The Noel Stranger

The Noel Collection #2

by Richard Paul Evans

From “The King of Christmas,” Richard Paul Evans, the next exciting holiday-themed novel in his New York Times bestselling The Noel Collection.

Sally Walther feels like her world is imploding. Publicly humiliated after her husband, a local councilman, is arrested for bigamy, and her subsequent divorce, she has isolated herself from the world. When her only friend insists that Sally climb out of her hole, and embrace the season to get her out of her funk, Sally decides to put up a Christmas tree and heads off to buy one—albeit reluctantly. She is immediately taken by Andrew, the kind, handsome man who owns the Christmas tree lot and delivers her tree. She soon learns that Andrew is single and new to her city and, like her, is also starting his life anew.

As their friendship develops, Sally slowly begins to trust again—something she never thought possible. Then, just when she thinks she has finally found happiness, she discovers a dark secret from Andrew’s past. Is there more to this stranger’s truth than meets the eye? This powerful new holiday novel from Richard Paul Evans, the “King of Christmas fiction” (The New York Times), explores the true power of the season, redemption, and the freedom that comes from forgiveness.

Genres: Christmas, Fiction, Romance, Holiday, Audiobook, Contemporary, Adult

281 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 6, 2018

About the author

When Richard Paul Evans wrote the #1 best-seller, The Christmas Box, he never intended on becoming an internationally known author. His quiet story of parental love and the true meaning of Christmas made history when it became simultaneously the #1 hardcover and paperback book in the nation. Since then, more than eight million copies of The Christmas Box have been printed. He has since written eleven consecutive New York Times bestsellers. He is one the few authors in history to have hit both the fiction and non-fiction bestseller lists. He has won several awards for his books including the 1998 American Mothers Book Award, two first place Storytelling World Awards, and the 2005 Romantic Times Best Women Novel of the Year Award. His books have been translated into more than 22 languages and several have been international best sellers.

Reviews

[Mischenko · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an early morning yesterday
I was up before the dawn
And I really have enjoyed my stay
But I must be moving on

Like a king without a castle
Like a queen without a throne
I'm an early morning lover
And I must be moving on

Now I believe in what you say
Is the undisputed truth
But I have to have things my own way
To keep me in my youth -- "Goodbye Stranger" - Supertramp

Maggie Walther's life is a pretty good one. She's been married for nine years, owns a thriving catering business, and her husband is a well-liked councilman. Everything is sailing smoothly in their lives until Maggie receives a phone call from the newspaper informing her that her husband has been arrested for bigamy. Maggie goes into shock and begins to ask herself multiple questions: Why did he do this? Didn't he love me? What's wrong with me? Why wasn't I enough? She falls into depression and must find a way to reclaim her life.

Christmas is coming and Maggie feels like buying a tree will help brighten her mood. On the Christmas tree lot she meets Andrew, a real hunk who seems to click with her right away. As this new relationship blossoms, Maggie gets caught up with demons from her past. After enduring a rough childhood and the major emotional damage from her past marriage, she finds it difficult to totally trust Andrew, or anyone. 

This was an interesting story. I could totally sympathize with Maggie. She's been burned so bad by her husband, and because of that, it's hard for her to trust anyone. She ends up making some big mistakes. Something quizzical about her though, is that after finding out what her husband has done, she's fairly forgiving and maintains contact with him. Now, here's a man who's excellent at deceiving others, with multiple families and children all over the country, and she's willing to sit down and offer him support. At one point it seemed like she might even forgive him and rekindle the relationship. When people behave like this it puzzles me, yet I'm also attracted to their forgiving behaviors. 

One small niggle I had was the speed of Maggie's new relationship with Andrew. As damaged as Maggie is, this new relationship happened with the snap of a finger and everything goes very fast. Instalove always seems to be an issue for me. Andrew does seem perfect, but is he really?

It's hard for me not to read at least one Richard Paul Evan's book over the Christmas season. The nice thing about the books in this series is that they can be read as standalones without following previous books. I did read and enjoy The Noel Diary, book #1 in this series, but it's a totally different story and characters. 

This book had some twists with a big one toward the end. I lover the Supertramp references! Overall, it was pleasing and I'll likely read book three. 

3.5***

You can also see this review @www.readrantrockandroll.com

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

For some reason, stories of redemption are even more welcomed around the holidays which is why I never miss a Richard Paul Evans end-of-the-year release. Full of warmth and flawed characters, Evans' storytelling seems to always leave my heart aglow with the idea that the human condition is capable of evoking healing in the midst of so much harm. The Noel Stranger is Evans' November 2018 release and it is also the second installment in his Noel Collection, a series of standalone novels.

