A Book A Week

This time of year is busy for most of us. The holidays bring a flurry of decorating, shopping, gatherings, and travel. For me, that usually means I have less time than I’d like to commit to reading, and I find myself craving books that are quicker, easier to finish. I’ve found the perfect series in Greg Kincaid’s holiday novels. A Dog Named Christmas and Noelle both deliver heartwarming holiday cheer—with plenty of adorable puppies thrown in. It’s a combination that’s hard to resist! Thankfully, the series has more entries, so I eagerly picked up A Christmas Home to see what would happen next.

Twenty-four-year-old Todd McCray never thought he would find a place in the world where he truly belonged. His developmental challenges often left him feeling out of step as he grew up. That began to change when he met a Labrador retriever named Christmas, a rescue dog who gave Todd a sense of purpose he never knew he was missing. Now, Todd works at the local animal shelter, the very place where he once fostered Christmas all those years ago. With his gentle nature and intuitive understanding of animals, Todd excels at training the dogs and helping match them with the right families.

While Todd is doing well, the rest of his small town is not. Economic times are tough. Businesses are shuttering, families are moving away in desperate search of opportunity, and tragically, many are leaving their family pets behind. The result is an animal shelter overflowing with dogs in need of homes just as the holidays approach. Worse still, with tax revenue dwindling, the city council has voted to close the shelter at the end of the year. Now, Todd faces an impossible task of finding homes for every animal before Christmas, while also coming to terms with the loss of the one place where he has ever truly felt he belonged.

A Christmas Home expands the world Greg Kincaid introduced in A Dog Named Christmas, making for a perfect holiday read. While Kincaid initially uses the economic downturn of a small town to kick off his story, I was pleased to see it evolve into a tale rooted in hope and optimism. My only real complaint with the first book was the author’s handling of Todd’s disability, and here that issue is thoughtfully corrected. Todd is given real agency as the hero of the story, and even a gentle romance subplot that feels earned rather than patronizing. All told, A Christmas Home is a warm holiday read that reminds us of the importance of hope, community, and making sure everyone has a place they can call home.

For more information, visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads. 

(2025, 99)