Short Story Review: Bud's Christmas Wish

Bud's Christmas Wish

By: Ashley Nemer

Publisher: XoXo Publishing

Release Date: November 16, 2012

Format: eBook

Length: 19 pages

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Audience: Adult (Clean)

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Check out Ashley's Guest Blog giving the back story to Bud's Christmas Wish and enter to win a copy of the story HERE.

My Thoughts:

I am not typically a fan of short stories because when I get drawn in and attached to characters, I want them to last. I also don't like how short stories get resolved and tied up in a nice, neat little bow before I have time to let my hot chocolate cool. However, this story is definitely an exception to the rule. Bud's Christmas Wish is a heart-warming tale of old fashioned love. It's is set in Ireland, which drew me in immediately. I love just about anything Irish. I have to give Ms. Nemer mad props for pulling of Irish dialect. Dialect is one of those things that can come off as hard to read or cheesy, but coming from Bud and Hannah (Lucy's grandma), it was cute and natural. 

Lucy was easy to identify with in her sweet, self-sacrificing manner. She put herself aside to care for her grandparents, and then her grandmother after her grandfather's passing. It's something most women can identify with as we tend to always put ourselves last, caring for others' needs first. Lucy had already experienced so much loss in her life, it was time for something good to come her way. Bud... well, what can I say about Bud? He made me smile. I loved his easy-going manner and how he brought both love and fun into Lucy's life. And who wouldn't want to snuggle down with a rugged Irishman who knows all the right things to say and has an accent that makes you dream of him? 

The story itself was paced very well. It flowed smoothly and naturally. The end made me a little teary-eyed. I loved how Lucy's grandfather was brought back into the story in such a touching way. (No, I'm not saying any more than that. You'll have to read it!)

Final verdict: Give yourself an hour to sink into a sweet story that will warm your heart. It's a light, easy read that will leave you smiling.

Want to win an autographed cover of Bud's Christmas Wish and a Bud's Christmas Wish tree ornament? Simply tweet this review tagging Ashley @ashleynemer and @readinglark and use the hash tag #budschristmaswish. 

Summary from Goodreads:

If a dream is a wish your heart makes, can it hear those things we want even if we don’t what they are? When sorrow brings young Lucy home to a land full of mystery, steeped in tradition and coloured with unspoken magic, she finds herself re-evaluating her life and her own place in it. Things are never what they seem and people are seldom what you THINK them to be if all you base it on is what your eyes see and not what your soul knows. There’s a fine line between destiny and duty, but when both are blended with love, who knows what miracles can occur at Christmas.

Excerpt:

She sat in the chair watching him. The sincerity in his voice and the look in his eyes when he spoke about her granddad and the words he said. She had to stop and think about it, did he really only have two drinks a night? How had she not noticed this before?

“Please Lucy, give me a chance, one night ta show ye that I can fulfill ya dreams and give ye everything that ya could imagine ya needed. Everything ye could ever want.”