Customer Reviews

A Door County Christmas: Four Romances Warm Hearts in Wisconsin's Version of Cape Cod (Romancing America)

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Four lighthearted stories are tied together by the location and Innkeeper Lola Peterson's gift of a Christmas cactus. Will the cactus and love both bloom as Lola promised? Door County, Wisconsin, a lovely setting by the bay, holds hope for four searching single women. Although Christmas plays a part, it isn't the main focus of the stories and they're enjoyable any time of year.

Amanda Brooks flees Chicago for a break and ends up taking over the inn and preparations for its stunning annual Christmas tea since Lola has jury duty. Can Amanda pull it off, with or without the help of Lola's intriguing son, Jordan?

Joanna Flick, a grieving widow and recently retired teacher, moves next door to Paul Sorenson, a widower who shares her enthusiasm for bicycling. Will their friendship become an enduring romance or will their interfering grown children keep them apart?

Madison Tanner plays chauffer to an elderly couple, who travel each year to their bayside cottage. Will handsome realtor Gran t Sterling, hired by their niece and heir, sell their house or steal Madison's heart or both?

Jillian Galloway visits her eccentric uncle Buster, who operates a rundown dinner theater. With the help of handsome Ricky Jimenez, she gets the Christmas play into production. Will their self-imposed obstacles keep the Jillian and Ricky from finding love together?

Filled with fun, faith, and humor, A Door County Christmas swings wide the door to reading pleasure.

This four in one collection of novellas was just the thing to get me into the Christmas spirit. It's a light and fun romance read with a sweet thread that carries through each story and ties them all together. All four are set in Door County and reference many real locations. The authors have researched well to get the details right.

The Heart's Harbor by Cynthia Ruchti

In this first story, the reader gets to know inn owner Lola Peterson who thrusts the responsibility for running her Bed and Breakfast and her annual Christmas tea into the hands of unsuspecting Amanda Brooks. Lola has jury duty, and she's chosen Amanda as her replacement. Amanda, who thinks she's taking a little vacation has no idea what Lola has planned, and she has no idea Lola's playing matchmaker either. It's a cute story with fun characters. Readers might wonder how Lola is able to take her husband with her for jury duty if she's to be sequestered, but this element works out in the plot by the end. Those who love vivid description and a little more flowery language will enjoy this story.

Ride With Me Into Christmas by Rachel Phillips

In the second story, widowed neighbors Joanna Flick and Paul Sorensen discover they share a love of biking. I enjoyed this story because it demonstrated that romance novels don't always have to be about young people. Through this story, some readers might connect with the difficulties of blending families in relationships and learning to love for a second time. I enjoyed the humor in this story as well as the way the characters work through their difficulties.

My Heart Still Beats by Eileen Kay

I think I enjoyed this story the most of all four in the book. It's the story of a dear elderly couple, Hilde and Vestal, who bring a young woman with them as driver and caretaker while they spend the Christmas holidays at their Door County cabin. Despite their love for young people, the elderly couple has no children, but as they age, it's become more difficult for them to hold onto their cabin. As they wrestle with selling, they have the opportunity to open their home and their hearts to make their own family. As Maddy assists them, she discovers her own longing for a love like Hilde and Vestal have, and their Realtor and his daughter open new doors for her.

Christmas Crazy Becky Melby

Jillian Galloway doesn't know what she's in for when she takes a working vacation to assist her uncle with his dinner theater in Door County. She expects to put her marketing ability to work for him, but discovers he's more in need of a carpenter and a pile of cash after a storm compromises his building. This story was a little more difficult to follow for me. Whether it was the larger list of characters, or something else, I had a little more trouble following this story. Sometimes I had to re-read a paragraph to get a good picture of the scene the author described. However, the story line is cute and I enjoyed the mystery that made it interesting.

You don't have to have Door County roots like our family to enjoy these light and fun winter romances, but if you do know the locations, you will eat them up. I appreciated the stories involving couples at different stages of life and not just youngsters. A traditional Christmas tea played a role in all four stories as did Christmas cactuses, adding to the sense of unity in the book.

During the month of December I always like to have a few books to read that are all about Christmas. They may be romances, suspense, or mysteries, but I love the Christmas theme. The week between Christmas and New Year's when our family slows down a bit, I love good Christmas romances. A Door County Christmas fits into the read between the holidays book. The book contains four short romances. They tie together with one very simple thread and one lovely location. Each romance is a sweet story that will leave you smiling and heartwarmed. The characters are an eclectic group and somewhere in the pages, you may even see bits of yourself. Grab a mug of hot chocolate, pull up and cozy seat and enjoy a little getaway. I recommend this four-in-one for everyone who like sweet little romances.

A Door County Christmas is a delightfully entertaining and inspiring collection of four novellas written by four very gifted writers. The book opens with The Heart's Harbor by Cynthia Ruchti. Amanda Brooks simply wants to escape a cold, lonely, Chicago Christmas and flees to Door County, Wisconsin, and the famous Heart's Harbor Victorian Inn. She gets much more than she bargained for when the owner, Lola Peterson, announces that she has been called for jury duty and is leaving Amanda in charge of preparations for the annual Christmas Tea. Cynthia creates exceptionally interesting and realistic characters, including Harland, Lola's quirky and hilarious husband. Harland is so lovable that I found myself wishing that Cynthia would write an entire book about him. Since I abhor reviews that reveal too much of the plot, I will say no more about this story other than the fact that it is delightful from beginning to end and paints a truly wonderful picture of how God has a plan for each of us if we will heed His calling and follow His leading.

