Love Finds You in the City at Christmas | Herne, Schmidt

 

Today I am reviewing Red Kettle Christmas and Manhattan Miracle, two heartwarming stories — of Christmas past and Christmas present — found in Love Finds You in the City, by Ruth Logan Herne and Anna Schmidt.

Here is a brief synopsis:

Red Kettle Christmas

It’s 1946, and police officer Mike Wolzak has inherited his family’s home . . . and the custody of his younger sister, who is in trouble with a problem he doesn’t know how to fix.

While on patrol during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Mike makes the acquaintance of a lovely Salvation Army bell ringer, Karen O’Leary, who is struggling to support herself and her young daughter.

As their paths cross during the festive holiday season in Manhattan, Karen teaches the tough World War II veteran how to support and love his family. In the process, he just might gain a new one.

Manhattan Miracle

A war-weary soldier who has served three tours in the Middle East, Max Wolzak has come home to New York City to celebrate Christmas with his family in the Manhattan brownstone where he spent much of his childhood.

There Max reconnects with Sarah Peterson, his sister’s old schoolmate who now organizes relief missions for the United Nations.

Sparks fly as the pair gets reacquainted over various holiday events, but when Max realizes that Sarah will leave for the Middle East the day after Christmas, he has a decision to make—convince her to stay, wait for her to return, or go with her to the one place to which he never thought he’d return.

 

Love Finds You in the City at Christmas. . . check out these heart-warming stories! – Tweet this!

 

MY THOUGHTS:

Red Kettle Christmas

I really enjoyed reading this story; it reads just like real life . . . it’s messy, complicated, sad (at times) — but there’s always hope. My life has been messy, complicated and sad. Most of the time, I had lots of hope – that things would work out, life would get better, and love would come.

For Mike and Mary Lynn, there’s love…

For Mike and Karen, there’s hope…

Ruth Logan Herne does a wonderful job, creating a story well worth reading — about the Salvation Army and a particular bell ringer. It was interesting to learn why people volunteer and how important it is to everyone involved.

Aha! Now I’ve got you hooked! I could add more, but that should be enough to nudge you to read this wonderful heart-warming tale. You’re gonna love it.

Manhattan Miracle

This is the first story I’ve read by Anna Schmidt, but hopefully, it won’t be the last.

This story is about the grandson of the main characters in the first story, which doesn’t happen often, but it makes for an interesting story when it does…

Anna does a wonderful job, continuing with many of the same characters, and a very similar storyline. Of course, most people love the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, which is the focus in the beginning of the storyl

All of a sudden, you realize you’re hooked again, and can’t stop reading until the end, which is mostly what happened to me . . . I stopped to write my review, but before too long, I was reading again.

I was delighted to find time to delve back into the story and finish “the rest of the story“.

Don’t miss this awesome book!

Merry Christmas!!!

 

Blessings!

Review © 2016 DJ Mynatt

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Tagged: 25 Days of Christmas, Anna Schmidt, DJ Mynatt, Donna's BookShelf, Love Finds You in the City at Christmas, Manhattan Miracle, Red Kettle Christmas, Review © 2016 DJ Mynatt, Ruth Logan Herne