Christmas by Accident

Abby and her Uncle Mannie have been a team since she was three, they have a lovely little bookstore/café in the Springfield area called the ReadMore Café, where pastries, a host of lovely secondary characters and a very early tower of Christmas books are taking center stage. Abby is a wonderful character – Christmas is her favorite time of the year, and between working at the shop and editing some books on the side, she’s got things under control. Until Mannie’s failing health lands him in the hospital, and in her haste to be by his side, she hits a patch of black ice and her car is totaled. Carter works as a claims adjuster for an insurance company, tired of the ‘usual’ descriptions of accidents, he tends to ‘embellish’ his work with flowery words, little short stories that ‘make the report interesting’ and not simple facts and recount. He hates his job, he’s not particularly fond of his life either – although he’s got a great roommate and a solid living, the new stress of his mother’s remarriage, his go-nowhere job and a photograph he found in Abby’s totaled Fiesta at the tow lot have him thinking. But when he’s fired for one too many embellishments, he’s at loose ends, and finds himself in a predicament. With her claim denied for cancelled insurance, yet having the cancelled check in hand, Abby searches down the person named as adjuster for her claim, hoping to get him to make things right. Little does she know that Carter had already been inside ReadMore, and scoffing at the Christmas Tower of Books, decided that writing one of these will be easy. With Mannie’s condition far worse than he’s letting on, she’s also not wanting to worry him about the car, she asks Carter to look into the claim. While not ‘technically’ able to do so, he leans on a friend from the office to investigate, while asking for his own favor in return. Will Abby read his rough draft of a story and give him some pointers. He’s also more than a bit intrigued by Abby herself, and when he meets Mannie, the ever-watchful man, he’s roped into keeping Mannie’s secret, and accepted into the fold at the store. Told predominantly from Carter and Abby’s perspectives, the mix of family fractures and support, choices, literary games at the Christmas party and even the budding romance between Carter and Abby is cleverly mixed with Abby’s love of the season, Carter’s grinch-like approach and some serious personal growth on Carter’s part. He’s a bit awkward and closed off, and the welcome and friendship offered by Abby and her crew at the bookshop, as well as some serious questions and challenges from Mannie have him facing choices that are both unexpected and tough. But seeing the different ‘everyday miracles’ that happen, along with an adjustment in outlook, the story provides a sweet and plausible story, despite some of the many great changes within. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via Edelweiss for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.