Silver Bells [Hardcover]

Luanne Rice (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 26, 2004

Every year on the first day of December, Christopher Byrne traveled from his farm in Nova Scotia to sell his Christmas trees on the streets of Manhattan. But this year there'd be no cheer for the widower and his twelve-year-old daughter, Bridget. For New York City had taken Christy's only son, headstrong sixteen-year-old Danny, who'd run off without a trace.

Librarian Catherine Tierney used to love the holidays: the lights, the carols, the nip in the air. But after her husband's death on Christmas Eve three years ago, the festivities seemed to start too early and last too long. Just before he died, Brian told his wife that he'd never leave her, that every Christmas he'd send Catherine a sign. On the quaint Chelsea street where she lives, Catherine will meet the tree seller from Novia Scotia. Both figured the world had forgotten the true meaning of Christmas. But they hadn't counted on finding each other, on fate, on second chances. . . and on a holiday gift of new love and new hope to last a lifetime.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A Christmas tree farmer from Nova Scotia and a lonely New York widow come together in this Christmas weepie by bestseller Rice (Beach Girls, etc.). Catherine Tierney, a corporate librarian who lives in a 19th-century townhouse on a quaint street in the Manhattan neighborhood of Chelsea, used to love Christmas until her husband, Brian, died of cancer. Each year, she awaits a sign from him that'll let her know he's watching over her. Christy Byrne, a widower from Nova Scotia, is in Manhattan with his 12-year-old daughter, Bridget, to sell his Christmas trees. Every night he leaves his boarding house in Chelsea to go looking for his estranged 16-year-old son, Danny, who ran off the year before. When Danny resurfaces and it's revealed that he's been living on the streets with the help of Catherine and her friend Lizzie, they all realize that their paths have crossed many times, and that they've touched each other's lives more than they could imagine. Thrown together in their shared concern for Danny, Christy and Catherine help each other forget their troubled pasts and move toward the future together. Rice's romanticized vision of Manhattan is sharpened by local detail, and her heartwarming Christmas story will please readers who like a nice dose of pathos with their holiday fare.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

A widower, Christy Byrne makes his living growing Christmas trees in Nova Scotia and selling them in Manhattan. One day, the unthinkable happens. Christy gets into an argument with his son, Danny. The police are called in, and as Christy is handcuffed, Danny runs away. Widow Catherine Tierney sees the fight, takes Danny under her wing, and gives him access to the private library where she works. A year passes, and Christy returns to New York City to sell his trees. He and Catherine are interested in each other, but she faces a quandary: does she tell the father about Danny and break the boy's trust, or does she betray Christy by keeping the boy's whereabouts a secret? Rice has written a prodigal son parable and a heartwarming holiday treat, and thanks to her lyrical voice and elegant writing style, this story is special. Readers who enjoy such distinctive writers as Mary Alice Monroe or Patricia Gaffney will add Rice to their list of favorites. Shelley Mosley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Bantam; 1ST edition (October 26, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553804111
• ISBN-13: 978-0553804119
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,444,529 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

LUANNE RICE is the New York Times bestselling author of twenty-nine novels, most recently The Silver Boat. Her books, including Cloud Nine and Dream Country, often center on love, family, nature and the sea, and have been translated into twenty-four languages. A number of Rice's novels have been adapted for television, including Crazy in Love for TNT, Blue Moon for CBS, the Hallmark Hall of Fame presentations of Follow the Stars Home and Silver Bells, and Beach Girls as a summer drama series for Lifetime Television. She has contributed a theatrical piece to the new off Broadway play Motherhood Out Loud. Rice loves nature and frequently writes about it. Born in New Britain, Connecticut, Rice divides her time between New York City and Old Lyme, Connecticut, in the house where she spent all her childhood summers.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Luanne Rice does it again, November 6, 2004

By 

Annie "bookwishes4" (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Silver Bells (Hardcover)

Every year, widower Christopher Byrne leaves Nova Scotia and comes to Chelsea, New York City to sell his Christmas trees through out the month of December. Last year, Christy brought his two children along with him but only went back home with his daughter Bridget. Christy got into a huge fight with his 17 year old son, Danny about him staying on in NYC and in the end, Danny ran away.

Catherine Tierney, a resident of Chelsea, used to love everything about Christmas until her husband died 3 years ago right before Christmas. Now all she wants is the holiday season to pass her by as fast as possible.

When Christy returns the following year to Chelsea to sell his trees, Catherine tries to avoid him. You see, she has a secret. The night after the fight between Christy and Danny, Catherine sees Danny searching for food in the trash cans outside her home and she offers to help him whenever he is willing to accept it.

