Book of The Week #23 "The Christmas Joy Ride"

The Christmas Joy Ride

by Melody Carlson

Joy Jorgenson is approaching her eighty-sixth birthday and preparing to move from Chicago, Illinois to Phoenix, Arizona to live in a retirement home near her sons. She's always loved Christmas and for some time has kept a blog titled Christmas Joy dedicated to the holiday, giving people decorating advice and such. Her neighbor Miranda has been a great help with the technical side of the blog, Christmas Joy, and feels sad to know her beloved neighbor is moving. She's also feeling a little sorry for herself after her divorce from her husband, she's lost her job and her house has been foreclosed. Although she thinks Joy has fallen off her rocker when she announces her plans of traveling down Route 66 in her RV decked out for Christmas with plans to spread Christmas cheer to a few lucky readers of Christmas Joy, Miranda decides to tag along on the trip when asked by Joy. She tells herself it's for Joy's sake, but finds that it may just be good for her too.

This was a nice read. It's very quick and light with a few twists thrown in here and there. The characters are nice and relatable and the story moves at a nice pace. I love the character of Joy; it's so fun to think of people that never stop "living" life and continue to take risks and make their dreams come true no matter their age. 

There's a bit of romance, but not really a "romance" novel per say, it's mainly toward the end. I would recommend this book to people who like light and sweet Christian fiction, particularly those that enjoy Hallmark movies because it has that same sort of feel.

All in all The Christmas Joy Ride is a nice book for the holiday season.

I give this book a 3 out of 5.