The readability of this book truly depends upon the personality of the reader.

A friend of mine gave this book to me because she thought it was cute and she thoroughly enjoyed it. I, on the other hand, did not enjoy it at all.

During a Christmas Eve snowstorm, Noelle finds herself locked inside the high-end department store for which she works. It is a dream come true! While looking forward to a night of luxurious sleeping accommodations, gourmet foods, and round the clock shopping, Noelle is rudely interrupted by her guardian angel, Charlie—an aggravatingly smug old woman who says “Zooterkins” at regular intervals. Over the course of the night, Charlie prompts Noelle to remember decisions she made in her past; Charlie then reveals the alternate scenarios for what would have happened if Noelle had only made the “right” decisions. All of these “right” scenarios center on Noelle eventually getting asked out on a date by her childhood classmate, Jacob Marsden. Christmas Eve culminates with Noelle finally learning her lesson and making the “right” decision to go to Italy with her friend, Lorna, on a buying trip…with the inevitable results.

Noelle is a successful woman who has friends, a job she loves, and a life she is reasonably happy with. In fact, despite the standard heartbreaks and regrets most human beings share, she is pretty content; until her guardian angel comes along and browbeats her with just how miserable and pathetic she really is. And her guardian angel is bound and determined not to quit harassing Noelle until poor, silly Noelle realizes just how big of a failure she is…without a man. The angel even quotes a parable that equates Noelle’s inability to snag a man with a stubborn man’s death by drowning. But, never fear, the guardian angel is administering CPR by giving Noelle one last chance to fix her broken life by shoving Jacob Marsden into the picture once more. Zooterkins.

Does anyone’s idea of a guardian angel really tally with this old buttinsky? I certainly hope not.

And Jacob Marsden himself is no dreamboat. His pushy demeanor and constant reappearance in the angel-corrected version of Noelle’s life make it genuinely seem as if he is supernaturally stalking her. It’s both creepy and unsettling.

Readers who are inclined to exaggeratedly twee sentimentality and who enjoy a corny bit of romance will probably eat this book up over the holidays. For readers like me who are sick to death of reading about women who have to be attached to men to have meaningful lives, this book is about as agonizingly painful as being caught in a beartrap. ( )

It’s Christmas Eve, and at Simon’s Department Store, Noelle is hard at work. So intent is she that she doesn’t realize that the store has closed early because of the snow storm and she is locked in the store, alone. But not one to panic at this unexpected event, she calls her boss to explain, and then settles down for a not unhappy evening alone in the store. A loner in life, she has no plans and no one to share the holidays. But soon Noelle discovers that she is not alone in the store. With her is a most eccentric older lady who claims to be her guardian angel. She shows Noelle some scenes from her past, and then what might have been, if Noelle had only made different choices. Was it a dream? Or did Noelle experience a “ghost” encounter? Author Beth Harbison has written a lovely Christmas tale that illustrates that no matter how unfair and unkind life can be, the choice to be happy or to be miserable is just that: a choice. And that sometimes you do get a second, a third, or even a fourth chance to fulfill your destiny. ( )

Cute this Christmasy tale about the road not taken. When Noelle is so busy working in Christmas Eve, she find herself being there past closing and locked in the store in a snowstorm. Now who hasn't at one time or another, thought about being stranded by themselves in a large store by themselves? But maybe not on Christmas Eve. And is she alone? What transpires that night shows her scenes of what could have happened. While it's light and fun, there still is a message there.
I'd give it a 3 1/2. ( )

Thanks to the publisher, St. Martin's Press, for sending me an Advance Uncorrected Proof along with another book I won on The Reading Room. Here is my honest review:

This is a novella about a department store employee, Noelle, who is accidentally locked in an up-scale department store on Christmas Eve during a heavy snowstorm. As she prepares to spend the night alone, her guardian angel, an older lady named Charlie, appears. Charlie helps Noelle realize that sometimes in life it pays to take a risk, something Noelle has never done, always playing it safe. Charlie has Noelle trying on different types of shoes and the shoes trigger memories of previous Christmases when Noelle was very lonely. Charlie also helps Noelle make other decisions to help her overcome her loneliness like leave on a vacation with a friend on Christmas Day.

