Story for the Week
Over the years, Christmas gatherings change for any family. I remember when we were kids splitting time over Christmas between my dad’s side of the family and my mom’s. As we became adults and started our own families, it morphed into a family Christmas gift exchange at my brother’s on whatever weekend he didn’t work, and everyone did their own thing on Christmas Day.
When Dennis was alive and Corinne was young, Christmas Day for us was waiting for Corinne to wake up to discover what Santa left under the tree for her, ham and homemade bread for breakfast, and turkey and roast with all the fixings for dinner. At some point and after Dennis passed, everyone started doing their own thing for Christmas dinner. Corinne and I both tend to sleep late, so we started just doing a ham for dinner, and the gift exchange ended up being over dessert at our house. Last year, Christmas Eve worked out better for my family, and we celebrated Christmas Day with my dad, in-laws, and a couple of friends.
This year…well this year, things are changing a lot. I talked with my siblings about Christmas Day, and they reminded me that we gathered on Christmas Eve last year and asked if we could do that again. I said sure…and then realized Corinne will be working because she works every Tuesday. Since we leave for Liverpool on the 28th and she really wants to see everyone before she goes, I asked her what she thought about all of us coming to Denny’s. She’ll have to be our server, but at least she gets to see her family, and she should get a nice tip out of the deal. 😉
But she also has to work Christmas Day. The way they keep it fair at her location is that everyone gets a shift. It may be shorter than normal, but everyone works at some point on Christmas. Corinne’s boss assigned her the dinner shift. So our traditional Christmas dinner…well that’s going to be Christmas lunch instead. 🤷🏻♀️
Families grow and change, and we all adjust. One of these days (please, God, let it be a while), Corinne will have a family of her own, and she’ll have to split her time between me and her in-laws, or we will all spend it together assuming we get along. That will be different. But this year, I’ll settle for lunch and some television after she comes home from work since neither of us has to get up early the next morning.
The book reviewed below is a novella about two people in Chicago. He can’t get to his parents’ for Christmas because of a snowstorm that grounds all flights, and her parents are celebrating their anniversary, so she’s alone for Hanukkah. The author was inspired by the Netflix series Nobody Wants This…and the fact that Christmas and the first day of Hannukah are the same day this year. It’s a nice holiday read.
Merry Christmas 🎄 and Happy Hanukkah 🕎 to all who celebrate.
Wishing everyone all the best in 2025.
Book Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
5 Stars for One Night, Two Holidays by Ali Brady
145 pages
Publisher: Godfrey & Hammer
Publication Date: December 10, 2024
Purchased on Amazon.
Publisher’s Description
Jack had big plans for Christmas: fly home to see the family he misses like crazy, eat his weight in holiday cookies and enjoy plenty of forced-family fun in matching pajamas. Instead, a record-breaking snowstorm leaves him stranded alone in Chicago.
Meanwhile, Nessa’s Hanukkah plans were…nonexistent. With her roommates off on their own adventures and her family busy elsewhere, she was ready to spend the holiday binge-watching TV alone.
When a power outage takes things from bad to worse, the two neighbors join forces to help each other find the holiday cheer they’ve both lost. As they attempt to make latkes out of whatever ingredients they can scrounge up, and stuff each other’s stockings with improvised gifts, the two stumble upon the unexpected joy of blending their own holiday traditions into something entirely new.
While the storm rages outside, sparks begin to fly between Jack and Nessa. But will the magic they found last beyond this one special night?
************
Main Characters:
- Jack – first-year resident in pediatrics, moved to Chicago six months ago, scheduled to go home to Denver from Chicago for four days for Christmas when a snowstorm results in a cancelled flight
- Nessa – copy writer for an advertising agency, lives in the same building as Jack, she and her roommates call Jack “Hot New Guy,” doesn’t have Christmas plans because she’s Jewish, spending Hanukkah by herself
What an awesome way to close out my reviews for the year!
Jack and Nessa live in the same apartment building. Jack moved to Chicago as a first-year pediatric resident at a local hospital, and planned to go home to Denver for Christmas. Nessa normally spends Hanukkah with her parents, but they’re off celebrating their anniversary, and her roommates are with their respective families, so she’s at home alone.
When a winter storm closes the airport, Jack takes out his frustration on some snowmen in the courtyard. Nessa, who has been spying on Jack (aka Hot New Guy) with her roommates for months, strikes up a conversation with him from her window…gathering intel. 😉 They exchange pleasantries, talk a little about why they’re both alone at Christmastime (he’s stranded, she’s Jewish), and Jack retreats to his apartment.
A few minutes later when the power goes out, Jack remembers he turned the heat down in preparation for his trip home. As his apartment starts to quickly get colder, he wonders if Nessa has candles or maybe a flashlight. He wraps himself in a blanket and trudges up to her second-floor apartment, only to discover she’s toasty warm with a gas fireplace running. She invites him to stay for a bit where it’s warm, and the story develops from there.
Each chapter of this holiday novella alternates between Jack and Nessa’s points of view, beginning on Christmas Eve and taking us through December 26. They share their stories, their holiday traditions. They rummage for treats and gifts to share. There’s a sweetness to this budding relationship that just put a smile on my face and kept it there. Brady also brings a little bit of heat…and I don’t mean the fireplace kind. 😉🫣
I loved this story! An amazingly quick read at 145 pages, Brady was partially inspired by the Netflix series Nobody Wants This. A few chapters published on Ali Brady Books Substack each day over eight days (I don’t think that’s a coincidence…eight parts, eight days of Hanukkah…you get it), with the Kindle version being released on the final day. Did I want to wait until the whole thing was published to read it all? Yes. Was I able to wait? Of course not! I gobbled up the two or three chapters I was fed every day and impatiently waited for the next day.
Added bonus…the Kindle version of the novella includes a sneak peek of the author’s next full-length release Battle of the Bookstores, due out in June. Did I read it? No…I cannot read a sneak peek and then wait six months for the actual release. Did I pre-order it immediately? What do you think? (Take that as a yes.)
Take a few hours out of your holiday season to read this. You won’t be disappointed. 🎄🕎
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