Title: The Perfect Love Song: A Holiday Story
Author: Patti Callahan Henry
Publisher: Vanguard Press
Publication Date: October 12, 2010
Hardcover: 240 pages
ISBN: 978-1593156169
Genre: Fiction

From the Publisher:

Jimmy Sullivan has been living on the road with his brother, Jack, and his band The Unknown Souls. Without a place to call home, Jimmy and Jack lead a nomadic life filled with music and anonymous cities. When they return to a place Jimmy never wants to see again—their old hometown of Seaboro, South Carolina—he falls in love with Charlotte Carrington. With his soul now filled with hope, Jimmy writes his first love song. When he performs it at a holiday concert to a standing ovation, the lyrics are dubbed the “Perfect Love Song,” so much so that Jimmy finds himself going on tour with famous country music stars, catapulted into a world where the trappings of fame and fortune reign supreme. All too soon, the hope that had once inspired Jimmy to write such beautiful, genuine lyrics is overshadowed by what the song can do for him and his career. In his thirst for recognition, he agrees to miss Jack’s wedding in Ireland to sing at a Christmas Eve concert. And his ties to Charlotte seem to be ever so quickly slipping away. Is it too late to find his way to Ireland, to his brother, and to love?

My Review:

Filled with hope, forgiveness, and family, The Perfect Love Song by Patti Callahan Henry is an extraordinary story of love.  The stories of the Sullivan brothers, Jimmy and Jack along with Kara Larson and Charlotte Carrington is lovingly woven together by Henry and narrated by Maeve Mahoney in a warm and homey manner which will make the reader think of home fires and hot cocoa.  A story of hope and Christmas miracles, and the myth of the Claddagh ring interwoven with longing, both real and imagined, The Perfect Love Song will inspire readers of all ages.  Henry writes rich well-woven tales of the paths Jack and Jimmy choose to take as well as the women they love.  While there are numerous lessons delicately interspersed throughout the book, the characters were difficult to know, as the tale does not delve too deeply into their lives, especially the year the reader is with them.  However, Henry has managed to capture the spirit of Christmas, family and love, beautifully rendering The Perfect Love Song a delightful  Christmas read.  As an added bonus, Henry concludes her book with two recipes and a discussion guide.

About the Author:

Patti Callahan Henry is the New York Times bestselling author of six novels: Losing the Moon, Where the River Runs, When Light Breaks, Between the Tides, The Art of Keeping Secrets, and Driftwood Summer. Patti is hailed as a fresh new voice in Southern fiction. She has been short-listed for the Townsend Prize for Fiction and has been nominated for the Southeastern Independent Booksellers Fiction Novel of the Year. She is a frequent speaker at luncheons, book clubs, and women’s groups, where she discusses the importance of storytelling. Patti lives with her husband and three children outside Atlanta on the Chattahoochee River.

I received a complimentary copy of The Perfect Love Song by Patti Callahan Henry from Wunderkind PR to review. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.