. Adultery is a deal-breaker in a marriage. The husband and sister have lost the right to have any relationship with her. I won't even get into the absentee father and son that Joy meets during her "magical" experience. Joy was portrayed as a weak, needy individual. What sort of role model is that for women? Shame on you, Kristin Hannah.

If I find this enjoyable, why only three stars? Well, the book starts off with a fantastic premise that should interest most readers. Joy's sister slept with her ex-husband, whoops, and then Sis invites Joy to her wedding. Feeling pretty terrible (as you can imagine) Joy decides to 'run away' and has quite the experience that readers should enjoy reading about. I know I did. Yes, it requires a slight suspension of belief, but it was still fun to read. Then, bam! There's a pretty big surprise at the end, but don't worry, it gets better. I was rather satisfied with it overall.

But what made me drop the rating to a 3 was the fact that Joy just forgave her sister. Bam, just like that, let's sweep it all under the rug. That will let Sis and ex-hubby think that what they did to her really was no big deal, and it makes light of adultery. There are some things that should never be done, and when joy forgave them, she was just this... doormat. I was terribly disappointed in that after seeing her character develop nicely before.

I am a huge Kristin Hannah fan and was excited to get this book. Boy was I ever let down. From the beginning and the unrealistic start, to the finish, which left me with asking the question "did Kristin Hannah really write this book"?. It was a a total disappointment, one I am not used to having with Kristin Hannah books.

Kristin Hannah has presented us with a delightful gift that is sure to give your emotions a thorough workout. COMFORT & JOY is a magical tale that has been released just in time for the Christmas season, where very often the impossible becomes possible. This unusual story begins in an all-too usual way. Joy Candellaro comes home unexpectedly to find her husband Thom in bed with her sister Stacey; they were not taking a nap.

Needless to say, the orderly world of Joy Candellaro, school librarian, is quickly turned upside down. The pain of betrayal, the grief over losing her husband, and the devastating loss of her sister and best friend are too much to endure. Joy is able to bear it for a while as she continues going to work, but she cannot move beyond her pain enough to take part in any of the pre-holiday parties and fun. Then, in what may be the most insensitive moment in literary history, Stacey brings her a wedding invitation.

Torn between pain and anger, Joy decides to get away for the Christmas holidays and impulsively takes a charter flight to a place called Hope in British Columbia. As Joy is beginning to relax and imagine vacationing in a quaint little fishing lodge at the edge of the sea, something goes terribly wrong with the plane. Miraculously, she manages to walk away from the crash landing and... That's all I can tell you about the plot without spoiling this wonderful story.

However, as possibly the newest member of the Kristin Hannah fan club, I can enthusiastically recommend this book, and I intend to begin reading the rest of her bestsellers, which include ANGEL FALLS, MAGIC HOUR, and many more. The author has a talent for understanding the feelings of her characters and being able to express them with poignancy and love. Whether it is the fears of a little boy who has just lost his mother or the heartfelt love of his now single father, Kristin Hannah chooses the right words with which to touch the reader's heart. And, most difficult of all, she manages to demonstrate the power of love and forgiveness in even the most impossible situations.

If you're looking for the perfect story to get you in the mood for the holiday season, or anytime, then COMFORT & JOY is definitely up to the task.
[...]

Okay, so this is suppose to be a modern-day fairy tale? Come on! There were a lot of blank spaces in this so called story. I too agree with the other reviewers regarding the sister's affair with the husband. I was actually incensed that there were no consequences to this extremely immature and insensitive behavior. In real life what goes around--comes around. No matter how close sisters are--how could forgiveness come so readily? The quick forgiveness and acceptance of the situation by sister #1 certainly adds to the unreal life aspect of this story. Thankfully my library had this nonsensical book and I did not have to spend any money on it.

The basic story line could have been intriguing if presented in a much more believable manner w/o the "fairy tale" aspect. It was actually an insult to adult readers in my opinion. "True to life" fiction is what makes for a memorable read and this one certainly does not meet the qualification of true-to-life.

I have a tradition of reading Christmas themed books during the holiday. This year one of my choices was Comfort & Joy by Kristin Hannah. I've loved many of Kristin's books and this is no exception. It has everything you could want in a holiday novella......sadness bouyed by hope, tragedy which eventually creates joy and sibling rivalry culimating in a poignant and magically journey. Some of the reviewers did not like the suspension of reality aspect of this book, but that's what makes it so special to me.

Joy Candellaro a school librarian, is not very happy this Christmas season, that's for sure. In years past, Christmas has always been a wonderful celebration. But this year, Joy's life took a turn for the worse possible scenario when she catches her sister Stacey in bed with her husband Thom. A bitter divorce takes place after, and Joy has not been able to look Stacey in the eye since. And to make matters much worse, Stacey is pregnant.

When Joy comes home from work and finds her sister there wanting to talk it out, she can't bear it. She just needs to run away from it all-and she does. She turns around and goes to the airport, and on an act of spontaneity, buys a ticket bound for the rural northeast. Than the completely unexpected really happens. The plane crashes and explodes within a short period of time. Joy is unconscious for minutes, yet wakes up suddenly, walking away from the scene there. She ventures up the road to a fishing lodge owned by a father and son.

When she walks up to it, it appears to be closed down. But she knocks on th door anyway, and a boy, Bobby lets her in. He says they are no longer open really, but finds her a room anyway. She and Bobby become fast friends-and yet Bobby has a real chip on his shoulder as does his father Daniel who is not pleased that Joy is there. Reluctantly, he lets her stay there for the week, and while there Joy and Bobby bond. Bobby has lost his mother in a car accident, and is still grieving terribly. He is not happy with his dad, as he took off when Bobby was very little, and left he and his mother alone. And now all of a sudden, Daniel has to step in and be a parent to his son.

The story takes a twist when Joy knows she has to get back home to her "real life," even though she hates to leave Bobby, and actually Daniel too. He comes to like Joy in a kind of romantic way.

When it is time to go to Christmas Eve service, it is Joy's last day there before going home. It is after the service, that Joy has an attack of some sort, and passes out unconscious. The story then takes another turn from that point-and I won't tell as I don't want to give it away.

I highly recommend this book, even though the ending could have been better. The author could have written the ending differently than she did for the book to make more sense there-but the rest of it was really good and hard to lay down.

Joy Candellaro is a high school librarian in Bakersfield, California. As the story opens it's the last day before school break for the holidays and her heart isn't into celebrating. Yes, she has gone through the motions but her heart isn't in it. She has just gone through a nasty divorce after catching her husband in bed with her sister. On a whim after receiving yet some more devastating news, she boards a plane bound for the Canadian town of Hope - feeling that Hope is what she needs. Things don't go as she would have wanted when what she thinks at first is turbulence is the plane crashing into the woods.

I thought this was some of Kristin Hannah's best writing EVER. I was immediately drawn into the story with her easy-going style of writing and even flow. The story of a woman celebrating Christmas alone after going through a heartbreaking divorce yet really just wanting to get away from it all was something I had thought of more than once in my life. I bought into the entire scenario of the book hook, line, and sinker. I know there are readers who thought the story was well, far-fetched. But I figured if I could buy time-travel or read about faeries and leprechauns I could certainly suspend disbelief long enough to buy into this scenario. I thought it was a beautiful story and reading it at the end of the Holiday season made it perfect timing.