The Noel Stranger may not be Evans' finest piece of storytelling, but they can't all be 5-star winners. That's not how writing works nor is it a fair expectation to place on an author. As is consistent with Evans' work, this story possesses the spirit of forgiveness and redemption, and is set inside a squeaky clean contemporary romance. The sentiment of the following quote pretty much sums up what I enjoyed most about this book and is what I think makes it worth the read especially as the New Year approaches. Check it out.

My favorite quote:
“You're still here. Life isn't through with you. You never know what's around the corner.”

[Staci · Rating 3 out of 5]

This second book of The Noel Collection was a miss for me. I struggled with finding it to be realistic.

[Cheri · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the “King of Christmas fiction” comes this year’s Christmas story - The Noel Stranger, Richard Paul Evans latest, the second book in The Noel Diary series.
I can’t say that I’ve read every one of his Christmas stories, but I’ve read quite a few beginning with The Christmas Box, which remains my favourite. I keep hoping for another series, book, that I will enjoy as much. The rest of The Christmas Box, series was almost as good as the first.

”Obviously, I’ve thought this over too much. The thing is, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I’m just compulsive enough that I suppose I would have continued down my crazy spiral until I self-destructed or until something else unexpected turned up. Fortunately, it did. Actually, someone. A stranger. And he came at Christmas.”

When Maggie Walter’s husband is arrested for bigamy, she is humiliated, which isn’t helped by her husband’s position as a councilman, which position he loses as a result of his arrest, or the gossipy nature of this news. People follow her around, shooting video her on their phone while grocery shopping. It’s no wonder she begins to become more reclusive.

After a pep talk from her best friend, she feels pressed into doing something to show her that she is trying and sets out to buy a Christmas tree, and ends up becoming friends with the man who is the owner of the Christmas tree lot. What follows is a story that is about listening with compassion, and the redemptive nature of forgiveness, which takes place over the season of holidays, a reminder of that the celebration of Christmas is more about being present than buying presents.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I normally love Richard Paul Evans Christmas books, but this one fell a bit flat for me. While the elements of love, hope, forgiveness and redemption were all there, I did not feel a connection to the characters. The main character, Maggie, seemed to be so caught up in her own self pity, she ignored the needs of others. The love story came off as contrived, too quick and a bit too perfect.
It's a light, easy read that I'm sure many will enjoy.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

More romance than what you'd expect from a Richard Paul Evans Christmas novel. This was still good, but wasn't as magical as it usually is with his books. A bit let down.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first read by Richard Paul Evans and I am sitting here asking myself why? Now I want to go back and read all of his other books because this one was so good! Once I started this one, I did not want to put it down at all. Very well written and thought out and flows really well.

Maggie is blindsided by one of the biggest secrets her husband could ever hide. How could she be so naive and not know what was going on she asks herself over and over. Her husband was a congressman and has been accused of bigamy. Not only has it humiliated him but also Maggie. Maggie files for divorce and goes into somewhat of a hiding and depression. She doesn't want to get out for fear of public humiliation.

When Maggie's friend and employee insist that she meet her for coffee one day, she reluctantly does. She tells Maggie that she needs to get out of her hiding and suggests that she get a Christmas tree to help get her in the mood for the holidays. Maggie is not really into it but thinks maybe it will help her. Maggie decides to get a Christmas tree and has no idea that the trip to getting her tree is going to soon change her life. Will it be for the better or worse?

Maggie meets Andrew, the owner of the Christmas Tree Farm. Maggie buys her tree and has no idea how she is going to get it home in her little bitty car, but Andrew offers to bring it to her house when he gets off work in exchange for a cup of coffee. Maggie takes him up on the offer and is actually excited that she is going to have someone to talk to for once.

Maggie and Andrew hit it off and when they both start finding excuses to see each other again, they are both falling for each other hard. Andrew is a busy man and Maggie longs for him to spend more time with her each week. When Andrew asks Maggie to go to Cabo with him over Thanksgiving week, she thinks he is crazy but decides what the heck.

When Maggie uncovers some secrets about Andrew, will everything fall to pieces for them or will they be able to work things out in the end? You will have to read this one in order to find out what happens with Maggie and Andrew. I was drawn into this story from the very beginning and did now want to stop reading until I had uncovered all the secrets that unfolded. Such a great read! I am anxious for more from Richard Paul Evans!

[Ivana Mendez · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars.
I didn't feel invested with the characters, didn't feel like I knew them really. It moved too quickly and felt very unrealistic.

