Review: WRITE CHRISTMAS by Thommy Hutson

We were thrilled to help celebrate the release of Thommy Hutson’s WRITE CHRISTMAS a few days ago. Now we’re happy to share our review of the book. (Hint: we liked it!!)

Author: Thommy Hutson
Series: N/A
Release Date: November 26, 2020
Pages: 326
Review Copy: ARC from XpressoTours

Blurb:
A contemporary, holiday fantasy with a new twist
on A Christmas Carol and It’s A Wonderful Life

Abby Nicholson used to love Christmas. Until she didn’t.

After leaving Winter Glen, the small town famous for its Christmas celebration and her family’s greeting card company, Abby is forced to return to the home she left behind when the unexpected passing of her father thrusts the business into her hands.

Turning her back on the magic of the holiday beloved by her father and the town, she decides to sell the business. Signing the paperwork with the very pen her father used to create it, she is shocked to discover her hometown has become a whole new world.

One where Christmas has vanished!

Now stuck in a place devoid of hope, joy, and the spirit of the season, Abby sees family and friends altered in the most terrible of ways.

Determined to set things right, though unsure how, Abby takes out her father’s pen and begins to draw. When she realizes her art is coming to life, she sets out to recreate the holiday and bring back the most wonderful time of the year.

But some are determined to keep an iron grip on the town and will do anything in their power to stop her.

Initial Thoughts/Expectations
When I first saw the cover of Write Christmas I was immediately drawn in. The stark contrast between the happy Christmas scene and the burnt scene struck me as very ominous. This is supposed to be a heartwarming Christmas tale, but the cover would suggest a subject that was much darker.

What I Loved
I loved the hints of magic that were woven throughout the book. Abby’s father Samuel is not just your average card maker; armed with his magical pen he moved to Winter Glen and helped build a whimsical town overflowing with all things Christmas. Samuel’s magic pen comes back into play throughout this stirring tale and it was so satisfying to watch Abby finally start to trust and believe in the magic of her dad’s legacy. It was ironic, and funny to me, that she spent many years after her father’s passing trying to block out the holiday and now the only way to get her family and town back to normal is to get them all excited and filled with the Christmas spirit.

The Villain of Write Christmas had some of my favorite scenes in the book. Mayor Darla, Abby’s best friend, was the queen of Christmas before Abby caused Christmas to no longer exist. She owned every “ugly” Christmas sweater ever made and positively exuded holiday cheer. After their world turned upside down and even google didn’t turn up results for Christmas, Darla’s personality also drastically changed. She was downright scary and determined to stop Abby from restoring the Christmas season. She was a grinch to everyone she encountered, and I think the fact that we got to see her so nice and jolly made “mean Darla” even more disturbing.

What I Didn’t Love
The only issue I had while reading Write Christmas was the pacing of the story in the beginning. It felt dragged out and I was 100 pages into the book before it picked up and started to become a page turner. In order to truly comprehend what Abby lost when the magical Winter Glen changed, we needed a good sense of the town and her family, but I started to lose some interest. However, after a slow start, the story really picked up to a fast pace and I found myself forgetting my initial qualms with book.

Final Thoughts
I enjoyed Write Christmas, even though it isn’t necessarily the fluffy and light holiday book that I like to get lost in. That being said, there was still a happily ever after and plenty of Christmas cheer by the end, which is all I ever really need in a book. If you’re looking for a little Christmas hope, in what has been a very challenging year, and you love the holiday classic movie It’s a Wonderful Life I absolutely recommend you pick up this novel.