Title: 25 Days ‘til Christmas

Author: Poppy Alexander

Publisher: William Morrow 2019

Genre: Holiday Fiction

Pages: 348

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Monthly Motif - December

Kate Potter used to love Christmas. A few years ago, she would have been wrapping her presents in September and baking mince pies on Halloween, counting down the days and hours to Christmas. But that was before Kate’s husband left for the army and never came home. Now she can hardly stand December at all.

Kate can’t deny she’s lonely, yet she doesn’t think she’s ready for romance. She knows that her son, Jack, needs a Christmas to remember—just like Kate needs a miracle to help her finally move forward with her life. So she’s decided if there isn’t a miracle on its way, she’ll just have to make her own.

As Kate’s advent countdown to the best Christmas ever begins, she soon realizes that even with the best laid plans, you can’t plan for the unexpected. For when the path of the loneliest woman in town crosses with that of the loneliest man, these two destined hearts might find a way to save the holiday for both of them.

I picked this one up as a fun holiday read, but it ended up being a lot more somber than I was expecting. Ultimately, I really enjoyed this story of two lost souls finding one another during the Christmas season. Kate annoyed me at times with her unwillingness to accept help and yet I found her very realistic. Daniel is a great character and I kind of wish we had spent a bit more time with him throughout the story. Be warned that there are some heavy themes in this story (death, suicide, poverty, sexual harassment) but they were all handled in a very realistic portrayal of life.

Next up on the TBR pile: