"If you are anything other than humbled in the presence of love, you are not in the presence of love." 
 Initial Thoughts: 
 This is my first book by Marie - Helene Bertino (follow her on Twitter here) and I had no idea what to expect. I read the summary and I thought it sounded interesting so I picked it up without really reading any reviews. I'm a sucker for Christmas books. I think the cover is rather adorable. I love the snowflakes and the inclusion of the main characters. 
 Story: 
 I thought some of it was unrealistic which made me unable to take Madeleine's story line seriously. I've met quite a few 9 years (between cousins and campers where I used to work) and none of them acted like her. I know it's technically possible that there's someone like her out there but I felt like she should have been a little older. I liked how the characters connected. I liked the idea of the story centering on many people. It's kind of like those movies New Year's Eve and Valentine's Day, except less characters. The chapters were broken up by time. I liked that each chapter was a new time until 2am. It was a good way to label the chapters. 
 End Thoughts: 
 I liked that it took place in Philadelphia because I used to live outside of Philly and recognized most of the street names & areas so that was cool. 
 Bertino has talent, that's clear enough. However, her style of writing was not my favorite. I think I would give Bertino another chance if she wrote another book because she's a good writer. She deserves that. Maybe I'll try reading this again next year. 
 There were moments that I really liked but the book over all was not my cup of tea. By no means do I think this is a bad book. 
 Thank you, Blogging for Books, for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.