[Darla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richard Paul Evans is a genius storyteller. I know for some this one may have been a miss. While reading this second installment in The Noel Collection, there was a time when I might have been on that team. Then I hit the plot twists and each one drove the narrative deeper into my heart as Maggie and her Noel stranger struggled to find a way forward. What moved the needle for me from "really liked it" to "it was amazing" was this quote translated from a Mexican proverb: "They tried to bury us. They just didn't know we were seeds." I will be pondering that one for awhile and looking at this book through that lense. In the midst of this global pandemic, those words resonate more than they might have at Christmastime and that is a delightful result of God's providence.

[Colona Public Library · Rating 2 out of 5]

Normally, I like Richard Paul Evans book, but this was a miss for me. It was just not believable. The book started off fine, but than it just went off the rails. Maggie who is heartbroken and doesn't leave the house for months, suddenly fails for a Christmas tree lot salesman and travels to Cabo with him. A normal person would not do that. Normally his books give me a warm feeling inside about how there are still good people in the world. This book did not make me feel anything. I was very disappointed.


~April

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one! I loved the little bit of mystery within the storyline! Highly recommend to anyone who is a fan of Richard Paul Evans.

[Ray · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing special. No depth to characters. Disappointing.

[Rachel Robins · Rating 2 out of 5]

I do love a good RPE Christmas read. This one did not do it for me. For a woman who had that extent of betrayal (and prior abuse), I felt it was kind of glossed over and I didn't have much buy-in for her as a character (even now I can't remember her name).
I'm kind of baffled that she immediately goes from moody to "so in love" and did HE have to be crazy good-looking and rich? Dude RPE, give us hope for love with average people, average income. It was also annoying that, again, we have single characters, little to no family, limited friends--it's like it's an easier write without all the secondary characters/problems/complications that we normal folk deal with.
Sigh, I guess that's why it's an escape read, but it was so clique (over-the-top attractiveness, rich but generous, tons of food references, living the resort life) I could hardly stomach it.
On the bright side, it is a quick, clean romance and I LOVE the type of pages they use for his publications.
I just think I've gone through enough in my own life over the past few years that these kinds of reads won't resonate with me any longer.

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed The Noel Stranger, as I have a dozen other Richard Paul Evans books.

Although it begins at Christmas with a search for a tree, there is so much more to this book as it covers more than just one season in the lives of its characters. In some ways it was a classic Evans read, but in other ways the twists and turns were an unexpected and wonderful surprise. I loved the epilogue so much and the wonderful quote found there,

"That's what love and life require of us-to walk on in spite of the 'slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,' to walk on and hold on to love. If we do that, we may suffer for a time, but we will not fail. In the end, love wins."

The Noel Stranger deals with issues of betrayal, forgiveness and love as only master storyteller Richard Paul Evans can. He is an extraordinary author with so much insight into human nature and the healing power of love. It is such a good story I'm already looking forward to another Richard Paul Evans book!
I appreciate Simon and Schuster making a copy of The Noel Stranger available for review.

[Missy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book about second chances. Second chances for life, love, and finding what really is important. I liked the relationship of Maggie - a come from nothing girl, who basically inherits a successful catering business, attracts the eye of a lawyer. After nine years of marriage, it turns out to be nothing like she imagined. Andrew Hill is the new good-looking tree lot owner who catches Maggie's eye, he also travels each weekend back to Denver, but why. Between trust, and finding out that just because people do bad things, does not make them out to be bad. Or does it?

I enjoyed this read and was glad to see Maggie and "Andrew" be happy in the end. It may have been a little far fetched in places, a little rushed in places, but a story I enjoyed from start to finish.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m enjoying this series better than the Mistletoe series. Although this series may have a suspension of belief and realistic aspects to the plot, sometimes I kind of like that in Christmas stories. They sort of feel like a fairy tale in some regards. I listened to this as an audio, and I think the narration is done well, too. Lately, I’ve had a hard time keeping engaged in audio books, but this one kept my interest going.

