A Christmas Duet is the newest Christmas romance by Debbie Macomber. Hailey Morgan is an aspiring songwriter who has had limited success with selling her material, and is currently working as an assistant high school band teacher. When her ex-boyfriend Zach gets in contact with her after three years, she has no interest in reestablishing their relationship. Zach, however, doesn’t take no for an answer and, knowing how Hailey’s mother still holds a sweet spot for him, connives his way into a Christmas dinner invitation. This is too much for Hailey to bear and when the opportunity arises for her to spend time at her friend’s family cabin in the remote Oregon wilderness, she grabs it. Being far away from Zach and her meddling mother, even though it would be over the Christmas holidays, would give her the time and seclusion to work on her songs.
When Hailey encounters some problems at the cabin, she visits the town’s general store to see if she can get any assistance. The hunky man who tends to her repairs and electrical issues is Jay Cantor, a musician and a budding producer in his own right. The two are destined to be together, right?
The romance is believable because Macomber has paired two people who are attracted to each other from the start. This is unlike her usual modus operandi where the women are drawn to men who are stereotypical “bad boys” who make them uncomfortable. The attraction, and the first kiss, are subtle at first and then grow in passion and intensity. This is the opposite of the last Macomber novel I read, where the male object of affection/derision took liberties by smacking unconsensual kisses on the woman. In A Christmas Duet, I wanted Hailey and Jay to get closer and live happily ever after and I wasn’t rolling my eyes at yet another Macomber heroine who falls for a jerk.
The two lovebirds attend a winter festival together where Jay, who is an established musician, performs a song for the crowd. He asks Hailey to join him onstage and asks her to sing a new Christmas song that she was in the process of writing. After some hesitation, she sings it, and the crowd adores her. Within hours Hailey becomes a YouTube viral sensation. A big-time music producer even tracks her down to offer her a contract.
But the fun–and stress–really starts when her quiet and secluded cabin getaway turns into the Brady Bunch as her YouTube fame travels back to her hometown. Hailey’s cabin is first greeted by a knock from her free-living hippie sister Daisy, and then their parents show up, and lastly… the ex-boyfriend Zach himself. When Jay suddenly has to fly back to Seattle to attend to some urgent music business, Hailey is left to deal with everyone on her own. Can she convince her meddling mother to stay out of her love life when her new beau is off the scene while her ex is right there? Will Zach finally get the message?
I enjoyed A Christmas Duet because the Christmas content was a major part of the entire novel. I have read some of Macomber’s ostensible Christmas romances where the holiday was barely mentioned. This novel has the Christmas mood from start to finish.
I noticed a horrible typo near the end of the book. At the start of chapter 22, the first sentence:
“On Christmas morning, Hailey and her family gathered around the Charlie Bown Christmas tree that Hailey had decorated with paper snowflakes and popcorn strings.”
I am curious if it will be corrected to Brown by the time the paperback edition comes out (which should be soon, as a Christmas novel will not sell, even in paperback, in January). I will check for it when I am in bookstores over the holidays.