Mandy Romano feels as though the Christmas season is one long checklist she wants to ignore. She truly wants to make Christmas special for her family, but this year feels different. She can’t seem to get into the Christmas spirit. When someone from her husband’s past arrives back in town, Mandy’s less than thrilled. She just might need her own Christmas miracle to save this holiday. Mandy’s soul is longing for a simple Christmas, but is that even possible when the season feels so hectic?
My Review ❤️
Growing up, I always dreamed of one day being a wife and mother, but the thing about dreams is that they are never the realities that we find ourselves in. It's so easy as adults to slip into the ho-hum of every day life, taking for granted that which is most important to us, and getting burned out. This is exactly where we find Mandy.
Mandy Romano is a wife and mom that finds that she's lost her joy at the beginning of the Christmas season, finding the traditions that she normally finds happiness in doing are meaningless and hollow. She wants to blame depression, but knows that it goes deeper than that. Mandy is such a believable and relatable character that I found myself struggling to read her negativity because it is almost a mirror image to my own struggles during this 2020 holiday season.
In saying that, reading A Merry Little Christmas reminded me that I need to focus on what is right in front of me, ask for help when I need it, be vocal in my struggles, and reach out to my family and spouse. We all need to know, this year especially, that it is ok to let go of things that do not bring us joy (those things that come out of obligation alone) and put our energy instead into the things that do.
I honestly felt like I got more out of this novella than I would a self-help book! I am so thankful to Brandy Bruce and her wonderful writing, and for creating a character that has my voice.
This is a short read that packs a powerful, self-reflective punch (for me, anyway) and one that I feel blessed to have read.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brandy Bruce is a writer, a book editor, a mom, a wife, and someone who really loves dessert! She’s the author of the award-winning novel The Last Summer, Looks Like Love, After the Rain, and The Romano Family Collection. Brandy, her husband, and their children make their home in Virginia.
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*I have voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book which I received from JustRead Tours. All views and opinions are completely honest, and my own. 
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