Review: Catching Christmas by Terri Blackstock
“I’m not a violent man, but I have a dozen reasons for pulling my cab over and throwing the chattering man in my back seat onto the curb. His cheesy Christmas outfit is one of them.”
The Basics
Title: Catching Christmas
Author: Terri Blackstock
Published: 2018
Publisher: Thomas Nelson — HarperCollins
Pages: 274
Format: Hardcover
Genres: Fiction — Christian fiction, Contemporary fiction, Holiday, Romance, Contemporary romance, Holiday romance, Christian romance, Clean romance
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Book Synopsis
Former chef turned cab driver Finn Parrish is less than thrilled when he keeps getting called to pick up Miss Callie, an elderly woman with dementia. From having to drop her off at medical appointments (and subsequently waiting for her to finish) to driving aimlessly around town so that she can try to find a Christmas date for her granddaughter, his drives with Miss Callie are time sinks, and as Miss Callie always pays with a check, he’s not even sure if he’ll end up getting paid. In spite of his misgivings, he can’t help but continue to give her rides, as she reminds him of his recently deceased mother.
Meanwhile, Miss Callie’s granddaughter, Sydney Batson, is struggling to balance taking care of her ailing grandmother and putting in enough time at the law office to avoid becoming one of the growing number of laid-off law associates. When one of her grandmother’s medical appointments conflicts with a court date, she arranges for a cab to take her. Little does she know that the driver, Finn, will end up playing a vital role in both her and her grandmother’s Christmas.
My Review & Overall Thoughts
TLDR: A mediocre book that proves that you really shouldn’t judge a book by its cover — no matter how cute that cover may be.
Have you ever decided to read a book based on its cover? Well, that’s what I did with Catching Christmas. I was drawn to its cutesy, Christmassy cover featuring an adorable miniature cab with Christmas gifts stacked up high upon it. Unfortunately, my experience with this book illustrates the inherent risk of a cover buy.
To be fair, Catching Christmas is not all bad. The first third of the book, which focuses on Finn’s cab rides with Miss Callie, is enjoyable. Miss Callie’s loud, tactless remarks about people around her made me laugh and reminded me of my grandad. Like Miss Callie, he had a knack for saying rude things at inopportune moments, and he always did so at maximum volume. I also found Finn’s struggle to cope with Miss Callie during these embarrassing moments both entertaining and relatable.
After that initial third of the book, however, the story takes on a different tone. It goes from being lighthearted to heavy-handedly preachy. I don’t mind books that incorporate or discuss religion, but Chasing Christmas is a bit overkill with its references to Christianity. From Miss Callie’s conversations with Jesus to Finn’s journey back to Christianity, it feels as though the author is forcing in elements of Christianity whenever possible. Between the description on the back cover and the Christmassy image on the front cover, Chasing Christmas presents itself as a Christmas romance, but in reality, it’s more of a Christian fiction book.
With regard to the romance between Finn and Sydney, it is predictable and lackluster. One does not get much of a sense of chemistry between the two of them. They also do not have many one-on-one interactions; Miss Callie is nearly always present.
The good
As noted previously, the first third of the book is entertaining. At under 300 pages, it is also a fairly quick read.
Overall
My overall thought of Catching Christmas is meh. The book has some funny moments, but those are unfortunately overshadowed by the contrived references to Christianity. So, if you’re looking for a holiday romance, this book will likely not scratch that itch, but if you enjoy Christian fiction, you might like this book.
What are some books that you’ve read and have been disappointed by? Let me know in the comments below!
