MR. MIRACLE - Debbie Macomber
Ballantine (Hardcover)
ISBN-13: 978-0-553-39115-2
October 2014
Contemporary Romance

Tacoma, Washington - Present Day

Twenty four year old Addie Folsom is finally home.  Years ago, her rebellious teenaged self ran away from her father's advice, and the easy life that beckoned in Montana never really materialized.  Now, she is back home to start over.  But it's too late to make amends with her dad, he died a year ago, and Addie's mother is trying to get on with her own life.  Addie wants a new start too.  She's signed up to take the last class she needs to get her high school diploma, then, maybe, she can begin again, even get into the medical profession like her dad, if she can manage the studies.  This one literature class is her first challenge: read Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol .  Addie's dyslexia has impaired her studies in the past, and she's hoping she'll make it through the work.

But in a twist of fate, class is the least of her worries when next door neighbor, Erich Simmons, is incapacitated after an accident.  Addie had a huge crush on Erich when she was younger; he's her brother Karl's best friend, and he always teased her mercilessly.  She wants nothing to do with the grown-up Erich, but in order for their mothers to have their dream vacation, she agrees to spend Christmas taking care of him

MR. MIRACLE, or guardian angel Harry Mills, has been sent to earth to pose as a teacher and help Addie Folsom, and others, rebuild their lives.  His supervisor, fellow angel and spiritual coordinator, Celeste Chapeaux, works at the college coffee shop as a barista.  Celeste, with her purple hair and youthful spirit, is a wise angel, in spite of her youthful appearance.  Harry thinks he knows it all, but he's only learning what trouble humans can get into and how their feelings can affect even him, a heavenly spirit.

MR. MIRACLE is the first in a new series of stories by Ms. Macomber, and the word is that these stories will appear as a movie (or movies?) on the Hallmark Channel.  Harry is in charge of a rag-tag group of misfits, or people who are down on their luck and need spiritual intervention or just plain kindness to help them get on with their lives.  In the guise of a teacher, Harry also has lessons to learn as he takes on his first assignment steering Addie and Erich toward happiness.  Many dynamic secondary characters include prison tattooed Danny Wade; troubled veteran Andrew Fairfax; over-zealous campus security officer Brady Whitall; and strict Dr. Conceito, college president.

MR. MIRACLE helps Addie and Erich find true love at the end of their journey in this delightful romance.

Diana Risso