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Mulberry Park #4
Christmas on Nutcracker Court
In Fairbrook, a town tailor-made for Christmas, a group of women who meet weekly to play poker and socialize decide to do some good deeds and determine that a little matchmaking between Carly Westbrook and Grant Barrows is the perfect place to start.
430 pages, Library Binding
First published September 27, 2011
15 people are currently reading
198 people want to read
About the author
Judy Duarte
322 books94 followersWhen life threw Judy Duarte a curve twenty years ago, she did what many newly single mothers do. She pulled herself and her four kids together, became even more determined to come out on top, and decided to start following her dreams. What better role model could she provide her children than to show them that anything is possible? So, she returned to school, graduating from UC Irvine about the same time her oldest kids hit the teen years.
With her dream of getting her degree having come true, another dream presented itself by way of a new, perfect mate. Life was good again, but one dream still nagged at her:
"I always knew there was a book inside me, but since English was my least favorite subject in school, I never considered myself a writer."
All her life Judy has been spinning stories--telling tales to her kids as they grew up, plotting stories and creating characters to fill the time during carpool days and all those commutes back to college...and she never stopped dreaming of putting those stories on paper. Determined to follow her yearnings, she joined Romance Writers of America and met her critique partners Crystal Green and Sheri WhiteFeather (both are now multi-published award-winning authors and the trio have worked together and encouraged each other ever since).
“I might not have been a born writer, but I was a storyteller. The characters and plots came easy, but I had to learn how to make the scenes in my head come alive for the reader. And that meant I had to learn how to write.”
Judy's determination to become a published author grew and she began focusing on creating poignant stories designed to touch a reader's heart. As she fine-tuned her writing style and learned her craft, she found herself writing the stories she liked to read. Stories about families, second chances, and true love. In creating her own happily-ever-after stories she took ordinary characters, put them in emotionally compelling situations, and forced them to grow. They learned, as she had, that when a door is closed, they must look for that open window.
“Since I love books and movies in which people must overcome insurmountable odds to win and earn their happy-ever-after, those are the kinds of tales I like to create.”
Judy's unpublished stories won not only the coveted Emily (West Houston RWA Chapter) and Orange Rose (Orange County RWA Chapter) awards, but also earned her the status of a double RWA Golden Heart finalist in 2001.
Then Judy's dream became a reality in March 2002 when Silhouette Special Edition released her first book, COWBOY COURAGE. Since then, she has published seventeen books and is contracted to write three more. Her stories have touched the hearts of readers around the world. Her tales of redemption and renewed trust generate many fan letters from readers who tell her of the positive impact reading her stories have had in their lives.
A woman who had been shattered by her husband’s recent betrayal and desertion had not been able to read or watch anything that had a romance involved writes: I saw your book in the store, and the title caught my eye. (I have a thing for cowboys.) When I read the back cover, I bought it and couldn’t put it down. I finished it in one day. I still have my doubts about meeting a decent man and trusting again. But maybe in time I will be able to love again. I will be watching for your next book.
In July 2005, Judy won the prestigious Reader's Choice Award for THE RICH MAN'S SON.
“When I received the call telling me I had finaled in the Reader’s Choice, I was thrilled beyond measure. Being judged by real readers and recognized as a finalist was a joy in itself. I went to the ceremony honored to be in attendance. And when they announced me the winner, tears came to my eyes and a lump formed in my throat. It took days for my feet to touch the ground.”
Judy makes her home near the beach in Southern California with her husband, their son, and a cat
With her dream of getting her degree having come true, another dream presented itself by way of a new, perfect mate. Life was good again, but one dream still nagged at her:
"I always knew there was a book inside me, but since English was my least favorite subject in school, I never considered myself a writer."
All her life Judy has been spinning stories--telling tales to her kids as they grew up, plotting stories and creating characters to fill the time during carpool days and all those commutes back to college...and she never stopped dreaming of putting those stories on paper. Determined to follow her yearnings, she joined Romance Writers of America and met her critique partners Crystal Green and Sheri WhiteFeather (both are now multi-published award-winning authors and the trio have worked together and encouraged each other ever since).
“I might not have been a born writer, but I was a storyteller. The characters and plots came easy, but I had to learn how to make the scenes in my head come alive for the reader. And that meant I had to learn how to write.”
Judy's determination to become a published author grew and she began focusing on creating poignant stories designed to touch a reader's heart. As she fine-tuned her writing style and learned her craft, she found herself writing the stories she liked to read. Stories about families, second chances, and true love. In creating her own happily-ever-after stories she took ordinary characters, put them in emotionally compelling situations, and forced them to grow. They learned, as she had, that when a door is closed, they must look for that open window.
