Love Finds You On Christmas Morning

by Debby Mayne, Trish Perry

Two women receive marriage proposals in the same house--eight-five years apart. Love finds a home on Christmas morning in two heartwarming holiday stories. "Deck the Halls" In 1925, the wealthy William Tronnier becomes smitten with the lovely but penniless Lillian Pickard. As Christmas descends on the picturesque town of Cary, North Carolina, William plans to make Lillian a proposal she can't refuse. DEBBY MAYNE is the author of more than a dozen books and lives with her husband in Florida. Read more at www.debbymayne.com. " 'Tis the Season" Nikki Tronnier moves back home in Cary, North Carolina, with plans to buy back the Tronnier family home built by her great-grandfather, William, for his bride, Lillian. But before she is able to make an offer, the handsome Drew Cornell buys the house just before Christmas.

Genres: Christmas, Christian Fiction, Romance, Christian, Historical Fiction, Holiday, Historical Romance

315 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2011

About the author

Debby Mayne has published more than 30 books and novellas, 400 print short stories and articles, more than 1,000 web articles, and a slew of devotions for women. She has also worked as managing editor of a national health magazine, product information writer for HSN, a creative writing instructor for Long Ridge Writers Group, and a copy editor and proofreader for several book publishers. For the past eight years, she has judged the Writers Digest Annual Competition, Short-Short Contest, and Self-Published Book Competition. Three of Debby’s books have been top ten favorites by the Heartsong Presents book club. Love Finds You in Treasure Island, Florida received 4-1/2 stars from Romantic Times Magazine, and was named a Top Pick for the month of July 2009.

Reviews

[Tisha (IG: Bluestocking629) · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, I picked up this book at a local thrift shop. I knew nothing of the book except Christmas was in the title - sold!

For some reason I was not expecting much from this Christian Historical Fiction. I’m glad to report I was so wrong!

Story # 1: Deck the Halls by Debby Mayne ~ wow. All the feels with this one, including anger. I was so mad at Lillian’s parents and how they treated her. I understand they were between a rock and a hard place but why on earth did they put so much of their terrible situation on her shoulders, especially when there were two other children? Grrr. This was also a story about extreme prejudice. Prejudice against the wealthy from the poor. Yes some of it was pride; there however was a great deal of prejudice and assumption. Underneath all that negativity was love. A fabulous story. Very well done! Thoroughly enjoyable.

Story #2: ‘Tis the Season by Trish Perry ~ decades after story #1 we are introduced to a lovely new cast of characters who tie-in to the first in such a perfect way. Expect drama. Whenever I read a book where there are secrets kept and misunderstandings ensue, I always recollect the TV program Three’s Company. The big difference here is the book has no John Ritter with his comedic hijinks. It is the sweetest of Christmas Christian fiction. Bonus: Included therein you will find the sweetest of Golden Retrievers.

Both stories were equally enjoyable in their own right.

[Elaina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ehhhh...nothing too special to be honest lol Would've been perfectly fine not reading it, but I have this need to finish most books I start just "in case" it starts to get better :P Which can sometimes be the case so I always feel bad if I don't give books a chance XD

[Jeanette Durkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading these novellas! They both involve a house and family ties in Cary, North Carolina. The romances are very endearing!

In Deck the Halls, I immediately connected with Lillian. Her family is having a very rough time. She meets William, who is wealthy but very down the earth. I'm glad that Lillian's mother relaxed about her ideas on marriage between those of different social classes. The generous spirit of William and his family is wonderful!

In Tis the Season, I found all of the characters wonderful and easy to like! My absolute favorite, though, is Harvey! He's generous, understanding, compassionate, and caring. There are some major misunderstandings between Nikki and Drew, but they do get their happy ending!

Yes, I'm aware that I'm reading a Christmas book in July! These stories were so enjoyable, and they put me in a joyful mood! I look forward to reading more books by these authors!

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful story of a house that has been in the family for a long time. This book has two stories by two authors about the same house and the families that lived there.
I enjoyed the romance in each story!

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

DECK THE HALLS
by Debby Mayne
William Tronnier has been attracted to Lillian Pickard since last Christmas when he met her at a party, William is wealthy and Lillian is penniless. Lillian thinks it strange when William offers her a ride home in his automobile, a new thing in 1926 and her parents don't like the idea at all. William is as persistent about them being together as Lillian and her parents are insistent that they don't belong together, being in two different social classes.

