Merry and Bright

‘‘Tis the season for hope! This story is well written and leaps off of the pages and into the reader’s heart like a Hallmark movie. Life is so stressful these days and can be disheartening. Books like this take away from that and bring a smile to the face and warmth in the heart.

I love the main characters and the very differing views of the Christmas season that they have. Their names are fantastic for fitting into the the story itself. In fact I think that they are inspired. I don’t know which came first the idea for the story or the idea for the title of this book. I do know that they are perfect. I adore Merry and the way that she relates with her family and others around her. I would love to be able to consider her a friend. At the same time I can understand all of Jayson’s negative opinions of the holidays. He’s had a difficult family life that has totally colored the season for him. I was enchanted with the way that their relationship developed through the course of this book. As with just about all romances they needed some help from others and I can’t think of any better helper than Patrick. I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. I have chosen to write this review to express my personal opinion. Disclaimer: *Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book for free in the hope that I would mention/review it on my blog. I was not required to give a positive review, only my honest opinion - which I've done. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.*

Merry and Bright by Debbie Macomber is set in Seattle, Washington. Merry Knight is a temp at Matterson Consulting. Her contract will be up on December 23 and Merry will be glad for the break. Her by-the-book boss has been pushing the workers and the mandatory overtime has put a kink in her social life. Merry’s mother (Robin) and brother (Patrick) set up a profile for her on Mix and Mingle with a photo of their dog. They want to find someone for Merry who will be interested in her as a person (not her outward appearance). Merry is stunned, but, to her surprise, one man stands out to her. He did use a photo of himself either (his childhood dog). The pair start chatting online at night while Merry deals with her difficult boss during the day. After getting to know each other, they agree to meet in person and Merry is astonished by the man’s identity. It is the last person she expected to see or wanted to. To find out what happens between Merry and her online suitor, pick up a copy of Merry and Bright. Merry and Bright is a fun, entertaining story (Debbie Macomber never disappoints). It has good characters, a lovely city (I want to live there), a cute premise, and a set during a magical time of year--Christmas. I liked the themes presented in the story—Christmas is a condition of the heart (isn’t that just beautiful), kindness, generosity, openness, showing love to those we cherish, bad things about assumptions, misconceptions and judgements can be harmful/detrimental. I found Merry and Bright to be well-written with a nice ease to the writing (it flowed nicely). My rating for Merry and Bright is 4 out of 5 stars (I liked it). My one critique is the story is predictable. Once I started reading, I accurately predicted the rest of the story. Merry and Bright is a lovely, heartwarming Christmas tale that will delight fans of Debbie Macomber.

I loved this sweet Christmas love story with its quirky secondary characters and lonely hero and sweet heroine. This book made me laugh and I love a good romance. With her mom and brother both wanting her to find her HEA, they set her up online. I loved the plot twist and she did have her HEA. I highly recommend this Christmas story by Debbie Macomber.

Merry and Jayson's relationship is far from typical. Merry is a temp at Jayson's families company and working long hours on a huge time consuming project. Jayson is a stickler for the 'rules' which ruffles Merry's feathers so she despises Jayson. They both wind up on an online dating site, and due to the vague photos they each post have no idea who the other is, but they know they have a lot in common. Will they meet and find even more in common, or is their relationship doomed? Very sweet Christmas romance that's worth a read for the holidays or anytime you want a sweet holiday story.

A sweet holiday read that kept me smiling! Merry Knight has enough on her plate without her mother and brother meddling in her life. Not only does she have both of them to think about and take care of, she temporarily has a boss that could make a grown woman cry. When her family signs her up on a dating website she can't believe it. Yet she finds herself looking forward to her daily chats with one of the guys who was interested in getting to know her. It will definitely be a huge surprise when she finds out who is really on the other side of the computer! Not to be missed! I highly recommend