I never miss a Melody Carlson Christmas book. Full of warmth, goodness and the joy of the season, they're always a delight to read.

Thank you to Revell and Netgalley for the free copy of this novel. All opinions in this blog are my own.

Let me start off by saying that this is a super quick read. I started it at 8 and was finished at 9:30. This is also the second Christmas book I have read this month, which is also quite shocking because I tend to be a scrooge. (Don’t like all the commercialization of the holiday)

Carlson creates a cute, picturesque plot in this novel. This is the first novel that I have read by her, so I didn’t know what quite to expect. Right away, I knew that it was a great book to squeeze into an evening. The plot, though it had its twists, stayed on the surface and didn’t get too deep. I think I would’ve loved this novel more had it been double the size, and if the problems and relationships had been developed much more. I really wanted to dig into the characters pasts to help understand their motives better.

I did like the family atmosphere that Carlson created. With the novel being set during the holidays, it created the closeness that is felt during Christmastime. It also showed that it can be lonely for some people. She plays on both of these aspects with the various characters in her novel.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes Christmastime reads or is in the need of a quick, feel-good novel. It is available on September 5.

THE CHRISTMAS BLESSING By Melody Carlson
Amelia it was love at first site, and he's off to war, leaving her an little Jimmy. No James now, no income, and unknown to James parents, she goes to Rockland. In dire needs she help the beauty salon, asking about the Bradleys. Instead of words of encouragement to meet them,,finds they were wealthy, and Mrs Bradley was harsh. Maybe, the grandfather, being he was a Doctor, would be the one to meet. Beautiful story of hope, and miracles at Christmas. A good plot, readers will enjoy this story, as all of hers are good, with a good message in them.
Given ARC by Net Galley for my voluntary review and my honest opinion.

What does a girl do when she is alone, with a new baby to feed and has no money? She becomes desperate.

Amelia Richards believes her fiance James (and father of her baby) is dead, killed in the South Pacific when his plane was shot down. She finds herself in the unenviable position of having no family to help her, a child out of wedlock and no money to support her infant son. Her only option is to approach James' parents for help. The only problem is that they have no idea who she is and when Amelia finds out they are rich and that Helene (Jame's mother) is someone known to be harsh and critical, she is hesitant to approach them. But then the worse thing possible happens - her baby gets sick and she becomes desperate.

I love how the author integrated the birth of Jesus into this story! The Christmas Blessing is more than what I expected. I found myself actually crying for Amelia and was intrigued by the misconceptions of the people in town who misjudged Helene (Jame's mother). The growth of her character was wonderful to see.

If you are looking to get yourself into the Christmas spirit a little early this year, then I highly recommend The Christmas Blessing by Melody Carlson. You will not be disappointed.

I received an arc copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion. This book was so good and I could not put it down. I love Christmas books but this one has romance and so much more!

Can I give it more than five stars? Melody Carlson's Christmas books are on the list of books that I look forward to coming out every year...she just writes them so well! This one was no exception. They are full of character (both through the people and through the well-described setting) and there is always some sort of moral struggle, but the lead learns to lean on faith to make it through. That's where the similarities end (so don't worry that all of the books are exactly the same). I loved the story here...AND it ended just like I hoped it would. It was a bit of a long shot, but it was the perfect ending!

The Christmas Blessing by Melody Carlson is a sweet, short novel that takes place during World War II. While the idea of a novel that takes place during Christmas time and during World War II perked my attention, the novel didn't quite meet my expectation. I think because the novel is actually a short novella, it didn't ring well with me. Because of the short nature of the plot, the characters weren't really developed. There was so much more that could have been explored. Maybe actually show the meeting of James and Amelia. Show their growing love. Show their conversations. When Amelia shows up in Rushford, Montana, the story rushes to an ending that I totally saw coming. I finished the novel in less than a day and wasn't happy with the predictable ending. If you enjoy stories with a happy, good feeling at the end, then this might be the book for you, but for me, I wanted a lot more to make the story more interesting.

I received a complimentary copy of The Christmas Blessing by Melody Carlson from Revell Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

Wow! What a delightful read!

Carlson is a tricky author for me; I've enjoyed her work, but I've also run across several real duds. I'm glad to say that this book is the best yet that I have read...I knew when I read the synopsis and a review that it sounded like exactly my sort of story, and it went beyond even what I'd hoped. You come to care for all parties in the story—Amelia, baby Jimmie, Helene, George—and you want them to all have a happy ending. It's hard when they end up at cross purposes and begin to drift even further apart...seems there's going to be only one decent solution for all of them.

Be prepared to cry over this one, to hug it, to reread the ending at least once. It's that excellent! But I can't say why because of spoilers, you know...so you will just have to read it for yourself!

Thanks to NetGalley for a free review copy. Positive review not required.