This is a cute Christmas story but very predictable since it's a modern-day take on a Christmas classic. While I enjoyed it and feel it's a worthy read, I can't give it more than 3 stars. ( )

A special thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Beth Harbison returns following (2016) One Less Problem Without You, with a heartwarming contemporary holiday "time-travel"— A SHOE ADDICT’S CHRISTMAS. A guardian angel, and ghosts of Christmas' past, with a modern day twist.

It was a picture-perfect, Christmas Eve, with snow falling at almost two inches an hour swirling down in front of the Simon’s Department Store window displays- on Massachusetts Avenue, like flakes in a snow globe.

Noelle works in human resources at the store, and her friend Lorna Rafferty and her business partners at Shoe Addicts Anonymous were among the best shoe designers around. Simon’s was the company’s only distributors.

Each display in the store told a story and everyone loves to buy a great story.

However, even though she worked at the store, she seldom had time for shopping. Lorna had asked her to accompany her on a trip to Rome, leaving Christmas Day and she balked. It sounded good on paper, but it would end up becoming more of a challenge.

Even her boss, Lex tried to persuade her to take a trip between Christmas and New Years, since it would be the perfect time for some R&R by a crackling fire with a man by her side. She was at a crossroads in her life. Love and adventure did not seem to be in her cards, and she is not a fan of the Christmas holidays.

With the heavy snow coming down, the door was locked tight. She was stuck in the store. There was nothing to panic about. The store had closed at six and it was currently seven forty. What place more comfortable than Simon’s and what else did she have to do? There were worse places to be trapped in the snow on Christmas Eve. She was locked in a beautiful fortress.

She could shop, try on clothes, shoes, sleep on the beds, and eat fine cheeses – top end! With the cheerful holiday music playing, it was hard to feel anything but festive.

Suddenly she hears a loud crash in the shoe department. An old lady with two thousand mismatched shoes. She says her name is Charlie. A guardian angel (or working to be one) she is her first. Maybe the old lady had watched too many Christmas movies and found this the perfect way to occupy herself on an otherwise lonely Christmas Eve.

Noelle found herself somewhat enjoying the experience. Charlie says she is here to help her get over her troubles. When Noelle explains she is not troubled, Charlie wants to know why she is stuck here on a beautiful Christmas Eve? Avoiding life.

Going through shoes, Charlie takes her back in time with each pair of shoes. Her experience, her feelings, the what ifs? Memories. It apparently was the guardian angel’s job to come here and remind Noelle that she has choices in her life.

She keeps making choices that keep her from living the life she is supposed to live. The safe road? Regrets. Sad times could have been happy times.

From the shoe department to the toy department- they have enough Christmas music, tea, luxury beds, food, and a beautiful fallen blanket of snow. Dreams. Manolo Blahniks. Magic. Enchantment. She has a guardian angel!

From ghosts of Christmas’s past, she soon realizes she was too busy working to realize for other people life had taken a turn. For her, life never took a turn. Charlie’s examples. Fate. Parables. She was sent boats (opportunities), and she had refused them. She never gets out of her house long enough to get on the boat.

Turns out it was one of the best Christmas Eve’s ever. Had she imagined the entire experience? A time-travel. A dream? However, she decides to make the trip to Rome, Jimmy Choos and all! A special woman, an unforgettable one. A Godsend. A Christmas in Italy. She was finally taking the road not taken.

Risks. Chances. Unexpected surprises, await when you least expect and open your heart to the endless possibilities.

An entertaining, witty, and emotional chick-lit holiday story, with a contemporary modern day twist! For fans of Harbison’s Shoe Addicts Anonymous series, a perfect holiday tale for any woman who has ever struggled to find the perfect fit.

JDCMustReadBooks ( )