Debbie Macomber

I never anticipated using the word disappointed and Debbie Macomber in the same sentence. On Debbie Macomber’s web site in the blog section, she shared on 7-Oct-2014, “It was just about this time last year when I started writing Mr. Miracle. Because the previous Hallmark Channel holiday movies adapted from my books were so well received, Hallmark wanted to bring Mr. Miracle to life on the screen for 2014.” I can easily understand why the Hallmark Channel wanted to bring Mr. Miracle to show more life.

After the delight of reading and particularly enjoying the various Mrs. Miracle novels come to life on the television screen via The Hallmark Channel, I was also delighted to think about the possibilities that might abound within the title, “Mr. Miracle”. However, as a reader I feel very let down by a favorite author and I’ve been a fan of Debbie Macomber’s novels for many, many years. I postponed writing this review for several days but reflection has not changed my opinion and actually gave strength to the necessity of giving my honest opinion in each book review written.

The specifics of my disappointment are primarily in character development and character conversations but the novel itself is like a base coat of paint that is flat, colorless, and ordinary. It gives the impression of a draft that mistakenly went to print before the accomplished author even had a chance to read it and certainly did not edit the story. I have had the delight of reading novels issued for the Christmas holiday season that are so rich in quality that the reader wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the novel throughout the year. The richness of these novels is in the multi-dimensional levels of storylines of the various characters and/or the variety of themes that resonate through the novel, the vivid descriptions of settings, sharing the growth of the characters through their life experiences for the timeline of the novel, and the joy of the dynamic dialogues shared by the characters that add the sparks of comedy or tension or romance. The novel of Mr. Miracle has none of the fulfilling qualities for this reader. There are so many examples particularly in the dialogue between guardian angel Harry and his mentor Celeste and between Addie Folsom and her neighbor Erich Simmons where there could have been sparkling and witty bantering but there are only examples of monotonous, dull and predictable exchanges.

If you need one more stocking stuffer, you can buy it. I can’t recommend a favorite author’s novel that will become a bestseller due to her name. That isn’t fair to all the writers of all genres. Otherwise, there are so many other titles that could delight your favorite reader this holiday season. This title can be watched on television. First time I’ve ever said, “Skip the read!”

I received a pre-publication copy of this title as an “Early Reviewer” from Library Thing. show less

This was a sweet Christmas story about an angel who visits a family struggling with loss. I haven’t read much from Debbie Macomber, but I enjoyed this one a great deal, and I might look for more in this series. I liked that this was not a simple story with simple solutions. I liked that the angel performed small miracles only (decorating the tree, fixing broken ornaments) and not larger ones (no cure for dementia, no miraculous pregnancy). She wasn’t there to solve all their problems show more with magic; she was there to befriend them, and to prepare them for what was to come. I liked that the heartache of the adoption process was not minimized: it can be quite a drawn-out, painful process, and when it goes badly, people (and marriages) suffer. This book also addresses the grandmother’s sorrow at her own deteriorating mental condition, and she courageously resolves to accept whatever time she has left with whatever grace she can muster. This book is just the perfect mix of hopeful and poignant, of bitttersweet and uplifting. There is enough humor thrown in to soften the hard edges. All in all, a fine holiday story. show less

Angels at the Table is a short novel that is the seventh and final story in Debbie Macomber’s Angels Everywhere series that follows a group of three mischievous angels named Shirley, Goodness, and Mercy. As Prayer Ambassadors, they’re supposed to answer people’s prayers particularly at the holidays, but they can never seem to resist interfering in human affairs, which can get them into trouble with their boss, the archangel Gabriel. This time, they’re joined by a new apprentice angel show more named Will, who they’re training and who succumbs to their special brand of holiday hijinks.

It’s New Year’s Eve, and the angels take Will to Earth to see the humans celebrating in Times Square, where with a nudge of his wings, he causes two strangers, Aren and Lucie, to bump into one another. It’s the stroke of midnight, when everyone around them is kissing, so Aren impulsively kisses Lucie, who enjoys it. Afterward, they spend nearly the entire night at a diner talking. Their connection is strong, but with the responsibility of opening a new restaurant in the next few months, Lucie feels the timing isn’t right. Aren suggests that she take some time to think things over, and if Lucie chooses to pursue a relationship, he’ll be waiting for her at the top of the Empire State Building one week later. Over the following week, Lucie can’t get Aren off her mind, so she decides to meet him, but a last minute emergency involving her mom prevents her from going. They both think it wasn’t meant to be, but nearly one year later, Aren, who works as a food critic for a New York newspaper, is assigned to review Lucie’s new restaurant. He has no idea that she’s the owner, but the food is so terrible (thanks to the meddling angels) that he has no choice but to pan it. Thankfully Lucie’s loyal customers come to her rescue, commenting online about how wrong Aren was, which leads his boss to insist that he give it another go. On his second visit, Aren finally meets Lucie again, and this time, the food is fabulous, making him print a retraction, but Lucie is still holding a grudge against the anonymous reviewer. Just as she and Aren are starting to reconnect, she discovers his secret identity, which could ruin their newfound relationship.

