Welcome to Advent Reads!
This is an event I have had on my blog for several years running now. Each evening I feature a different holiday themed book. Think of it as your Book Advent Calendar! I post a variety of holiday books including romance, children's, middle-grade, mystery, paranormal, and I try to find some that are other holiday celebrations than Christmas too. I hope you will stop by each evening to see what new book I have for you!
Synopsis: "Against the irresistible backdrop of Christmas in New England, bestselling author Holly Chamberlin creates a heartfelt and memorable novel—a story of reunited family, new beginnings, and unconditional love—the best gift of all.
To outsiders, Appleville, New Hampshire, is a storybook small town complete with a little white church and a gazebo on the village green. To Gincy Gannon Luongo, it was a place to escape from, as quickly and as permanently as she could. Since she moved away twenty years ago, Appleville has been her hometown in name only. But at her brother Tommy’s urging, Gincy is coming back to visit their recently widowed mother in the weeks leading up to Christmas—and she’s bringing her teenage daughter, Tamsin, with her.
Ellen Gannon, once feisty and strong-willed, is mired in depression six months after losing her husband. Tommy isn’t doing much better. Gincy starts restoring order to the household in her usual practical way, but the real issues run much deeper than an empty fridge or an unpaid bill. Imagined slights and lingering resentments have created chasms between them all.
With each passing day, Gincy realizes she has seriously undervalued her mother and underestimated her brother. Only now, with the support of her husband, daughter, and best friends, is she starting to see how much she may have missed. For beyond the surface of every family and every picturesque town is something more complicated but infinitely more rewarding—a tapestry of those small acts of acceptance, love, and loyalty that could transform this Christmas into the best Gincy’s ever known."
My Review: I have had this book on my Christmas TBR for a few years and finally got around to picking it up this year, and it was a perfect time to read it. I really appreciated the fact that this book is not a romance, instead it focuses on the relationships within a family. I loved the eye-opening look at how we see relationships between siblings or parents as a kid and then again as adults. This was definitely a journey as Gincy gets to know who her mom and brother really are and who they have become over the years. It was a great book to read during the holiday season and it definitely got me thinking more about how my view of family may not be entirely accurate.
My Rating: This was an emotional book with lots of sentimental moments, sad moments, frustrating moments, and moments a love. It will also make you take a look at those relationships in your own life and maybe reaching out. I give this on a rating of Three Paws and a Stump Wag.
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