156. Tidings of Joy (Christmas in Evergreen #3)

Tidings of Joy (Christmas in Evergreen #3) Nancy Naigle. 2020. 280 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: Way up north, nestled in the heart of Vermont, there’s a little town called Evergreen. Some say it’s so far north that on a clear day you might be able to catch a glimpse of Santa’s workshop in the North Pole. Evergreen beckons tourists from all over. Many come just to see its famous magical snow globe that sits in a place of honor in the Chris Kringle Kitchen, owned by Joe and Carol Shaw. People come from far and wide to give that snow globe a good shake and make their wish, then drop a letter to Santa in the big red mailbox in the middle of town square. If they’re lucky, they might even catch a glimpse of the old red truck, decorated with garland and bows, delivering Christmas trees to the locals.

 Premise/plot: Katie, our New Yorker heroine, is on her way to Evergreen, Vermont, to relax. On the train she meets a native Evergreenian, Ben. There's a bit of a quick spark between the two--she's hoping that the week she's in town she'll bump into him again. But it isn't until her vacation becomes prolonged--she might be doing a story on the town's Christmas festivities--that the two really get the chance to connect. Ben was raised by his grandmother, Nan, the town's librarian. He is torn between wanting to stay in his hometown and help out at the library--he loves books--and looking for work in New York City. As the two countdown the days of Christmas--advent calendar style--could they be falling in love?

My thoughts: I enjoyed this one. I did. It is the third in the series. I'm not sure if there's a movie for each book in the series, or just a movie for the first one? But Evergreen, Vermont, is the setting for at least one Hallmark movie apparently. Readers get a chance to reconnect with a town full of characters. I'm imagining some of the characters in this one were first introduced in previous books. (There are multiple love stories hinted at.) It felt like a sweet, sentimental read.

© 2020 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews