Mini Reviews: More Christmas Stories!!

Christmas Day is fast approaching and I am filling my eve with many Christmas reads. Here are some great ones from three different authors:

I'll Be Home for Christmas,
  A Perfect Christmas ,

& 

Bud's Christmas Wish

Noelle Mitchell never explained why she abruptly ran away from home at the age of fifteen. All anyone knew was that her boyfriend, Reno, convinced her to abandon her family. But when she shows up at the family house on Christmas thirteen years later, what’s revealed about her absence will either tear her family further apart or bring them closer together.

B&N

My Thoughts: Can one be forgiven for the hurt he or she has caused? This was a short story of Noelle on how she returned home after thirteen years of disappearance. She was back to ask for forgiveness and to let her family know how much she loved them. 

This was not a joyous Christmas tale, but it was still uplifting with the message it had. I was saddened to read about Noelle's past and how her actions affected her loved ones. I found myself praying that her father and sister would forgive her and simply accept her back into their lives. I wished the story was more developed because I connected with all of the characters.  Though the resolution was a bit rushed, I still liked the message it entailed: it is important to forgive.

This was a bittersweet short story. I rate it: 4 stars.

Heart warming story of sharing the Christmas spirit in a large family in hard times.

B&N

My Thoughts:  I loved the message behind this short story. Christmas is not about the material things but the love that is shared. The family in this story was going through some hard financial times. The mom did not have the money to buy the things she thought her children needed to have a good Christmas.

I very much enjoyed how the family gathered together to make Christmas special. With the simplest and cheapest of items, the family was able to create ornaments that meant a lot to them. As they created these ornaments, the family was able to spend time together talking and sharing their love for another. It reminded me the meaning of Christmas.

I rate it: 5 stars

If a dream is a wish your heart makes, can it hear those things we want even if we don’t what they are? When sorrow brings young Lucy home to a land full of mystery, steeped in tradition and colored with unspoken magic, she finds herself re-evaluating her life and her own place in it. Things are never what they seem and people are seldom what you THINK them to be if all you base it on is what your eyes see and not what your soul knows. There’s a fine line between destiny and duty, but when both are blended with love, who knows what miracles can occur at Christmas.

B&N

My Thoughts:  I completely jumped at the chance to read this book when I saw that it was available. I have read Ashley Nemer's other works and I have enjoyed them tremendously. This novella did not disappoint. It's not perfect but it had all the cheesy elements that make a great romance Christmas story.

The main characters were predestined for each other. Yup, predestined. Fortunately, the "arrangement" worked out well for the two love birds. 

It was very cute how Bud visited the tavern where Lucy was employed at just to have the opportunity to see and talk to her. I liked how persistent he was in asking for a date and how much of a gentleman he was. The only thing I did not like was how fast everything happened. However, it was still a great story.

I rate it: 4 stars