I'm trying to work my way through my backlog of Christmas themed books and this one has been sat in that pile for way too long. I've read some of this author's crime books, but this one seemed a little less serious and more lighthearted! Unfortunately, whilst it was Christmas themed, it wasn't as fun and festive as I thought it was. We meet Emil who is a thief. After being caught...again...he is sent to a mental health facility where he meets two old ladies who believe that they are two of the Wise Men, and Emil is the third one who has come to join them.

I found the beginning of the book quite confusing as it switches between characters and I found it difficult to get into Emil's story. Whether I was just in the need of something more easy going, but I struggled to get into the storyline and it didn't keep me as interested as I'd hoped. It was however a fairly short read, so good to get through in a couple of days.

I quite liked that this story didn’t seem like a typical Christmas story, something a little different because I’m not always keen on a festive read but I thought that this sounded like it would be fun. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite what I expected, I felt like it should be a light-hearted easy read with a dose of antics but it didn’t hit the mark for me.

Considering how short this story is it was quite slow going and I felt that there was a lot of extraneous detail that wasn’t necessary to the story which really slowed things up for me. I also found it quite difficult to connect to the characters which meant that its heartwarming tagline didn’t come to fruition for me.

What kept me going was the middle of the story where Emil meets sisters Edith and Gloria under unusual circumstances and then unwittingly helps them with their special mission that they have been waiting a long time to complete. I wish there could have been more time spent with the sisters as they were the most interesting characters in the book, quirky and single-minded, and I like that they did bring out a different side in Emil and showed that he could be more than a conman.

It wasn’t a bad story, a bit clichéd here and there, and there was a nice outcome at the end which I liked, but I didn’t feel invested enough to get excited about the story the way I expected to.

Really enjoyable read. Good characters and a Good story. Well worth a read. Think others will enjoy.

Beautifully written, story of trust, belief and hope. When life has been tough and you know no other way, the magic of belief can give you a new path.

A sweet story, good to read around Christmas and remind yourself of its true meaning, with some lovely twists to the normal plot!

A nice little diversion from the full monkeewrench experience. Thoroughly enjoyed a good christmas read from great authors

Great storyline with good strong characters. Very well written. I would recommend this book to anyone.

Funny and heartwarming short Christmas story by mother-daughter writing duo P.J. and Traci Lambrecht.

If you're in need of some distraction in this holiday season, this is the book you'd need to read!

It was ok i guess. It took me absolutely ages to trawl through it because i constantly lost interest and found something better to do.

There is not a lot to say about this book the blurb tells it as it is. However I thoroughly enjoyed the characterisation and story telling. It avoids the sentimalisation evident in many christmas books and re-emphasises the magic of the real christmas story. The narrative is well written and engaging

Interesting book about whether you can ever really turn your life around, based on a Christmas theme. A clever premise and I think the introduction makes you really like the character, no matter what he has done. It is quite funny and in a way quite moving.

I am struggling getting into the book at this time. This time I have got to around 33%.I may try again nearer the festive season when it is supposed to be read. I did enjoy the monkee wrench series but this isn’t attracting me .

A wonderful festive read, very charming. An unusual twist on the three wise men which is simply delightful

A delightful, heart-warming tale, perfect for Christmas. It is a twist on the story of the three Kings and involves a criminal and two women who join together for a tale with a message. Christmas cheer.

I enjoyed this book, especially the sisters, as having worked worked with mental illness could understand Emil's fear followed.by his acceptance and then love for them. A good read about Christmas if a little fanciful.

An unusual story and very seasonal.. I enjoyed it as it was an easy read written with a light hearted slant, perfect for this time of year. A modern twist on the story of the three wise men. The plot was magical, it was deep despite the easy way it developed and it held my interest until the end.. It would make a good present, as it doesn't pigeon hole into any particular genre. We could all do with more books like this.

A wonderful Christmas read. A modern take on the Three Wise Men which is a quick easy read and makes you think.

Really neat Christmas novella from P J Tracy. Well structured and with a great twist we follow serial offender Emil as he gets a rehabilitation he'll never forget. Great writing

Just brilliant! An alternative take on the Christmas Story, petty criminal Emil, is given community service working at his local mental health facility. Two wonderfully dotty old sisters, are immediately convinced that he is the third wise man and they embark on an adventure across the desert of Nevada towards the bright lights of Las Vegas in search of the new baby saviour.
The characters in this book are just wonderfully written, I especially loved Emil's cynical parole officer Foster, whose life is turned around by the end of the story. The book is both funny and heartbreakingly poignant at times and is such a brilliant read. Thank you so much to the publisher and to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this an arc, I would thoroughly recommend it.