Operation White Christmas by Nicki Edwards

Hollie Douglas has always dreamed of a white Christmas: carolers, pudding, chestnuts roasting on an open fire. In her dreams, she shared that fire's hearth with a husband However, two months before her big day, her fiancé broke her heart and left.

Now, determined to go ahead with her honeymoon anyway, Hollie's plans are going off-center. It's the day before Christmas Eve and she is stuck in the middle of a snowstorm in rural Canada. Thankfully, luck is on her side.

When Jim Bell braved a snowstorm to search for one of his orphaned animals, he didn't expect he'd be rescuing a stranded Australian tourist too. A widower, Jim has been dreading another Christmas without his wife and he wonders if offering the stranded Hollie shelter is something he can bear.

Jim quickly realizes Hollie is carrying as much emotional baggage as him. But as he helps Hollie fulfill her dream of a white Christmas, the winter wonderland and spirit of Christmas may yet work their healing magic on both of them.

            If you can suspend belief in this brief Christmas novella, you will find this story to be a quick read and a sweet Christmas romance.

I received digital copy of book from Momentum Books through NetGalley for my review.

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Falling For Christmas by Kate Hewitt

Falling For Christmas is the introductory story for the new series, Falling For The Freeman's, which debuts in 2016. We are introduced to a truly tiny town of Creighton Falls, New York that has been on the downswing over the last years. The main and largest building in town is the hotel, which the Freeman family owns and basically abandoned. There are a very few business still operating and some are on their very last legs. It is in this tiny, dying town that our heroine finds herself in a blinding blizzard.

Hannah Ford is New York City born and bred but she’s just walked out of a Christmas party and driven over three hundred miles into a blizzard just to escape. She really doesn’t know where she is, where she’s going, or what she’s going to do. It’s nearly Christmas and not only that but, her car’s going nowhere, stuck in the snow.

If you like cheesy novellas and you suspend belief for the brief read you may enjoy this chance Christmas romance. It’s incredibly similar to other new Christmas novellas. It seems to have been written by a software program that has a romance template.

I received a digital copy of book from Tule Publishing through NetGalley for my review.

Christmas Cravings by Emma Hamilton

How could everything that seemed so right suddenly have gone so wrong for Mia? Snow is on the ground and Christmas lights twinkle in the German Christmas market. The warm, spiced wine is just right, but there's still one key ingredient missing from her romantic dream. Will Mia's Christmas turn out to be sugar and spice and all things nice, or a deflated soufflé of loneliness and regret? 

Mia and her friend Lizzie are in Germany visiting a Christmas market but Mia's hearts just not in it; she's missing Tom and wondering where it all went wrong. I didn't like the writing style or that the some of the characters came across as immature, shallow teenagers. This is the first book I've read by this author and I love Christmas romances and love finding new stories to read. I didn’t find this interesting enough to recommend.

There wasn't anything special in this story. The first part of the story is mostly flashbacks to tell us a little about the couple and why they're not speaking at the moment. I didn't feel any connection to the characters and thought that the plot felt like poor fan fiction. The idea that this is a Christmas story didn't feel genuine. This story literally could have taken place at any other time of the year or during any other holiday and the outcome would have been the same, both for the characters and the reader.  I would have liked to read a little more about the German Christmas Market trip, and to see Christmas take more of importance to the story. 

I received a digital copy of book from Bastei Entertainment through NetGalley for my review.

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The Prayer Box (A Carolina Heirlooms Novel) by Lisa Wingate

            On the run from a powerful, abusive ex-husband, Tandi Jo Reese finds refuge in a deserted caregiver’s cottage on Hatteras Island. The locals assume that she’s there to take care of the main house, and they offer her friendship and support. This novel paints a picture of how God works in the details of our lives, of how one woman's selfless acts and prayers changed lives in a small town where she was actually despised and mistreated. Instead of bitterness, her love for her Heavenly Father guides her heart to loving and praying for others. Her relationship with her Father in heaven is revealed through the letters she has written and kept in boxes, found after her death.

           The Prayer Box is an interesting story on family ties, redemption, and of allowing oneself to be swept up into a river of grace regardless of one's past.  In the end, perhaps it's also a testament to the fact that maybe, sometimes you really can go home again.

             Lisa Wingate’s easy storytelling about faith, the healing power of love, and how both are often found in unlikely places. The message was excellent and although, a great ending, it took too long to get into the heart of the story.

            A well told story of redemption and hope I would recommend this book for book clubs, or just an easy read on a lazy weekend.

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Forgiven: The Amish School Shooting, a Mother's Love, and a Story of Remarkable Grace By Terri Roberts, Jeanette Windle

After a son does the unthinkable, how can a mother go on? Forgiven recounts the events of October 2, 2006 and the Nickel Mines Schoolhouse shooting in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. A gunman, entered an Amish one-room schoolhouse, shot ten girls, killing five, and then finally taking his own life. This is his mother's story. Not only did she lose her precious son through suicide, but she also lost her understanding of him as an honorable man. It was a trauma that none should ever have to face.

Forgiven is the true story of a man who was raised in a good Christian home, seemed to have a great life going for him, and then without any warning, walked into an Amish schoolhouse, ordered all the boys and teacher out, and shot the girls, killing 5 of them. The biggest headlines came when her Amish neighbors did the unimaginable, reaching out to the family of the shooter with comfort and forgiveness.

No one could have foreseen the love and friendship that have been forged from the fires of tragedy. To know that after trying your best to raise a son to be a good husband, good employee, good man, you find yourself having to live through the unimaginable.

 Forgiven is  a story that recounts real lives living the truth of the bible in the best way they know how and is a testament to the difference that Jesus Christ makes in the real world.

I recommend Forgiven though caution advised: You will need a box of Kleenex to get through this story of a mother’s love and a remarkable story of grace. Forgiveness is sometimes a journey and it is not always easy, but without forgiveness one cannot heal.

Received copy of book from Bethany House Publishing in exchange for my review.

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