PROMISE, TEXAS, is a good place to live with the person you love. When rancher Cal Patterson and his wife, Jane—better known as Dr. Texas—face a threat to their marriage, she leaves Promise, the town that's become her home as much as his. Will Jane be back by Christmas? Because, for both of them, the greatest gift of all would be her Return to Promise.

GOLD RIVER, ALASKA, isn't your average town. After being jilted by her fiancé, Caroline Myers ends up there—thanks to her matchmaking aunts, who send her on what appears to be an autumn vacation. Not surprisingly, they have something different in mind. Something that involves spending a snowy Christmas in handsome Paul Trevor's home—as his Mail-Order Bride.

Customer Rating:
Summary: Romance in the wilderness
Comment: As a Debbie Macomber book lover, I loved this book also. Just beware, that if you are reading the Promise series, this should be read last (and they are all not out yet). It gives away a few things that you could imagine would happen anyway.
Mail-Order Bride was a good read, but not really believable. True romance book at its best!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Good Escape from the hustle and bustle of the holidays
Comment: Debbie Macomber's "Small Town Christmas" contains two previously published novels: "Return to Promise" and "Mail-Order Bride".

In "Return to Promise", Cal Patterson and his wife Jane have been happily married for several years. But now a series of events have caused problems in their marriage and Jane leaves Cal, taking their young children with her. Jane's not sure if she can ever trust Cal again, but Cal is willing to do anything he can to have his family together by Christmas.

"Return to Promise" is Macomber's take on what happens to a marriage when a couple stops communicating. Unfortunately, Cal and Jane began to wear on me very quickly. At times I wanted to shake some sense into the two of them. Jane had some real reasons to be upset, but she quickly jumped to conclusions without talking or listening to Cal, listening to town gossip instead. Cal came across as being very loving, which Jane failed to notice, but he was incredibly naïve when it came to Nicole Nelson's actions. For me, Nicole was the most interesting character in the book and she deserves a book of her own.


Caroline Myers is devastated after being jilted by her fiancé and her elderly aunts want to help her so they answer an ad for a "Mail-Order Bride" in her name, only they neglect to tell her what they did. Before she knows it, she's in Alaska and married to Paul Trevor. Sparks fly immediately between the two - although not always in a good way. Will Caroline adjust to life in Alaska and fall in love with Paul or will she spend Christmas alone?

"Mail-Order Bride" is a cute romantic comedy. The set up is a bit ridiculous - it's hard to believe that Caroline didn`t realize she was taking part in a marriage ceremony - but once Macomber moves beyond that clunky beginning the book is quite enjoyable. The adjustments that both Paul and Caroline have to make to married life are quite real. There are some genuinely funny moments especially when the two clash. The romance bits are also nicely done, never explicit as Macomber always lets her readers use their imagination. Macomber does throw a few unnecessary kinks into the romance, and Paul is a bit too much of a neanderthal, but for the most part it's a sweet romance.

"Small Town Christmas" is not the best Debbie Macomber collection that I've read, but it's still a nice escape from the hustle and bustle of the holidays.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Small town Christmas
Comment: I have always loved reading anything Debbie Macomber releases. She is a wonderful writer and I hope someday I will get to meet her. Once I start her books I can not put them down. For the time it takes me to read her books I'm right in there feeling like I'm right there in the book. If you want to escape your world, just read one of Debbie books and for that short time you will be in the book world. Enjoy!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Debbie Macomber
Comment: I always enjoy Debbie Macomber's books. She's a great story-teller, her characters are very real and I actually become a part of their lives. I always read Debbie Macomber!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Good Books
Comment: Good Book in the Promise- TX line book came in fast and in good shape
(New) as said

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