Customer Reviews

Silver Bells

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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!

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

Like a number of other readers, I felt something was missing in this story; it seemed very dark and somehow didn't affirm much that was positive or hopeful. Family tensions seem shelved rather than resolved, and Catherine seems almost to let go of her love for her first husband along with her grief. For a better look at what Rice can do, check out "Follow the Stars Home." Even better, get the Hallmark DVD adaptation of "Stars," which tells a slightly different story.

Lose yourself in this charming little book that oozes with the wonder of a New York Christmas. From the tree lighting at Rockefeller Center to the streets of Chelsea where Clement Clark Moore lived and penned his immortal "Twas the Night Before Christmas," the reader is transported into that magical time of year when miracles really can happen.

A tree farmer from Nova Scotia, an embittered widow in Chelsea, a runaway boy, and a kooky hat maker are all brought together and given second chances at life and at love in this endearing story.

Luanne Rice delivers love and laughter and happy ever after in classic Christmas fashion.

I love Luanne Rice. This book was a nice, short story, definitely not her best, as stated here by others, but she is a great author, and I'd recommend NOT giving up on her if this is your first book by her. "Follow The Stars Home...." Read that and you'll realize she's wonderful. But this little book was heart-warming, just not real exciting. Give it a try, however!

I should start out by saying that I have never read a Luanne Rice novel before, so I really have nothing to compare this too. Silver Bells was a sweet story, kind of generic, but good nonetheless.

This is a great book for the holiday season. The author could not have picked a better setting than snowy New York city. The scenes of sledding, roaring fires, christmas decorating, and tree lightings really help get the reader into the holiday spirit. As with most holiday stories, the plot is somewhat expected. The idea of two lost, lonely souls finding each other at christmas has definitly been done before, but Luanne Rice does manage to through in a few surprise and dramatic turns. All in all, I enjoyed the story and would definitly recommend it to someone who was looking for something light to read during the holiday season.

I am a big fan of Luanne Rice, and have read almost all of her books. This one, however, I could have done without.

I don't think she could have come up with a weaker storyline. The characters are introduced, and attempts are made to flesh them out...but the attempts fall short. I didn't care about the characters - mainly because they were so obviously "characters", there never was the ability to picture them as real people and thus immerse myself in the story. I never got the feeling of the relationships between the characters, never got a feeling of deep caring, disdain, indifference, or anything that makes one lose themself in a story.

If you really want to read this, borrow it from the library...it isn't worth spending the money on. Save that for ANY of her other books - Beach Girls, for example.

Sorry, Luanne, this one just didn't cut it. If you do a holiday book again, don't just dash off a half hearted effort to get it to press on time. Take the time to make it a real story, one your faithful readers can enjoy.

Normally I enjoy Luanne Rice novels and look forward to each new one, but after just finishing "Silver Bells" I have to say that for me it missed the mark. Yes, the story and nice and the ending is "feel-good," but the characters are one-dimensional and it appears that Ms Rice didn't waste a lot of time writing this one. I hope her next one is better.

Luanne has been one of my very favorite authors from her first books. I think she is simply one of the best. This was a shorter read, as the Christmas book selections generally are. I enjoyed it very much, read it in about 2 sittings. I would recommend it as a "Christmas read". Not on the same level as her ordinary books though.