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The Brightest Star
A Heartwarming Christmas Novel
Perfect for fans of Debbie Macomber and readers who can’t get enough Hallmark movies, this special Christmas treat will warm your heart just in time for the cozy holiday season. A sparkling new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Fern Michaels is exactly what you need to get in the spirit of the season.
Christmas is more than just a celebration for Lauren Montgomery. For generations, it’s been her family’s livelihood. Their Christmas shop, Razzle Dazzle Décor, has seen seasonal fads come and go, but there’s one trend they can’t escape. Online superstores are swallowing their sales, and this Christmas season will need to be their best ever if the store is to stay in business.
To help keep the shop afloat, Lauren also has a sideline, writing biographies for business figures. She’s thrilled when her literary agent contacts her with a new proposal—before learning that the subject will be none other than John Gerald Giompalo. He’s the titan behind Globalgoods.com, the online retailer that has spelled doom for hundreds of small businesses just like Razzle Dazzle Décor. Despite her misgivings, Lauren travels to Seattle to confer with the mogul, and is caught off guard when his son, John Jr., attends the meeting too. Handsome, intelligent, and deeply kind, he’s perfect—apart from the fact that he’s part of the company threatening everything Lauren loves.
As her deadline, and Christmas, draw closer, Lauren knows that there’s more than her family’s shop at stake. Her heart is, too. But there’s no better time than the holidays to make a secret wish on the brightest star you see—and let the season’s magic take hold.
Perfect for fans of Debbie Macomber and readers who can’t get enough Hallmark movies, this special Christmas treat will warm your heart just in time for the cozy holiday season. A sparkling new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Fern Michaels is exactly what you need to get in the spirit of the season.
Christmas is more than just a celebration for Lauren Montgomery. For generations, it’s been her family’s livelihood. Their Christmas shop, Razzle Dazzle Décor, has seen seasonal fads come and go, but there’s one trend they can’t escape. Online superstores are swallowing their sales, and this Christmas season will need to be their best ever if the store is to stay in business.
To help keep the shop afloat, Lauren also has a sideline, writing biographies for business figures. She’s thrilled when her literary agent contacts her with a new proposal—before learning that the subject will be none other than John Gerald Giompalo. He’s the titan behind Globalgoods.com, the online retailer that has spelled doom for hundreds of small businesses just like Razzle Dazzle Décor. Despite her misgivings, Lauren travels to Seattle to confer with the mogul, and is caught off guard when his son, John Jr., attends the meeting too. Handsome, intelligent, and deeply kind, he’s perfect—apart from the fact that he’s part of the company threatening everything Lauren loves.
As her deadline, and Christmas, draw closer, Lauren knows that there’s more than her family’s shop at stake. Her heart is, too. But there’s no better time than the holidays to make a secret wish on the brightest star you see—and let the season’s magic take hold.
274 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 29, 2020
3024 people are currently reading
10497 people want to read
About the author
Fern Michaels
429 books6,571 followersFern Michaels isn’t a person. I’m not sure she’s an entity either since an entity is something with separate existence. Fern Michaels® is what I DO. Me, Mary Ruth Kuczkir. Growing up in Hastings, Pennsylvania, I was called Ruth. I became Mary when I entered the business world where first names were the order of the day. To this day, family and friends call me Dink, a name my father gave me when I was born because according to him I was ‘a dinky little thing’ weighing in at four and a half pounds. However, I answer to Fern since people are more comfortable with a name they can pronounce.
As they say, the past is prologue. I grew up, got a job, got married, had five kids. When my youngest went off to Kindergarten, my husband told me to get off my ass and get a job. Those were his exact words. I didn’t know how to do anything except be a wife and mother. I was also a voracious reader having cut my teeth on The Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Cherry Ames and the like. The library was a magical place for me. It still is to this day. Rather than face the outside world with no skills, I decided to write a book. For some reason that didn’t intimidate me. As my husband said at the time, stupid is as stupid does. Guess what, I don’t have that husband any more. Guess what else! I wrote 99 books, most of them New York Times Best Sellers.
Moving right along here . . . Several years ago I left Ballantine Books, parted company with my agent, sold my house in New Jersey that I had lived in all my married life and in 1993 moved to South Carolina. I figured if I was going to go through trauma let it be all at one time. It was a breeze. The kids were all on their own at that point. The dump was a 300 year old plantation house that is listed in the National Registry that I remodeled. Today it is beyond belief as are the gardens and the equally old Angel Oaks that drip Spanish moss. Unfortunately, I could not get my ghost to relocate. This ghost has been documented by previous owners. Mary Margaret as we call her, is “a friendly”. She is also mischievous. It took me two weeks to figure out that she didn’t like my coffee cups. They would slide off the table or counter or else they’d break in the dishwasher. I bought red checkered ones. All are intact as of this writing. She moves pillows from one room to the other and she stops all the clocks in the house at 9:10 in the a.m. at least once a week. When the Azaleas are in bloom, and only then, I find blooms on my night stand. I have this glorious front porch and during the warm months I see my swing moving early in the morning when the air is still and again late in the day. She doesn’t spook the dogs. I always know when she’s around because the five of them line up and look like they’re at a tennis match. As of this writing we’re co-habiting nicely.
Most writers love what they do and I’m no exception. I love it when I get a germ of an idea and get it down on paper. I love breathing life into my characters. I love writing about women who persevere and prevail because that’s what I had to do to get to this point in time. It’s another way of saying it doesn’t matter where you’ve been, what matters is where you’re going and how you get there. The day I finally prevailed was the day I was inducted into the New Jersey Literary Hall of Fame. For me it was an awesome day and there are no words to describe it.
I’ve been telling stories and scribbling for 37 years. I hope I can continue for another 37 years. It wasn’t easy during some of those years. As I said, I had to persevere. My old Polish grandmother said something to me when I was little that I never forgot. She said when God is good to you, you have to give back. For a while I didn’t know how to do that. When I finally figured it out I set up The Fern Michaels® Foundation.
READ FERN MICHAELS' FULL BIOGRAPHY HERE: http://www.fernmichaels.com/biography/
As they say, the past is prologue. I grew up, got a job, got married, had five kids. When my youngest went off to Kindergarten, my husband told me to get off my ass and get a job. Those were his exact words. I didn’t know how to do anything except be a wife and mother. I was also a voracious reader having cut my teeth on The Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Cherry Ames and the like. The library was a magical place for me. It still is to this day. Rather than face the outside world with no skills, I decided to write a book. For some reason that didn’t intimidate me. As my husband said at the time, stupid is as stupid does. Guess what, I don’t have that husband any more. Guess what else! I wrote 99 books, most of them New York Times Best Sellers.
Moving right along here . . . Several years ago I left Ballantine Books, parted company with my agent, sold my house in New Jersey that I had lived in all my married life and in 1993 moved to South Carolina. I figured if I was going to go through trauma let it be all at one time. It was a breeze. The kids were all on their own at that point. The dump was a 300 year old plantation house that is listed in the National Registry that I remodeled. Today it is beyond belief as are the gardens and the equally old Angel Oaks that drip Spanish moss. Unfortunately, I could not get my ghost to relocate. This ghost has been documented by previous owners. Mary Margaret as we call her, is “a friendly”. She is also mischievous. It took me two weeks to figure out that she didn’t like my coffee cups. They would slide off the table or counter or else they’d break in the dishwasher. I bought red checkered ones. All are intact as of this writing. She moves pillows from one room to the other and she stops all the clocks in the house at 9:10 in the a.m. at least once a week. When the Azaleas are in bloom, and only then, I find blooms on my night stand. I have this glorious front porch and during the warm months I see my swing moving early in the morning when the air is still and again late in the day. She doesn’t spook the dogs. I always know when she’s around because the five of them line up and look like they’re at a tennis match. As of this writing we’re co-habiting nicely.
Most writers love what they do and I’m no exception. I love it when I get a germ of an idea and get it down on paper. I love breathing life into my characters. I love writing about women who persevere and prevail because that’s what I had to do to get to this point in time. It’s another way of saying it doesn’t matter where you’ve been, what matters is where you’re going and how you get there. The day I finally prevailed was the day I was inducted into the New Jersey Literary Hall of Fame. For me it was an awesome day and there are no words to describe it.
I’ve been telling stories and scribbling for 37 years. I hope I can continue for another 37 years. It wasn’t easy during some of those years. As I said, I had to persevere. My old Polish grandmother said something to me when I was little that I never forgot. She said when God is good to you, you have to give back. For a while I didn’t know how to do that. When I finally figured it out I set up The Fern Michaels® Foundation.
READ FERN MICHAELS' FULL BIOGRAPHY HERE: http://www.fernmichaels.com/biography/
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 459 reviews
December 16, 2020
This was my first time reading a Fern Michaels novel and I have mixed feelings about The Brightest Star. I can appreciate the fact the entire story didn't revolve around the character's love life. However, the romance was so minimal in this one that I kinda wonder what was the point of even including it. An okay read but certainly had the potential to be so much better.
Lauren Montgomery has a career writing biographies for key figures in the business world. But her father's health has made him unable to run the family's Christmas decor store, Razzle Dazzle, so Lauren moves back to her hometown to manage the place. Unfortunately, business isn't so good and if some changes aren't made soon, the store is going to go under.
I thought about writing a more detailed synopsis but didn't see much point as the bulk of the story revolves around Lauren running the store. I do think her father's reluctance to jump into the 21st century was a bit ridiculous. Given his age is about 60 and the fact the Internet has been around for a long time now, it seems odd he would be so against any type of online activity. I'm not even talking about the store creating a website to do some online sales. I'm referring to how his adult daughter has to set up secret internet access so her father doesn't find out. That is weird! Even my set in his own ways, 70 year old father who up until recently still had a flip phone, was able to embrace the Internet decades ago.
Lauren was a likeable character because she enjoys helping other people and so it was easy to root for her happiness. The second big plot of the story involves Lauren, and a teenage girl and her mother. Between that plot and the store problems, the romance is pretty rushed and basically relegated to the final chapters with barely any development at all. With this type of book, you know the end game when you first start reading, but you still want to see all the steps to get to that point. When you don’t have much interaction between the two characters until the final scenes, that's not good.
Overall the story felt like a hodge podge of multiple side plots without a cohesive flow. A lot of repetition which came across as the author trying to stretch out the story as much as possible. I had high hopes for this book because she is a best selling author but no one will be able to convince me this book is the best showcase of her writing talent. The bare bones of a good story were here but the key is in the details. Could have used some more tlc during the writing process.
I won a free copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway but was not obligated to post a review. All thoughts expressed are my honest opinion.
Lauren Montgomery has a career writing biographies for key figures in the business world. But her father's health has made him unable to run the family's Christmas decor store, Razzle Dazzle, so Lauren moves back to her hometown to manage the place. Unfortunately, business isn't so good and if some changes aren't made soon, the store is going to go under.
I thought about writing a more detailed synopsis but didn't see much point as the bulk of the story revolves around Lauren running the store. I do think her father's reluctance to jump into the 21st century was a bit ridiculous. Given his age is about 60 and the fact the Internet has been around for a long time now, it seems odd he would be so against any type of online activity. I'm not even talking about the store creating a website to do some online sales. I'm referring to how his adult daughter has to set up secret internet access so her father doesn't find out. That is weird! Even my set in his own ways, 70 year old father who up until recently still had a flip phone, was able to embrace the Internet decades ago.
Lauren was a likeable character because she enjoys helping other people and so it was easy to root for her happiness. The second big plot of the story involves Lauren, and a teenage girl and her mother. Between that plot and the store problems, the romance is pretty rushed and basically relegated to the final chapters with barely any development at all. With this type of book, you know the end game when you first start reading, but you still want to see all the steps to get to that point. When you don’t have much interaction between the two characters until the final scenes, that's not good.
Overall the story felt like a hodge podge of multiple side plots without a cohesive flow. A lot of repetition which came across as the author trying to stretch out the story as much as possible. I had high hopes for this book because she is a best selling author but no one will be able to convince me this book is the best showcase of her writing talent. The bare bones of a good story were here but the key is in the details. Could have used some more tlc during the writing process.
I won a free copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway but was not obligated to post a review. All thoughts expressed are my honest opinion.
