I am publishing this post about A California Christmas by Brenda Novak ©2020 the day after Christmas, mainly because of the timeliness of the title. Brenda Novak is a very prolific author with genres that include Contemporary Romance (Whiskey Creek Series and Silver Springs series), Romantic Suspense (Evelyn Talbot Chronicles), and Historical Romance and Non-Fiction. A California Christmas was a binge read for me the day after Thanksgiving but I never made the effort or took the time to blog about it until now. It is the seventh and most recent of her books in the Silver Springs Series. I have read them all; each is a guilty pleasure - not high brow literature but I still want to take credit for another read in 2020.
The simple plot of A California Christmas is similar to the predictable formula of most romance novels. That formula is captured well in this song by The Alley Cats, an a cappella group formed in 1987, who specialize in American doo-wop music of the 50's. They gained recognition and have even sung at the White House. I loaded music from three of their albums on my son Alex's iPad and he loves the sound – he likes harmony. Please enjoy their song Book of Love from the album The Cat's Meow. I will admit that the plot is not exactly the same, but the pretense still brings a smile to my face.
Emery is a co-anchor on a television news show who is hiding out from the public eye when an embarrassing video of her is uploaded to the internet. She is staying at the house of Aiyana, a friend of her mother. Also arriving for a visit at that house is Aiyana's adopted son, Dallas. Back in their high schools days, Dallas and Emery knew each other but never connected romantically. Guess where this story is headed. A bit of mystery is introduced as Dallas and Emery sleuth to learn who uploaded that video and why. The ambience is enjoyable since the story take place at Christmas time in California where the settings and shopping expeditions are fun and offer a welcome alternative to the snow and blustery cold of most Christmas movies, especially all those on the Hallmark channel. The romance is a bit more spicy, too. On Hallmark productions, after the first kiss the credits roll.
I have read all the books in the Silver Springs series. Aiyana is a constant character in all of them. She is a very charitable, sensitive woman who runs a school for troubled boys. A woman with a big, soft heart, she had adopted eight boys. Each novel in the series features a boy as he has grown into a man and put his childhood mistreatments or demons behind him. A welcome side feature in this particular book is Aiyana getting married after many years as a strong, intelligent, independent, single woman. Her eight adopted sons are groomsmen at the wedding. A California Christmas has romance, mystery, a warm sunny setting, a wedding, a reunion, and a festive Christmas. Who needs a Nobel or Pulitzer Prize? This is a book to help the reader relax and unwind.
I rate A California Christmas 3 stars which translates in my rating system to Better than average; not a waste of time. Besides, if you do have time to "waste", this is a not-too-shabby way to do it. Amazon readers gave it 4.6 stars out of 5. The following list summarizes my ratings for the Brenda Novak's books in the Silver Springs Series. Each is followed by the date of my blog post review of that particular title.
Finding Our Forever ©2017 3 stars (post for 12/4/17)
No One But You ©2017 4 stars (post for 11/10/17)
Until You Loved Me ©2017 5 stars (post for 11/2/17 )
Right Where We Belong 3 stars (post for 2/15/18 )
Unforgettable You ©2019 4 stars (post for 5/12/19 )
Christmas in Silver Springs ©2019 2 stars (post for 5/21/20)
A California Christmas ©2020 3 stars (this post on 12/26/20)
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