Belle’s Christmas Carol
Absolutely delightful! This fast-paced novel hits hard in all the feels with a powerful message of love and God’s perfect time.
With a full cast of fascinating characters, this novella might be short on words but is packed with so much creativity and personality, I couldn’t put it down. It quickly stole my heart and earned a forever spot on my bookshelf. When Belle unexpected inherits a struggling orphanage, she is thrilled at first. But when reality hits — and hits hard — she starts to doubt herself and the mission she thought God so clearly gave her. Her only wish for Christmas was to give the children’s a holiday to remember, but all her best plans are going up in smoke. Literally and figurative. When help starts to show up in unlikely places, Belle started to hope that the answers to her prayers are even better than she could have imagined.
Some of my favorite scenes were the comical antics of Mr. and Mrs. Graybill, and the love and gentleness of Rafe when he’s helping out around the orphanage. Belle’s Christmas Carol was super clean — no complaints whatsoever! This was hands down my favorite Christmas story of the season.
The Christmas Yes List
The Christmas Yes List is a lighthearted, feel-good rom-com about a recovering people-pleaser who can’t stop obsessing over what people think of her and a gentleman who could not possibly care less about what people think of him. It’s the perfect opposites-attract novel to pair with a cup of cocoa during a snowy winter night.
Chloe is sick of being a people-pleaser. When she quits her job and returns home, she’s determined to break the vicious cycle that has her trapped by asking strangers for bizarre requests and hoping they say no. If only she can get over her fear of rejection, she’ll be able to live freely. Her carefully constructed plan starts to unravel, however, when James, a handsome stranger she met randomly at the airport, won’t stop saying yes…no matter how awkward, extreme, or ridiculous her requests become.
One of my favorite scenes was when Chloe started to realize that standing up for herself can look like making her own decisions without constantly relying on the input of others. She defies her well-intentioned-but-misguided best friend’s warnings about spending more time with James and runs off with into the woods to cut down a Christmas tree together without her best friend hoovering nearby.
The romance and story is very clean, with plenty of cute and humorous scenes.
Matchmaking Christmas
In this modern, Christmas-themed retelling of The Parent Trap, Kyleigh and Malea are determined to get their parents together so they can both have a mom and a dad again. After several month of politely asking and as Christmas approaches, the two classmates still haven’t had any luck. With lots of prayers and all the spunk of courageous 5th grades, they start signing up their parents for every Christmas activity in town they can find. And when they discover their parents used to date in high school, the girls are more determined than ever for the spark to be rekindled between Regina and Theo.
Regina and Theo, however, have no intentions of getting back together. It doesn’t matter that they are both single and available. Under no circumstances are they opening those old wounds. But God’s plans are bigger than their regrets, and with their daughters quickly becoming best friends, it’s only a matter of time before romantic sparks start to fly. Aside from a few spicier kisses, the romance is clean and the family drama is kept very PG. It’s a fun twist on a classic story that is perfect for the holiday season.
Some of my favorite scenes are when Regina and Theo are able to put aside their past hurts long enough to apologize and seek reconciliation. The story is a wonderful reminder of God’s love for each person and the importance of a healthy family.
Twelve Days and Twelfth Night
Twelve Days and Twelfth Night certainly packed a punch! In a whirlwind of holiday programs, finding purpose in new careers, and falling in love, this novella felt quite full. Symbolism pulled from one of Shakespeare’s classic plays was woven throughout the novella in a fun, clever way. The creativity of Sarah Sundin was certainly on full display.
Maggie is desperate for a job that pays enough to let her grandfather keep his house. Prescott is desperate for a second chance at life after a terrible accident ended his acting career. When Maggie is given the impossible task of putting together a Christmas show that is fun enough to delight the troops and reserved enough to meet the conservative standards of her bosses, she is determined to make it work. Prescott deeply admires her determination and skill in putting together the show, but when Maggie makes several serious miscalculations that jeopardize everything they’ve worked so hard towards, he’s not sure if he can trust her with his heart after all.
Some of my favorite scenes were the cheerful banter between Maggie’s grandfather and the other characters. Twelve Days and Twelfth Night was very clean, kisses only novel. It’s an unforgettable Christmas story that is sure to delight fans of WWII fiction.
We Wish You A Messy Christmas
In We Wish You A Messy Christmas, an exasperated family tries to get their perfectionistic, OCD mom to lighten up and enjoy the holidays without constantly freaking out about her house not being up to her standards of perfection.
The novella’s rather inaccurate depiction of OCD and how to support those who do have it made it difficult to enjoy the supposed-to-be-humorous story of the lengths they were willing to go to make a mess of Jane’s house so she could hopefully recognize that she needed professional help. On the bright side, the novella did have beautiful themes of how much Jesus loves us, so much so that he left his perfect world to come down into our messy one and redeem our brokenness.
Olivia loves her mom, but Jane absolutely despises her neighbor’s messy house, and when Olivia starts dating Malcom, one of the neighbor’s sons, her mom takes it personally. An intervention is needed before Christmas completely falls apart, but Olivia and her dad aren’t sure how to convince her mom that messy can be perfect in it’s own way.
I did enjoy some of the more tender and gentle conversations, as well as the extremely thoughtful gifts they gave Jane to help her cope when she broke her hip. The romance was super clean.
The Christmas House
This is a clean Amish novella highlighting the true meaning of Christmas — shining the light of Jesus for everyone to see.
Liz wants to use her buggy tour business to show people the beauty of creation and the goodness of the Creator. But when her brother, who usually drives the buggy, leaves for a few weeks to help with some construction projects, she isn’t sure about the new guy her dad insists on bringing in to help her. And she certainly isn’t interested in any meddling matchmaking.
When Matt shows how kind he is towards people and how good he is with her horse, Liz starts to view him differently. Could it possibly be time to open her heart and accept a new beau?
The Christmas House is very clean and focused more on kindness and holiday cheer than romance. The ending gives ‘holier-than-thou’ vibes, which made it a little difficult to enjoy the story.
