Mr. Miracle
By Debbie Macomber
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Release Date: October 7, 2014
His primary assignment is to help Addie Folsom, a student in his
literature class. Addie, a high school dropout who left home in a storm of
rebellion six years ago, is returning with mixed emotions. She is embarrassed
that she is returning not in triumph as she had planned but rather with her pride
in tatters. Also, Addie’s father died a few months earlier, and she is concerned
about her mother facing her first Christmas without him. Although not fully
estranged from her father, Addie was never fully reconciled with him after his
explosion over her dropping out of school led to her leaving home. Now she must
deal with her regrets. She takes comfort in knowing her father would be pleased
that she plans to earn the credit she needs to obtain her high school diploma
and continue with her education.
Erich Simmons was the
boy next door. He was a popular extrovert, the opposite of dyslexic Addie who
was a misfit in school. The best friend of Addie’s older brother, Erich teased
and tormented Addie and was generally the bane of her childhood. That didn’t
keep a teen Addie from falling for him and having her heart broken. Addie can’t
forget their past and has no interest in becoming friends with Erich, but when
he has an accident that leaves both his arms in casts, Addie, with some less
than subtle prompting from Harry and Celeste, agrees to take care of Erich so
that their widowed mothers can take the Christmas cruise they had planned.
Gradually Addie and Erich discover how much they have in common, and with
Christmas kisses, romance begins to bloom. But it will take some electrical
manipulation from Harry to transform
Erich’s Scrooginess about Christmas and give these two a happy holiday.
For romance readers, Debbie Macomber’s name is almost as closely linked
to Christmas reading as that of Charles Dickens, whose A Christmas Carol
is the book Harry assigns his class. Mr. Miracle blends elements of the
author’s popular Mrs. Miracle books with her even more popular Shirley,
Goodness, and Mercy angel series. This one is thinner in story development and
characterization than the earlier books. Addie and Erich’s past and Erich’s
dislike of Christmas are drawn with very broad strokes, and, based on my
experience, Harry’s literature class is definitely the stuff of fiction on
several levels. Nevertheless, the book has enough sweetness, charm, and
seasonal sentiment to make Macomber fans happy.
Like Macomber’s Mrs. Miracle, Call Me Mrs. Miracle, and Trading
Christmas, Mr. Miracle has been adapted as a Hallmark movie with Rob
Morrow (Northern Exposure, Numb3rs) in the title role. The movie is
scheduled to debut November 29 during Hallmark’s 2014 Countdown to Christmas.
Word is that it is also a backdoor pilot for a second Macomber series,
following Cedar Cove, on the Hallmark Channel. Harry and Celeste and Mr.
Miracle’s secondary cast, which includes Danny Wade, an enthusiastic ex-con
who loves his flawed mama, and Andrew Fairfax, an Army vet with a heavenly
service dog, hold the promise of delightful viewing for those who like their
programming wholesome and heartwarming. In the meantime, the novel Mr.
Miracle is a sweet start to 2014 Christmas romance reading.
~Janga
