The Christmas Wish

The Christmas Wish may be my only token Christmas read of the year. I have to confess, I picked it up on a quick trip into the library for a video for my youngest and selected it because it was on display and looked like a quick and easy read. The book did not disappoint in that sense. I polished it off in a few days. While I don't rank it up there with Karen Kingsbury's Red Glove series, it did put me in a Christmasy mood.

Will Martin has returned to his childhood home (where he grew up with his grandparents after his parents died in a car accident when he was four) to put in order his grandfather's business. His grandmother has only one wish for Christmas. Ever since the grandfather's death, Will's grandmother has been reading her husband's journals. With little to go on, Will must search for the clues behind his grandfather's yearly secret visits (every Christmas Eve) with a woman named Lillian. In the process, Will learns far more about his grandfather than he ever knew while the man was still alive.

I found Will's original girlfriend choice to be quite abrasive and irritating. Then, when he finally sees the light and exits that scene, he immediately latches onto another woman and by the end of the book (just days later) is unbelievably proposing to her. That was a bit far-fetched. Plus, I'd have to say that I guessed the ending quite soon in the story. Still, I didn't put it down and the author capably kept me reading. Not my favorite Christmas novel, but passing fair (perhaps 3 stars). Apparently, there's a movie version starring Neil Patrick Harris. I won't seek it out.