The White Christmas Inn

“The White Christmas Inn” by Colleen Wright  288 pages

The Evergreen Inn in Vermont is the quintessential New England Inn. Add a blizzard, Christmas, people in desperate need of a miracle and you have a wonderful holiday tale. It’s especially heartwarming given the global pandemic that we have faced for the last two years. 

The Inn’s owners, Jeanne and Tom, have two major hurdles to overcome. First is their relationship, which seems to get more and more strained with each passing day. Second is the inn. Since a new luxury ski resort was built about twenty miles up the road, no one wants a charming B&B anymore. They can barely pay their bills and have made the tough decision to close after the new year.

But this holiday seems a little brighter. One of their long-time guests, Hannah, has been coming to the Inn since she was a little girl with her family. Now an adult, Hannah has chosen Evergreen Inn as the venue for her wedding. It will be a small affair, immediate family only, but at least the rooms are occupied.

Things go awry when Hannah’s finance gets cold feet and calls off the wedding. Hannah isn’t as devastated as she, and everyone else, thought she would be. Her summer’s crush, Luke, has dropped by the inn to check on his grandmother. who is the inn’s hostess. The sparks fly even before he gets in the door. Jeanne and Tom are sad that all the rooms aren’t going to be full after all, but mostly they are distressed about the wedding.

There is one other guest at the inn, Molly. She has checked in for a few days. She’s a writer and illustrator of children’s books. Her new book is due soon, but she has absolutely no story idea. Scrounging the internet, she fell in love with the inn.

Then the blizzard arrives. A real Nor’easter it is. The Highway Patrol has closed all the roads. A couple of stragglers manage to make their way to the inn to spend the night. One is Marcus, a widower with two small girls, and the other is grouchy Englishman who rubs on everyone’s nerves. Even Luke is forced to bunk down at the inn since he cannot get to his parents’ house.

 As the character’s stories intertwine, author Colleen Wright, mixes up a tale of romance and magic that is sure to set a sweet start to the holidays.

There is one thing that really irritated me though. I’m guessing that the novel’s title comes from the snowstorm on Christmas Eve, since it snowed in feet, not inches.  That seemed more like gimmick to get people to at least pick it up and, hopefully, buy it.  Therefore, “The White Christmas Inn” receives 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.