Publisher: Graydon House
Published: October 26, 2021
Source: Paperback via Kathleeen Carter Communications
Summary:
As comforting and familiar as a favorite sweater, Viola Shipman’s first holiday novel is a promise of heartfelt family traditions, humorously real experience, and the enduring power of love and friendship.
Sonny Dunes, a SoCal meteorologist who knows only sunshine and seventy-two-degree days, is being replaced by an AI meteorologist, which the youthful station manager reasons “will never age, gain weight or renegotiate its contract.” The only station willing to give the fifty-year-old another shot is one in a famously nontropical place—her northern Michigan hometown.
Unearthing her carefully laid California roots, Sonny returns home and reacclimates to the painfully long, dark winters dominated by a Michigan phenomenon known as lake-effect snow. But beyond the complete physical shock to her system, she’s also forced to confront her past: her new boss, a former journalism classmate and mortal frenemy; more keenly, the death of a younger sister who loved the snow; and the mother who caused Sonny to leave.
To distract herself from the unwelcome memories, Sonny decides to throw herself headfirst into all things winter to woo viewers and reclaim her success. From sledding and ice fishing to skiing and winter festivals, the merrymaking culminates with the town’s famed Winter Ice Sculpture Contest. Running the events is a widowed father and chamber of commerce director, whose genuine love of Michigan, winter and Sonny just might thaw her heart and restart her life in a way she never could have predicted.
My thoughts:
This is the first holiday book Viola Shipman has written and what a sweet read it was. I’ve only read a few of this author’s books and I’m not sure why…I always enjoy them. I really need to go back and read the rest soon!
I think my favorite part of this book is that our main protagonist is a more mature character. Sonny is 50 and I just love when we get stories about characters needing to find themselves or start over and that’s what we have here. This book is heavy on the grief and learning how to deal with it and I think that is really where is shines. Not only does Sonny struggle with her grief, but the leading man has his own issues and I think their pairing, and his support of her really makes this book work. That’s not to say this book is a total downer because it’s definitely not, but be prepared to shed a tear or two.
I loved the magic that the author creates in the small town and having lived in small towns all my life, I felt that this was pretty accurately portrayed. There is just something so magical about snow and while I don’t get anywhere near the amount of snowfall that they do in Michigan, I can still appreciate all that this book gives when it comes to that wintry fun.
This was such a sweet, engaging read and I am definitely adding the rest of Viola Shipman’s backlist to my tbr. If you haven’t read this latest book, I highly recommend picking it up.