Lucie made a lot of sacrifices to attend culinary school and she’s proud of her work as a chef. She and her mom have plans to invest her mom’s life savings into opening their own restaurant, Heavenly Delights, which is Lucie’s dream. They’ve secured the storefront for it, just as she meets Aren for the first time, and she knows that the next few months are going to entail a lot of hard work that won’t really leave time for romance. That’s why, although she feels very connected to Aren after their New Year’s Eve meeting, she’s reluctant to keep things going. However, after not being able to get Aren out of her mind for the next week, she decides to meet him as planned until her mother’s accident prevents her from going. Although she’s thought of Aren often over the past year and frequently peruses the newspaper for his byline, she’s never been able to find him and thinks it wasn’t meant to be. Then one day, about a year later, she reads the scathing review the newspaper’s food critic, Eaton Well, wrote about her restaurant. Lucie is livid about it and fears that she and her mom may lose the business because of it, until her loyal customers come to her rescue. A couple of weeks later, Aren shows up at Heavenly Delights, leaving Lucie stunned. With a little nudge from their family members, they reconnect and things are going very well between them. Although Eaton Well publishes a new glowing review, Lucie just can’t forget how awful the first one was. She has no idea that Aren and Eaton are one and the same and when she finds out, it may spell disaster for their relationship. Lucie is a talented chef, a hard worker, and very determined to make Heavenly Delights a success. She has a strong relationship with her mother and wants a family. Aren is everything she’s dreamed of in a man, but she’ll have to learn forgiveness in order to make things work between them.

Aren has only just moved to New York when he and Lucie meet for the first time on New Year’s Eve. He’s recently divorced and although he wants a wife and kids, he’s not really actively looking for a woman after getting his heart broken. However, the conversation with Lucie flows so easily, he just has to see her again, which is why he suggests that she take some time to think things over before nixing the possibility of them pursuing a relationship. When she doesn’t show up, he’s a little heartbroken, but decides it wasn’t meant to be. Aren writes his reviews under the pseudonym, Eaton Well, and his contract with the newspaper forbids him from revealing his identity to anyone other than immediate family. He’s assigned to review Heavenly Delights but thanks to the mischievous angels interference, he finds the food completely unpalatable and pans the restaurant. After the backlash from customers, his editor sends him back for another try, and this time, he discovers that Lucie is the co-owner and chef. Also, the food is delicious, so he prints a retraction to his original review. He and Lucie hit it off again and things are going well. He knows that he can’t keep his secret identity from her forever, but he also can’t reveal himself without breaking his contract. When Lucie finds out, she isn’t so understanding. Aren is a really nice guy who was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Although he wrote a scathing review the first time around, he didn’t really have much choice after all the crazy things the angels did to try to “spice up” Lucie’s already superb cooking. Then he simply couldn’t tell her who he was without legal ramifications. I think he did the best he could. He was also open-minded the second time around and was very apologetic that everything happened the way it did.

Angels at the Table was a classic Debbie Macomber holiday rom-com. Will was a nice addition to the original trio of angels. He’s every bit as impish as the other three but very concerned when things go awry. All the angels are perhaps a bit childish at times, but their hearts are always in the right place. However, their antics always seem to get them into trouble, not only with Gabriel, but they also cause trouble for their charges as well. Will’s misstep in Times Square leads to Aren and Lucie meeting sooner than they were supposed to, and all four of them very nearly ruin the couple’s second chance by quite literally over-seasoning the sauce. But all’s well that ends well. Lucie learns an important lesson in forgiveness and Aren learns to be a little kinder in his reviewing process. They fit well together as a couple and I enjoyed the little report from Gabriel about what the future holds for them that serves as something of an epilogue. Overall, Angels at the Table was a nice wrap-up to the Angels Everywhere series. show less

Must Love Flowers by Debbie Macomber is a 2023 Ballantine publication.

Joan was widowed four years ago but never found a way to move forward. She finally takes some good advice to heart and agreed to grief counseling. Plus, she is considering taking in a boarder.

Enter Maggie, a nursing student who needs to move out of her alcoholic father’s home. Maggie moves in with Joan and the pair hit it off immediately. But trouble comes knocking when Joan’s son disapproves of his mother’s show more decision to have Maggie movie in. Meanwhile, Joan hires a landscaper and discovers that he too has suffered a terrible loss in life…

There are several things I loved about this story- I love friendships between women who are from very different generations. I think we need more of these types of relationships between women! So, I really enjoyed the bond between Joan and Maggie.

As a veteran author, Macomber sure knows how to suck you into a story immediately and keep you absorbed in it all the way to the end. These days it’s rare for me to get that involved in a story from start to finish.

I loved the relationship building between Joan and the people in her group counseling meetings, and the mature characters dealing with real life issues, though at times these issues could get pretty heavy and maybe a little uncomfortable.

I love progress and growth in relationships and in this novel, we deal with the decline of parent/child relationships and the difficulties we can have processing loss.

This also just so happened to be a great book to read at the beginning of a new year. It’s all about cleaning out the old and embracing the new, letting go, moving forward, and giving readers a little inspiration in that department.

That said, there were some annoyances as well.

One of the biggest issues was the emotional immaturity of Joan’s sons. In every way, shape, and or form, these grown, adult males were like whiney ten-year-olds. Nick was especially disappointing, and I didn’t like him for Maggie, and never managed to warm up to him. I felt Maggie deserved a rock instead of someone always pouting when they didn’t get their way and jumping to conclusions at every turn.

I also had a little trouble the way these men handled Joan’s reclusiveness, and felt they blamed her, when, in fact, they did little to help, making weak excuses for their lack of involvement in her life.

But, overall, the good outweighed the bad. I enjoyed the book, and had a hard time putting it down, despite some unappealing characterizations. This is a story that would appeal to wide range of readers, young and old alike!

*Content note: Some will list this author in the faith-based category. For some reason the books I’ve read by Macomber have not had an overt Christian message in them. In fact, some of her newer releases have featured some heavy drinking passages by some characters, and this book even had a mild swear word in it. That said, she does mention God’s plans and divine interventions on occasion and the story is very clean as far as sexual content and moral values, which I really appreciate… and it just goes to show, based on how very popular DM is, that all that hard content is not necessary for good storytelling.
I am thankful that Macomber has chosen to continue writing. I had a feeling her retirement would be short-lived… 😊 show less