Meet Me at Christmas
Reviewed by Christin Parcerisa
This romantic novel by Jenny Hale is the perfect Christmas story. It mixes love, family, traditions and even a bit of mystery. Hale’s new novel brings forward her experience as a bestselling author of romantic Christmas stories and touches the heart of the reader with its invitation for reflection and soul-searching.
Our main character, Stella Fisher, is a medical researcher who travels all year round. She’s working in London when her mother asks her to come home since she’s struggling to go through the first Christmas without her father. Stella doesn’t hesitate and runs back to her family’s farmhouse in Leiper’s Fork, Tennessee. When she arrives, she finds that the love she left behind, Henry Dutton, is also back (although he’s no longer the man she used to know).
Behind the cold, unfriendly Henry, Stella feels compelled to fight her own secrets from the past to help him. Being back home and spending time with Henry brings back all the memories and feelings she thought she’d been able to bury. Now, stuck between her past and her present, she has to ask herself what she really wants.
This is a story led by love. It makes the reader fall in love with the characters. Henry is particularly charming, with phrases created to melt hearts. Throughout the book the reader — and Stella — are surprised with tender and creative details. The book is called Meet Me At Christmas precisely because of a phrase Henry uses to ask Stella to meet him at their favorite Christmas spot: a tree lot (which we learn is more than just a tree lot).
From the very beginning, the story is engaging and fast paced, asking the reader to keep turning pages. Deeply emotional, Hale doesn’t hesitate to bring Stella’s thoughts and feelings to the surface, creating a bond with the reader. Although she doesn’t reveal her secrets right away, she connects with the reader and can cause one to laugh and cry with her. Although Stella is the main character, the emotions run deep with Henry and Stella’s mom as well. Each chapter is very emotionally charged, from nostalgia, to grief, and guilt; to excitement, hope and infatuation. It is this rich combination of feelings that makes the reader want to go from one chapter to the next.
One thing that distinguishes this book is how the story plays with time, but does so via Stella’s thoughts and memories. Through the pages, we follow Stella as she’s struggling with the new challenges this Christmas brought, including her mother’s sadness about her first Christmas as a widower, her demanding job and reconnecting with a long lost love. We don’t just learn about her present, but we get to travel to the past and witness Stella falling in love, struggling with life changing decisions, and bonding with her father.
The traditional Christmas scenes are a must for a story like this, as Hale delivers them wonderfully. Moments like baking cookies and decorating trees become something more. They are heartwarming moments where reflection is embodied in each cookie or ornament…
If you’re a romantic looking for new characters to fall in love with during the Holidays, this is the book for you. The story causes a reader to think about life choices and priorities. Meet Me at Christmas is a book about rekindled love, second chances, and deep family connections. Definitely a story to cozy up to under a soft blanket with hot chocolate, and the desire to enjoy this festive time of year.
I give this book, 5 out of 5 candy canes!
honeycomblit.org 