3.7 AVERAGE


Catching Christmas is a short Christian Christmas romance. It is a story that contains both comedy and sadness. The main characters Finn and Sydney are somewhat snarky but also warm. Miss Callie reminds me of other elderly women I’ve known, saying whatever she thinks, whether it’s appropriate or not and embarrassing her loved ones!

The plot is quite ridiculous at times which makes it funny, though I wonder whether a taxi driver really would get that involved with one of his customers!

There were some really sad moments in the story as well. The ending was a little longer than I was expecting.

Cute story with a sweet main character. I especially liked her wish to donate her body to science.

Listening length four hr 38 min.

With this book, I hit my 2022 reading goal!
emotional hopeful medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I saw a good review of this book and borrowed from the library. It's supposed to be a cute match-up but I had too many questions. If this up and coming lawyer has only $42 in her account (and presumably large student loans) how does she afford to buy a house? And she knows her grandmother is quite ill - but still goes back to own house every day. Why doesn't she stay at her grandmother's? How does poor wheelchair granny go to the bathroom without help? I wrote it completely with all the Bible lessons that appeared in the 2nd half.
emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced
rusticreadingal's profile picture

rusticreadingal's review

3.0

3.5 stars

Catching Christmas was a heartwarming story. It was so cute and funny with many laugh out loud moments, but also very poignant and emotional, even heartbreaking at times. I laughed and I cried. Seriously, there were so many emotions!

Finn was a bit of a Scrooge and his attitude in the first half grated on my nerves occasionally. I mean, I could totally understand his frustration, but it still annoyed me. He did have a good heart though, just a bad attitude. And he did grow on me eventually. And I have mention how much I adored Miss Callie. She was such a wonderful lady.

I want to say so much more about this book, but I'm afraid it'd all be spoilers and I don't want to ruin anything about this book for anyone. I'll just leave with saying that this was a great story that really showcased the true meaning of Christmas.

Sydney Batson is a young lawyer trying to survive as the law firm is making cuts while also being the caregiver for her grandmother who she has just recently reconnected with. When a call to a cab driver to help get her grandmother to a doctor's appointment becomes a serendipitous moment! Finn Parrish is the cab driver who ends up spending a lot of time with Miss Callie and helping her out in a time of need and being a generous, kind fellow may just change his life!

I love a Christmas book where values are at the forefront of the story and a lesson can be learned. Many of the books I have read this season, love has been at the center, so it was nice to have love be a very side story and instead relationships and values be the center of attention.

Beware, this one has a moment or two that could cause some tears, so you may not want to read this one out and about.

dvanhuysen's review

4.0

Quick read! Hallmark movie Christmas. Very adorable

2.5 stars, if I could.

I bought this book in December of 2019 when it was on sale for $1.99. I've found some true gems for just a few bucks before so I thought, "why not?".

I wish I had read more of the summary. I could've skipped reading the book if I had read the whole summary. It's a very short book and an easy read. And it's well written for what it is. Blackstock packs a good amount of character depth into concise prose. I wished Sydney was a bit more developed but I had a great sense of who Finn is.

But everything about the plot felt too quick, too forced, too staged. It was over before anything really got started. There wasn't as much nuance as I wanted; I kept thinking, "And now this will happen because that's the next logical step." It wasn't based as much on what the characters wanted. I also didn't love the Christian overtones. It's not my thing and I skimmed a good portion of the end because of it.

I guess it's cute but I don't really feel it was worth my time. Fortunately it's a short read so I didn't spend too long with it. C'est la vie !

**I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through Net Galley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

Prepare yourself with a box of Kleenex because you'll need it and you'll do some laughing also because Callie at the age of 80 who has no filter when she talks. I haven't read any of Ms. Blackstock's other books and was very surprised by how much this story caught my heart and fell in love with Callie, Sydney and Finn.

It's Christmas and Finn Parrish needs to a lot of fares with his cab to pay his rent. When his dispatcher, Lu Ann, calls with a fare and he meets Miss Callie Beecher a frail 80 year old who has no filter on her mouth and says what she thinks. But she will soon have him driving all over the city with her trying to find a single man for her granddaughter by Christmas. Finn will be very reluctant to take Miss Callie on her various errands because he knows that the airport has higher fares but he'll soon be helping her out even on his days off. But when he meets Sydney he soon realizes that she'll become a huge part of his life.

Sydney Baston is a first year associate with a prestigious law firm and has been given a case that she knows is wrong to prosecute but his father is a huge client and she'll be the first to go after the firm loses some clients. Miss Callie is her grandma and arranges for the cab company to take her to appointments and errands because she can't. Little does she know that her Grammy is very ill and making plans for her granddaughter whether she wants them or not.

Even though the book deals with the loss of a parent (Finn's), Sydney's father not allowing her to be with her grandmother after her mother dies, and of course Miss Callie's gentle soul who teach them both the spirit of Christmas and it's true meaning never goes away it just needs a bit of prodding to help those who forgot to believe that it's truly a gift of the soul.