I'm not sure why, but I have found this true of several other novels by this author - there is a fixation on food and travel elements. The story comes off sounding like a sales brochure by a travel company. But, even more annoying than that are the constant references to what the characters are eating in the moment. Jerry Jenkins (an author eager to assist other authors) calls this "on-the-nose" writing. You really don't want to tell the reader every single detail of action, down to the food consumed and the toiletries purchased at the drugstore. You want to cut to the chase, make every word count. Otherwise, the reader tires of hearing the mundane and unnecessary details. It slows down the story.
Having said that, it wasn't a total waste. After all, it was about hope and love and the holiday season. Moreover, Evans always manages to provide a clean read and I value that immensely.
When Alex Bartlett stumbles onto an anonymous blog about loneliness, he is drawn to the woman behind the words. He is still smarting from the wounds of his recent divorce and can easily identify with her thoughts on loneliness. She, unwittingly, lets slip a few clues and Alex is off to Midway, Utah to seek out the woman who signs her blog posts with the simple initials LBH. While on the hunt for a woman with those initials, Alex meets Aria, a waitress at the Mistletoe Diner. The two hit it off immediately, but will Alex's interest in Aria keep him from concluding his search.
I think next year, I'll seek out some Karen Kingsbury Christmas novelettes - I know her Red Glove series is fantastic because I've read them before. For now, I'm swearing off R.P.E. for a while. Now that I've met him, like Alex, I'm thinking I was really seeking someone else entirely.
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