Beyond the Book: A Mother for Christmas

Blurb:

Decker Davenport is on a deadline. He has thirty days — Christmas Eve, to be exact — to remodel a St. Augustine Victorian house or the owner will put it back on the market. Not a good time for Decker’s decorator to take off on a honeymoon, leaving him with Annalise Owens, a stand-in with a malaise he isn’t privy to. 

But as he watches Annalise work miracles on the house and his daughter, he realizes the two of them have bonded in some ethereal way, as if they’ve always known each other.

As Christmas Eve approaches, Decker still sees the curious malaise in Annalise’s eyes. A haunting that even his kiss can’t take away. What secret does the new woman in his house possess? And will learning Annalise’s secret bring him and his daughter joy, or tear their world apart?

Review:

I found this story to be very charming and heartwarming. I did find some mechanical errors, but they didn’t ruin the story for me. Annalise Owens got a raw deal out of her former relationship with a wealthy mama’s boy. When she had a baby girl, the child had a heart problem and needed major surgery to live. She signed papers giving her boyfriend’s mother authority to put the child on her insurance so she can get the help she needs. At least that’s what she thought she signed. She had been tricked into giving custody of her child to the woman. Annalise showed up at the hospital to visit her child and found that the baby was gone. She had been given up for adoption. 

She took the boyfriend’s mother to court multiple times, but since she had signed that paper she never got anywhere. 

Annalise loves her job as a decorator, and it’s satisfying to her professionally, but she really bonds with her employer’s child. The little girl is eight years old and very precocious. Annalise is also attracted to the father, a widower who’s also attracted to her.

I guessed almost immediately where the story was going, but it was satisfying to see how the author got us there. If you’re looking for a feel good read this is a good choice.