The Christmas Star: A Love Story by Robert Tate Miller

Book reviews are subjective. I tend to rate books not according to how “perfect” they are, seem to be, or are said to be in general but rather to how perfect they are to me. I received a complimentary copy of this book for an honest review.

The Christmas Star: A Love Story by Robert Tate Miller

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The pain of a crushing tragedy has driven Paul away from his family, and he now drinks far too much. He’s come to abhor Christmas, but one Christmas Eve accident lands him back in time—in the path of shepherds who’ll soon travel to see the newborn Christ in The Christmas Star: A Love Story by author Robert Tate Miller.

This novel wasn’t originally in my holiday reading queue for the year. But with the simple and tranquil but stunning quality of its chilly blue book cover sitting atop my TBR pile, and the beautiful white light of that star winking at me, I had to read this book sooner than later.

I usually dislike making comparisons between creative works, as I don’t want to set up people’s expectations for something other than the work in question. Still, here and there, this novel personally reminded me of four different movies I like, including two of my all-time favorites: It’s a Wonderful Life and The Nativity Story. I found much of this to be a fairly easygoing read, but just as it would settle into a predictable groove, it would slip in a little something unexpected to keep me on my toes.

The backstories of a couple minor characters went on a bit long to me, until I felt somewhat adrift from Paul’s tale. And there are some instances when backstory pops up to suddenly relate to an unfolding scene, instead of those past details being mentioned earlier in the book. Also, Paul has a minor tendency to be redundant, especially while he’s describing some of his lowest moments.

Nevertheless, this sobering story is saturated with the meaning of Christmas and the hope, redemption, and beautiful light that meaning brings.