ORDER A COPY: Starry Night: A Christmas Novel
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publishing Date: October 8, 2013
Hardcover: 256 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Carrie Slayton, a big-city society-page columnist, longs to write more serious news stories. So her editor hands her a challenge: She can cover any topic she wants, but only if she first scores the paper an interview with Finn Dalton, the notoriously reclusive author.
Living in the remote Alaskan wilderness, Finn has written a megabestselling memoir about surviving in the wild. But he stubbornly declines to speak to anyone in the press, and no one even knows exactly where he lives.
Digging deep into Finn’s past, Carrie develops a theory on his whereabouts. It is the holidays, but her career is at stake, so she forsakes her family celebrations and flies out to snowy Alaska. When she finally finds Finn, she discovers a man both more charismatic and more stubborn than she even expected. And soon she is torn between pursuing the story of a lifetime and following her heart.
Filled with all the comforts and joys of Christmastime, Starry Night is a delightful novel of finding happiness in the most surprising places.
This is the story of Carrie Slayton (a reporter for the society section of the Sun Times) and Finn Dalton (who wrote a best selling novel) but does not give interviews. Nobody even know what he looks like or how old he is. Carrie wants to be a serious journalist and she gives in her notice because she is tired of the social circle. Her boss tells her if she can find Finn and get an interview he will let her write anything she wants. She takes the challenge.
Carrie finds his estranged mother who gives her a wedding ring belonging to Finn’s deceased father. The mother tells her Finn is in Alaska and if Carrie finds him, please give him the ring.
Carrie finds a pilot, who happens to be Finn’s friend and she talks him into bringing her to Finn telling him about Finn’s mother and the ring.
She arrives in a bad storm and Finn is forced to let her stay as the storm is very bad and there is no way out. He refuses to give her an interview and tells her to take the ring back as he doesn’t want anything to do with his mother.
As the days pass, they become friends and Carrie has enough to do the interview when she leaves. As she is departing, Finn asks her not to do the interview.
Does she do the interview and have the career that she wants or be true to Finn who she is falling in love with? Finn is a loner and Carrie loves her friends and family. Can they make their lives work with Finn in Alaska and Carrie in Seattle?
THOUGHTS:
This is a very fast read and a very enjoyable (and typical) Debbie Macomber romance novel.
It is only 142 digital pages and a little pricey for a short story.
Favorite Scene:
Although the two friends seemed to have reached an understanding, it appeared Finn was still eager to send her on her way. She had to believe he’d experienced the same tenderness and awareness she had. The electricity between them was powerful enough to light up a city block. Surely he felt it, too. Like her, it probably made him uncomfortable, and the best way he could deal with it was to send her packing.
Carrie could find no way of telling him that she wouldn’t mind spending a few more days. That was crazy thinking on her part, but she couldn’t shake this reluctance to leave. It seemed they were just beginning to come to an understanding, a willingness to explore whatever it was that was happening between them.
“Time for lights out,” Finn said, and his voice sounded odd, regretful.
“Right.” How she wished she knew what he was thinking.
He brought out the blankets and pillow for her. Carrie held out her arms to take the load, but he hesitated. “You’re sure about this? I don’t mind taking the sofa tonight.”
“That’s generous, but a deal is a deal.”
“Okay, your choice.”
“Right again.”
He built up a fire and then returned to the bedroom. Carrie made her bed, sat on the sofa, and wrapped her arms around her bent knees.
To her surprise, Finn hadn’t mentioned her article again. She half expected him to argue his case, demand that she honor his privacy. Instead, he’d avoided the subject entirely. He hadn’t sought out this notoriety, even if he had written one of the most intriguing and interesting books of the year. Although there was so much more she wanted to know about him, it seemed wrong to press the point. As far as she was concerned, the article was fast becoming secondary to everything else.