[Holly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tiny Prologue Rant:
See, here's the problem with audio books. You're stuck in the car anyway, right? My commute is roughly an hour one way, and sometimes the audiobook case is in the back seat, where I can't reach it even if I wanted to. So when I put in the first disc of a new book and I'm not sure if I'm going to like it or not, I am forced to decide if I want to take the time to pull over when things are cringe-y, and eye-rollingly awful, or if I should just eat the wasted brain space to save on my commute.
I say all that to say, this book was probably the worst book I've read all year.
There were some DNF's I would gladly pick up and finish if I could trade the wasted time on this book.
First of all, I cannot STAND the reader's voice. I accepted her nasally, dramatic pauses/breathy drawings-out of EVERY SINGLE WORD when she narrated Puddin' because, well, it sorta fits a selfish, dramatic teenager. This time, not so! It was supposed to be an adult woman, who owned her own business, except...wait, did she even do anything in this whole book except alternate between curling up into a ball at her apartment and relaxing on a beach in Mexico?
Secondly, and I cannot stress this enough: the completely and utterly unrealistic, enormous red-flag waving, hotel-resort-endorsed commercial of a travesty this book is, has been -as yet - unmatched by anything I have ever read.
So. Disappointed.
The insta-love was a little much, considering 1) you're freaking adults who went through traumatic divorces - don't you know better by now? and 2) They LITERALLY knew nothing about each other except that he worked at a Christmas tree farm and she's a caterer. But all of a sudden he's taking her to a beach in Mexico, dropping thousands on her plane ticket and spa day and fancy restaurants and expecting nothing in return? Yeah right. Every time he brought her a drink or said, "I'm going to take you somewhere special", I thought it was finally the moment where he was going to drug her, knock her out and sell her to a sex trafficker or pimp or harvest her organs or something. 90% of this book was spent on a daily moment-by-moment account of what they did, what they ate, what they picked up at the grocery store, how they fell asleep in separate rooms with zero sexual tension, and woke up again to catalogue every single breath they took. It was boring and predictable, and so many personality red flags waved, we can just be glad there weren't any bulls around.
He insisted all she had to do was ask, but when she did, he gave extremely vague answers.
And the big bomb shell at the end - yeah, you saw that coming a mile away. Because you aren't an idiot. A child could have guessed. There have been bigger mysteries in a Hallmark Christmas movie than was in this book.
Didn't like. Wouldn't recommend.

[Mary Jackson _TheMaryReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Out of this world, of course aren't All of Evans books great. I loved it and I can't wait for next years Christmas book. I highly recommend this one. 4 stars in my opinion.

[Melike · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Kat · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't understand why people give a book 3 stars then write a review saying how they didn't like it. It skews the overall rating making it look like it is reasonably rated when it was a bad read!
And this book, IMO, was nowhere near 3 stars. I listened to the audio version, which is horribly read btw, and I finally opted for utter silence rather than suffer more of this drivel. My one and only Christmas read and it was totally unrealistic and painfully boring. My Christmas present to myself was to stop the book before it was done, immediately erase it from my device, and rate it one star.

[Alysia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, I still love this. He's so good.

[Lauren Stoolfire · Rating 3 out of 5]

A friend gave me this so I thought I'd try it since she liked it more than she expected. Holiday romances aren't really my thing, especially if they're anything like Hallmark Christmas movies. But this was better than I expected and not very Hallmark movie which was definitely a plus. I do wish that it was told in a bit of a different style/ genre. I also was happy to see one of my favorite Christmas songs mentioned - Have a Holly Jolly Christmas by Burl Ives. I'll have that in my head for the rest of the day now, I know it.

[Gosia | bookietnica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bardzo liczyłam na książkę z wątkiem romantycznym, ze świętami w tle. Niestety klimatu było jak na lekarstwo, a sytuację ratował tak naprawdę tylko otaczający śnieg i choinka, która połączyła głównych bohaterów. Nie rozumiałam wyborów głównej bohaterki, miałam wrażenie, że jej zachowania są sprzeczne ze sobą, jakby zagubione. Momentami byłam zaskoczona, jednak te chwile nie uratowały ogólnego wrażenia o książce.

[Jennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that gives you hope and inspires you to be a better person. Maggie is betrayed by her husband and is very depressed. She finally decides to buy a Christmas tree and meets a man who is selling trees on a lot in town. They share ups and downs over the next few weeks. Set in Utah and Cabo in Mexico. Loved this little book.

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I honestly don’t think this man has it in him to write a bad book. I have been a fan since day one and will continue to always be a fan! Every book he writes is impossible to put down, unless of course like me you read while at work. I highly recommend this and all of his other books. Merry Christmas fellow readers!

[Terri Wino · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm giving this 3 stars despite the many issues I had with it because, hey, it's a holiday story about love and redemption, right?

This story caused a great deal of eyerolls while I was reading it. I mean, here Maggie is recovering from a major betrayal by her husband and the first handsome stranger to cross her path she's, literally, full steam ahead into a relationship in a matter of days. Going out of town with someone you know nothing about is one thing, but leaving the country? Oooookay.🙄

We're told how hard she had to work to get where she is in her career, and yet her company was handed over to her and she doesn't even care what's currently happening to it. I saw nothing in the Maggie telling this tale that was the strong woman and hard worker described in the past.

