The ultimate Christmas present
have to tell you, dear readers, the tagline the New York Times gave to this absolutely breathtaking storyteller - the king of Christmas fiction - is becoming an understatement. Personally, I have been a fan of Mr. Evans for as far back as I can remember and, yet again, he doesn't disappoint with his newest "gift" for this year's holiday season. Beth Cardall has what most women would consider an absolutely perfect life. She adores her wonderful six-year-old daughter, Charlotte, and her husband, Mac, is almost as charming and loving as a man can get. The only thing that disturbs Beth is the fact that Mac is on the road a lot because he's a salesman, so she has to spend many nights alone. She also works at the local dry cleaner with her best friend Roxanne to bring some extra money into the household. Soon, as a house of cards usually does, her perfect life begins to fall apart. One day, as she's working in the dry cleaning store, she and Roxanne come across a note from a very affectionate woman in the pocket of Mac's blazer. Not only that, but Charlotte begins to get extremely ill and no one - not Beth, the school nurse - no one, can figure out what is wrong with her little girl. Because of circumstances that I will not reveal, because I believe that absolutely everyone should have the opportunity to explore this novel for themselves, another man enters the story. On Christmas Eve, 1989, Beth enters a 7-Eleven and finds a breathtakingly handsome man named Matthew staring at her like he's seen her somewhere before. Although the meeting feels more than a little odd to Beth, she begins to see Matthew all over town; and, he not only seems to know what's ailing her daughter, but he also seems to know some of Beth's most intimate secrets. They begin to see each other quite a bit, as Matthew pretty much saves Beth from a life of pain and agony. When she finally finds out who Matthew really is, and how he knows so much about her, Beth can hardly believe his story. And, perhaps, she won't believe until years later when a knock on the door shows Beth that she did make the right choice after all - giving up something she loved more than life itself to bring happiness to the little girl who was the center of Beth's world. Every chapter of this story grabs the reader and holds on to their heart, mind, and soul until the very last page. As a mother who would give up her life for her own daughter, I was completely head-over-heels with the complete love, affection, elegance, and extreme class that Beth had in spades. Not only that, but this book begs so many questions, with the biggest one being: If you knew the future, would you change the past? If you absolutely saw beforehand how the good and bad moments were going to play out in life, would you give up all you could have in order to give someone else the life they've always dreamed about? Quill says: This is the ultimate Christmas present for all the ones you love. Make this novel a beautifully wrapped present under your tree this year. You won't regret it.
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