By Jovanna Brinck
Courier Columnist
Since the holidays are approaching, I decided to review a Christmas book to get into the holiday spirit.
One Week in Christmas features four short stories about relationships during Christmastime written by four different authors.
“Marrying Owen” by Alexis Anne is about a young college professor, named Alice, who brings her rock-singing boyfriend to meet her parents. This relationship between the two has only been going on for six months, and they have been separated most of the time because Owen has been on the road with his band. Alice’s parents are extremely conservative, and expects Alice to find a guy that is more like her, successful with a serious job. Despite her parents suggestions, Alice believes she truly loves Owen and that they are going to spend the rest of their lives together.
“Simply Having” by Audra North introduces Astrid Faber, a young accountant living in San Francisco, who falls in love with a neighbor in her apartment. After losing her family last year, Astrid thought she was going to be spending Christmas all alone. When her neighbor helps her bring up her Christmas tree to her apartment, she realizes that she doesn’t want to be alone anymore.
In “Kiss Me at Midnight” by Julia Kelly, Allina meets the son of her parents’ friends at a Christmas Eve party. When he kisses her at midnight, she is left wanting more. They don’t meet again until the following week at a New Year’s Eve party and they start the new year together.
“This Christmas” by Alexandra Haughton is about a girl who runs into her one night stand at church and then they are forced to be in the Christmas play together as Mary and Joseph. Out of all the short stories, this one seemed the closest to reality and was pretty hilarious.
Although One Week in Christmas is the third installment in a series, you don’t have to read the other two books to read this one. All of the short stories feature girls in their late 20s, early 30s. I didn’t enjoy that these stories focused on the romantic relationships more than actual Christmas events.
Overall, I think there are much better Christmas stories than the ones in this book, but if you are looking for something quick to read about Christmas and you don’t care about romance, then pick up this one.
