The Christmas Swap by Melody Carlson

Title: The Christmas Swap

Author: Melody Carlson

Publisher: Fleming H. Revell 2020

Genre: Holiday Romance

Pages: 176

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 

All Emma Daley wants this holiday season is a white Christmas. But the young teacher and struggling musician sure can't find that in sunny Arizona. Luckily, there's someone living in a perfect mountain home in the Colorado Rockies looking to make a vacation trade this year.

West Prescott is an in-demand songwriter and talented musician who put his own singing career on hold to write songs for celebrity acts to perform. When his mother convinces him to do a vacation trade for Christmas, he never imagined one of the houseguests would be so sweet--or so strikingly pretty. Naturally, he decides to stick around, and, to get better acquainted, he poses as the house's caretaker. But when Emma's friend Gillian discovers his true identity and sets her sights on him, things get . . . messy.

A very chaste romance for today’s read. I was intrigued by the plot and I really did like West. Unfortunately, all the other characters are so incredibly unlikable that it really makes you wonder about Emma’s judgement. Gillian is the worst as being manipulative toward her supposed best friend. I could not believe what Emma put up with and made excuses for. The book ended up making me pretty angry for Emma (and for West being on the receiving end of some of the manipulation). A cute idea that just really didn’t do it for me at all.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Love Finds You in Sisters, Oregon by Melody Carlson

Title: Love FInds You in Sisters, Oregon

Author: Melody Carlson

Publisher: Summerside Press 2009

Genre: Christian fiction

Pages: 320

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Support Your Local Library; April Read-a-Thon

Hope Bartolli has avoided Sisters for year. But when she inherits her beloved grandmother's old house, Hope must decide whether to once again run away from the two sisters who have caused her nothing but trouble--or stay in the charming town and risk her heart.

Another volume in the Love Finds You series.  Another that I liked.  A fun little read for rainy days.  (And it's been raining for a weeks straight.)  I like how the author set her book in her town.  Even though I am a city girl through and through, Carlson made the small town of Sisters, Oregon actually appealing.  I kind of want to visit.  Visit, I said, not move there.  The characters were fun and colorful.  I really felt the depth of emotion connected to the story.  My only problem: once again we get  sickeningly sweet and happy ending.  The family went from fighting and bitterness to happiness in about a week.  Definitely does not happen that quick in real life.  And the book ended with a marriage proposal (it's not a spoiler, I saw it coming from the first 20 pages) after only a few weeks of dating.  Another quick wrap-up.  Overall, I liked the story.  I just could do without the last chapter.

Love Finds You in Pendleton, Oregon by Melody Carlson

Title: Love FInds You in Pendleton, Oregon

Author: Melody Carlson

Publisher: Summerside Press 2010

Genre: Christian fiction

Pages: 313

Rating: 4/ 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Support Your Local Library; April Read-a-Thon; Contemporary Romance

I haven't had the best of luck with Christian fiction, but I thought I would give it another try.  I liked Love Finds You in Paradise, Pennsylvania by Loree Lough, so I thought I would pick up another volume in the series.  And I found one I liked.

I loved the story of Sunny Westcott and her journey to find her place in the world.  The setting of the reservation and the town of Pendleton created a nice dichotomy for Sunny to explore.  On a complete insignificant note, I loved that she was an archaeologist (a little girl dream job along with marine biology and paleontology).  Anyway, she was a great character.  Every hard decision and second guess was believable.  Her inner monologue didn't annoy me like it sometimes does.  I liked getting inside of her head.

The other characters were interesting, but I especially loved Aunt Lulu.  A woman not afraid to speak the hard truths.    My kind of woman.  Echo was delightful.  Aubrey a fun, if a little annoying, opposite to Sunny.  Hank, the matchmaker and general good friend.  And the mysterious Polly, seen only through everyone else's eyes.  They really made the book more than just a simple story.  They added depth and life.

My only issue with the book: the romance.  You know Sunny and Cody are going to end up together, but they don't even approach anything resembling a relationship until around page 250.  And then all of a sudden, they're together and he's asking her to marry him.  Not believable.  They only had one real conversation about them being together and that was only a day before the proposal.  I guess I just wanted to see more growth and developing relationship.  Especially since the series focuses on finding love.  All that being said, I really did like the book.  I want to read more of the series.