Christmas on Mimosa Lane

A Seasons of the Heart Novel

By: Anna DeStefano

Narrated by: Janet Metzger

Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

A childhood on the streets taught Mallory Phillips to never trust love again. Years later, she longs for a peaceful existence and a community to call home, only she can’t quite settle into the picturesque, cozy world around her.

When Polly Lombard sneaks into Mallory’s house to look at her Christmas tree, Mallory connects with Polly and Polly’s grieving father in wondrous ways, helping them heal. But when Mallory’s past returns to haunt her, will she trust her new family to be there for her?

Anna DeStefano’s heartwarming and emotional tale of second chances is a testament to the healing power of love, and the incredible joy of Christmas miracles.

©2012 Anna DeStefano (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Anna DeStefano grabs you by the heartstrings and doesn't let go." (Brenda Novak, New York Times best-selling author)

A Change of Heart!

Mallory awakens to find Polly, the lil girl from next door hiding behind her Christmas tree, she is immediately taken with the lil girl and realizes the pain she is in. Polly’s mother had died 6 months earlier, and the child had withdrawn into herself.
The problem with such a close knit community is everyone knows everyone, and people are treating Polly like glass, and constantly reminding her of her loss. The major issue for Polly is, her father, he has also withdrawn and doesn’t seem to know how to reach his daughter and resents Mallory, whom Polly seems intent on drawing into their lives.
The big issue here is that Mallory is in pain herself because of her dysfunctional childhood, something that she won’t share with anyone believing it would diminish her in everyone’s view of her. However, Mallory is the only one who understands Polly and is able to reach her, and through Polly, she is able to reach her father. Who can reach Mallory? Will Mallory have a second chance? Will her irregular upbringing be cause for her to miss out on having a new life for herself?

The narrator was fine. She did a fine job.

New Chance after loss

I had avoided this book because many reviews said it was heartbreaking. I guess what I saw was hope. The other side of tragedy when people start picking up the pieces of their lives. The book was written really well. It wasn't overly sappy and it wasn't too fluffy. It have a great flow and great pace. Once I started, I didn't stop listening to it until it finished.

I loved little Polly. Somehow she saw the capacity for love in Mallory and she grabbed onto it hard. It was so sweet watching the shell that both Mallory and Pete formed around themselves develop crack after crack, until the shells shattered. Love and acceptance is the ultimate Christmas gift and that is what this book was about. The second chance at happiness made this book heartwarming, not heartbreaking. It was a great book to read on New Year's Eve. I felt like I was transported to Mimosa Lane and was a part of the story. I look forward to reading some more books in this series.

Give Me More!!

This is a new author to me...She's Great!!!
I want MORE!!!!
This is an unusual story of a homeless mother and child and how it affected the child as she became an adult.
We see homeless all over the country and many of us donate to help the shelters, but I
never thought of what happens to the children in the future. This story gave me a new
insight to think about.
Once you start, you can't wait to get to the next chapter. I finished the book in two nights.
Is this Anna's first book? I haven't found her listed in our library.

Not for Me

This book walked all over my heart. I normally read Christmas books for that feel-good, happy emotional read. This one was so sad … Polly broke my heart. I know that the author plans a sequel, but if the ending had been different, I probably would have rated it differently. It was my first read by Anna DeStefano and I probably won’t be reading any more. Just wasn’t my thing.

Great Christmas Story

Christmas on Mimosa Lane was a good Christmas book and everyone need a holiday story. I liked Anna DeStefano's style of writing and would read other books by her, but I did find some of the scenarios hard to believe.

If I was to compare Anna DeStefano with another author, it would probably be Kristen Hannah.

Boring :/

The story just didn't hold my attention and I couldn't finish it. The reader was flat.

Hard to get through

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

This author describes everything down to the last detail. Somtimes it's okay but every single thing? It felt like I was reading a paper written that the writer had to supply so many words for completion.

Would you be willing to try another one of Janet Metzger’s performances?

No. Almost monatomic.

Not a great Christmas story

The story was very formulaic and melodramatic. The narrator was more of a reader than a performer who became the character.

a new favorite of mine...

Would you listen to Christmas on Mimosa Lane again? Why?

Absolutely, most definitely, I will listen to this story again. I enjoyed every second of it. I *LOVED* the story and the narration was *perfect* in my opinion...

What was one of the most memorable moments of Christmas on Mimosa Lane?

The entire book was one memorable moment after another for me.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes. This is a real "triumph over tragedy" story and is very tender and touching. I was both happy and sad to the point of tears at times... I felt strongly for the characters, especially Mallory, Pete and Polly...

Any additional comments?

I had a few questions when the story ended, so I hope this was the beginning of a series. The last half hour was probably the saddest part of the book for me; Mallory was always so perfectly *there* for everyone else, it was sad, but believable, how hard she was on herself when her moment of crisis came. The story did end on a promising note, but I would have preferred a "stronger, no doubt about it", ending...

Too many words to tell a sweet story...

I liked the way the author expresses the thoughts of both father and daughter, who have lost the wife and mother. However, I got lost in the verbiage. I couldn't finish the book in one go, which is rare for me. I would not spend my credit on this book again.