reviewed by Melissa Meyers
The Christmas Table
Donna VanLiere is most known for her book, The Christmas Shoes, but she is a prolific writer of Christmas novels. Her novels are written with Christian themes weaved throughout. I listened to this audio last year, and it is a sweet story about the connection of family and how a gift made with love can keep on giving.
In 1972, John Creighton begins building his new wife Joan a table, and he is determined to finish it by Thanksgiving. Inspired by his efforts, she decides to learn how to cook something extraordinaire to put on the table for the feast. Joan turns to the recipe cards that she was given by her mother.
In 2012, newly married Lauren Mabrey discovers she is pregnant. Lauren grew up in foster homes, never knowing her mother, and is struggling to set up her home. She visits a local furniture shop in search of a table for their apartment and finds a refurbished table she purchases on the spot. When she takes it home, she discovers a stuck drawer that she manages to pry open. Inside there are recipe cards with handwritten notes from a mother to daughter on them. As Lauren, learns to cook she reads the notes and wonders where they are today. She begins to feel personally connected to them, especially since she never had a relationship with her own mother.
Meanwhile, Joan, the original owner of the table, is in her own battle with breast cancer. As Christmas nears, Lauren grows increasingly restless and wants to figure out what happened to the owner of the recipes. She begins to search for them. In turn, realizing that she is also searching for an answer to a deeper question she has. Will she know how to be a mother?
The Christmas Bookshop
If you are a reader like me, any story that mentions a bookshop, library, or book club immediately grabs your attention. But, a story about saving an ancient bookshop in the historic district of Edinburgh during Christmas time, that is a must read for me. If you haven’t read a book by Jenny Colgan, all her books are lighthearted in theme, rich in establishing a sense of place, and have realistic and witty characters.
In the Christmas bookshop, Carmen has recently been laid off from her department store job, which leaves her to end up on the doorstep of her perfect sister Sofia. She has perfect children, a perfect house, and a perfect career. Everything she is not.
To prove she’s not entirely useless, Carmen applys for a job at Mr. McCredie’s decrepit bookstore. Mr. McCredie has long given up on the store and it is dusty, disorganized, and on the brink of closing. As the only employee she takes an interest in reviving the store, but as the end of the year approaches, are her changes too late? Will the festive spirit of Christmas be enough to help her reconcile her estranged relationship with her sister?
Once Upon a Winter Wonderland
It’s winter in the north country, and Vivian Calhoun and Boone Buckam have planned a Christmas wedding in the charming town of Deep Haven, Minnesota. Deep Haven is a fictional town set on the shores of Lake Superior, think Grand Marais. Anyone who lives in Minnesota knows a December wedding will have its challenges.
Sure enough. A snowstorm of the century passes through Deep Haven days before their wedding, burying the town, and the bride and groom are left scrambling.
But, Deep Haven is all about pulling together as a community and if anyone can turn things around for Vivian and Boone, the citizens of Deep Haven can. This book is four novellas weaved together to tell the story of how a Christmas blizzard turns into Christmas beautiful.
Melissa Meyers is co-editor of The Stir, wife to John, and mother to Malcolm (20) and Emily (17). She is a Neonatal Nurse and Creative Writer, who is always looking for ways to communicate God’s truth through stories. She is the author of, Beneath the Ancient Dust: Inspirational Stories from Nine Years in Afghanistan and The Snow Trillium. Her hobbies are drinking coffee, reading, and taking long walks. She will accept an invitation for coffee anytime and loves to hear how God is working in your life.