By Richard Paul Evans
The Christmas Box Collection is actually three books combined into one book. I bought it because I wanted some Christmas books and this seemed like a good choice. I was not pleased when I discovered that only the first book is about Christmas. The other two were not. Boo! I felt like I was cheated. Anyways...
The first story was called The Christmas Box. This is a fairly famous story (made into a TV movie starring Richard Thomas). A couple and their daughter move into the mansion of an elderly lady acting as both her companions and her help around the house. The elderly lady teaches them about life and challenges them to remember the first gift of Christmas. With that, she gives them an important gift.
The second story, Timepiece, provides backstory on the elderly lady, MaryAnn Parkin, from the first story. We learn how she met her husband, David Parkin, the love they shared, how they lost their daughter Andrea, and what forgiveness can do for someone.
The last story called The Letter takes place years after Andrea's death when David and MaryAnn have grown apart. David's mother abandoned him when he was a child and in his search for her, he finds what he and MaryAnn need.
Overall, these books were fine minus the Christmas disappointment. The writing tended to be a bit fluffy and overly dramatic. I felt Evans was trying a tad too hard. It kept reminding me of Nicholas Sparks. I haven't read a Nicholas Sparks book in years because he drives me mad, but that is what I kept thinking of. There was a good story there but I didn't think a few of the characters, David Parkin specifically, were super believable and I kept side-eyeing their actions.
This movie (The Christmas Box) was on the other night and I can't stand Richard Thomas. He is too goody two shoes and annoys me. He always plays the sappy, too in touch with his feelings guy. So really he was perfect for this story. But, I couldn't get past 30 seconds of the movie with him on the TV so I changed the channel.
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