Meet Merry, or is it Mary? And you can only guess that the masculine part of the story is Bright! Merry is working temp work for a company and has a rather disagreeable supervisor, Jay Bright. Her family talks her into using an online dating app because she hasn't dated in such a long time. I really enjoyed reading about this part of the story because it was humorous and so sweet! This is another fine Christmas story by Debbie Macomber that will warm your heart and make you smile.

Merry and Bright by Debbie Macomber will be available October 3, 2017 from Ballantine Books, an imprint of Random House Publishing Group. An egalley of this book was made available by the publisher in exchange for a honest review.

"Christmas is a condition of the heart. It's being open and sincere, generous and kind to those with less, or showing our love to those we cherish."
This quote is the theme of this sweet holiday love story.
Truly an upbeat message of inspiration and hope when Merry and Jay start and online romance, with some definite twists and turns as you turn the pages..
A definite good read to put you in the Christmas mood!

I received an Advanced Reader Copy from NetGalley for my unbiased opinion of the book. If you love Debbie Macomber's Christmas stories this one is a must! Its a quick read so as to not interfere with your holiday shopping and great gift idea! I have read 75% of her catalog and I can't get enough of her books.

A sweet romantic holiday story. I enjoyed the characters and storyline?

This is a pretty cute story but I wasn't so sure at first. This is the second novel of the author's I've read and I do not like her characters lack of nuance. The man in this story continually repeats his back story of the rich neglected child which gets annoying fast. In the last book I read her male character was similar in sticking to his grouchiness. The female character is really too good to be true which can also be boring in a character but in this case it worked as a counter point for the male character. The story really picks up as the characters interact and we know the truth about who they are. At that point it was a fun quick read. I do wish the author would write more well rounded and interesting characters but I liked this more than the last Christmas novel of hers I reviewed.

Merry and Bright is a delightful Christmas read by Debbie Macomber. I look forward to the annual Christmas tales that come out each year and none is than the ones by Debbie Macomber. I enjoyed following Merry as she untangled the web of internet snares created by her mother and brother as they looked to play matchmaker by way of online dating.

Debbie Macomber never disappoints with her writing and Christmas stories seem to be her speciality. This one was so heartwarming and heartfelt. Both main characters Merry and Jason, are true examples that you can't judge a person and what they are really like until you get to know them. They both had wrong first impressions. Merry grew up in a loving home with moderate means. Jason was raised in a home where his parents divorced and remarried several times. He was sent away to school and never felt loved. Jason's uncle is grooming him to take over his company when he retires. Merry works there as a temp in order to make enough for tuition for her last year of college. How they "meet" each other on an online dating service is so much fun! Both have dog pictures as their profile photos. They feel getting to know someone and their character is much more important than knowing what someone looks like. So they meet online over several weeks and finally agree to meet. Unknown to Jason, Merry spots him and realizes who he is. She runs away, stands him up, and rushes back home. What happens next? If you enjoy books by Debbie Macomber you'll just have to get a copy and find out. This will get you in the Christmas spirit and ready for the season to come.
I received an ebook from the publisher through Netgalley and was not required to write a review.

Again, Debbie Macomber comes up with a heartwarming holiday story that keeps you captivated from beginning to end. Merry is a temp working for a company trying to meet a deadline right before Christmas, she's working a lot of overtime. She lives with her mother (who has MS but is still somewhat mobile right now), a brother with down's syndrome, & her father. Jayson Bright runs the company Merry works for & is not known for being nice in the office. He's also busy with the overtime work & has no time to date.

Merry's mom & brother decide to fill out an online dating application to get her a man for her birthday. They put a picture of the family dog instead of her so she can be liked based on her answers & not her looks. Merry isn't thrilled by this. Meanwhile, Jayson's best friend/cousin is getting married to an old friend of theirs that he met up with again through that same dating app. Jayson decides to try it out using a picture of his dog as well when he sees Merry's & wants to message with her.

The ensuing results of this are well worth the read. Highly recommend this book even if you've never read a Debbie Macomber book before, You'll want to pick up more after reading this.

I love Debbie Macomber's books! This book was a fun, light & easy read. Not as good as some of her books in the past, but I still enjoyed reading it. Check it out this holiday season!

With Debbie Macomber, you always know that you will get a delightful story, endearing characters and a satisfying conclusion with enough twists and turns to keep it interesting. She excels at her Christmas themed books and Merry and Bright didn't disappoint! Highly recommended for a fun holiday read!

It's only September but I'm in the Christmas spirit thanks to Debbie Macomber's new book Merry and Bright! As usual Macomber knocks it out of the park with her latest holiday story. Merry Knight works as a temp for Jayson Bright and the deadline is approaching for a big contract. Jayson is a stickler for following the employee handbook which says employees can't date. That's fine with Merry because she thinks Mr. Bright is not her type anyway. As a matter of fact she can't seem to do anything right when he is around. With no time for a social life because of forced overtime Merry isn't worried about breaking the employee dating rule anyway. Fortunately Merry has a brother and a mother that step in to help her social life. Throw in an Internet dating site and the approaching holiday season and suddenly Christmas looks very interesting! I love how Macomber can take everyday life and turn it into a can't put it down book! Get into the holiday spirit early and treat yourself to Merry and Bright!

I look forward to the holiday stories by Debbie Macomber each year and this was another great one. Just what I needed at this time with so much happening in the world. Grab a cup of tea or coffee and settle in with Merry and Bright; it will lighten your heart for sure!!

I received an ebook ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review.

