Merry Smith is overworked. Between family responsibilities, preparing for Christmas, and staying out of the crosshairs of her boss there’s room for little else. Her social life is the last thing on her mind, much less finding love.
Jayson Bright is feeling the pressure. Christmas is his most stressful time of year. Deadlines are looming, the holidays are coming, and employees are winding down. He’s the one left in the office pulling late and lonely nights.
Luckily for these two, their friends and family take matters into their own hands, and Merry and Bright are about to discover that love can be found where you least expect it...
I'd like to thank Becky at Arrow Publishing for inviting me to be a part of this blog tour and sending me a copy of Merry and Bright to review.
Over the years I have lost track of the number of Debbie Macomber books I have read, whether they have been part of her popular series or standalones, but I have to confess that the books I look forward to reading most are her festive stories as they always have such a feel-good factor about them. And Merry and Bright was no exception and lived up to all expectations, in fact I'd go as far to say that it's my favourite of her books in recent years.
Merry doesn't have time for romance, working extra hours in a temp job to save money for school fees, and helping support her mum who has MS and her younger brother Patrick doesn't leave much free time. But her family worry that she is missing out on the fun and socialising that someone her age should be doing so decide to take matters into their hands and have decided that if Merry won't look for a boyfriend, then they'll do it for her...
Meanwhile Merry's boss Jayson is in a similar predicament, under total stress with a deadline for a major contract looming he's not exactly the easiest of people to deal with. And it doesn't help that all his close friend and family are settling down. Is he destined to be alone forever or should he give his friend's suggestion as to how to find love a try?
Our two central characters couldn't be more different if they tried. Merry is family orientated and a complete Christmasaholic whereas Jayson has a strained relationship with his family, is a workaholic and is totally Bah Humbug where Christmas is concerned. Do opposites attract as they say? Being a Debbie Macomber novel, you know that the inevitable is going to happen but it's the endearing way that she draws you into the day-to-day lives of Merry and Jayson that gives this book its charm. I loved how current the concept of this storyline was as nowadays it does seem that more and more relationships are founded through online conversations rather than meeting through social situations.
Although the central characters of the book are rightly Merry and Jayson, I have to confess that it was Patrick who was the star of the book for me. He was a total sweetheart who had a heart of gold, it was clear how much he loved his sister and it was so sweet that he wanted to do his part to find Merry a suitable partner. And he wasn't afraid to speak his mind when the matter arose so I'd gladly have him in my corner anyday.
Merry and Bright was such a charming, festive read that I think should be on everyone's Christmas reading list this year and who knows maybe on our TV's in future years as it has all the ingredients for the perfect Christmas movie.
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