Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor by Lisa Kleypas

Maggie Conroy and Mark Nolan's book



Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor (Friday Harbor book 1)

By Lisa Kleypas

Book Blurb:ONE LITTLE GIRL NEEDS A FAMILY One rain-slicked night, six-year-old Holly lost the only parent she knew, her beloved mother Victoria. And since that night, she has never again spoken a word.

ONE SINGLE MAN NEEDS A WIFE The last thing Mark Nolan needs is a six-year-old girl in his life. But he soon realizes that he will do everything he can to make her life whole again. His sister’s will gives him the instructions: There’s no other choice but you. Just start by loving her. The rest will follow.

SOMETIMES, IT TAKES A LITTLE MAGIC… Maggie Collins doesn’t dare believe in love again, after losing her husband of one year. But she does believe in the magic of imagination. As the owner of a toy shop, she lives what she loves. And when she meets Holly Nolan, she sees a little girl in desperate need of a little magic...

TO MAKE DREAMS COME TRUE Three lonely people. Three lives at the crossroads. Three people who are about to discover that Christmas is the time of year when anything is possible, and when wishes have a way of finding the path home…

What an adorably cute read. As usual Lisa Kleypas' writing is utterly magical, sublimely perfect.

The only downside to Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor was that it went by too fast and it was a short novel. The Kindle price is really steep at $9.58. I bought the paperback for a tad less but I still thought it was a hefty price for what I would normally spend on a mass market paperback. It's only 232 pages. 

Now how about the good stuff? Tomorrow I am decorating for Christmas and Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor has me in the mood. Truthfully, the story only ends at Christmas Eve so the majority of the story takes place from late summer through  to fall. Regardless, I'm on a season high now. 

Mark's niece, Holly makes the book that much more special. She is too sweet for words. Brave little soul she is. I just wanted to hug her. 

Mark was a great male lead. Although the story is short, I felt I got to know him. At first he seems so serious but he softens up pretty quickly with the simple pleasure of loving his very young niece. This line here got to me:

"For the first time in his life he knew what it was like to have his heart broken...not broken in a sad or romantic sense, but broken open"

Maggie's character is extremely likeable and how awesome is it that she owns a toy store called The Magic Mirror AND she made a homemade fairy house? She has a deep rooted loyalty that naturally makes you want to know her. Her attraction to Mark is immediate and I truly loved that she meshed with Holly separately. It never seemed like she was becoming close to the sweet girl just to get to Mark.

It was interesting that when Mark meets Maggie, he was already involved with another woman. I really liked that Lisa Kleypas never really villainized his girlfriend as it would have been the easy way out to have Mark break up with her. In fact I liked how that entire situation was handled. However Mark was skirting on the edge of cheating. I was surprised that I was okay with how natural the scenes were being pulled off and how real to life that situation could be. 

I look forward to continuing on with this series. 

Teasers: large pink conch shell, fever brings him home, flying turkey, homemade Mac & Cheese