Alaskan Holiday

TEST

Every Debbie Macomber Christmas story has a comforting traditional familiarity that her fans relish – and I am one of them. Alaskan Holiday reaches its conclusion during the holiday season, but its focus is very modern.

Before Josie Avery starts working at Seattleā€™s hottest chef-owned restaurant (a real coup for a budding sous-chef), she takes on an assignment in Ponder, Alaska. For six months, Josie creates meals for guests at a rustic resort on Caribou Lake, far away from bigger metropolises like Fairbanks. There, she meets ā€œthe quiet and intense Palmer Saxon, a famed master swordsmith.ā€ Ā The chapters alternate between the PoV between Palmer and Josie, a very effective technique that takes us to the heart of their growing feelings for each other. Palmer has lived in Alaska his whole life. Heā€™s not exactly romantic which he ruefully admits.

I am a man, an Alaskan man; fancy, romantic words are as unfamiliar to me as a pumpkin-spice latte. Iā€™ll admit, when it comes to sweeping a woman off her feet, Iā€™m about as dense as a guy can get, and Iā€™ll certainly never be the kind of man who recites poetry. Living up here in the Alaskan wilderness doesnā€™t help. Ponder is miles from what most people would consider civilization.

Josie fights falling totally in love with Palmer although she admits, ā€œit was going to be difficultā€”harder than I wanted to think about.ā€ Their courtship is idyllic. They hike, search for Alaskan blueberries and cranberries, and lay under the stars while ā€œthe Northern Lights flash-dance green highlights across the sky.ā€ Josie has long hours at the lodge but there are twenty-two hours of daylight that far north – plenty of time to talk, walk, play with Palmerā€™s Alaskan husky Hobo . . . and kiss. Such scintillating kisses, too, as Palmer acknowledges.

Those kisses rocked my world. And they were hot. Sizzling hot. I had to assume she enjoyed our kissing, too, because we both looked forward to the times we could be alone. I might not be a mind reader when it came to women, but I saw the light in Josieā€™s eyes when we were together, and I could live one on of her smiles for a week or longer.

Palmer proposes to Josie the last night before sheā€™s to return to the Lower 49 – itā€™s an awkward proposal, to say the least, and she turns him down. Itā€™s not easy but she ā€œjust canā€™tā€ because her life is in Seattle. Sheā€™s very close to her mom, her career awaits, marriage to Palmer is not in the cards. But fate has a surprise for Josie and Palmer. She spends ā€œa miserable night tossing and turning, unable to sleep,ā€ oversleeps, and misses the last ferry out of Ponder until the next spring.

Are you thinking that Josie will come to her senses, run into Palmerā€™s arms and tell him that she accepts his proposal? Nope. In fact, Josie blames Palmer for everything.

ā€œI overslept and missed the boat, and furthermore,ā€ I said, struggling not to weep, ā€œthis is all your fault.ā€

ā€œMine?ā€

ā€œYou had to ruin everything and propose. You had to know that my heart would say yes and that my head would say no, and now . . . now you need to help me get to Seattle.ā€ The least Palmer could do was find me a way out of Ponder.

ā€˜Should I stay, or should I go?ā€™ is Josie Averyā€™s immediate dilemma but when she and Palmer are separated, will their love prevail or is that an impossibility? Josie and Palmer are so sincere and believable itā€™s impossible not to root for them to find true love. Debbie Macomberā€™s Alaskan Holiday is a warm and inviting story – just what her readers have come to appreciate and expect. If I have a tiny complaint about the novel, itā€™s that Debbie Macomber doesnā€™t include a recipe for Josie Averyā€™s Moose Goulash: it sounds delicious.

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Reviewed by Janet Webb

Grade: B+

Sensuality: Kisses

Review Date: 20/11/18

Publication Date: 10/2018

Review Tags: Alaska

Recent Comments …

  1. excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.

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Lisa Fernandes
Lisa Fernandes
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11/20/2018 5:55 pm

Macomber is always good for a fluffy Christmas time romance, I’m glad she’s still producing the good stuff.