Thursday, December 6, 2018

Advent Reads Day 6: Christmas Secret by Donna VanLiere

Read for: Advent Reads/ Mount TBR

Previous Books in the Christmas Hope Series

Synopsis: "When a struggling young single mother saves the life of an elderly woman, she sets into motion a series of events that will test her strength, loyalty, and determination, all the while setting her on the path to finding true love. 

Christine Eisley is the mother of seven-year-old Zach and five-year-old Haley. Her ex-husband provides little, if any, child support and makes life difficult for Christine by using the children as pawns. She works long hours as a waitress to make ends meet, but her job is in jeopardy because she’s often late to work due to the unreliable teenaged sitters she’s forced to use. When Christine saves the life of a woman who works in Wilson’s department store, the owner of Wilson’s wants to find her, to thank her, but Christine has disappeared, losing another job once again. He sets his grandson, Jason, to the task of finding the mysterious “Christy.” Jason, an accountant by trade who has lost his job to downsizing, thinks he is “above” working at Wilson’s. Soon, he discovers that this new task gives him more than he bargains for. 

The Christmas Secret is a novel for anyone who wants to see how love is a gift that keeps giving back; that hope is a treasure that never runs dry, and that faith is a miracle that is reborn with each new day."


My Review: I have been slowly working my way through the Christmas Hope series after discovering the first book Christmas Shoes a couple of years ago. This like the other books has a good chunk of a time lapse between it and the previous book, but it has finally become easier for me to connect the side characters to previous books. I enjoyed this story and really connected with Christine, even though I am not a single mother like she is, I do recognize the constant struggle to keep on top of things with working and kids and holidays. I did not like Jason at all in the beginning but did really appreciate the way his character developed, even though it was accelerated to fit in a single book, it still seemed natural. Of course the fantastic cast of side characters really brought the book to life. This is definitely one to pick up if you are looking for those Hallmark like warm fuzzy feelings.


My Rating: I really enjoyed this one, and am glad that I was able to make connections with the rest of the series even after a year.  I really enjoyed the character and story development in this one, it is really inspiring and heartwarming, perfect for cold nights during the holidays.  I give this one a rating of Three Paws and a Stump Wag.

No comments:

Post a Comment