September 17, 2020
I was given a copy of this book for free from a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for my unbiased review.
DNF at 33 pages in.
Super disappointing. I liked the sound of the plot, and the few pages that I read were shaping up to be cute. But I had to let this one go after unnecessary and problematic comments were made about weight.
TW/Here are the problematic comments:
I was looking for a cute Christmas love story... not for shaming people about their weight. Hard pass.
DNF at 33 pages in.
Super disappointing. I liked the sound of the plot, and the few pages that I read were shaping up to be cute. But I had to let this one go after unnecessary and problematic comments were made about weight.
TW/Here are the problematic comments:
I was looking for a cute Christmas love story... not for shaming people about their weight. Hard pass.
November 7, 2020
This book needed more focus. It started off great. I like the whole small-town-girl-trying-to-save-her-family's-store-during-the-holidays trope. But there were too many side plots going on with other townspeople, and the romance that was thrown in during the last 1/3 of the book was ridiculous. Then everything wraps up way too perfectly and way too quickly. This could have been so much better.
January 16, 2021
DNF at 20% I found the skinny heroine and her friend giggling over setting up their friend with the “200 lb overweight” smelly librarian rather distasteful. Especially in a conversation that started with “why weren’t you in church this morning?” This is supposed to be a Christmas romance? I held on for a little bit but I just couldn't stop thinking about this conversation.
December 17, 2022
I don’t know what to say. There are so many side stories in the first part of the book. All the stories take some time to develop. The book ends quickly with everything tied up nicely. I believe this would have been better if the author put as much time in the last part of the book as the first.
December 4, 2022
A good, fun Rom-Com from Fern, but not (I thought) her usual quality
December 12, 2020
DNFing at 35 pages. This book has had many comments about the weight of their characters and jokes about a character being overweight and smelly was more than I could take. I was hoping for a light and fluffy Christmas read, but this was not it. I don’t tolerate weight shaming and this book did it in such a “gossipy” way. I will say this was my first Fern Michaels book, won in a Goodreads giveaway, and I have no interest in reading another one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 30, 2020
There was a beginning to this story, but no middle. All the sudden everything just wrapped up and worked out. Not even much of a love story since the 2 people who fell in love were only in the same place about 7 or 8 times in the whole book and didn't have any conflict at all. Not worth the time.
December 17, 2023
If I could give this book zero stars I would. The plot makes no sense and the novel does not have a climax. One of the most boring books I’ve ever had the displeasure of reading.
November 5, 2021
Fern babe, you're going through the motions. The money might be good, but wouldn't you rather author an actual great read?
October 24, 2023
Lauren Montgomery doesn't want to run her fmily's store, Razzle Dazzle, but when her mother calls her and asks her to come home and help when her father falls ill, she heads home. Lauren is an author, one who writes biogaphies for business figures. She has also invested well, so can take time off to help her family. When she takes over, she learns that the store is in trouble. Her father is old fashioned and has not embraced online sales or advertising on social media. Lauren uses some of her funds to help the bottom line, but sales are weak. She gets an offer from her publisher to write a new book about John Gerald Giompalo, the founder of Globalgoods.com, the online retailer that has put many small busiesses out of business. With what she is being offered for the book, she agrees to travel to Seattle and meet him before making a decision. When she arrives at the meeting, she is taken off guard when his son, John Jr., attends the meeting too. Handsome, intelligent, and deeply kind, he’s perfect—apart from the fact that he’s part of the company threatening everything Lauren loves. With her parents on her back, the deadline to make a decision coming and her feelings for John, will she find romance and Christmas magic?
The Brightest Star is another sweet, enjoyable Christmas romance. I enjoyed the family aspect, even if Laurne's dad was frustrating most of the time. Lauren was a great character, loyal, smart, tough, but backing down where her parents were concerned. John Jr. is a great swoon worthy character and I enjoyed the relationship between him and Lauren. This was a bit predictable, but with a differend storyline using the author angle. This is another of those stories that would make a great Hallmark movie. I listened to this one narrated by Susan Bennett. I have listened to many books she narrates and am used to her voice, although she is not one of my favourite narrators.