“Since I love books and movies in which people must overcome insurmountable odds to win and earn their happy-ever-after, those are the kinds of tales I like to create.”
Judy's unpublished stories won not only the coveted Emily (West Houston RWA Chapter) and Orange Rose (Orange County RWA Chapter) awards, but also earned her the status of a double RWA Golden Heart finalist in 2001.
Then Judy's dream became a reality in March 2002 when Silhouette Special Edition released her first book, COWBOY COURAGE. Since then, she has published seventeen books and is contracted to write three more. Her stories have touched the hearts of readers around the world. Her tales of redemption and renewed trust generate many fan letters from readers who tell her of the positive impact reading her stories have had in their lives.
A woman who had been shattered by her husband’s recent betrayal and desertion had not been able to read or watch anything that had a romance involved writes: I saw your book in the store, and the title caught my eye. (I have a thing for cowboys.) When I read the back cover, I bought it and couldn’t put it down. I finished it in one day. I still have my doubts about meeting a decent man and trusting again. But maybe in time I will be able to love again. I will be watching for your next book.
In July 2005, Judy won the prestigious Reader's Choice Award for THE RICH MAN'S SON.
“When I received the call telling me I had finaled in the Reader’s Choice, I was thrilled beyond measure. Being judged by real readers and recognized as a finalist was a joy in itself. I went to the ceremony honored to be in attendance. And when they announced me the winner, tears came to my eyes and a lump formed in my throat. It took days for my feet to touch the ground.”
Judy makes her home near the beach in Southern California with her husband, their son, and a cat
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews
December 5, 2012
Good book. I liked the main characters of Carly and Max. Carly is a single mom who is doing her best to provide for her two sons, but she just can't seem to catch a break. When she has another confrontation with Max over her boys and his dog she's not sure what to do. I love the way that she stands up to Max when she thinks her boys are in danger. I also like the way that she's able to make amends when she needs to. Max has taken a leave of absence from his job in order to work on his book. It isn't going very well right now and he hasn't been able to figure out why. I like the way that he works out a trade with Carly where she helps him by reading the book, and he helps her with her sons. This gives them a chance to get to know each other and see where their friendship might go. Both of them also are struggling to find their Christmas spirit. There is also a pretty good cast of secondary characters, all of whom are having their own holiday challenges. Carlos and Rosa are over committed on the volunteering front, not taking the time to enjoy the season. Susan is a widow who would like to marry again, but doesn't seem to have the social skills to make the best of herself. Lynette grew up poor and with low self esteem, but married well. Now she's a widow too, but still thinks poorly of herself and worries about material things. They are joined by Maggie, a woman who is house-sitting for a friend. Maggie sees the best in people and is able to make people see what the holiday season should be about.
December 23, 2011
What else would I be reading this week but a heartwarming Christmas story? I won this book from the author by commenting on a blog post and couldn't wait to start it. I've previously read "Mulberry Park" the first novel set in the fictional town of Fairbrook, and loved it.
Judy Duarte writes wonderful Christian romances. Or maybe they're women's fiction with strong romantic elements. Regardless of what genre you classify them in, they're stories of families and love and faith. They're books that, like "It's a Wonderful Life", are filled with hokey good things. And, just like I watch "It's a Wonderful Life" at least once every Christmas, I love reading stories by Judy Duarte.
In this book, we follow the stories of a number of characters. There's Carly, a single mom with two boys and serious financial trouble. Josh is troubled by the problems of growing up and having to take care of his younger brother, Mikey. He'd rather hang out with his friends. There's Lynette, who tries to play matchmaker for Carly, but finds herself attracted to the very man she's picked out for Carly. Grant isn't particularly interested in a relationship, but agrees to the date with Carly. Susan is just looking for any man so she won't be alone. She has her eye on Grant as well, but Max, the other bachelor in the neighborhood, would also work for her. Max, whose wife left him, has taken a year's leave of absence from his job as a probation officer to write a novel. He writes nights and sleeps days and is seen as a bit odd since when he does come out of his house during the day, it's usually in his bathrobe. And there's Maggie, the cousin who has shown up to watch Helen's house while she's away on a cruise, and touches the lives of all of the characters by her gentle suggestions.
We follow these people through their ups and downs and learn to care about them as they care about and for one another. It's a story of Christmas wishes and the power of prayer. And the perfect read for the week before Christmas.
Judy Duarte writes wonderful Christian romances. Or maybe they're women's fiction with strong romantic elements. Regardless of what genre you classify them in, they're stories of families and love and faith. They're books that, like "It's a Wonderful Life", are filled with hokey good things. And, just like I watch "It's a Wonderful Life" at least once every Christmas, I love reading stories by Judy Duarte.
