Hope for the Holidays
by Daryl Wood Gerber
About Hope for the Holidays
Hope for the Holidays
Holiday Romance
Setting – Oregon
Independently Published – Chucklin Inc. (November 14, 2023)
Paperback : 304 pages
ISBN-13 : 979-8215261927
Digital: 979-8215400784
Hope Lyons’s husband ran through all their money and split Portland, Oregon, forcing Hope to sell her beloved Pie in the Sky bakery and move with her two children back to charming Hope Valley, her hometown. She has been working as a waitress and pinching pennies to get their lives back on track; however, when her children win KPRL’s Spirit of Christmas vacation contest, Hope worries about the extra expenses she will incur on such a trip and turns it down.
Steve Waldren, the handsome KPRL sports anchor, is now of an age where he can’t afford to have a gap on his resume. His confidence is already shaky, ever since his fiancée dumped him, claiming Steve would never reach his potential. When Steve’s boss dubs Steve to be Giveaway Santa, he’s forced to accept. Steve, as Santa, readily travels to Hope Valley to award the prize. But when Hope refuses it, he’s at a loss. His boss threatens to fire him if he doesn’t convince Hope to take it, and Steve does all he can to change her mind. But Hope can be stubborn, life can be a challenge, and Hope’s children can be unpredictable. Not to mention, the truth isn’t always what it seems.
Will Hope and Steve find their happily ever after? It might take a holiday miracle.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Hope Lyons’s had been living her dream of serving pie at her Pie in the Sky bakery. That all changed when her husband left her with a mountain of debt and two children to raise on her own. Selling the bakery took care of the debt and she moved back to her hometown of Hope Valley where she found a job as a waitress. Hope has been skrimping by to provide the basic necessities and trying to save to give her children a happy holiday while still hoping that someday she will have her own bakery again.
Steve Waldren is KPRL’s sports anchor with a true broadcaster voice. He has had the job since college and it’s comfortable. Then his fiancée dumps him because he is never going to reach his potential and she needs someone with more drive. His boss has decided that Steve is going to be Giveaway Santa, and he can’t refuse. If he does, he could lose his job. So he puts on the Santa suit, and goes on air, and announces a huge holiday prize.
Hope’s children enter KPRL’s contest and win. Santa/Steve comes to Hope Valley to award the prize, but Hope refuses and he doesn’t know why. His boss has vowed to terminate his employment if Steve can’t get Hope to accept the prize. He will probably need a little help and a lot of Christmas magic to make that happen.
I love the characters the author has created in this story. Hope’s husband was a total jerk and the way he blew up their lives was heartbreaking but the strength she had to persevere and do whatever she had to do for her kids was fantastic. She is stubborn and a protective mama bear and she did have some missteps but she’s human. Steve is also a flawed individual but he loves his job and his family. He really dodged a bullet when his fiancée left him. He met Hope at the exact right time.
While the main characters are great, the supporting cast is full of standouts. None more so than Steve’s brother Lincoln. He is autistic and loves his brother Steve so much. His life has the necessary patterns but he comes alive when he is with his brother. He voices his opinions and ideas freely and usually at the perfect time. His parents are wonderful too. They support both their sons and have such open hearts. They carry the spirit of Christmas year-round. Gabe Greeley owns the cafe, he has “the soul of a saint and the full-bellied laughter of a happy man” and he gives Hope a much-needed job. He and the other waitress Zerena, whom Hope knew from high school, truly had her back and treated her like family. Brie Bryant, a reporter at KPRL comes to Hope Valley with Steve to document everything and for moral support but she gets more than she could have imagined. All of these characters have depth and feel true to life.
The author has wrapped her characters in a heartwarming holiday tale that could definitely find a home on the Hallmark channel. Sadly, there are many women today facing what Hope did in this book. Her struggle was real and she tried to face each day with a smile on her face and doing the best for her kids. Steve didn’t realize he was struggling too until he came home to Hope Valley and met Hope Lyons. It was a joy to watch their lives evolve and twist together. But theirs wasn’t the only romance within this story. Love was in the air this holiday season in Hope Valley along with some other good works.
Hope for the Holidays
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About Daryl Wood Gerber
Agatha Award-winning author Daryl Wood Gerber is delving into the world of romance for a passion project she simply had to write, HOPE FOR THE HOLIDAYS
She has a frisky Goldendoodle who keeps her in line. You can learn more about her books on her website: httsp://darylwoodgerber.com
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
This sounds like a wonderful story.
What a delightful book for the holiday season! Great cover too.
fun
Lovely cover! Looking forward to reading.