Angels at the Table

A Shirley, Goodness, and Mercy Christmas Story

By: Debbie Macomber

Narrated by: Kimberly Farr

Length: 5 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

In this joyous and whimsical holiday novel, Debbie Macomber rings in the season with the return of Shirley, Goodness, and Mercy, delivering laughs, love, and a charming dose of angelic intervention.

Shirley, Goodness, and Mercy know that an angel's work is never done, especially during a time as wondrous as New Year's Eve. With an apprentice angel, Will, under their wings, they descend upon Times Square in New York City eager to join in the festivities. And when Will spies two lonely strangers in the crowd, he decides midnight is the perfect time to lend a heavenly helping hand.

Lucie Farrara and Aren Fairchild meet after bumping into each other - seemingly by accident - in Times Square on New Year's Eve. They immediately hit it off and find they have a lot in common: Lucie is a burgeoning chef and Aren is a respected food critic. But just as quickly as they're brought together, another twist of fate tears them apart, leaving Lucie and Aren with no way to reconnect.

A year later, Lucie is the chef of an acclaimed new restaurant and Aren is a successful columnist for a major New York newspaper. For all the time that's passed, the two have not forgotten their one serendipitous evening - and neither have Shirley, Goodness, Mercy, and Will. To reunite the young couple, the angels cook up a brilliant plan: mix true love, a second chance, and a generous sprinkle of mischief to create an unforgettable Christmas miracle.

©2012 Debbie Macomber (P)2012 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“This delightful mix of romance, humor, hope and happenstance is the perfect recipe for holiday cheer.” (Examiner)

“Rings in Christmas in tried-and-true Macomber style, with romance and a touch of heavenly magic.” (Kirkus Reviews)

“[A] sweetly charming holiday romance.” (Library Journal)

OK but predictable

Is there anything you would change about this book?

don't know where to start.

What could Debbie Macomber have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

plot twists

What three words best describe Kimberly Farr’s voice?

appropriate, sprightly, upbeat

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Yes

Any additional comments?

Loved the Christian theme, but just too predictable, didn't finish it.

Heartwarming

Whether it’s the holiday season or not, this is a heartwarming and enjoyable story. The Angels come to life with their antics while trying to help Lucy and Aaron.

What a nice story!

I loved the book! Made me imagine how angels are working to protect us.

I love! love! love! All the Angel Books

After the 1st few sentences, I'm hooked!! I can't close the book! I must keep listening until
I hear the whole book. I hope it won't take Debbie another 3 years before she finishes another book.

Fun story

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Yes - it is a nice story

Would you be willing to try another book from Debbie Macomber? Why or why not?

Yes - I love the stories this author tells.

Did Kimberly Farr do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

OK - it is amazing the number of voices she can do.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

It would have to follow the story line of the book and not divert from the story like Mrs. Miracle movie did. That was a very disappointing movie. I loved the book and read it several times.

Any additional comments?

Not understanding why there are so many rewrites of the same books that was published several years ago. I would love to see Debbie write some new stories instead of just freshing up the old ones.

Another Great Story by Debbie M.

The story went by so fast! I enjoyed the angels antics, people falling in love, and the food. Thank you, Debbie for sharing Surely, Goodness, Mercy and Will, plus Gabriel with us!

Nice Christmas Story

Would you consider the audio edition of Angels at the Table to be better than the print version?

I didn't read the print version.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

I thought the mischief of the the angels was pretty funny.

What does Kimberly Farr bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

No comment.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No not really. I enjoy listening to audible in the car when I am driving

love this book, Great to the end

couldn't stop listening, started registering great second time around. Cant wait for next months book

So pure and sweet!

So sweet. Great read. The Angeles are full of love and mischief.
Love Debbie’s books.

Mediocre unfortunately...

This is the first Debbie Macomber book I have "read" and will likely be the only one. The writing is simply not very good for an adult level book. Perhaps it has been written as such with the intention of being family oriented, but frankly I doubt children would be interested in the storyline. The premise of the story held promise, but the book simply does not hold up. The writing is quite simplistic and often redundant. It serms there is very little effort put into describing the characters feelings and experiences. For instance, several times she describes characters reacting by "frowning" rather than more accurately describing if they are upset, angry, puzzled, distressed, etc...there are a number of emotions which could elicit a frown, but she simply does not make the effort to be more descriptive or expansive. The author was also repetitive in her general writing style throughout the book. The idea of the story is pleasant enough and I like uplifting stories, but this was a disappointment. I agree with previous reviews that the angels were portrayed as being very dumb...yet continually commenting on how slow-witted humans are!
The narrator affected my experience as well. The accents seemed possibly incorrect and at times inconsistent. The voice she used for the lead male character of Aren sounded very strange. She tried to speak so low for his voice that very little emotion or inflection could be properly portrayed. "His" voice sounded both strained (constipated) and quite monotone (= boring) so it was VERY unappealing to listen to his parts of the story (which are frequent). The parts of the story with only females were much better. I would certainly recommend to the narrator to try not use such an extreme change in lowering her voice for male characters as it simply does not come across well in the way it was done on this audiobook. The general narration as well as the story I often experienced as too syrupy and shallow.
The resolution between Aren and Lucie occurred, once again, in an over simplistic and unrealistic way. Additionally, for a contemporary book, the way it concluded was very provincial and conservative (narrow-minded even) as far as how the future would play out for the female, Lucie.
I had hoped for more after seeing and generally enjoying a few TV movies based on Debbie Macomber books, but this book did not deliver for me and I get the sense that the movies are perhaps transformed quite a bit from her books (unless this one is entirely different from the others).
Wish I had had a better experience with this one!