Christmas is a time for remembering loved ones past and present. In this new novel by New York Times bestselling author Fern Michaels, the holidays are also the time to discover a future that, like the perfect gift, is as satisfying as it is surprising . . . Joy Preston misses her beloved late grandmother dearly. But when she learns the terms of Nana’s will, she’s shocked—and more than a little … terms of Nana’s will, she’s shocked—and more than a little irked. Joy moved to Colorado years ago and is now CEO of a successful nail polish company. Her life and career are in Denver. How can Nana have expected her to give that up, even temporarily, to take over a bed and breakfast in North Carolina for six months?
Yet there’s no denying Heart and Soul’s charm, especially at holiday time. The B&B is always elaborately decorated for the season, with themed guest rooms and dazzling lawn displays created for the annual Parade of Homes competition. The entire town takes part in the festivities, and soon Joy, too, is joining in the gingerbread house contest and letting her reservations melt away.
There’s another special reason for Heart and Soul’s popularity. Rumor has it that, during holiday season, guests can be reunited with the spirit of a loved one who’s passed on. Joy’s skeptical, yet she feels her beloved Nana’s influence all around her . . . perhaps even indulging in a little matchmaking between Joy and handsome estate attorney Will Drake.
A special homecoming and the glow of new beginnings will combine to make the holiday magical . . .
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Once again another great book from Fern Michaels. The story flows well and keeps your attention. The characters are people you want to be friends with and I would love to visit an inn just like the one in this book.
This is a heartwarming story to get into the Christmas spirit. It is a captivating tale filled with delightful characters, a loving spirit or two, and colorful descriptions. After the death of her grandmother and inheriting the bed and breakfast, it is the love of family (biological as well as family of the heart) that helps Joy find her way and decide where home really is. Fern Michaels is a master of a good romance/women’s fiction that has depth and passion, and she has done that again with this book.
While I really like Fern Michaels books, I just couldn’t get into the story line. I may try it again another time.
It was a very easy read with a pretty typical holiday themed romance. At times I felt the word use was pretty basic and unsophisticated.
I usually enjoy all Fern Michaels books and especially look forward to Christmas stories at this time of year. This one was a tad slow. It had a lot of meaningless details that did not add to the plot.
It was a very enjoyable seasonal read.
I didn’t feel there was a plot. Just a story of what was happening and then it stopped. OK read.
What a great story. Awesome book
Such a fun book to read and hard to put down once I began.
I enjoy this writer.
Getting ready for the holiday spirit!
As usual this author provided a war, endearing backdrop for a family working through the loss of a loved one. Acknowledging the challenges and working through them to create a positive and pleasing outcome!
“Spirit of the Season” by Fern Michaels
This was a good read. Glad I found it in my state library. I do love to read sweet clean romance stories. Hope you will enjoy this read also. Maybe you read it before and it is time to read it again? Happy Reading.
Great Holiday story
Fern Michaels is a new author for me, and SPIRIT OF THE SEASON is the first book that I’ve read of hers. It’s a warm, cozy and romantic holiday story that pulled me right in from the beginning. Subjects that are discussed are loss, family, love and change.
Joy Preston owns Simply Joy, an extremely successful nail polish business which is very lucrative that she operates in Denver, Colorado. She has quite a nice lifestyle and seems happy until she receives sad news from home about her Nana who owned and operated Heart and Soul, a B&B in Spruce City, North Carolina. Joy heads home and learns that life is about to change. She is left the B&B in Nana’s will, but how can she operate her own business while learning how to manage and run Heart and Soul? With the help from her Mom, Elizabeth, and Izzy, a long-time family friend and employee, they manage to operate Heart and Soul without any issues from Thanksgiving through Christmas, which is their busiest season. Between the gingerbread houses and the Parade of Homes competitions that all the B&B’s in the area compete in, the season is alive and bustling. And then there’s a young and handsome attorney, Will Drake, who just catches and melt’s Joy’s heart. Joy has a good head on her shoulders and she’s a smart business woman and can do anything she wants from anywhere.
What I enjoyed most about this story were the characters, the B&B’s atmosphere and holiday décor, and the food descriptions. Michaels definitely kept me interested as I pictured everyone and everything in my mind. I thought the story was great, but I didn’t enjoy the way it ended. There was so much hype about getting the B&B ready for Christmas, but the author didn’t mention how the day was spent. I felt it was open-ended, and I’m not sure if the author plans on a sequel. I also thought the ending was too abrupt. Other than that, I thought this was a wonderful holiday novel.
Read this Christmas book merely for putting you in the holiday spirit.
This book is a nice Christmas read but do not expect any type of difficulty or challenge that the characters must overcome before they can be together. Joy owns a nail polish company that operates online. Her friends would move from Colorado if she chose to move, and her Nana’s will state that she must stay at and run the Heart and Hope bread and breakfast for six months.
Joy meets Will when he informs her of the contents in her Nana’s will. She is rude to him as the messenger. The next time she meets him she asks for forgiveness and it is granted. There is no obstacle to their relationship from then on.
The book has community contests and fun exchanges between the characters but lacks anything that keeps you reading to “see what happens.”
I received an ARC from Kensington Books through NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book. I am voluntarily submitting this review.
A feel-good, warm quick read for the holidays. Not much depth to the character development or plot.
This was a heartwarming Christmas story of family and finding true love.
Fern Michaels is one of my favorite authors.
I read this in one sitting. It grabbed me at the beginning. It kind of got me in the Christmas Spirit, early. Joy has her on business in Colorado, but she soon has to choose between her business in Colorado or her family business in North Carolina. Will she be able to decide and just might her decision be the best thing that ever happened to her.