'TIS THE SEASON
by Trish Perry
Nikki Tronnier has taken a job in her hometown so she can fulfill her lifelong dream of purchasing her family home. Drew Cornell is working in town and finds an old home that has been on the market for over a year and makes a bid and buys the house out from under her just when she's saved enough money to make her own bid. Nikki met Drew while walking her boss's dog and Drew was walking his dog. When Nikki discovers Drew bought the house she dreamed about buying she doesn't tell him. When Drew finds out he offers to sell it to her and walk away.

These are a couple of great Christmas stories that I enjoyed. They were pretty fast reads and hard to put down, especially "Deck the Halls", I love Christian Historical's, that could be why. But picking up with one of the family members in modern day was a nice. If you are looking for some short Christmas stories I would encourage you to read these two.

[Katie (hiding in the pages) · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was something about both of these stories that really tugged on my heartstrings. Although there wasn't a lot of actual chemistry, both stories were sweet.

In the first story, which takes place in 1925, Lillian is working at the local five and ten and is the sole supporter of her family. William, from the other side of town (the rich side), takes an interest in her and she spends a lot of time avoiding him and trying to convince him that he's too good for her. But when she really gets to know him, she realizes that he's not at all what she thought.

The second story takes place in modern times. Nikki is the great-granddaughter of William and Lillian and when their house goes up for sale, she saves to buy it, since she has such great memories of it. Drew buys it out from under her. Can she forgive him?

Content: clean; the second story is a lot more religious than the first, so if you don't like that, avoid this one.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall I’d give this two-in-one novella collection a three out of five stars. I’m somewhat sad to do that because I really liked the first story a lot. But the second…no. To be fair, as a novella on its own, it was fine (a little cornier than I would prefer and not entirely realistic but whatever) but as a Christmas book, it would be a one star. There was literally nothing Christmassy about the second story until literally the last 7 pages. I absolutely hate it when publishers do this! If you’re publishing a book called Love Finds You On Christmas Morning, the stories should be Christmassy! The bulk of the second story was set in March/April. Not what I’m looking for in a Christmas book. Rant over, now onto my breakdown of each story.

Deck the Halls (Debbie Mayne) — 4 stars

This one was so sweet. I really liked William and Lillian, particularly William. He was so sweet and kind. He really went above and beyond to make Lillian and her family feel comfortable. I did feel like Lillian’s parents ran hot and cold (one minute they loved William giving rides to Lillian and stopping in, and then the next they were warning her away from him) but overall I liked the characters and the story was very sweet. It had a very easy to read writing style as well.

’Tis the Season (Trish Perry) — 2.5 stars

As mentioned above, not Christmassy at all. I also found a lot of the dialogue somewhat stilted and not entirely realistic. Drew wasn’t the greatest love interest, and I didn’t like Nikki for her secret keeping either. As a novella on its own it wasn’t bad, but the lack of Christmas elements really bothered me.

[Margaret Chind]

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title: LOVE FINDS YOU ON CHRISTMAS MORNING
Authors: Debby Mayne and Trish Perry
Publisher: Summerside Press
September 2011
ISBN: 978-0-60936-193-8
Genre: Inspirational/romance

Love Finds a home on Christmas morning in two holiday stories set in Cary, North Carolina.

Deck the Halls by Debby Mayne: Lillian Pickard’s family is struggling since her dad’s injury. He hasn’t been able to work and so Lillian is forced to go work at the local Five and Dime to put food on the table. The money doesn’t always stretch far enough so they live on a lot of potatoes and onions. But when wealthy William Tronnier starts paying attention to Lillian her family is wary and warn her away. Is William after only “one thing”? Or is it possible that he’s planning a proposal that she can’t refuse?

‘Tis the Season by Trish Perry: Nikki Tronnier is the granddaughter of William Tronnier, and moved back to Cary and works as a chef for a billionaire in the hopes of saving enough money to buy the family home. But as soon as she earns enough money to make a downpayment, someone else buys it from under her. Drew Cornell loves old houses, and he felt something special about the old Tronnier home. He plans on remodeling it to its historic beauty. Will that beauty also include a new bride?

