BUY Miracle Creek Christmas
Every time I crack the cover on a new book, it’s like giving myself a gift. I love to pass that gift on to you, my book club readers, and this December, this magical season, I have a delightful story to share, Miracle Creek Christmas, by Krista Jensen.
I was immediately drawn to the title, thinking how appropriate it would be for this time of year, but even more delightful was discovering the story is set in the Wenatchee Valley of Washington State! That’s a day trip from my home outside of Seattle, and there is no more picturesque place or better setting for a winter romance as far as I’m concerned.
The theatrical little Bavarian town of Leavenworth is exactly as described in the book; simply a sight to behold, and a place I love to take my family and friends visiting from far away places! The author does a fabulous job of describing the area, and I felt myself grinning every time a little burg, like Cashmere, was mentioned. If you’ve never been to these places, you’ll feel like you have after you’ve read about them here.
But setting aside, it’s the characters that will pull you in. Riley Madigan is a twenty-something city girl trying to outrun heartache. She leaves the city life behind to become a high school art teacher in the remote little town of Miracle Creek. Expecting to find solitude in such a place, she’s not prepared when she meets Mark Rivers on the ‘off-the-beaten path.’ Mark is working to rebuild his life after the devastation of losing his best friend and fire-fighting partner in a wildfire a year earlier, in which he suffered severe burns himself. He’s trying to come to terms with his altered appearance and his altered life.
Each carry heartache and injury, guarding themselves against any additional sorrows. So “just friends” it will have to be, despite those inconvenient feelings they keep trying to deny (themselves as well as others.) Well-meaning family members, and not-so-well-meaning community characters, had me fearful these two might not ever come to their senses, but - spoiler alert - they finally do!
