I would have bought this book because I like the author. However, the book is trite and predictable and the characters border on smarmy.

This book was so cute and tugged at my heartstrings. From the beginning it reminded me of You've Got Mail the Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan movie only in reverse, which ends up being Merry's favorite movie. Merry/Mary Knight is an industrious young woman with many responsibilities and does an excellent job of trying to handle it all. With help from her mother and brother Patrick who sign her up on a dating website with an unusual picture. VP Jayson/Jay Bright is career oriented man with family issues and is worrying about a big contract for his Uncle's company. When his cousin/best friend comes to ask him to be best man at his wedding to a childhood friend gets him to thinking about checking out Mix & Mingle where he finds Merry's profile and the romance starts. As it progresses there are a few bumps in the road that with the help of Patrick the couple work through. Merry and Bright is Debbie Macomber at her Holiday best .

A merry and bright Christmas tale centered around an online dating service with a fairy tale ending.
However, I was left with an unsatisfied ending for both Merry and Jayson will still have many conflicts to overcome. Merry is not always happy and resilient to problems encountered with Jay and Jayson. Jayson still has to overcome his sarcasm of people and of people's feelings of Christmas.
For a Christmas tale, the book had an excellent title, plot, and ending but it still left me with a feeling of how will Merry and Jayson cope with their future bad days for all days will not be good Christmas days.

Merry and Bright is a short, sweet take on online dating. Merry grew up with a close, loving family, while Jayson grew up with distant parents. Their childhoods have colored their adult perspective on life. As expected, they have a happily ever after!

This is a wonderful Christmas short read. The take on the names is a cute additional.

Merry's family concerned that she isn't dating signs her up for a dating website. She quickly starts chatting with J and falling in love with this man with similar characteristics. When he asks to meet everything changes as she realizes he is not all those things.

I was fortunate to receive an advanced copy for an honest review. Debbie Macomber always comes out with a holiday book, this one stands out above the rest. I feel in love with Merry dedication to her family and how slowly the author peeled away the walls Jayson has built. What a great read. This book goes on my keeper shelf.

'Merry and Bright' by Debbie Macomber is absolutely perfect. I was immediately engaged and literally couldn't put it down until the sparkling finish. This story of co-workers Merry Smith and Jayson Bright finding love in an entirely current yet familiar 'Little Shop Around the Corner-You've Got Mail' way was heartwarming and uplifting. I can't enthuse enough about it, and would give it 10 stars if I could!

A sweet holiday story from Macomber that is perfect for curling up for a night of reading and losing yourself in a light holiday romance story. This story touches on an experience with online dating, and the perception others may have of us in person versus through an online persona. A quick and light read.

This was a well written, fun book by Debbie Macomber. You will turn pages from the 1st page through the last page - It is a clean story that I would recommend to all. The characters were well defined, you can see the story come to life right before your minds eyes.

I really enjoyed the up to date world of online dating in Ms. Macomber's newest book. I have always enjoyed this type of story "unknown penpal" type of story. I like when one of the people find out who the other one is and deals with that info in a unique way. I loved the way the unknown partner found out who the other one was and was still as clueless for a bit. This was a lovely story that I think readers will enjoy to kick off the holiday season!

Debbie Macomber's Christmas stories are always a treat and "Merry and Bright" does not disappoint. Merry is nearing the end of her temp job in a firm where Jayson Bright is her boss. She does not hold a high opinion of him with his being a stickler for the rules and uncaring attitude. Merry's mother and brother sign her up for an online dating service and to appease them she goes through the profiles and starts chatting with someone. Her online relationship grows and she begins to hope that she has met someone who likes her for her. In the meantime she's starting to see under the surface of her boss Jayson and is thinking there is more to him than she has seen. The Christmas season and family time play a role in what happens to Merry and Jayson and how they grow both together and in themselves as they go over bumps and in the end knowing the risk is worth the rewards.

Recently I've been reading dark thrillers and mysteries. Merry and Bright by the very popular author Debbie Macomber was just the antidote I needed to lift my spirits. The book is full of family, friends, holiday spirit and unexpected romance. Merry's brother and mother sign her up for an on-line dating service and everything takes an complicated twist from there. If you want to come out of a dark funk this is just the book for you. You'll be glad you did.

Every year Debbie Macomber gives us a beautiful Christmas story.
This year I was more than delighted with Merry and Bright.
The story conveys an emotion as I had not felt for a long time.

Merry, who was born on December 26, has an envious inner positive energy.
She works as a temporary employee at a company while saving money to pay for her senior year of college. She wants to be a teacher.
She comes from a solid and loving family.
Her mother suffers from multiple sclerosis and her 18-year-old brother, Patrick, has down syndrome. The family is beautiful.

The Christmas party is a long-awaited tradition. It is at this time that they take the time to thank all the people for their help and support throughout the year by giving them time to cook for these people.

With such a love-filled life story, Merry has clashes with her boss, Jayson Bright.
A handsome man, but always serious, he never smiles.

Jayson carries the responsibility of the VP of his uncle's company on his shoulders. With deadlines and all reports to do, he has no time for social life or smiling.

So when he knows that his cousin, Cooper, was in love and marrying soon, Jayson is astonished. More so to know that the meeting of Cooper and his fiancée was through a dating website.

Determined to risk his luck, Jayson signs up, but doesn't put his picture on the profile, but a dog he had in his teens.
Jayson is interested in the profile of a woman whose photo was also a dog.

They exchange messages for some time until they decide to meet each other.
From there everything changes because the woman didn't appear. But, she did. She saw him. She freaked out.

Merry is surprised to discover that the man she had been talking to online was her boss.
Company policy didn't allow for loving relationships between employees.
In a few days she would not work there anymore.
And she and Jayson had had several clashes in the office.

How could she forget his pedantic and serious way?
How would Jayson be after having his heart broken by a woman he didn't even know?

The end of the story has a lot the magic of Christmas, with human mistakes and success, full of merry and bright
5 stars

This was an adorable read that is perfect for the holidays. It is a book filled with finding love, remembering what is important during the holidays as well as giving relationships that you thought were negative a positive spin. The characters of Merry and Jayson were simply honest and true characters that find their soulmates. This was an enjoyable read that I highly recommend.

Liked the characters and play on the names. Great story flow. Loved the path of romance. Fun and entertaining read. Highly recommend.

A short heart-warming, happy ending Christmas novel, Merry and Bright is just what the reader expects from Debbie Macomber. It reminded me a lot of You've Got Mail, and then Mary/Merry made that connection in the book as well.

The premise of this story is different and really cute. I enjoyed the characters of Merry and her family quite a bit. I had a tougher time with Jayson, though. He never really won me over. And I definitely felt like Merry should have made him grovel a little more after the party incident! So, overall, I enjoyed reading the story, but I wish Jayson's character would have been more likeable; he just didn't seem good enough for Merry.

Nothing like a great Macomber Christmas story. I can see this one as a great Hallmark Christmas movie.

A great read! I enjoyed the book. Merry and Jayson's story had a few bumps in the road, which were resolved with some help from a few angels. Looking forward to reading more of the author's holiday books!

I received an arc copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion. I so much enjoy Christmas stories and this was perfect! I loved the story with Merry "Mary" and Jason! Christmas can turn anyone around.