Member Review

One Charmed Christmas by Sheila Roberts is a heartwarming Christmas story. Our main character is Catherine Pine who is a widow and has been diagnosed with cancer. She has already had extensive surgery to remove the cancer, but Catherine will be having chemotherapy and radiation treatments in the new year. The prior Christmas was dismal because it was the first one without her husband, so Catherine is looking forward to celebrating the holidays with her two children and their families. Unfortunately, the bleak holiday is still fresh in her children’s mind, and they have made other plans. Catherine’s best friend, Denise is taking a Rhine River Christmas Market cruise and she needs a bunkmate. It will be good for Catherine to get out of the house. Once the pair are on the cruise, they meet a diverse group of people. I liked the different characters in the story and the fact that they are varying ages. We get to experience the story from each person’s point-of-view (Catherine, Sophie, Athena, Rudy, Kurt, Trevor, etc.). I liked seeing how people’s perceptions of each character changed as the story progressed. It was hard to like Athena and Sophie in the beginning, but they grow on you. Trevor is one of my favorite characters. I loved that he was a chocolatier who went around handing out his yummy chocolate. One of my favorite lines was, “Chocolate cures everything.” The other line I liked was, “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” I picked up One Charmed Christmas and was immediately drawn into the story. I was up quite late reading because I wanted to see how each person’s story ended. I did feel the ending was a little rushed, but it was delightful and left me smiling. I like how the story mixes romance, friendship, family situations, health concerns, and humor into one entertaining tale. I enjoyed the descriptions of the boat, the towns they visited, the Christmas markets, and the items they purchased. There is some mild foul language in the book. I enjoyed Sheila Roberts’ latest Christmas story. It is a great escape book. One Charmed Christmas is a charming Christmas tale with a romantic river cruise, scrumptious chocolate, present shopping, a stubborn student, spouse distress, cancer concerns, and marvelous memories.