Mrs. Miracle

The Good: The very basic premise of the book is good. A widower with young children struggling. A magical nanny appearing out of nowhere to aid him at Christmas time, and maybe find him a little love as well. That's the bare bones of the book and that is all that was included in the delightful Hallmark movie.

The Bad: This is a case of the movie being better than the book. The movie dropped all of the unnecessary and sort of weird angles the book tended to dwell on. The book was very specific about Seth not being able to take care of his kids for 4 years, and how his in-laws raised them at that time. These grandparents love having the kids, yet just decide they're done and send the kids back to understandable unprepared father - with no show more help and no experience to guide him. The grandparents marriage goes to hell, grandma embracing women's lib and grandpa being aghast that his wife refuses to wait on him hand and foot anymore. Aghast. And for some reason, the reader is supposed to hope they get back together. Yeah, that wasn't happening. Good for grandma. Seth and Reba were closed off, scared of commitment, annoying people who would have never managed to make it work in real life. Overall, the characters were obnoxious and it was hard to want happiness for any of them. show less

So many hurting souls--Sharon & Jerry are trying to adjust to life after Jerry's retirement and the return of their twin grandsons to their father's care. Seth still grieves his wife Pamela 4 years later and now has his twin sons to manage on top of his busy work schedule--and he can't seem to keep a housekeeper. Reba has distanced herself from her family due to her sister's actions and her feeling that the family sticks up for Vicki more than they stick up for her. Harriet is a long-suffering church-goer who's lonely and gossips under the guise of prayer requests and concern.

Into all this comes Emily Merkle--whom the twins dub "Mrs. Miracle". She reminds me a bit of Mary Poppins (though Seth thinks of her more as Mother Goose). She show more takes over the twins's schedule and encourages the introduction of Seth and Reba to each other. Though Seth and Reba start out understanding each other's hurt, they eventually challenge each other to get past them so that they can go on living full lives with each other.

Mrs. Merkle also takes it upon herself to visit Harriet in the hospital and to try to be friendly toward her--between the minister's advice and Mrs. Merkle's, I hope Harriet changes going forward.

I liked Mrs. Miracle's "sayings" that were quoted at the beginning of each chapter. Though there is some prayer by Emily later in the book, some might not recognize it as such. Other than the church attendance, there isn't much to say it's a Christian fiction book within its pages. show less

This was a lovely & sweet read.

It was a tad bit dated, yet it was nice to be back in this decade before the sci-fi reality of today.

Would've liked to see more Angel magical/mysterious scenes.

While C'mas wasn't center stage throughout the storyline, this felt Christmassy. Perhaps knowing Mrs. Miracle was an Angel helped.

Liked how the POV jumped between the characters and enjoyed studying the recipes tucked between some of the chapters.

The sum of its parts equals a touching story about how much we need one another to survive the trials and tribulations of this life, but also celebrate the moments that we should never take for granted. It shows us how a single woman wronged in the past needs to let go of that hurt despite it coming from family. It brings us a widowed single father bringing up two boys the best he can but unable to crawl out from beneath his grief. It shares the memories of a long term marriage falling to pieces when they no longer seem to see eye to eye. It shines a light on a busybody with a loose tongue that finds judging others through a place of faith (at least in her mind's eye) thoroughly satisfying without her ever taking a step to assist in show more sorting matters she knew nothing of. I know, it sounds harrowing, nay depressing even, but trust me...that's merely laying the groundwork for Mrs. Miracle's...I mean, Mrs. Merkle's appearance.


**copy received for review show less

Call Me Mrs. Miracle by Debbie Macomber
Angelic Intervention series #8. Christmas romance. Closed door. Angels.
Holly Larson works at Finley’s, the last family-owned department store in New York City. She’s guardian and caretaker to Gabe, her brother’s son. Holly doesn’t earn a lot of money but she’s determined to make it a great Christmas for Gabe and that includes buying him the one toy he’s ask for, a toy robot that’s all rage this year. Befriending Jake Finley, the owner’s son, he agrees to hold the robot until Christmas Eve when Holly will have enough money to pay for it. Jake knows that Holly is skipping and scrimping on meals to afford the robot and becomes smitten with her.
Of course Mrs Miracle does her usual show more intervention, pushing to two together, healing wounds of the Finleys and more. Who doesn’t love a little Angel intervention during the holiday season?

My favorite to date. A bit emotional at the end brought a few happy tears. So sweet and beautiful even as I smiled and admired Holly throughout for her clear love of Gabe. Definitely not one of the Angel stories miss. show less

Seth Webster's heart never healed after he lost his adored wife. Now, with Christmas approaching, wild twin boys to raise alone, a home in chaos, and the latest in a long line of exasperated housekeepers quitting in disgust, Seth needs more than help to keep his family togethe...he needs a miracle.
And then a miracle arrives on his doorstep. Her name is Mrs. Merkle, but the kids call her "Mrs. Miracle"—and from the moment the warm, knowing, and very patient nanny appears, everything is different. Her sassy spirit is infectious, and it gives Seth the courage to approach Reba, a beautiful travel agent who's been hurt and betrayed, and is afraid to ever love again. Through the magic of faith—and with a little help from a children's show more Christmas pageant and a lot of encouragement from Mrs. Miracle—Seth and Reba might just be able to find a Christmas miracle of their very own: true love. show less

The help of a good housekeeper was all Seth Webster thought he needed and after his twin six-year-old boys (Jason & Judd) had run off all of them that the agency had sent over, Seth was on his last thread. The arrival of Mrs. Merkle (Mrs. Miracle) was just that, a miracle. In a matter of a few days she had not only gotten his house back in order, but the boys were behaving better than ever. With Christmas approaching the Church program was important to so many people, so when the director left, everyone scramble to find someone who could manage the kids, and organize the volunteers in time to pull it all off. Reba Maxwell was just that sort of person, plus she needed someplace to be on Christmas Eve so she didn’t have to face parts of show more her family that she had been avoiding for the past four years. Finally having an excuse to meet, Seth and Reba found they had a lot in common. Their painful past gave them each a reason to be cautious, but finding a kindred spirit helped - to a point.

Mrs. Macomber does it again. She has a way of finding the right combination to make every character so real, believable, annoying and sympathetic all at the same time. The addition of the in-laws and their troubles made Seth that much more of a loveable yet ‘lost soul’ type of person. The whole deal with Reba and sister Vicki was at first aggravating to me, then I got it, finally. As far as Mrs. Miracle is concerned, she seemed to have a little bit more of a connection then most do, but is she just intuitive or is she an Angel sent to help this group find the Christmas Miracle they all needed, wanted and deserved?

April 21, 2009 show less