Cute Christmas book. I love Debbie Macomber's Christmas books. The only thing I wish...they were longer. This one had cute characters, easy misunderstandings, good underlying moral story, fun, and Christmas. Only two things I wish would have happened. 1. a few parts were repeated a few times but not so obvious it was annoying. 2. LONGER! I wish it would have been longer, these books are so cute. Keep up the wonderful Christmas stories Debbie Macomber.

A classic Debbie Macomber novel! Everything a Christmas story should be... sweet, warm, and full of holiday cheer! This one left me with a big smile on my face!!! Highly recommend.

Yes, it's a Christmas book. Yes, I know it's not Christmas yet but I've had this book waiting for me for a while now. It doesn't release until October but the synopsis just kept calling to me and I couldn't wait any longer. And life is going to be crazy the first of October to read and write the review then, so I decided to grab it now and enjoy. And I did! It was fabulous! I've read the last several Christmas books that Debbie Macomber has written and have loved them. This one was no exception!

I had a big ol' grin on my face the whole time and kept thinking that this was just super cute and I couldn't wait for the big reveal to happen. Cute, cute, cute, cute!!!!

I loved Merry's relationships with her parents and teenage brother. Patrick, the brother, melted my heart. Patrick has Down Syndrome and loves his sister Merry very much. So in a moment of wanting to cheer her up, he and her mom create a dating profile for her online. They use the image of a their dog for her profile picture and surprise her with their news. What she doesn't expect is to find another user with the picture of their dog as their profile. A wink, a click and a short message lead to lots of fun conversations (via the internet of course) and the chance at a happy and Merry Christmas.

Merry's personal life is stressful right now. Work is stressful. She just wants to enjoy nothing more than chatting online with her new friend Jay after a long day. Their friendship slowly starts to evolve and it's time to put it to the test of meeting. Will they be able to ever meet? Will their friendship be enough to keep them happy once they do meet?

Seriously this was a super cute story that I devoured last night. I think I say this every time I read one of her Christmas novels...I sure hope they make this into a Hallmark movie! Yep, the same sentiment rings true for this book. I want a Hallmark movie out of this one! It's just a sweet, feel good and happy novel. A cozy Christmas story that warms your heart and gets you in the mood for family and friends and just the magic of that time of year. I'd happily curl up on the couch with my hubby and family, popcorn and blankets, and laugh and giggle and smile and sigh all while watching this.

There are so many more things I want to say about this book but I really don't want to spoil it and if I start to say something about the characters or a scene, I just know I'll give something away, even if I were being vague. So let me leave it at that and say one last time that I highly recommend this for a cute, super sweet read. If you need a good pick me up, grab this one.

Content: Clean

I received a copy from the publisher, Ballantine Books, via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.

Happy Reading!!!

I've never read a Debbie Macomber novel. By that fact alone I'm probably not the target audience for this book. However I was in the mood for a holiday story and I've enjoyed holiday romance fiction before so I thought this would be fun. Macomber writes in a foreword that her readers have come to expect a holiday story from her every year. With that admission, and the fact that she is a writing powerhouse, I was expecting something formulaic, and I was not disappointed. But it is a delightful book. I'd give it 3.5 stars. Macomber knows what she is doing and the plot moves along quickly and she hits all the marks you need for a holiday novel. I could see the story playing out just like a Hallmark movie. If this book was made into such a film, I would watch it. For those who like this type of book or like Macomber I would definitely recommend it. Having not read Macomber before, I appreciated the erotic reserve, as so many other new romance type novels seem to be heading toward. This is a book that can get my heard pumping a little bit, but I'm also able to recommend it to my mom.

Every year without fail I look forward to Debbie's Christmas book. She has yet to disappoint me. This book was FANTASTIC. I loved the premise, I loved the characters, I loved the Christmas vibes. I love love loved it!
As I am and have struggled with online dating myself multiple times it was nice to read a story where there was still some struggles with online dating. I can honestly say that had I not been reading this on public transportation while on vacation for my birthday, I would have cried like a baby at the happy ending.

I enjoyed this book SO MUCH thank you to Debbie, the publishers and Net Galley for the E-ARC!

From the bestselling author of the Cedar Cove series, Debbie Macomber's Merry and Bright is a great short book to put you in the holiday mood. Available October 3, 2017. 

Merry is a twenty-something woman working long hours to help take care of her family and save for her last year of college. The last thing on her mind is dating. So when her mother and younger brother decide to sign her up for online dating, Merry is less than thrilled. 

Jayson Bright is an ambitious VP hoping to prove to his uncle that he should be next in line to run the consulting firm when his uncle retires. Finding time to date isn't on his to-do list as the deadline of a huge deal looms near. But one look at his best friend's lovestruck eyes has Jayson wondering if there's something to this online dating thing. 

Although only a short story under 200 pages, this is a really feel good holiday story. I totally could feel the growing chemistry between Merry and Jayson, loved the focus on the positive side of online dating, and even the conflict of Merry and Jayson's working relationship. I laughed out loud several times and really enjoyed the happy ending. My only complaint was how short the story was, thus not giving the reader enough time to really get to know the characters.  

All in all a nice quick read to get you in a holiday and romantic mood.

Merry and Bright was great story. Merry works for an up and coming man at a firm where she is temping. If she can just make it through the holidays. For her birthday her mother and brother buy her a subsceiption to an online dating service. Just what she doesn't need. Thwn she starts chatting with a wonderful man. Her mother and.brother like him too. She discovers who he is but can not wrap her head around how different the "real" person is from her online person. Her heart is broken. Can it really be true?