A Cedar Cove Christmas

A charming retelling of the Nativity story. The entire Cedar Cove community was so welcoming to their unexpected Christmas Eve visitor that now I want to know each of the characters better and read their stories too. Also, I wonder if there was a new romance brewing there at the end? This is a series I definitely plan to continue.

This Christmas tale attempts to replicate in modern times the basic story of the Nativity in just about every way except for having a divine birth. We have the young girl, Mary Jo, traveling and finding no room in the hotels. We find shelter in an apartment above a barn, surrounded by sheep, oxen, horses and a camel. We've got her brothers...three of them...last name Wyse...carrying presents of gold, incense and perfume...trying to find her. We've got all kinds of Good Samaritans acting as angels of mercy. We've even got a young child who received a drum as a present who wants to play for her.

For the first half, the book seemed like a fairly typical Christmas feel-good: a quick and easy read that wouldn't challenge the mind much. As the show more second half unfolded, however, it all just seemed a bit forced—nary a twist or turn in the quest to jam every Christmas vignette into the story. By the time we got to the three Wyse men navigating by following a star...err, fireworks launched outside the barn...I was glad for the book to end. show less

Opening Sentence:
‘…Even though she was listening to Christmas Carols on her iPod, Mary Jo Wyse could hear her brothers arguing…’

What a wonderful Christmas read. Gently following the Christmas story with a tongue in cheek modern rewrite of the nativity scene.

Single mum-to-be, Mary Jo Wyse, arrives in Cedar Cove on Christmas Eve. She is searching for her baby’s father who had said he’d be in town visiting his parents. Not only is he not there, his parents are overseas. This leaves Mary Jo stranded, pregnant and alone. And there’s no room at any of the the local inns.

So local librarian, Grace Harding, befriends Mary Jo and invites the very pregnant young woman home to her nearby ranch. Grace and her husband, Cliff, have a show more houseful of guests, but they offer her a room over their stable (currently sheltering the animals—including a donkey, a beautifully ugly horse and a vicious camel—for Cedar Cove’s Nativity play).

Predictably, Mary Jo goes into early labour that night while everyone else is at church, and young Mack McAfee, a paramedic, comes to her rescue, just as her brothers—the three Wyse men—show up in town searching for their sister. just where is a guiding star when you need one?

The story is light-hearted and warm, a sure way to brighten your Christmas reading. It’s also a story you can easily complete in one sitting, along with a glass of wine and some cheese and biscuits. show less

Mother-to-be Mary Jo Wyse arrives in Cedar Cove on Christmas Eve, searching for her baby's father. David Rhodes had said he'd be in town. But he isn't. Which leaves Mary Jo stranded, pregnant and alone. And there's no room at the local inn.…
So Grace Harding brings Mary Jo home to her nearby ranch. She and her husband, Cliff, have a houseful of guests, but they offer her a room over their stable (currently sheltering the animals, including a donkey and a camel, for Cedar Cove's Nativity pageant!).
When Mary Jo goes into labor that night, a young man named Mack McAfee, a paramedic, comes to her rescue, just as her brothers, the three Wyse men, show up in town. The people of Cedar Cove join them in celebrating the birth of baby Noel. But show more no one has more to celebrate than Mack. Because this Christmas brings him faith, hope and love… show less

Overall this wasn't a bad story, but there were many issues brought up that weren't resolved by the end of the book. Furthermore, I really disliked the brothers and their chapters were very frustrating for me to read. I liked the concept and parts of the story, but it needed to be longer and have some sort of resolution for the conflicts driving the story.

This is a modern day retelling of the Nativity story. Mary Jo Wyse is pregnant and goes to Cedar Cove to meet up with the father of the baby and his family. He's no show and the family is away. Of course, there is no room at any of the inns. She is offered a temporarily vacant apartment over the barn at the librarian's farm. And so it goes, with her 3 Wyse brothers in pursuit. It was a cute story and heartwarming for Christmas.

Summery: Mother-to-be Mary Jo Wise arrives in Cedar Cove on Christmas Eve, searching for her baby’s father. David Rhodes had said he’d be in town. But he isn’t. Which leaves Mary Jo stranded, pregnant and alone. And there’s no room at the local inn .

So Grace Harding brings Mary Jo home to her nearby ranch. She and her husband, Cliff, have a houseful of guests but offer her a room over their stable (currently sheltering the animals—including a donkey and camel—for Cedar Cove’s Nativity pageant!)

When Mary Jo goes into labor that night, a young man named Mack McAfee, a paramedic, comes to her rescue, just as her brothers—the three Wyse men—show up in town. The people of Cedar Cove join them in celebrating the birth of show more baby Noel. But no one has more to celebrate than Mack. Because this Christmas brings him faith, hope and love. – debbiemacomber.com

For some reason I’ve never read Debbie Macomber. I have always meant to read her but never gotten around to it until now.I got a copy for one of the people I was Secret Santa to and it made me finally go and check out a copy from the library. A Cedar Cover Christmas is my first visit with the folks in Cedar Cove and I will be back for more soon.

With many similarities to The Christmas story-a pregnant Mary (Jo), 3 Wyse men, and a birth on Christmas Eve-this was just the story to help me feel in the holiday spirit. This was a fast read and it doesn’t require a lot of work and that’s just what I look for this time of year. The characters are all very sweet and everything works out for the best. It’s a nice story and right now I can use all the nice stories there are. show less