Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball

Cora Crowder has her Christmas shopping planned out.  One or two gifts at a time between Labor Day and Christmas and it will all be done.  When the time comes to select a gift for her uncle, she seeks out an eclectic bookstore where she receives a ticket to a Christmas Ball with her purchase.

Simon Derrick, Cora's boss, is searching for a gift for his sister and discovers the same bookstore and also receives a ticket to the Christmas Ball.  Were the owners of the bookstore trying to match Cora and Simon together?  No other tickets can be purchase so when Cora decides to give her ticket to Simon's special needs sister, the plan doesn't come together as intended.  However, they do keep finding themselves "thrown" together through the twists and turns of the story.

I always enjoy any story set around Christmas.  This book was no exception.  However, it wasn't what I expected. 

First, the ball is the Wizard's Ball.  Not exactly what I would expect from a Christian book.  Throughout the book, there almost seemed to be an element of magic as the street the bookstore was on seems to "disappear" which again, isn't what I expected.  The fact that the two main characters and Simon's family were Christian was evident but, I hate to say, almost seemed like an afterthought for the author, especially during the first half of the book.  Almost forced and unnatural in places.

However, as I said above, I did enjoy the lighthearted quick read.  Simon's tender heart toward his sister was refreshing and genuine.  That Cora finally saw a side of her boss that she never would have seen outside of the office was quite enjoyable and made me think about people I work with everyday that I may not truly know.  And the fact that Cora felt quite insecure developing a relationship, even as a friendship, with the boss made her easy to relate to. 

I would have no problem giving this book to someone else to read if they are looking for a fun little love story with a Christmas setting. Can one book be realistic fiction and fantasy?  That is the way I might classify this story. I did receive this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.