In this book, we follow the stories of a number of characters. There's Carly, a single mom with two boys and serious financial trouble. Josh is troubled by the problems of growing up and having to take care of his younger brother, Mikey. He'd rather hang out with his friends. There's Lynette, who tries to play matchmaker for Carly, but finds herself attracted to the very man she's picked out for Carly. Grant isn't particularly interested in a relationship, but agrees to the date with Carly. Susan is just looking for any man so she won't be alone. She has her eye on Grant as well, but Max, the other bachelor in the neighborhood, would also work for her. Max, whose wife left him, has taken a year's leave of absence from his job as a probation officer to write a novel. He writes nights and sleeps days and is seen as a bit odd since when he does come out of his house during the day, it's usually in his bathrobe. And there's Maggie, the cousin who has shown up to watch Helen's house while she's away on a cruise, and touches the lives of all of the characters by her gentle suggestions.
We follow these people through their ups and downs and learn to care about them as they care about and for one another. It's a story of Christmas wishes and the power of prayer. And the perfect read for the week before Christmas.
March 3, 2019
I think I went into this book with too high of expectations. Expectations that went down really fast as soon as I started reading.
All the characters except Carly and her sons were unlikable until the very end of the story and even then their past thoughts and actions were still hard to make me like them for the changes they were trying to make.
Not to mention it was never really explained who Maggie was even if there was hinting at it. I would have liked more of an explanation on her and how she knew some of the things she did.
All the characters except Carly and her sons were unlikable until the very end of the story and even then their past thoughts and actions were still hard to make me like them for the changes they were trying to make.
Not to mention it was never really explained who Maggie was even if there was hinting at it. I would have liked more of an explanation on her and how she knew some of the things she did.
December 16, 2022
Choppy Chapters
The story was a sweet one, but new chapters seemed to start without a chapter break. Most books I have read usually do character/scene changes at the beginning of a new chapter- this had a lot of that on the same page of a chapter. I still enjoyed it.
The story was a sweet one, but new chapters seemed to start without a chapter break. Most books I have read usually do character/scene changes at the beginning of a new chapter- this had a lot of that on the same page of a chapter. I still enjoyed it.
December 9, 2017
I was really pleasantly surprised by this book! It's about Carly and her sons. She is a single mom and is barely getting by. Her boys come across a dog and eventually their owner, Max Tolliver. He is a writer who works nights and sleeps days and is kind of a loner. However, throughout the story he befriends Carly and her boys.
There's also the Diamond Lills- a group of women who get together to play poker every week. They befriend Carly and try to set her up with Grant, a neighbor to one of the members- Helen. Helen is out of town and her "cousin" Maggie is housesitting for her. However, Maggie is somewhat strange and seems to be able to know things that there is no way she could know. She also can talk to animals.
In the end, Carly and Max end up together but it is a VERY slow progressing romance- very realistic. Lynette and Grant are together and Susan is okay with it. All ends happy and well when Max saves Christmas for Carly and her boys.
My complaints-- the Diamond Lills voices were much older than Carly's so I thought they were late middle aged people, but then I guess they're all about Carly's age? I also don't think the author did the best with Maggie. She was mysterious and not actually Helen's cousin-- but who was she? She was supposed to be some sort of angel I believe, but I just thought the ending in regards to her character fell flat.
Overall, I think I will reread this book at some point. I definitely enjoyed the first read!
There's also the Diamond Lills- a group of women who get together to play poker every week. They befriend Carly and try to set her up with Grant, a neighbor to one of the members- Helen. Helen is out of town and her "cousin" Maggie is housesitting for her. However, Maggie is somewhat strange and seems to be able to know things that there is no way she could know. She also can talk to animals.
In the end, Carly and Max end up together but it is a VERY slow progressing romance- very realistic. Lynette and Grant are together and Susan is okay with it. All ends happy and well when Max saves Christmas for Carly and her boys.
My complaints-- the Diamond Lills voices were much older than Carly's so I thought they were late middle aged people, but then I guess they're all about Carly's age? I also don't think the author did the best with Maggie. She was mysterious and not actually Helen's cousin-- but who was she? She was supposed to be some sort of angel I believe, but I just thought the ending in regards to her character fell flat.
Overall, I think I will reread this book at some point. I definitely enjoyed the first read!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 11, 2011
As a thriller/suspense reader, this is a little out of my genre, however I have read one of Judy Duarte's books before and they are uplifting, spiritual and truly a luxury to read. Something can be learned from her books, the true love of one another, the power of faith and prayer and kindness, which in this day and age is much forgotten. Characters rich with flaws, faith and kindness learn about themselves and each other, the characters are well developed, work together well and devlop complex relationships throughout the book. This is a very fast read, that is truly worth reading. I loved it!!!
