A Quilt for Christmas - a Christmas novella by Melody Carlson

 

 Thank you to Revell for sending me this book to review.  This is a story that makes you want to read it every year.  But besides being a wonderfully , heartwarming story, they sent a hardcover!  Double win!

While I can’t say this is strictly a Christian book,  it does touch on faith and Christian attributes like grace, forgiveness, acceptance and humility.  It is decidedly “clean” and uplifting.

The characters are very believable.  While each character has their own flaws and strengths, the one I found most enjoyable was little Fiona.  In an interview, the author called her an old soul.  She displays the wisdom of innocent youth.

This story is about relationships and newly formed friendships, the struggles of personal loss and economic hardships, and overcoming hurt and disappointments. And yes, a budding romance.

The dialog flows well, making it very easy to read and follow. By the end of the story, there will be strong friendships formed, spirits uplifted, and love found.

This is from the publisher’s website:

“Cuddle up with this cozy story of giving and forgiving--with a little bit of romance

Christmas should be celebrated with family, but for Vera Swanson, that's not an option this year. Widowed and recently relocated, she is lonely in her condo-for-one--until little Fiona Albright knocks on her door needing help.

With her mother seriously ill and her father out of town, Fiona enlists Vera's aid, and when she finds out her new neighbor is a quilter, she has a special request--a Christmas quilt for Mama.

Vera will have to get a ragtag group of women together to fulfill the request. Between free-spirited artist Tasha, chatty empty nester Beverly, retired therapist Eleanor, and herself, Vera has hopes that Christmas for the Albright family will be merry, after all. And she may even find herself a new family of friends along the way.”

                This is one of those stories you will want to keep on your bookshelf and read every year.

Read an excerpt HERE 

Learn more about the author, Melody Carlson, and her other books HERE 

 

 

 

 

 

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell and Baker
Publishing Group through their book review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed above are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Where the Road Bends by Rachel Fordham ~ a book review

 

Another great story by this author. I’ve read several of her novels and she always delivers! 

This one is a story about Hope and faith. Hope lost and then found, and the reliability of a strong faith. 

Norah is on the verge of losing her family farm.  Her only hope is to marry someone with the funds to save it.  Her engagement to Jake seems to be the answer to her problem.  Then she discovers an injured man, Quincy, and gives him shelter while she cares for his injuries.  At first, she doesn’t tell Jake but when she finally does, he calls off the engagement.  Quincy recovers and leaves still believing that Norah is marrying Jake.  His time spent with Norah has taught him much about faith and new beginnings and he promises her that he will make a new life for himself.  The author fast forwards us two years and much has transpired in those years. Quincy has made good on his promise and is now successful, however, Norah has not been as fortunate.  She has lost her farm and suffered in the meantime.

This is a story about betrayal and mistrust but also about hope, faith and second chances.  Norah finds strength when she doesn’t think she can and Quincy discovers that blessing others also blesses you.

This is from the publisher’s website:

“The strongest love is formed in the crucible of hardship

As Norah King surveys her family land in Iowa in 1880, she is acutely aware that it is all she has left, and she will do everything in her power to save it--even if that means marrying a man she hardly knows. Days before her wedding, Norah discovers an injured man on her property. Her sense of duty compels her to take him in and nurse him back to health. Little does she realize just how much this act of kindness will complicate her life and threaten the future she's planned.

Norah's care does more than aid Quincy Barnes's recovery--it awakens his heart to possibilities. Penniless and homeless, he knows the most honorable thing he can do is head on down the road and leave Norah to marry her intended. But walking away from the first person to believe in him proves much harder than he imagined.”

This is a Christian historical romance but it is not at all “preachey”.  There are moments of danger and suspense.  It will keep your interest to the very last page!

Read an excerpt HERE 

Learn more about Rachel Fordham and her other books HERE
 

 

 

 

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell and Baker
Publishing Group through their book review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed above are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

 

When the Meadow Blooms by Ann H. Gabhart ~ a book review

 

This story starts out on a sad note.  Rose’s husband has died in the 1918 influenza epidemic and left her with two daughters to raise.  Calla is the oldest. She is sensible, settled, down to earth.  The younger, Sienna, is a free spirit, sometimes reckless and wild.  Her character offers some comedic relief from the heaviness of the story.  While, at first, the three seem to be managing, that all comes to an end when Rose contracts TB and has to go to a sanatorium.  The girls are placed in an orphanage.  Calla adapts to all the harsh rules and sometimes cruel punishments but Sienna can’t.  She often finds herself on the receiving end of discipline.  This was especially hard for me to read because I had a beloved family member spend some time in an orphanage about the same time frame of this story.  While the circumstances were different, my beloved ancestor, like the girls in the story, wasn’t a true orphan.  Just as Calla and Sienna asked themselves daily, “Is this the day my mother comes for us?”  I wondered if my family member asked “Is this the day my Daddy will come?” 

As the story progresses, we find Rose’s late husband’s brother, Dirk, stepping in and offering his home to Rose and her daughters.  Dirk has his own problems, and while he is generous with his home, he wants no emotional attachment.  He has been injured in a fire and has facial scars that cause him to be stand offish.  Through flashbacks to his past , we learn the mystery of what happened.

Throughout the story, Rose’s faith is strong and encouraging to Dirk.

While the beginning of the story is sad, the story itself is heartwarming, at times funny, with the thread of mystery woven through it, and God’s faithfulness is evident.

This is from the publisher’s website:

“If any place on God's earth was designed to help one heal, it is Meadowland. Surely here, at her brother-in-law's Kentucky farm, Rose and her daughters can recover from the events of the recent past--the loss of her husband during the 1918 influenza epidemic, her struggle with tuberculosis that required a stay at a sanatorium, and her girls' experience in an orphanage during her illness. At Meadowland, past troubles become rich soil in which faith can grow.

Dirk Meadows may have opened his home to his late brother's widow and her girls, but he keeps his heart tightly closed. The roots of his pain run deep, and the evidence of it is written across his face. Badly scarred by a fire and abandoned by the woman he loved, Dirk fiercely guards his heart from being hurt again.

But it may be that his visitors will bring light back into his world and unlock the secret to true healing.”

I loved this book so much that I gave it 5 stars!

Read an excerpt HERE.... 

 

 

 Learn more about the author, Ann H. Gabhart HERE.....

 

 

 

 

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell and Baker
Publishing Group through their book review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed above are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”