Comfort & Joy

This was not for me.

A very fast read, didn't thrill me much...

This books deviates from Hannah's customary style in two distinct ways. It's shorter than most. It's labeled a fable, not a novel. And it's told in the first person, something I haven't found in previous Hannah novels.

In many ways, Joy Candellaro is an unreliable narrator. The book starts with the trauma of Joy learning that her sister, Stacey, who has already had an affair with Joy's (now ex) husband, is now pregnant with his child. A child Joy wanted, though maybe not with Thom. Joy was more in love with the idea of a husband and a family than with the husband she lost. She tries to escape her heartache at the news of her pregnant sister, the one who is soon to marry Joy's ex-husband.

Joy grabs the first plane out of town, heading to one of Hannah's favorite locales, the Pacific Northwest. To the suspiciously named town of Hope. Or that's where she's heading when the plane crashes and the story goes off the rails.

This endearing Christmas tale explores a very relevant topic: forgiveness. Whether it's possible is Joy's struggle. Where this quest takes her, where home really is, and how to listen to her heart play strong roles in this “fable.” Well done!

Very good book. Thought I had it figured out, but then clearly, I didn't. Nice twist at the end!

This book deserved an epilogue…

This was an interesting and very unusual book...the closest comparison plotwise I can think of is the Sandra Bullock movie “The Lake House”. I love Kristin Hannah's style of writing, how her words invite the reader into the story and right into the middle of the character's life.

The story is a sweet, innocent romance, a woman learning the true value of a currently-broken relationship with her sister while bonding with a lonely little boy who has recently lost his mother. I always love finding modern books that I don't have to blush and hurry over certain pages in, and the conclusion in this one was so rich and realistic that I really enjoyed it.

It's difficult to explain anything about the plot without spoilers, so just say that it's an interesting discourse on destiny and what might happen during an injury many doctors still don't fully understand, and a sweet lesson in the value of relationships.