Merry
by Susan Breen
*When you open this audiobook on Libro.fm, be sure to select Aveson as your bookstore so that your purchase supports local literacy programs and tree‑planting.
Couldn't load pickup availability
A mother's valiant efforts to bring her family the joy of Christmas go haywire when she finds herself haunted by the angry ghost of Charles Dickens.
This sparkling, cozy novel is perfect for readers of Emma Straub's This Time Tomorrow and anyone who looks forward to watching It's a Wonderful Life each December!
Merry Bingham used to love Christmas--until she started worrying all the time about family, money, and death. The only thing that continues to bring her joy is reading from her heirloom edition of A Christmas Carol, autographed by Charles Dickens himself and passed down through five generations of her family. Now, as she waits for the results of the medical tests that will tell her whether this Christmas season will be her last, Merry prepares to give her book to the next generation. Except none of her three children wants it.
Merry refuses to surrender Christmas or Dickens without a fight, so she sells the book and uses the money to take her family to London. She will fill them with Christmas joy even if she has to cram it down their throats.
But the harder Merry pushes, the worse everything gets. Her children erupt into vicious arguments, her gentle husband stops talking to her, her deluxe rental apartment is not what was promised. Oh, and she keeps seeing the ghost of Charles Dickens around town--and he is not happy with her.
Fans of family stories, classic literature, Christmas novels, and holiday season magic will adore Merry.
Share
Book Details
- ISBN
- 9798892421935
- Binding
- Paperback
- Authors
- Susan Breen
- Publisher
- Alcove Press
- Published Date
- September 23, 2025
- Language
- English
- Pages
- 336
- Physical Info
- 12.61 in L x 7.34 in W (0.68 lb)
I just couldn't put it down. This book had me cheering on Merry in her quest to save Christmas and her family. Magical characters added to the fun. Really nice fully satisfying conclusion left me humming with the Holiday spirit, and even dreaming up how I might bring more magic to my own Christmas. Want to feel good? Read it.
Thoroughly enjoyed this short but highly imaginative book!! The author wove such interesting characters into a family vacation to London with lots of shenanigans but also fitting in a lesson on the true meaning of Christmas. Loved that Merry had two way conversations with her dog and she saw Charles Dickens all over town while trying to fix her quirky family. Somehow it all came together with valuable lessons on forgiveness and healing. Definitely recommend.
Merry used to be full-on Clark Griswold when it came to Christmas lights and holiday spirit… but lately, not so much. So what does she do? She sells her signed copy of A Christmas Carol (I’m not sure I could EVER part with mine 😳) to take her family on a trip to London for the “best Christmas ever.”Of course, things don’t ever go exactly as planned... there’s chaos, laughter, and even a ghostly visit from Dickens himself 👻📚. It’s funny, heartwarming, and a little magical… basically everything I want in a holiday read! It really took me back to my own childhood!Living in a climate that doesn't really get cold makes it hard to feel festive sometimes, but this one definitely helped.
Loved this story! Beautifully written. Funny and heartwarming.
I thought this would be a light hearted book about a family going on vacation during Christmas and of course the drama that can occur when they are all together. This was not a “feel good” book by any means. Merry learns that she might have medical issues that will change the trajectory of her life so she decides that she will sell her family heirloom which is an autographed book of A Christmas Carol so that she can pay for her family to go on a trip to London for Christmas.The trip is not what Merry was expecting as her adult children come off as selfish and ungrateful. Of all the characters, Merry was the most likeable but even her expectations of her family seemed to be too much.The story does bring some whimsical, magical moments which give the story a bit of a lightness throughout the book but the overall theme of unhappiness was carried through most of the story. The ending was finally the happiness that I was expecting which was a great way to end the story.
