When Josie Avery finished her education and headed to the small, secluded town of Ponder, Alaska, to take a summer job as a chef at the Caribou Lake Lodge, she never dreamed that she'd meet the love of her life in the middle of nowhere. Flannel-clad and bearded, a man of few words and a master swordsmith, Palmer Saxon possesses every quality that makes Josie's heart race. While he may not be armed with romantic gestures and flowery words, Palmer makes Josie feel safe, loved and secure.

Josie isn't alone in her feelings, however. Palmer feels the same way about her. In fact, he wants to ask her to marry him, but he's convinced that she'll never agree to spend a lifetime in the wilderness with him in a town where the in-season population grows to 300 or so and the off-season population dwindles to a handful of singles and a smattering of families.

"ALASKAN HOLIDAY is a charming holiday read from a tried-and-true author who is a star in the romance genre."

As October rolls around and the ferry makes its last trip to transport passengers across Caribou Lake and back to civilization, Josie's heart is breaking at the thought of leaving Palmer. She simply can't turn her back on her new job, though, so she packs to head back home. Unfortunately, a snafu causes her to miss the ferry, and the next thing she knows, she's stuck in Ponder with no way home. Is someone trying to tell her something?

As much as he'd rather not help Josie find a way out of town, Palmer comes to the rescue. He knows a bush pilot with a ski-plane who's willing to pick up Josie and fly her out so she can catch a flight with an airline back to Seattle. In a matter of days, she'll be able to return to the mother to whom she is very close, and to the new job with Chef Anton --- a rival who sets Palmer's blood to boiling --- that's been promised to her if only she can get back to Seattle and her normal life.

When they part, Palmer and Josie vow to keep in touch and pursue their relationship across the miles. How on earth, though, can a wilderness man and a city girl take a fledgling relationship to the next level and turn it into a lifetime of love under such circumstances?

Without Josie, the life that Palmer previously found satisfactory has now become unbearable. Josie isn't much more impressed once she returns to Seattle and takes on the demands of working for a prima donna chef and living with her mother, who is behaving oddly and keeping secrets.

As luck would have it, Palmer has business outside of Alaska and makes a stopover in Seattle to see Josie. Will the pair finally iron out their differences and create a life together, or will they go their separate ways and always wonder what might have been? Only time will tell.

ALASKAN HOLIDAY is a charming holiday read from a tried-and-true author who is a star in the romance genre. The picturesque Alaskan wilderness provides the perfect backdrop for love to blossom, and the Christmas season is a time when miracles can and do happen. In addition to her hero and heroine, Debbie Macomber provides us with a fun cast of supporting characters who truly are characters and will linger in our minds long after we've read the final page of this warm, fuzzy novel.