LOVE FINDS YOU ON CHRISTMAS DAY is a charming addition to the Love Finds You line – I’ve read all the books I could get my hands on so far in this collection and am keeping tabs on what is coming out so I don’t miss a story (I hope). I love Christmas stories and Trish Perry’s books so I was especially looking forward to this novella collection.

Deck the Halls is a historical, and William is a dream come true. I found Lillian quite bitter and she treated William very ugly. I honestly didn’t understand what kept him coming around. But the story was very well written and I did keep reading, mainly because I loved William and his family. It did end well. ‘Tis the Season is in true Trish Perry style. A contemporary, it is fun and sassy and involved food. I thoroughly enjoyed this last story and rooted for both Nikki and Drew. There is a cookie recipe included in between the two stories. This is a fun holiday read. $12.99. 315 pages.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love Finds You On Christmas Morning is a lovely Christmas book made up of two stories; one set in the 1920’s, and one in modern times. In “Deck the Halls” by Debby Mayne, Lillian Pickard supports her mother and father by working full time at a dime store. Her father is unable to work due to an accident. Wealthy farmer William Tronnier fancies Lillian, but her family tells her that he is above her socially and wouldn’t be interested in her with marriage in mind. In “‘Tis The Season”, Tronnier descendent, Nikki Tronnier is a chef that moves back to her home town with the goal to buy back her Great-Grandparents home. She has just saved enough money, when engineer and man she has just started to date, Drew Cornell, buys the home not knowing her plans. What will Nikki do?

I really enjoyed this Christmas novel. I liked how the two stories were connected and that they were set in Cary, North Carolina. I have never been there, but did work on a few engineering projects there back in the day. Sadly my request for a site visit did not go through. I also love that Lillian works at a dime store. I worked at one myself while in high school. I thought it was interesting that a wealthy farmer would be considered a different social class than a dime store worker. It made me think about my Great-Grandpa and Grandma Kile and their love story, which was on similar lines. I had never thought about the social ramifications. I did get slightly annoyed about how the parents were adamant that William would only want one thing and even after meeting him, kept insisting that Lillian not be with him.

Overall though, this is an excellent light Christian Christmas romance. I loved that it was romantic and about building a relationship with the one you love.

Book Source: A Christmas Gift from my best friend Jenn.

This review was first posted on my blog at: http://www.lauragerold.blogspot.com/2...

[Victoria (hotcocoaandbooks) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has two stories from different times, but including the same family line.

The first story was so excellent and well done. It was about a young woman who is working in the early 20th century to support her parents, as her father has a problem with one of his legs and couldn't keep his job. She comes across a charming young man who has one of the only cars in town. Does he only look at her as charity, or is he truly just that charming?

The second story is about a young woman who is working as a personal chef for an old man. She's been saving to buy a house that belonged to her great-grandparents, which has been on the market for some time. A young man bumps into her while they are each walking dogs in town. He truly feels smitten with her. However, he recently fell in love with the same house and wants to buy it, but they don't have any idea about one another's plans as they begin to get to know each other.

I loved the first story more, and it had a better building of characters and attachment, but I will admit I shed a tear during each story! It was very good. 3.5 stars!

[Diane Holm · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Double Delight!

Two stories, two authors and the legacy continues.

The first story, Deck the Halls, is set in the 1920’s and is very sweet in its telling. William and Lillian are attracted to each other, but from very different worlds. Quite simply, one family has money the other is just scraping by. Will common sense keep them apart or is there a chance of happiness. The struggle will reach your heart. With misunderstandings of the naïve and pressure from family members the challenges just keep coming. Well written and definitely a page turner by Debby Mayne

The second story, Tis the Season, continues within the same family, but generations have passed. Change has come to Cary, North Carolina but the Tronnier home still stands, but is for sale. When it is snatched from the family by an outsider, the sparks start to fly. Could be fire, could be love. A delightful story to lift your holiday spirits, by Trish Perry.

[⚜️XAR the Bookwyrm · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book continues the Love Finds You tradition of having two Christmas short stories in one book that are in some way connected to one another. Typically, it is one story set in the past and one story set in the present. This book uses the vehicle of a familial home to link the stories of past and present.

In "Deck the Halls", we have the classic story of Rich Guy/Poor Girl. It was a good story, but the Pickard's constant harping on William's financial and social status made it very difficult to completely enjoy the story. The faith aspect of the story was quite strong in this offering.

