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rwbrock's review against another edition
4.0
This is a faith-based story about putting your trust in God, especially during times when things seem hopeless.
It alternates between two stories, 40 years apart. One involves the making of a table as the man’s wife battles cancer, the other a young mother-to-be who purchased the table and discovered family recipes/remembrances in its drawer. The table and recipes pull, not just each family, but the families as a whole together.
A good, maybe not great, heartwarming story with some unexpected humor.
Note: Don’t read this while hungry...there’s some scrumptious recipes featured, and a few included at the end.
Thanks to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for providing me the ARC. The opinions are strictly my own.
It alternates between two stories, 40 years apart. One involves the making of a table as the man’s wife battles cancer, the other a young mother-to-be who purchased the table and discovered family recipes/remembrances in its drawer. The table and recipes pull, not just each family, but the families as a whole together.
A good, maybe not great, heartwarming story with some unexpected humor.
Note: Don’t read this while hungry...there’s some scrumptious recipes featured, and a few included at the end.
Thanks to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for providing me the ARC. The opinions are strictly my own.
debstubb's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Sweet, cute book
connie_d's review
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
sunnierae2010's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
libkatie79's review against another edition
3.0
I really loved the Christmas table portion of the story, but some of the other characters and storylines just didn't resonate. I think I would have preferred to have the original story for the entire book. As this is a series, and I did not care for some of the characters, I will not be reading any additional titles in the series.
jessdaut90's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
regularlyreading's review against another edition
2.0
As a young teen, I read The Christmas Shoes and The Christmas Blessing every year because I had lost a parent very young, and had heart problems. I connected to Nathan Andrews so much. I found these stories beautiful and full of magical kindness.
But, now as an adult, I read the entire series this Christmas time and I am wildly disappointed with where it goes. Gloria and Miriam take over the entire series from the point they are introduced in book four. I know they are a fan favorite, but I did not connect with them in the same way I connected with Nathan and Robert in books prior. I did not enjoy Gloria's spunky old lady caricature. I did not enjoy the bickering between her and Miriam that was constant. I didn't enjoy the fact Glory's place usurps the entire plot for most of the series. I love that she does social work and gives back the the community, but that's where my fondness ends.
I was so tired of reading the same thing. So many of the books have name mix ups and dramatic irony that feels over done to death (ie. Chaz/Matthew/Zack. Kelly/Lauren. Mary Richards/Gloria. Gigi/Andrea). It's the same thing over and over and over. It's sad because I felt the first three novels were so good. Original and heartfelt. Deep and inspired. But somewhere, around book 4/5, that ended for me.
But, now as an adult, I read the entire series this Christmas time and I am wildly disappointed with where it goes. Gloria and Miriam take over the entire series from the point they are introduced in book four. I know they are a fan favorite, but I did not connect with them in the same way I connected with Nathan and Robert in books prior. I did not enjoy Gloria's spunky old lady caricature. I did not enjoy the bickering between her and Miriam that was constant. I didn't enjoy the fact Glory's place usurps the entire plot for most of the series. I love that she does social work and gives back the the community, but that's where my fondness ends.
I was so tired of reading the same thing. So many of the books have name mix ups and dramatic irony that feels over done to death (ie. Chaz/Matthew/Zack. Kelly/Lauren. Mary Richards/Gloria. Gigi/Andrea). It's the same thing over and over and over. It's sad because I felt the first three novels were so good. Original and heartfelt. Deep and inspired. But somewhere, around book 4/5, that ended for me.
readingwitherin's review against another edition
3.0
Overall I enjoyed this book. The duel storylines from 1972 and 2012 were interesting and went together well. The ending when they were all brought together was sweet and so nice to see all the little pieces finally go together and the mystery of who owned the recipes and table first was finally found. There was a lot going on in this book and because of that at times it felt like too much was happening, but it also worked and made sense to have so much going on because of the duel storylines and because all of this series are companion novels several of the characters we had already met before.
I think if you've read the rest of the series you will enjoy/love this one as well.
I'm not really sure where the series can go from here, but as always I'm interested in continuing it if more books get published.
I think if you've read the rest of the series you will enjoy/love this one as well.
I'm not really sure where the series can go from here, but as always I'm interested in continuing it if more books get published.
toebean5's review against another edition
Haha, what? I'm not giving stars to this because even though it was not a book I liked or enjoyed, I was definitely not the target audience. I was just looking for a Christmassy book for the book group- and totally missed the fact that this was #10 in a series (although it mostly worked as a standalone) and was Christian/inspirational fiction. That is a pass for my group.