January 11, 2012
I've got to make a list of all the publishers that specialize in Christian literature so I don't pick up something with a commercial sounding title and find out that it's faith based. Again, that's a great genre for those who enjoy it but usually, as in this case it's way too heavy handed for me.
Several of the heroines in this one also seem a little too dense and out of touch with the real world. That doesn't speak well for them even before they get the light or in this case Light turned on for them.
Very simply written so it was a quick read and it's a very pretty cover.
Several of the heroines in this one also seem a little too dense and out of touch with the real world. That doesn't speak well for them even before they get the light or in this case Light turned on for them.
Very simply written so it was a quick read and it's a very pretty cover.
November 27, 2020
A festive Christmas story that shows no matter how hard things are and you feel as no one is hearing your prayers , a little faith and love go along way. It reminds us that Christmas is about forgiveness and giving and helping others, especially those in need.
December 19, 2016
First things first, that cover is absolutely gorgeous. I just had to say it.
I really liked this book a lot, even without realizing it was the fourth in a series. (It doesn't seem like I missed anything, though, since all the books follow different people.) The characters were great, the setting was beautiful, and the Christmas spirit was leaping off the pages.
However, this ended quite abruptly without wrapping up several storylines. At first I figured I would just read book five and it would be fine, but it appears that this is indeed the last book of the series. So, I'm definitely annoyed that we have no clue what happens to the rest of the ladies in the poker group. Still, this was a sweet enough book that I almost don't care.
I really liked this book a lot, even without realizing it was the fourth in a series. (It doesn't seem like I missed anything, though, since all the books follow different people.) The characters were great, the setting was beautiful, and the Christmas spirit was leaping off the pages.
However, this ended quite abruptly without wrapping up several storylines. At first I figured I would just read book five and it would be fine, but it appears that this is indeed the last book of the series. So, I'm definitely annoyed that we have no clue what happens to the rest of the ladies in the poker group. Still, this was a sweet enough book that I almost don't care.
November 19, 2025
I enjoyed this heartwarming Christmas story set on the cozy Nutcracker Court. Max, an aspiring novelist stuck in writer’s block, really drew me in, his journey toward finding hope and inspiration mirrors the story’s message that a little faith and love can go a long way. Carly and Grant’s struggles feel real, and the book does such a wonderful job showing how forgiveness, giving, and helping others can make the holidays truly magical. If you love festive stories with heart, community, and a touch of romance, this one’s for you.
October 18, 2018
This was an ok read, but could have been so much better if there was more of the characters emotions relayed in the story. It seems like the author just couldn’t get that point across to the readers. The story line over all was great, it was just the way it was presented that lacked in this book
January 13, 2021
Sweet story. Children and adults learn a lesson about the truth of Christmas. Kids overcome bullying. Adults overcome insecurities. Romance and goodness sprinkled in, too. Easy read. Relaxing to take in a few pages before bed each evening. Would recommend.
August 24, 2022
A Christmas time story of the miracle of giving. With down on her luck and money, Carly Westbrook and Max Tolliver, a cranky neighbor with a headstrong dog, both in need of a Christmas miracle. A quick and enjoyable romantic read.
September 23, 2017
Heart-warming Christmas story.
December 26, 2017
Much to religious and super unrealistic.
February 8, 2018
Great Christmas read
January 20, 2019
A fun read for Christmas with a good message.
January 29, 2019
Reminded me of a Debbie Macomber book......enjoyed this book.
March 31, 2019
I had no idea this was part of a series. I will have to read the 3 before it. I really liked it!!!
December 28, 2019
First book by this author and I enjoyed the story. Going to find more of her books.
September 3, 2021
Easy read. Love stories. Christian values. Family, friendship, pets, kids, single life, trust,
December 9, 2021
So cheesy, but absolutely adorable! Great Christmas read ❤️
December 29, 2021
Very complicated to follow. Jumps between characters in the middle of chapters.
January 12, 2022
At first there were too many things going on but eventually it got to the point of the story. It's a cute Christmas story.
July 3, 2022
Great romance novel. Characters are strong and very believable. Well written.
August 7, 2022
This is a wonderful feel-good read that is just right for a time when you need something light, fun, and positive.
November 29, 2022
Enjoyable Christmas read
December 5, 2022
Moderately Interseting cast with overlapping storylines ruined by having some invisible superhero god-thing forced upon them.
December 22, 2023
This was a sweet story!
December 16, 2025
3.5 stars -
Warm and cozy, but some of the characters I could have done without (coughSusancough).
Warm and cozy, but some of the characters I could have done without (coughSusancough).
Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews