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. Revell provided me with a complimentary copy of this book for an honest review.
A Quilt for Christmas by Melody Carlson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Description: Widowed and recently relocated, Vera Swanson is lonely in her condo-for-one—until little Fiona Albright knocks on her door. With her mother seriously ill and her father out of town, Fiona enlists Vera’s help. When she finds out her new neighbor is a quilter, she has a special request: a Christmas quilt for Mama. So, Vera will have to get a ragtag group of women together in order to fulfill the request.
My thoughts: Having read a few of this author’s other novellas, I expected easy Christmas reading here. After the opening trouble for some of the characters, I admittedly started to think perhaps the rest of the story might be too easy.
Nevertheless, it turns out that a nice amount of substance is packed into this tale, including meaningful backstories for the characters along with the emotional struggles they face. The thread of simple romance woven in isn’t the kind that wows me, but I like how its presence plays into the overall dynamic of the story. I’m not sure all of the dialogue fits the characters’ ages, as I don’t really hear people from my generation and younger using words like “smitten” and “sissy” in serious everyday conversation, but that isn’t the biggest deal.
The various moving parts along the characters’ collective journey come together in such a touching way, I found myself blinking away a couple of tears a couple of times. Quite a fitting read for fans of warm and uplifting holiday tales with faith sprinkled in.
Prismatic Prospects 