Bright Lights, Big Christmas
From Mary Kay Andrews, New York Times bestselling author of The Homewreckers and The Santa Suit, comes a novella celebrating love and the warm, glittering charm of the holiday season.
"Nobody does Christmas like Mary Kay Andrews." ―Debbie Macomber "Cozy up with Santa's favorite novelist!" ―Adriana Trigiani When fall rolls around, it's time for Kerry Tolliver to leave her family's Christmas tree farm in the mountains of North Carolina for the wilds of New York City to help her gruff older brother & his dog, Queenie, sell the trees at the family stand on a corner in Greenwich Village. Sharing a tiny vintage camper and experiencing Manhattan for the first time, Kerry's ready to try to carve out a new corner for herself. In the weeks leading into Christmas, Kerry quickly becomes close with the charming neighbors who live near their stand. When an elderly neighbor goes missing, Kerry will need to combine her country know-how with her newly acquired New York knowledge to protect the new friends she's come to think of as family, And complicating everything is Patrick, a single dad raising his adorable, dragon-loving son Austin on this quirky block. Kerry and Patrick's chemistry is undeniable, but what chance does this holiday romance really have? Filled with family ties, both rekindled and new, and sparkling with Christmas magic, BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CHRISTMAS delivers everything Mary Kay Andrews fans adore, all tied up in a hilarious, romantic gem of a novel.BUY THE BOOK
Community Reviews
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was an easy read that I loved it for the holidays. Would recommend.
Every day after Thanksgiving our family treks out to the Vine Christmas Tree Farm to cut down our Christmas tree. So when my book club selected Mary Kay Andrews’ Bright Lights, Big Christmas, I was delighted to revisit my family tradition through the eyes of Kerry Tolliver and her brother Murphy who set up their vintage trailer Spammy on the streets of New York and sell the trees from the Tolliver family Christmas tree farm.
Kerry meets a quirky cast of characters along the way. “We’re not strangers… We’re friends. You, me, Austin, Patrick, Murphey, and Claudia. What’s that saying? Friends are the family you choose? I guess we’ve chosen you. Whether you like it or not…Sounds as though you have friends who care about you. You can never have enough of those.” But it’s elderly Mr. Heinz who challenges Kerry to confront her insecurities and resistance to change. “Go home then. Give up on a good man who could bring you happiness. Give up on your art. Give up on your dreams. Lead a small life in a small town. And spend the rest of your life wondering ‘what if?’”
Christmas arrives, and with it a gift that changes everything. “Austin stared down at the last page. The illustration showed three backlit figures. The gates to the forest were unlocked and flung open, and a young boy, an old man with a cane, and a woman, all of them holding hands and accompanied by an alert, trusting dog, stood looking at the forest. In the distance could be seen a police cruiser with two villains, hanging out the back window. ‘It’s us!’ the boy exclaimed, stabbing the drawing with his finger. ‘Me, Mr. Heinz, and Karry. And Queenie. And there’s the bad guys, going to jail, right, Kerry?’…’Do you like it?’ Heinz asked, almost shyly. ‘It’s the best book I ever read,’ Austin said.” Ditto for Mary Kay Andrews’ Bright Lights, Big Christmas!
I adored this book! It was such an easy read that I was just able to listen to it while doing daily tasks. I loved the simple innocent love story. I just adored this Christmas story!
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