Where I share my love of books with reviews, features, giveaways and memes. Family and needlepoint are thrown in from time to time.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Christmas Roses by Amanda Cabot (Book Review)

Title: Christmas Roses
Author: Amanda Cabot
Publisher: Revell

About the Book: Celia Anderson doesn't need anything for Christmas except a few more boarders, which are hard to come by in this small mining town. She certainly doesn't have a husband on her Christmas wish list. But when a wandering carpenter finds lodging at her boarding house, she admits that she might remarry if she found the right man--the kind of man who would bring her roses for Christmas. It would take a miracle to get roses during a harsh Wyoming winter. But Christmas, after all, is the time for miracles . . .


My thoughts:  This book was set in the 1880's and again, the main character was a strong woman who has been widowed and left with a small child.  Her marriage had been one that had been arranged by their parents, as was often done, and while her husband was a good provider, there wasn't a whole lotta love. Bertha Pearson, her best friend, is always reminding her that she needs a husband and that Emma needed a father.  Bertha has tried to tell her that there are a couple of men who would like nothing more to marry her, but Celia just doesn't buy that.  And besides, she wants more from her marriage than just convenience this time.

Mark comes to town looking for a father that left him and his mother when he was just a boy.  He has been tracking him for a couple of years and the latest information that he has, has led him -to this small town.  Needing a place to stay, he ends up at Celia's boarding house. He appears- --as an answer to her prayers, as not only does she need boarders, but he comes just as she is struggling with a sudden illness that has come upon her Emma.  He takes control of the situation and soon Emma is breathing easier.  This is just the first of many things that Mark does for Celia... just because.

I loved the way that the relationship developed between Celia and Mark, and how naturally they became friends.  They were able to give each other encouragement and support when they each needed it.   The story moves along naturally and sweetly and I really enjoyed it.  God's love and forgiveness is also incorporated into the story unobtrusively.  It was a very nice Christmas read and I have already recommended it to a friend.

Available September 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

~I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell in exchange for my unbiased review.~

About the author: Amanda Cabot is an accomplished author under various pen names and a popular speaker. The author of Paper Roses, Scattered Petals, Tomorrow's Garden, and Summer of Promise, she is also a charter member of Romance Writers of America, the cofounder of its New Jersey chapter, a member of the ACFW, and an avid traveler. She lives in Wyoming.

Publisher/Publication Date: Revell, Sept 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8007-2004-9
172 pages


1 comment:

Howard Sherman said...

I can appreciate the nuances of a book like this but the pace and subject matter don't sing to me, personally.

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