The Brightest Star is another sweet, enjoyable Christmas romance. I enjoyed the family aspect, even if Laurne's dad was frustrating most of the time. Lauren was a great character, loyal, smart, tough, but backing down where her parents were concerned. John Jr. is a great swoon worthy character and I enjoyed the relationship between him and Lauren. This was a bit predictable, but with a differend storyline using the author angle. This is another of those stories that would make a great Hallmark movie. I listened to this one narrated by Susan Bennett. I have listened to many books she narrates and am used to her voice, although she is not one of my favourite narrators.
December 14, 2020
More a 3.5
I have mixed feelings about this one. The writing was good and I absolutely loved the Christmas spirit portrayed by Lauren but I think it just had too much going on. The beginning started out great and then the story went off on so many tangents I lost a bit of the initial love. The ending also felt extremely rushed.
There is a romance although it was very, very quick with no in-depth quality. They meet, briefly, then all of a sudden they are in love with no real development leading to it. I enjoy a good love-at-first-sight but this lacked so much in showcasing that.
I haven't read anything by this author before and this is a more recent book of hers. I'm definitely going to check out her older stuff as I did enjoy the writing and the setting.
I would also still recommend this one as it does have plenty of feel-good moments and makes for a good Christmas read. It just didn't wholly work for me.
I have mixed feelings about this one. The writing was good and I absolutely loved the Christmas spirit portrayed by Lauren but I think it just had too much going on. The beginning started out great and then the story went off on so many tangents I lost a bit of the initial love. The ending also felt extremely rushed.
There is a romance although it was very, very quick with no in-depth quality. They meet, briefly, then all of a sudden they are in love with no real development leading to it. I enjoy a good love-at-first-sight but this lacked so much in showcasing that.
I haven't read anything by this author before and this is a more recent book of hers. I'm definitely going to check out her older stuff as I did enjoy the writing and the setting.
I would also still recommend this one as it does have plenty of feel-good moments and makes for a good Christmas read. It just didn't wholly work for me.
October 18, 2020
This was yucky pablum. NO excitement. I've read 45 Fern Michaels books and rated this the lowest. 1 out of 10, and that is generous. I did finish it, thinking there would be some excitement. Nada. Poor little rich girl, nicely spreads her wealth around, helps others, meets super rich boy. The end. A 12 year old could write this and we'd be happy for her. But for this sickeningly sugary syrup to be published should be an embarrassment to an otherwise good author. Parents, your 10 year olds can read this and you don't have to worry.
November 9, 2021
Literally the worst book I think I have ever read. Awkward writing, repetitive, somehow she is suddenly in love based on absolutely nothing. Yada yada-ed through her one actual “date” with the guy. Bizarre detail about her clothing and makeup options. So very much fat shaming. I can’t even adequately explain how bad this was.
July 6, 2021
Ugh! The main character is a 35 year old woman acting like a whiny teenager. The story had potential if the character was portrayed better.
November 24, 2021
A light, fun romance and Christmas story!
September 19, 2022
Lauren Montgomery has had success in her life, but after her dad falls sick, she sells her condo on the beach, and heads back to NC. Her mother takes over the care for her father, while she takes on her father's shop Razzle Dazzle. It has been in the family since her grandfather started it, and her father will not allow his daughter to put the items, or the shop on the Internet .Lauren comes across as a true Angel since she uses her money from her prior best sellers to help the shop, and everyone else she comes in contact. She is currently thirty five ,and will not just settle, unless it is someone she truly has a great love for, and he knocks her socks off. . The book pulls you in deeply at first, with all the tasks she has taken on, and you look at it as a drama, then suddenly her life sends her in another direction, and she has fallen in love, both with a biography she is excited, and honored to write, and a gentleman we don't get to know a lot about. . We know more about a crush that is really just a friend, on her side since high school. The ending is rushed, and just like a Christmas miracle all the problems go away. The drama in the first part is just set aside, and she take a magical ride to Seattle that makes all her dreams, and problems clear up. This includes even those nearly at deaths door. I enjoy her writing, but as readers we need to have her, and her love John spend time together. we need her to check back about Lee, and see how that is going at least monthly. plus her father takes a new medicine, and in two weeks he can run his business, and the pain,brain fog, and problem just getting around has gone. She does give us quick up dates, that come out of left field that she leaves us out of. The joy of the ending is also never talked about, at all prior to the end. The book needed a few more chapters ,so we can feel what Lauren is feeling, and experiencing. This author is much better than this book, but I gave it 2,5 stars rounded to a three, for the ability I know that she has.
