The Christmas Promise

by Richard Paul Evans

Overview

This holiday season, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Noel Collection returns with another heartwarming story of secrets, heartbreak, forgiveness, and the true meaning of Christmas.

On the night of her high school graduation, Richelle Bach’s father gives her and her identical twin sister, Michelle, matching opal necklaces. “These opals look identical,” he tells them, “but the fire inside each is completely unique—just like the two of you.”

Indeed, the two sisters couldn’t be more different, and their paths diverge as they embark on adulthood. Years pass, until—at their father’s behest—they both come home for Christmas. What happens then forever damages their relationship, and Richelle vows never to see or speak to her sister again. In their father’s last days, he asks Richelle to forgive Michelle, a deathbed promise she never fulfills as her twin is killed in an accident.

Now, painfully alone and broken, caring for the sickest of children in a hospital PICU, Richelle has one last dream: to be an author. The plot of her book, The Prodigal Daughter, is a story based on her sister’s life. It’s not until she meets Justin Ek, a man who harbors his own loss, that a secret promise is revealed, and Richelle learns that the story she’s writing is not about her sister, but about herself.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781982177430
Publisher:	Gallery Books
Publication date:	11/23/2021
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	42,390
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Richard Paul Evans is the #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of more than forty novels. There are currently more than thirty-five million copies of his books in print worldwide, translated into more than twenty-four languages. Richard is the recipient of numerous awards, including two first place Storytelling World Awards, the Romantic Times Best Women’s Novel of the Year Award, and is a five-time recipient of the Religion Communicators Council’s Wilbur Awards. Seven of Richard’s books have been produced as television movies. His first feature film, The Noel Diary, starring Justin Hartley (This Is Us) and acclaimed film director, Charles Shyer (Private Benjamin, Father of the Bride), will debut in 2022. In 2011 Richard began writing Michael Vey, a #1 New York Times bestselling young adult series which has won more than a dozen awards. Richard is the founder of The Christmas Box International, an organization devoted to maintaining emergency children’s shelters and providing services and resources for abused, neglected, or homeless children and young adults. To date, more than 125,000 youths have been helped by the charity. For his humanitarian work, Richard has received the Washington Times Humanitarian of the Century Award and the Volunteers of America National Empathy Award. Richard lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, with his wife, Keri, and their five children and two grandchildren. You can learn more about Richard on his website RichardPaulEvans.com.

Hometown:

Salt Lake City, Utah

Date of Birth:

October 11, 1962

Place of Birth:

Salt Lake City, Utah

Education:

B.A., University of Utah, 1984

Editorial Reviews

09/27/2021

The enjoyable latest Christmas-themed outing from Evans (The Noel Collection) introduces readers to twins Richelle and Michelle Bach, who are nearly indistinguishable physically but whose personalities couldn’t be more different. Despite a contentious relationship, the sisters, who are in their 30s, agree to spend Christmas with their father. Over the holiday, Richelle discovers her boyfriend in bed with Michelle, and their relationship further disintegrates. Then Michelle is killed in a hit-and-run, and any hopes of reconciliation die with her. Richelle pours her grief into her job caring for critically ill children in an intensive care unit, and also into a novelization of Michelle’s life. One night during writers’ group, Richelle meets Justin Ek, and their mutual attraction is instant. Justin, whose wife recently died, is dealing with his own grief. As the two find comfort in each other, Richelle fears she is once again being betrayed by someone she loves when she learns Justin knew Michelle. But Justin’s deception might also be the key to Richelle finally overcoming her grief. Probing how anger and fear can skew perceptions and poison relationships, Evans’s lovely tale packs an emotional punch. Agent: Laura Liss, Sterling Lord Literistic. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

Cozy up to a crackling fireplace with your Christmas cookies and eggnog and enjoy this holiday treat.” —Kirkus

“Enjoyable latest Christmas-themed outing from Evans... Probing how anger and fear can skew perceptions and poison relationships, Evans’s lovely tale packs an emotional punch.” —Publishers Weekly

"[A] heartwarming tale... nothing says cozy Christmas read like a Richard Paul Evans book, and his latest doesn’t disappoint.” —Booklist

From the Publisher

2021-09-15
A surviving twin falls for a mystery man in this Yuletide love story.

Growing up in Utah, identical twins Michelle and Richelle Bach, or Micki and Ricki, had been virtually indistinguishable in appearance but had different personalities. Micki was the fun one who’d barely squeaked through high school, needing help from Ricki, the class salutatorian and the story’s narrator, to even graduate. Dad gave each a gorgeous black opal worth 15 grand as a graduation present. (Opaleeze, who does that?) Later, the twins had become estranged after Ricki found Micki in bed with Ricki's fiance. Later still, Micki dies (the events are unconnected). Ricki is a dedicated pediatric ICU nurse and an aspiring writer. One day, a handsome stranger named Justin visits her Calliope Writers Group, and he appears to be wholesome as can be. He charms Micki with lines like, “I’ve always believed love should be a little reckless. Sometimes a lot.” And so they fall in love, of course, but the road to bliss is fraught with uncertainty: Why did he come to Salt Lake? What’s his real interest in a writers group, given that he’s not a writer? Why does he keep leaving town and returning? “I guess when something looks delicious, we’re less inclined to check the ingredients,” she muses. That this is a Christmas-themed story suggests sugar rather than spice—Justin seems so gosh darned good—so let’s hope he lives up to his promise. Speaking of which, Ricki says, “I made my father a promise that I never fulfilled.” Love, forgiveness, and downright decency must try to overcome multiple betrayals and personal losses. The book’s best line is Ricki’s: “My question hung in the air like a piñata, just waiting to get smacked.” How much must she endure? The big twist near the end is either an eye-roller or heartwarming as the dickens, depending on one’s worldview, and it all leads up to a Christmas finale.

Cozy up to a crackling fireplace with your Christmas cookies and eggnog and enjoy this holiday treat.

Kirkus Reviews