And then there's Andrew/Aaron. When we finally find out the circumstances of his past and current life I saw nothing redeemed about him. So you were betrayed by your brother and your company was taken away. Yet we're told you started another one right up and were making money. So far, don't see a reason for going to the extreme law breaking he eventually succumbed to. Then, on top of that, he didn't even pay for his crimes. Perhaps if his current life was living paycheck to paycheck I would have felt a tad more sympathetic, but this guy obviously wasn't hurting for money so...really...what has he lost other than a greedy ex-wife and a brother for only a couple years whose self-imposed punishment for betraying him kept his butt from going to jail?

Despite the implausibility of most of this story, I found myself drawn into this book and wanting to know how things would turn out. Like I said, all-the-feels holiday story, right? I guess that's a credit to the author that despite my negative views about the story, I still couldn't wait to see if they ended up together and was pleased as punch with the ending.

[Barbara Nutting · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another heartwarming story as only Mr Evans can tell it! He has a magic with words and characters that can’t be surpassed. Yes, he paints a sugar-coated 50’s style of life, but what’s the matter with that? With all the lies and filth we are living with today, his books are a nice relief from the everyday garbage.

It was like reading a tour book on Cabo San Lucas - great description! Made me laugh as Maggie showed her passport to embark on her journey. Last year I was on my way from Tampa to Cabo for a big family reunion - when I showed my passport card (good for Mexico and Canada) the airline said sorry, that’s only good for travel by car or sea!! Needless to say I never read the VERY small print and consequently missed the whole trip!! But.........I’d been many times before so enjoyed reliving my experiences with this book.

[podczytane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Początkowo bardzo pozytywnie podchodziłam do tej pozycji. Było śnieżnie i mroźnie nawet pomimo tego, że akcja działa się w listopadzie. Mój zapał do czytania malał jednak proporcjonalnie do ilości przewróconych stron.
Dialogi wydawały mi się bardzo sztuczne. Często brzmiały jak przesłuchanie i brakowało w nich emocji. Na domiar złego główna bohaterka zachowywała się dziecinnie i nachalnie. Skupiała się tylko na sobie i nie zważała na uczucia innych. Pomysł, by w świątecznej pozycji późniejsza akcja rozgrywała się w słonecznym Cabo jak dla mnie był nietrafiony. Zabiło to ten świąteczny klimat, na który tak bardzo liczyłam. Zawiodłam się.
Tak naprawdę koncepcja na fabułę nie była taka zła, jak się wydaje. Z chęcią przeczytałabym podobną powieść, lecz w bardziej letnim wydaniu. Plusem tej pozycji na pewno jest fakt, że czytało się ją zaskakująco szybko i lekko. Zakończenie bardzo mi się podobało i poprawiło nieco moje odczucia względem tej książki. Gdyby nie ta okładka oraz tytuł, które nastroiły mnie na świąteczną opowieść moja ocena byłaby zdecydowanie wyższa.

[Kimberly Jaeger · Rating 3 out of 5]

It wasn't bad..... just ridiculously cheesy. Like BEYOND cheesy- hallmark movie on steroids with idealism uprooted to a completely non realistic level. But none the less the story was sweet.

3.5

[Quirkybookwormkat]

Apparently, this is a second book in The Noel Collection. I've never read any book by Richard Paul Evans. Imagine my suprise this Christmas novel is written by a gentleman. Thought I'd give it a try. The synopsis read reasonable and interesting.

As I read along, I was having a hard time believing how they connected. The heroine was only thinking about herself. I'm also having a hard time how she could just up and leave her restaurant running smoothly without her for several weeks or so. I'm also having a hard time how the divorce came about and how her husband can just show up asking her to show up for his court hearing. Or just hop on the plane to go to an island for Christmas. I saw her very insecured, understandably due to the divorce. She basically questions everything in her new relationship which was almost destroyed. The hero was an idiot for not answering her questions and leaving her in the dark. He expected her to know him well after learning about each other for a week? Come one! Give me a break. Very unrealistic and contrived.

The story was easy to read. It'll do for a light reading. Some of you guys may like it and some of you guys may not like it.

I was having difficulting connecting with the characters. I wanted to, honest! I just couldn't. The emotions just weren't there.



I'll have to read other books by Richard Paul Evans to understand why he's dubbed as the King of Christmas.



I love the cover of this book. It's beautiful.



I'll give this book a low 3 stars.



I received this ARC from Simon & Schuster through Net Galley in exchange for my unbiased and honest review. Thank you