"One Enchanted Noel" by Melissa Tagg
Nov. 28th, 2017 03:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
reviewsbyerin
Return to Maple Valley in this latest Christmas novella from Melissa Tagg! Wrapping up the stories of the Renwycke siblings, One Enchanted Noel follows in the footsteps of One Enchanted Christmas and One Enchanted Eve. This time our heroine is Leigh, the single mom who is trying to hold her life together. After a lot of bouncing around with plenty of messing up in her past, she's done well in Maple Valley - but now a familiar restlessness is stirring within her. She's unsure if she should buckle down on contentedness or step out in faith and see if she finds any open doors.
It's a busted-out window rather than an open door that catches Leigh's attention one December night. After reporting the vandalism, Leigh checks out the abandoned theater to see if the culprit is still on the premises. Much to her surprise, it's not a wayward youth but the new owner who is poking around!
Sebastian Parker Pierce III has spent the past 15 years on a ranch in Texas, but now is on assignment from his grandfather to restore Maple Valley's theater. He recognizes Leigh instantly, having briefly met her several years before when she was at her lowest point. He's never forgotten the encounter, and he can't quite find a way to bring it up now that he sees she's turned her life around. When the timeline for the restoration job gets moved up and Mayor Milt insists on a big grand reopening only days before Christmas, Seb turns to Leigh for help with the event planning.
This is a wonderfully rich story that touches on deep subjects. Addiction recovery. Distant family members. Choices and consequences. It's also full of quirky moments and the hope that God always dreams bigger than we do. Seb and Leigh are both well-drawn characters who will win you over and stir your heart with their journey.
Each of these novellas are available individually, or you can find them packaged together in a brand new release called Enchanted: A Christmas Collection. Perfect reading for this time of year!
