A Christmas by the Sea 

Hardcover, ebook 

September 4, 2018

by Melody Carlson

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Revell
• ISBN-13: 978-0800722715

When Wendy Harper inherits her family's beachside cottage in Seaside, Maine, she sees it as a way to finally pay off the debts that have mounted since her husband died. But before it can be sold, the neglected property must be renovated. She and her 12-year-old son Jackson move in--temporarily, she reminds him--in order to do the work themselves, even though Christmas is coming. The charming town, along with local craftsman Caleb Colton, pulls on both Wendy and Jackson, who even registers himself for school in a bid to get his mom to move them there permanently. Wendy knows that the most responsible thing to do is to sell the cottage and return to Ohio, but the lure of the sea is hard to resist.

Join award-winning author Melody Carlson for a Christmas story that will warm your heart and have you dreaming of your own enchanted seaside holiday.

My thoughts:  A CHRISTMAS BY THE SEA is the 2018 Melody Carlson Christmas story we've all been waiting for. i absolutely love the cover of this novella and I want to rent the cottage for a vacation getaway myself. What a lovely place. 

I don't like that Wendy wasn't honest with her son from the beginning. If he was old enough to register himself in school, he was old enough to understand the trip was to get the cottage cleared out and listed on the real estate market. It would've saved a lot of drama. 

Caleb was a sweetheart, and so there for both Wendy and Jackson. Wendy was hurting, worried, and running scared but she still found ways to be kind to her neighbors, make friends, and do artsy crafty stuff. 

I greatly enjoyed this novella and look forward to reading it over again for Christmases to come. 

 I was given a copy off netgalley. All opinions are my own.