December 10, 2022
The synopsis for this book is very misleading. What it should say is "Woman goes through normal daily life during the Christmas season, including eating meals, working, complaining about the weather, and being generous to those in need. Woman has 20 minutes of interaction with man and falls in love. All works out in the end, including woman is now a billionaire." This was a cozy hallmark Christmas movie with basically no plot, but I shall give it 2 stars because I love Christmas. And it's the season of giving!
September 9, 2020
Fern Michaels never disappointment. This is a Christmas story about Lauren who comes home from Florida to help with her dad. She fills in at their store who mostly sells craft item some sound very beautiful.
Her dad doesn't like any new conveniences like the internet and the store us losing money.....
This story is so good. I love all her books.
Her dad doesn't like any new conveniences like the internet and the store us losing money.....
This story is so good. I love all her books.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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January 27, 2021 2.5 stars. The premise of The Brightest Star set up this Christmas novel to be an overall heartwarming story. What is there not to like -- a daughter gives up her career to move home to help her parents due to her father's failing health. She takes over the running of the family's ornament shop. She meets a guy. As a reader -- I wanted to see this relationship unfold -- instead it was never really built.
April 24, 2021
A feel good story set around a small failing Christmas store. The story is set in North Carolina but travels to Seattle. The main character is Lauren Montgomery who is a successful author of biographies. She has returned home to run Razzle Dazzle Decor but can't convince her father to move into the twenty-first century in retailing. The book was a quick easy read.
December 13, 2021
Cheesy as a hallmark movie and pretty predictable, but a happy , feel good read for the holidays. However, I was disappointed at Lauren and her friend laughing about setting up their friend with the overweight, smelly librarian. Very sad in this day and age that women are still putting down other women. 😢
March 10, 2022
This was my first time reading a book by Fern Michaels. I was interested in the book as I love Christmas books. The main plot was about a woman helping to save her family’s Christmas shop. The book started out great but then quickly wrapped up the many side plots and was done. I really would have liked much more in the ending part of the story. An enjoyable read but needed more in the end.
December 24, 2023
Loved the story but agree with a few other reviews that the romance in this book was rushed. So may side stories which were great on their own. I don't want to spoil any of the book. I did enjoy one particular side story that truly felt like heartwarming with the christmas spirit of giving and a miracle.
December 18, 2020
Other reviews mentioned how this book just kinda screeched to a halt towards the end and I agree. The story was going along great. I enjoyed the plot of a girl who had to move home to care for her sick/somewhat elderly parents. She ran the family store for them and was trying to get them to modernize a bit but the dad refused. But then all of a sudden the storyline picked up fast and then was over. Felt like the author hit a deadline and had to quickly end.
Still a good story. Still worth ready. Still enjoyed it.
Still a good story. Still worth ready. Still enjoyed it.
November 16, 2020
A warm hearted story about Lauren Montgomery who wishes to save her
Parents’ store by bringing it into the twenty first century. Lauren is also an
Author and has been asked to write the biography of the wealthy
John Gerald Giompalo. She falls in love his son John. There are multiply
Side stories which interferes with the main storyline. It moves along
Swiftly with not much development. It seemed to just have a beginning and an
End.
Parents’ store by bringing it into the twenty first century. Lauren is also an
Author and has been asked to write the biography of the wealthy
John Gerald Giompalo. She falls in love his son John. There are multiply
Side stories which interferes with the main storyline. It moves along
Swiftly with not much development. It seemed to just have a beginning and an
End.
December 8, 2023
Very Hallmark Movie.
January 4, 2024
Great Christmas book!
January 9, 2026
I do not believe I am the demographic for this book. The one star is for the unintentional entertainment it gave me over how ridiculous it all was.
December 20, 2020
Too much repetition of ideas, too many subplots, too little romantic developmental, and a superficial protagonist. I wanted to like this one more than I did.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 459 reviews