Next, we move along to Ride With Me Into Christmas by Rachael Phillips. Rachael adroitly shows us that, just because a person is retired and has already raised a family, it doesn't mean that life is over for them. God still cares about them and understands their needs and desires. He understands their loneliness and hunger for love and companionship. Best of all, He will supply and provide for those needs, often in spite of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. You will fall in love with Joanna and Paul as they tiptoe around each other. You will laugh at the antics of their adult children who try to nip this growing romance in the bud. You will rejoice with them as love, coupled with faith, prevails.

Eileen Key introduces us to the enchanting Vestal and Hilde Grissom, who are still very much in love after many decades of marriage. In My Heart Still Beats, we follow the story of these two elderly lovebirds as they come to the realization that they must reluctantly sell their cottage. They hire Madison Tanner to drive and assist them as they go about making the necessary arrangements. It is up to Maddy to deal with the realtor and his precocious daughter when the Grissoms change their mind about selling. Through it all, the hand of God is at work to bring peace and fulfillment to those who are willing to follow His leading.

The book concludes with Christmas Crazy by Becky Melby. Jillian Galloway just thinks she is going on a Christmas vacation to Door County territory. Instead, it is up to her to rescue and salvage her uncle's dinner theater in time for the annual Christmas production. In one hilarious catastrophe and disaster after another, Jillian and the enigmatic, young, and extremely handsome Ricky rise to the occasion and overcome all obstacles so that the show can go on. Once again, we see the hand of God at work, drawing together those who are faithful in His service.

Four stories, each entirely different and unique, are bound together with the common threads of Lola Peterson's Christmas Tea and the legend of the Christmas cactus that Lola shares with the main character in each of these novellas. I enjoyed this collection so much that I read it in its entirety in one day. I recommend that you add this book to your Christmas list, both for your own pleasure and for gifts for those you love.

A copy of this book for review purposes was provided to me by the authors. I received no compensation for this review nor was I under any obligation to provide a favorable review.

"A Door County Christmas" is a four-in-one novella collection by Barbour Publishing featuring Eileen Key, Becky Melby, Rachael Phillips, and Cynthia Ruchti. From the back of the book:
"Door County innkeeper Lola Peterson's gift of a Christmas cactus to four single women comes with a guarantee that the plants - and romance - will bloom by Christmas. But the barren plants don't appear interested and love isn't flowering either."

Door County at Christmas time is one of my favorite places. It's so beautiful. And these four ladies capture that spirit so perfectly. This book is a ton of fun. Each story is smart and well-paced and will keep you giggling until the end. Becky Melby told me that they had such a wonderful time in Door County researching the book, and it shines through. Combining real and fictional places, the "Cape Cod of the Midwest" comes alive through their writing. I highly recommend the book for great, light-hearted holiday reading.

**I was provided a complimentary copy of the book for review, but only post reviews of books I truly enjoy.

A Door County Christmas
Love blossoms in a Wisconsin winter

The four novellas in this book will keep you reading to find out if and how love blossoms in a cold Wisconsin winter. The Christmas cacti that Door County innkeeper Lola gives to the four single women comes with a guarantee that both plants and romance will bloom by Christmas.
Amanda Brooks returns home to Door County from Chicago with need of home and release of hurtful memories, but finds herself in charge of Lola's Heart's Harbor Inn and its legendary Christmas Tea. How can she ever pull this off? Especially with the innkeeper's handsome son causing her to wonder if Christmas and love have anything in common.
Widow Joanna Flick and widower Paul Sorenson discover one another in their healing from loss, but life challenges continue. They love biking and being together becomes fun, but both sets of children hang onto the past. However will romance, much less a droopy Christmas cactus, grow?
Beautiful bayside cottage for sale. Trouble is, one octogenarian owner holds back. Their helpful friend, Madison Tanner, loves them and chauffeurs them, but doesn't know what to make of single-parent realtor, Grant Sterling, who is ready to sell the cottage, but wonders why he's having so much trouble. Could Madison be the cause?
Jillian Galloway's vacation becomes unrecognizable. Christmas nears as she tries to rescue her uncle's deteriorating dinner theatre. Her optimism is challenged by leaky roofs, quirky actors and no script. Mysterious stage handyman, Ricky Jimenez, volunteers assistance, but Jillian wonders whether to accept the handsome Brazilian's offer. After all, there are those rumors about him.
Read this delightful book to see whether both romance and plants bloom as the annual Christmas Tea at Lola's Heart's Harbor Inn approaches.
All four multi-published authors make Door County as vibrant as their characters. It's definitely on my to-go list. I found the only drawback to the book was that I wanted the stories to continue. And, oh, the delicious food mentioned is reason alone to read book.

Jude Urbanski, reviewer
[...]

The Heart's Harbor by Cynthia Ruchti

Mayhem and humor set the stage through a matchmaking inn owner abandoning a legendary community tea to her handsome bachelor son and an unsuspecting guest. Fast-paced, page-turning and fun.

Ride with Me into Christmas by Rachel Phillips

Offbeat widowed neighbors wrangle with fear of heights, competitive spirits, unexpected feelings of romance and resistance of grown children. Bicycles, and a flowerless plant draw them out - and up.

My Heart Still Beats by Eileen Key

Obvious sabotage creates tension between the aged property owners' chauffer and their greedy niece's handsome realtor. Each setback produces new humor stirring up romance and a surprising culprit.

Christmas Crazy - by Becky Melby
A young ad writer called to rescue her uncle's disaster-prone theater falls for a handyman-disguised playwright despite suspicions. Writing together results in disarmed disaster, rescue and romance.

Detailed descriptions of Door County brought familiarity to the stories that all link with an aged but romance-minded innkeeper. Fun to imagine how one life can touch many others in different ways.