Review: "A Shoe Addict's Christmas" by Beth Harbison

Over the last year, I've really enjoyed reading book that are being made into Hallmark movies. This year's Countdown to Christmas features many movies based on novels, but my local library only has two: A Shoe Addict's Christmas and The Second Sister. My hold on A Shoe Addict's Christmas came in first, so here we go ...

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From the author of the beloved bestseller Shoe Addicts Anonymous comes a heartwarming twist on a classic tale filled with holiday cheer.

Noelle is not a fan of the holidays and to make matters worse, she is at a crossroads in her life when it seems that love and adventure are no longer possible. When she stays late at her job in a department store on a snowy Christmas Eve she accidentally gets locked in after closing. She isn’t too concerned about the prospect of spending the night in the store…until a woman appears out of nowhere and tells Noelle that she’s her guardian angel. Soon Noelle finds herself camped out in the shoe department facing several “ghosts” of Christmases past, present, and future...Will visiting the holidays of yesterday and tomorrow help Noelle see the true spirit of Christmas? And will the love she has longed for all her life be the best surprise gift of all?

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A Shoe Addict's Christmas is an enjoyable Christmas novella. It's a light take on A Christmas Carol—when Noelle gets trapped overnight in the high-end department store she works in, she's visited by Charlie, a strange elderly woman who claims to be her guardian angel. Charlie knocks over a shoe display, and as the two work together to re-pair shoes, Noelle is taken back to previous Christmases ... and then shown what might have been, had she made different choices.

There is, of course, a love interest, but here it's really more of the hope of a love interest in the form of Jake, the man Noelle always just missed connecting with in the past. They meet for real at the end of the novella, and the reader is left to assume that Noelle is finally finding her happily ever after.

This is enjoyable, though not particularly memorable. I have a feeling many changes will have to be made to the story for the movie, as Jake appears in maybe 3% of the book! But if you're looking for a quick, feel-good, Christmas read, this is a good way to spend an hour or two. 3-1/2 stars.

Note: There are a couple of very mild curse words, but that's it. Absolutely PG-rated.

Buy the book.

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Beth Harbison grew up in Potomac, Maryland, in the shadow of Washington, D.C. Apart from the occasional irritation at being held up in traffic by a presidential motorcade, she has remained fairly uninvolved in the politics that define her home town. 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I borrowed this book and chose to review it. The opinions expressed are my own. Also, some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase an item, I will receive an affiliate commission. The opinions I have expressed are my own. 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."