" 'Tis the Season" was also a good story, but lies of omission dragged it down, negating the faith aspect of the story as well. The dogs were a nice meet-cute for the people as well, but Nikki was a cold fish for much of the book as well.

All things considered, it was a good read, but not one I'd keep in my Kindle Library.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this Christmas book about two couples from the same town, Cary, NC, several generations apart. Couple #1, Lillian and William, are from opposite sides of the track and have a bumpy ride getting together. Great character development of both Lillian and William. Nice to see the wealthy ones reaching out in a natural way to the not-so-fortunate. A great romance and feel-good sentiments overcoming the 'class structure' of the South. Loved the story.
Couple #2, Nikki and Drew, move to Cary, NC, and stumble into each other over the Tronnier family home. Lots of humor in this story. Also, there's a secret held back by one of the characters and the expected reactions and responses to it. You'll like this story of moving back to small town USA from the city.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a sweet, sweet set of stories! I really liked William and Lillian's story, set in 1926. I love stories set in that time frame, and I liked how they were able to overcome their differences and let God's perfect plan work in their lives.
However, I think I liked Nikki and Drew's story best. As soon as the 'twist' was presented, I knew it was going to cause problems, and it was cool how the whole thing ended up playing out. Harvey was an absolute gem of a character, and I hope he's going to be around for Nikki and Drew for a good long while! :)

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first story, set in 1925, as William tries so hard to court Lillian. I couldn't get through the contemporary story about their great-granddaughter, though.

(And if it seems like I was cramming a lot of books into a short period, you're right. I did 80% of my December Christmas book reading and movie watching into 3 days thanks to an eventful/medical crisis filled December!)

[Lisa Blair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two sweet little Christmas stories: The first story portrays a bygone era when automobiles were first coming into towns and there were stark lines between the classes. Love crosses the supposed lines. The second story portrays a modern love in bloom in the same town, the same house and with one of the family members’ descendants.
3.5 Stars

[Prom · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was silly. A decent enough read when you're going bewteen heavier subjects. It sort of cleanses the literary palette. I would never read this again or seek out other titles by the authors based on this. I wish I could have enjoyed it as much as everyone else seemed to have.

[Melissa ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how there are two different stories from two different authors and they combined their stories with the same family line. This book was given to me freely and I have to say it was a pretty good read especially during Christmas time. :)

[Connie Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two very good stories about love,Christmas and generations of family. The first story is set in 1925. The second is present day. It shows the love of children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. The situations are believable and the stories themselves draw you in.

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first story was much better than the second one which suffered from either an unbelievable premise or lack of a backstory to set it up. I just didn't see why someone would be so obsessed with buying their grandparents' house and preserving it. It was a mostly enjoyable read otherwise though.

[writer... · Rating 3 out of 5]

Completed Trish Perry's novella included in this 2 story paperback..

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fine. I liked that the stories connected. The book is much more religious than I was expecting.

[Carrie Schmidt · Rating 3 out of 5]

As usual with these "Love Finds" books, I like one story more than the other. In this case, I liked the first one (by Debby Mayne) better and couldn't really get into the more modern day one.

[Gail · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of two Christmas stories that aren't really about Christmas. It feels more like they just coincidentally end on Christmas to sell them as Christmas stories.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the stories. Sweet stories of family and love with a Christian influence.

[Crystal B · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was something very sweet about reading two parallel stories from different time periods. Very sweet book.

[Debbie West · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this book. well worth reading

[LJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deck the Halls: 3.5
Tis the Season: 4.5

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two sweet stories set in the past and the present, within one family. First in Deck the Halls, Lillian's family are poor, and every day she works hard, long hours to provide for them all after an injury forced her dad to stop working. William's family own a profitable farm, but the social status between Lillian and William, and her parents, are keeping love at a distance. This story touched close to home for me, as my own father stopped working due to an injury as well, and times have been hard. I related in so many ways to Lillian and her hard work ethics and the love she has for her family. This was a beautiful, moving, charming story with a Hallmark-worthy ending! ;)

Secondly in 'Tis the Season, it's modern times and Nikki been saving every chance she can to by back the family home her great-grandfather built for his bride. But just as she's finally saved up enough, someone has purchased the house right from under her! A comical, fun story I enjoyed to the last page!