Miracle Creek Christmas by Krista Jensen

Miracle Creek Christmas

By Krista Jensen

Published by Shadow Mountain

Publication Date: September 8th, 2020

Description:

When Riley Madigan moves to the sleepy mountain town of Miracle Creek, she hopes her new job as a high school art teacher will help her mend her recently broken heart. A little peace and quiet would be a gift this Christmas season. The last thing on her mind is love. 

Former firefighter Mark Rivers has spent the last year recovering from burns sustained during a rescue operation. He’s been trying to piece his life back together but still struggles both emotionally and psychologically. When he meets Riley, he finally sees something that might bring some light back into his life. 

When Mark asks Riley to work on a special nativity project, he finds himself falling for her quirky, unaffected ways. Riley doesn’t seem bothered by his scars, but is her affection for him real, or is this just another act of charity? One thing’s for certain, in a small town that views Mark as a fragile hero, it’s hard to pursue a relationship without everyone in his business. And although Riley has sincere feelings for Mark, is she ready to risk her heart? 

Broken hearts and lives are mended as the town of Miracle Creek comes together to celebrate a Christmas to remember. 

Review:

While it might seem funny to be reading a Christmas book in the middle of summer, it's definitely worth snagging now even if you don't read it until closer to Christmas. And while it is the Christmas season in the book and Mark and Riley are working on a nativity project, the Christmas element wasn't overdone; there was a good balance between that and the other elements of the story. It fit with the story and didn't feel like it was just set at Christmastime for the sake of being a holiday book. 

Besides the Christmas element, I really loved Mark and Riley. They've both been burned and have scars--him literally and her figuratively--and I found both to be realistic. Riley was sometimes exasperating but in a totally realistic way; I could definitely see people I know (cough *myself* cough) in the way she was drawn to Mark but also afraid to trust and not ready to commit to anything. I adored Mark and loved seeing him come out of his self-imposed shell and find himself again. While there wasn't necessarily a ton of conflict, there was a lot of emotional action, with both characters having to work through feelings and their pasts, and I totally connected to that. 

I devoured this book, even with it being 93 degrees out as I read it. I definitely recommend adding this to both your to-read list for yourself and shopping list to gift to others this Christmas. 

4.5 stars.

 read an ARC provided by the publisher via #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.