A Home For Christmas (edition 2009)

Dr. Janice Thornton has returned to her ancestral hometown of Angel Ridge, Tennessee. She practices medicine in Knoxville which is described as being about two hours away, although it and Maryville serve as the places most residents are hospitalized when the need arises in Angel Ridge. Her uncle wants her to take over his practice. She's not so sure she wants to do that. She meets a guy named Blake who has purchased her grandparents' home. It's love at first sight for him so he very much wants for her to stay. I almost abandoned this book about 50 pages into the book, but then I told myself I'd give it one more chapter to prove itself to me. Enter the character of Miss Estelee. I kept reading it. She wasn't a major character, but the book would have been sadly lacking had it not been for the characters of Miss Estelee and Dixie and the medical crises that arose. I think that one event that arose near the end was not fully resolved before she had the characters "kiss and make up" so that the romantic ending everyone expected could be there. ( )

I received this book from the Early Reviewers Giveaway. I was a nice small town Christmas romance. Janice is a big town doctor who goes to her mother's hometown to reminisce and meets Blake and an Uncle she did not realize she had. Her uncle wants her to move to Angel Ridge to take over his practice so he can retire. She has never really known what it is like to have a family or people who care about her and is very overwhelmed. She and Blake both have major trust issues that they have to resolve before they can have a healthy relationship. This was a cute story. But I had a hard time connecting with the characters. This was an okay read for me, not bad but not awesome either. Nice, light Christmas romance. ( )

I couldn't seem to get into this. I was expecting a hard copy, not an email attachment. ( )

I received this as an e-book through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program. It was an enjoyable, quick read, and the author has a way of writing that draws you right into the book. Unfortunately, I didn't find myself liking Blake all that much, so I was disappointed that Janice went back to him. I agree with the other readers who said that his anger issues did not really get resolved sufficiently for the happily-ever-after ending. ( )

I read the first book in this series (also from LT), Only You, a while back and liked it. It's nice to read a sweet, warm story every now and then when you get used to vampires and their ilk. Well, A Home for Christmas is no different. A lady doctor, Janice Thornton, with family ties to Angel Ridge, Tennessee comes back to give in to nostalgia from the few times she spent there in her grandparents's home. Her mother came from Angel Ridge but turned her back on it when she turned eighteen and left to move on to bigger and better things. Driving past her family's home she sees a man, Blake Ferguson, on a ladder, hanging Christmas lights. All of a sudden, he's falling backward off the ladder and landing hard on the ground. She jumps out of her car to help and the rest is history.

Well, not history exactly. There are a few bumps in the road to true happiness of course. She has a hard time trusting people who say they love her since they've always left before. He has issues that involve jealousy when his brother is involved and sometimes he comes on a little too strong. With her great uncle leaving his small town practice to her, Janice has some big decisions to make about her life, career, and Blake.

This was a nice, easy, and quick read. Staley's books remind me a little of a PG version of a Sherryl Woods novel. I was a little disappointed not to revisit the characters from Only You but with just over 200 pages (the ebook was under 200), there's only so much you can cram into a book. I liked Janice and Blake as well as all the other characters. I hope Deborah Grace Staley decides to write more about Angel Ridge. ( )