Christy and Catherine are drawn together over the love and affection they share for Danny and they learn to believe in the miracles can happen when we are most ready to give up.

Silver Bells is a book that I will treasure for years to come because it is a touching story that teaches us to look up every once in a while and see the beauty that right before our eyes.

Luanne Rice is the author of many books including True Blue and Beach Girls but this is her first holiday book and I hope it is not her last.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing - But Luanne Rice is still one of my favorites, February 6, 2005

By 

JJ Stark (Cicero, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Silver Bells (Hardcover)

Let me start by saying that I am a fan and faithful reader of Luanne Rice. I've been buying & reading her books since the release of CLOUD NINE several years ago, and she is still one of the best (and most beloved) authors of women's fiction today! Most of her books follow the same theme - Boy meets girl, girl falls in love w/boy, an obstacle threatens to keep them apart, true love perseveres and the lovers find their way to each other, and all live "happily ever after!" While the theme of each novel may be the same in each book, what makes each one an interesting read & keeps readers coming back are the character development and story settings, which are so well done, the reader finds themselves emotionally attached. Although I've loved some of her books more than others, they've all been the kinds of books that I can't wait to see what the next chapter brings, and leave me wanting more at the end. Sadly, I can't say the same was true of SILVER BELLS.

With the success of the holiday novels from Best Selling authors like Debbie Macomber, John Grisham, and Nora Roberts, perhaps Ms. Rice felt it was time to "jump on the band wagon" and write her own tale of love at the holidays. Unfortunately, it fell flat, and my advice would be to stick to the traditional stories like BEACH GIRLS, CLOUD NINE and FOLLOW THE STARS HOME.

There was no character development, and no one to truly root for. As a reader, I didn't find myself emotionally drawn to any of the characters in this story, and didn't really care one way or another if the characters ended up together or went their separate ways. From the small amount of background on each character that was provided, it was hard to believe some of the choices that they made and the ending just seemed to be a little unbelievable. The whole story just seemed to be a little bit forced, and there was way too much drama for such a short holiday story. This particular story may have been better told as a full length HC novel, instead of an abbreviated holiday tale.

While I usually find myself anxiously turning the pages of a Luanne Rice novel, the reason for this is because the story holds so much of my interest that I can't wait to see what happens next. More often than not, I'm disappointed when I'm done - not because the story was a disappointment, but because the author's left me wanting more! This time around I found myself anxiously turning the pages for an entirely different reason - I actually couldn't wait to finish the book and see it end already. And this time my disappointment when I was done had nothing to do with my wanting more - I was just glad to be done with it already, and to finally have it end.

I usually start my New Year off each year by reading the newest novel from Ms. Rice. This year, however, I have to wait until June for her newest book, which I guess was caused by the time it spent her to write SILVER BELLS so that it was ready for release in time for the holidays. I'm looking forward to returning to a more "traditional" Luanne Rice novel. I can only hope that this was the first and last holiday read from Ms. Rice, and that next year I can return to starting my new year off with the latest HC novel from one of my favorite authors!

If SILVER BELLS was the first Luanne Rice book that any of you have read, I encourage you to go back and read any of one of her previous novels to get the full scope of this author's talent (BEACH GIRLS, CLOUD NINE or SUMMER FIRES would be a few good choices!) Or wait until June and pick up a copy of the HC SUMMER ROSES or the PB SUMMER'S CHILD, both of which I am anxiously looking forward to!

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars delightful holiday romance, October 27, 2004

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Silver Bells (Hardcover)

One year ago, Nova Scotia's Christmas farmer widower Christopher Byrne took his two children with him to sell trees in the Chelsea section of Manhattan. Chris and his sixteen years old son got into a fight over the teen's future and soon the police arrive to take the older Byrne away. Danny vanished and has not been seen since and Chris regrets his actions ever since.

Widow Catherine Tierney works at the private library of the Reinbeck Corporation. She has seen Chris sell his trees for years and saw last year's fight. She and her pal Lizzie have tried to help Danny who they call Harry for Houdini. A vanished teen and his distraught younger sister play matchmaker as the big city woman and the rural farmer fall in love, but it will take a miracle for this foursome to find peace on earth.

SILVER BELLS is a delightful holiday romance starring an ensemble of characters who will make readers believe in the miracle of Chelsea. The story line contains the serious elements of a runaway teen and the homeless yet manages to uplift the audience with its caring cast. Readers will quote Al Michaels "do you believe in miracles?" with an astounding yes when it comes to Luanne Rice.

Harriet Klausner