Jingle All the Way

By: Debbie Macomber

4/5 🦟

Everly (whose given name is Daisy) is an overworked, overstressed business woman. She started a company with her friend from college, Jack, but has slowly taken over nearly all the responsibilities. After Jack's niece, who is also Everly's assistant, makes a colossal mistake again, Everly can't take it anymore. However, we she tries to fire Annette (again), Jack suggests Everly take the whole month of December off. To make things right, his niece plans the "perfect getaway" for Everly: a Brazilian cruise.

The only problem? Annette failed to mention that the Brazilian cruise was actually an Amazon cruise... you know, down the Amazon river. With no internet, no television, and barely any running water, Everly is about to lose her mind. Anger bubbles up inside her, but it's too late to get off the boat. From there, everything seems to go wrong, but Everly can't help but find the good in the situation; and his name is Asher.

Jingle All the Way isn't only a romance book, it's a book about finding yourself. I must say, I think part of the reason I loved this book is because something similar happened to me. Let me preface this by saying that I've just started buying Debbie Macomber books without reading the description because I love her so much. This one was no different, so I was quite surprised when I realized what the book was about! When I was studying abroad on Semester at Sea, a series of miscommunications and cancellations led to me sailing on an Amazon cruise (with no rooms, hammocks for beds, and NO running water) instead of shopping in Rio. Like Everly, the trip absolutely changed my life and the way I look at myself. Reading this book was like rediscovering myself all over again. It's true - when you return to city life, it's hard to remember what you learned, but this book was an excellent reminder for me.

One of my favorite components was actually the factual information about the river, the tribes, and the wildlife there. It wasn't presented in a boring manner, but it still leaves the reader walking away with something more. I love how cozy Debbie's writing it, and how the romance is pure. I'm all for steamy reads, but sometimes it's nice to have a book with feeling and love shown in a different way. The only downfall of this book for me was that Everly was slightly annoying and the plot moved almost too quickly. Otherwise, Debbie Macomber created another perfect Christmas read! ❤️