O little Town

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WEN, AMANDA

JANYRE TROMP

RANEY DEBORAH

O LITTLE TOWN : A ROMANCE CHRISTMAS COLLECTION

Stores of small-town Christmas and the enduring love of God from three critically acclaimed authors. In the sleepy small town of Mapleview, Michigan, Christmas is always something special. In this charming collection of romance novellas, join three generations of Mapleview residents longing for love -- and finding it -- on the most wonderful night of the year.

Hopes and Fears by Amanda Wen

Emma Trowbridge is determined to give her students the Christmas pageant of a lifetime. The last person she expected, or wanted, to encounter in her two-room schoolhouse is her childhood rival, Frederick Oberstein. He would rather be far away himself. He wants no part of cheer, Christmas or otherwise. Can they learn to see each other in a new light -- embrace a new season of hope and faith tougher?

While Mortals Sleep by Janyre Tromp

While World War II rages overseas, news reporter Eleanor Sweers returns home to Mapleview to face the repercussions of the death of her sister and her nightmare of Christmases past. But the Homefront isn't as far from the war as she thought: a bomb has landed in the middle of the U.S. Now Eleanor and family friend Gideon Braum may have to choose between the scoop of a lifetime and the love of a lifetime.

The Wondrous Gift by Deborah Raney

High school football coach Caleb Janssen and music teacher Rachel Hamblin bond when they both lose their jobs at a Christian school. But when they discover their plans for the future are mutually exclusive, the fallout threatens to tear them apart.

My Review:

A stunning collection of Christmas stories that I will cherish every year. These authors deliver the very essence of the season in classic tales of loss and hope and the wonder of new beginnings during the most magical time of the year.

I felt all kinds of 'Anne and Gilbert' vibes from Amanda Wen's 'Hopes and Fears'.  As students, Emma and Fredrick shared a long standing school rivalry, but they are adults now, teachers in the same two room school house where that rivalry has the chance to spark into something so much more...if only past sorrows and mistakes can be faced and forgiven. Brilliantly paced and beautifully told, the author has managed to capture the heart of Christmas and its everlasting promise of hope. 

Janrye Tromp's Christmas offering includes a compelling World War II mystery which was a fun surprise. She has packed all the depth and substance you'd find in a full length novel into 'While Mortals Sleep' -- from characterization to plot and beautiful descriptive writing. Unputdownable!

Deb Raney's 'Wonderous Gift' was the least Christmas-y of this trio. It starts a week before Christmas (present day) and ends on Christmas the following year. So seasonal bookends to a fun and flirty contemporary romance with just the right touch of angst. And there's a very sweet 'coming full circle' vibe between the first story in this collection and this one. Uplifting and inspiring.

I enjoyed listening to the audible edition of 'O Little Town'. Excellent narrators in Leah Horowitz and Matt Godfrey (though only Janyre Tromp's novella included both a male and female narrator.)

Goal Update: #4 Read more new-to-me authors

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for paperback or ebook copy -- winner's choice..

If you would like a chance to win a copy of  O Little Town , leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it's easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday October 15 2022 . Offer open to 

Roots of Wood and Stone

GIVEAWAY

WEN, AMANDA

ROOTS OF WOOD AND STONE

Abandoned at birth, her family roots a mystery, historical museum curator Sloane Kelley has dedicated her life to making sure others know their own pasts. When a donor drops off an old but ordinary satchel, there's nothing to suggest the real treasure Sloane finds inside: a nineteenth-century diary. Now she's on the hunt to find out more.

Garrett Anderson just wanted to clean out his grandmother's historic but tumbledown farmhouse before selling it off. With her advancing Alzheimer's he can't afford to be sentimental about the family home. But his carefully ordered plan runs up against two formidable obstacles: Sloane, who's fallen in love with both the diaries and the house, and his own heart, irresistibly drawn to Sloane.

A century and a half earlier, motherless Annabelle Collins embarks with her aunt and uncle on the adventure of a lifetime: settling the prairies of Sedgwick County, Kansas. The diaries she left behind paint a portrait of life, loss, and love -- and a God who faithfully carried her through it all. Paging through the diaries together takes Sloane and Garrett on a journey they never could have planned, changing them in ways they never imagined.

My Review:

What a stunning debut novel! I was captivated from page one and just as enamored with the 19th century story as the 21st century one. And yes, this is a dual timeline -- or split time -- novel. 

Absolutely love the pioneer setting of Annabelle's story. I don't think I've seen that featured in a dual timeline novel before. Wen captured the heart and courage of these early settlers and highlights the rich legacy their steadfast faith and determination that still affects us to this day.

Honestly, I cried buckets over Annabelle's story -- both happy and sad tears. The kind that comes from celebrating a life well lived and loved. It got to the point where I'd tear up the second we slipped back into the 1800s just because I knew that her story had ended. (No spoiler alert -- we are in 2021, after all, and there's no doubt from the start that Annabelle has passed on.) But, oh, the legacy she leaves behind!

Fast forward into the 21st century to a whole different set of life challenges that both Garrett and Sloane face. It's Annabelle's diary that brings them together and the continued hunt for her truth that keeps them close...and then closer. Oh la la! The beauty of their emotionally charged love story put me on pins and needles the whole read through. 

Garret with his plan-for-everything-and-never-deviate-from-said-plan persona finds an infinite amount of struggles with his ailing grandma and his sister's opposing views on how to take care of her. He's all detached practicality while she's emotionally decision minded. They need to come to a compromise that's in the best interest of their grandmother without breaking any hearts. 

Especially Sloane's. Because she's become entangled in their stories and her desperate need to find roots and a sense of belonging is just one more challenge that's become both a burden and joy to Garrett. 

For all the layered depths and relatable characters in this novel, it's Sloane's spiritual awakening that tugged at my heart the most. And it's Annabelle's century old writings that witness to Sloane and finally bring her the lasting peace of knowing that "She was loved. Chosen. Knit together, fearfully and wonderfully, in her mother's womb." Woohhheee -- I shed a tissue box worth of cleansing tears over that scene.

I'm excited to report, courtesy of the author's website, that a second book featuring Garrett's sister, Lauren, is in the works and -- squeeeeaaaallll -- another dual timeline that sounds all kinds of incredible. I can't wait!

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is paperback or ebook copy -- winner's choice

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Roots of Wood and Stone, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it's easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winners announced on Saturday April 10  2021. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!