Two heartwarming Christmas stories of young and old. I loved Astrid’s backstory telling us all that she had suffered growing up and how she became the woman that she was in present day. The second story of a woman overwhelmed with responsibilities and living in the shadows of loss was not as compelling to me, but still a very good story. 
I obtained this book through Net Galley and have left an honest review.

I’ve struggled with the adjectives to use to describe this two-in-one book.  These novellas are heart-warming to read because they ultimately land firmly on hope, but they deal with difficult subjects to get there.  

The first novella (Gold) deals with a retired woman who is moving into an assisted living facility after falling.  She struggles with giving up so much independence, grieves many cumulative losses, and is looking for purpose in her new life of “leisure.”  Along the way, she meets her physical therapist and realizes that her therapist is struggling also in very different ways.  They both are able to bless the other in the course of their developing friendship.  

I found this novella difficult because my mother died two years ago, and I was tasked with cleaning out her house, deciding what to keep and what to pitch or donate.  Listening to Astrid reminisce and grieve about this or that person and this or that object stirred up a lot my own grieving, especially since my mother died two days before Christmas.  I also found this frustrating to read because my husband works with emergency management and law enforcement.  While I sympathized a great deal with Carly’s plight, I cringed as I read the many ways she tried to protect herself, with each further step proving less and less effective and even downright dangerous.  The situation was more or less resolved, but it felt dissatisfactory, knowing how it could have (should have) been handled in the first place.  

The second novella (Blue) deals more directly with grieving.  Angela is grieving the loss of her friend of many years, the friend who was always in charge of the town’s big Christmas celebration, the friend who loved Christmas so much, she named all her dogs after Santa’s reindeer.  Angela is wondering how she’s going to get through this first Christmas without her beloved friend when the committee for the annual Christmas celebration ambushes her, putting her in charge just eight days before the celebration.  Therein ensues disappointment after calamity after disaster after catastrophe, and they all have Angela seriously contemplating running away to some exotic location.  But hope arrives, and miracles happen, and someone truly understands the grieving heart.  Angela decides to stay after all, and the reader is left sighing warmly at the resolution.

I found this novella difficult also because my mother died at Christmas just two years ago.  Many of Angela’s thoughts resonated in my heart.  I really didn’t want to do Christmas last year or this year.  I really wanted to just skip ahead to January.  However, I honestly cried several times while reading this because the words were so sweetly raw and comfortingly true.  At one point (no spoilers!), I broke down sobbing and had to stop reading for a while, the book was touching so many raw parts of my heart.  But what happened in that scene was a surprisingly healing balm to my soul that I didn’t know I needed.  Reading this gave me the strength to get through Christmas this year, and I’m ever so grateful!

I gratefully received this book as an eARC from the author, publisher, and NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review.

Loss is difficult at anytime of the year but at Christmas it is extremely so.  These stories are examples of how our faith guides us through these moments and makes us stronger.

The book includes two stories. Both are about loss but also about helping others.  While helping others, you are healing yourself.

The first story is how Astrid  could have drowned in her loss but saw someone in need and reached out.

The second is about loss but also how you can heal through honoring the one you lost.

GOD is a healer.  He never leaves our side.  He is with us every step of the way.  He hears our cries.  He hears our prayers.

I enjoyed these two Christmas stories even though they are not typical Christmas stories.

I received this book for free to review.

Giveaway:

https://promosimple.com/ps/c319

About the Author

Olivia NewportOlivia Newport’s novels twist through time to find where faith and passions meet. Her husband and twentysomething children provide welcome distraction from the people stomping through her head on their way into her books. She chases joy in stunning Colorado at the foot of the Rockies, where daylilies grow as tall as she is.

What a beautiful time of year Christmas is! 

It’s a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus with family and friends, a time for reflection and hope … the most joyful of all days of any year. This sweet book contains two stories. Gold Christmas is Astrid’s story, and Blue Christmas belongs to Angela. Both stories centre around a theme of hope, which one would assume to be a fitting theme at Christmas time. However, both Astrid and Angela have difficulties in feeling that quiet peace that God’s hope brings.

Astrid has suffered enormous hardships most of her life living through World War 2 in Germany. Her life wasn’t any easier with her move to America, however, Astrid maintains a firm resolve when she couldn’t be blamed for feeling that her whole world was crashing down around her. Out of all the changes she’s had to compensate for in her 80 plus years of life, probably leaving her lovely family home to move into an aged care facility has been the most challenging. But when strong-willed Astrid crosses paths with a young woman with enormous problems that could possibly put her life in danger, she comes to the rescue and stirs up some more hope for the season, and a whole lot of gold. She’s not the doddery old woman her children seem to think she is.

In Blue Christmas dear Angela is in quite a fragile state. Her very best friend has passed away, but no one in the town seems to appreciate her grief. Angela finds herself in a predicament when the church committee volunteers her to organise the town’s “Christmas To Remember” event, an event that was always expertly organised by her dear friend Carole. Poor Angela is so depressed and stressed that she cannot see any hope for a successful celebration, and just wishes that Christmas would be over. Due to the kindness and love of a mysterious stranger, who everyone suspects is responsible for all the mishaps that continue to occur throughout the town, Angela finally realises that hope and experiences an exquisite joy that will be carried over into all the Christmases to come.

At first, I had my reservations about this book. I enjoyed reading Astrid’s story, but for some reason, I felt less enthusiastic to read about Angela. I knew I had an obligation, so I kept reading … and wasn’t I glad I did! By the third chapter I was engaged with the story, and towards the last half dozen or so chapters I was in tears … sad tears, but eventually tears of joy.  This is the first book of Ms Newport’s that I’ve read, and I’m impressed. I like her style of writing, characters are all credible, and each story flows nicely.

I would recommend buying this sweet book as a Christmas present for someone special.

I was provided with an ARC by the author via CelebrateLit, and at no stage was I compensated or obliged to give a positive review.

How can Christmas be celebrated joyfully and with the hope of the Christmas season in the midst of heartbreak?  Can healing be found in the midst of heartbreak?  Olivia Newport  brings us hope of healing under these  ircumstances in Christmas in Blue where in the wake of a personal loss deeper than anyone realizes, Angela plans to bypass as much of the season as possible.  She just wants to get through her duties as the church organist by going on autopilot. Instead under silent protest, she finds herself in charge of the town’s celebration. After a mysterious young man, Gabe, arrives in town the townspeople suspect he is the reason that one set of plans after another disintegrate until little is left of their traditions. Yet Angela warms to Gabe because she suspects they share a secret, his real reason for coming to town. Even when all they have to work with is a garish supply of blue Christmas decorations, Gabe helps Angela discover the hidden beauty of hope.  Then in Christmas in Gold, Astrid, after eighty years, finds change is nothing new for Her. By the time she was twenty, she had survived the destructive Nazi regime, caring for her family under brutal circumstances, moving to America, and losing her husband. At forty she was widowed again and left to build a new life with her children. Now, she faces a move into an assisted living community and meets a young woman on the brink of despair, she resolves to stir up hope through tragedy one more time.

I receive complimentary books for review from publishers, publicists, and/or authors. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

I don't know what it is, but I love a great Christmas romance! Something about the time of year inspires hope while romance is in the air. Olivia Newport is no stranger to romance novels and Colors of Christmas is a MUST READ! She combines two different story lines centered around Christmas, one Christmas in Gold and the other, Christmas in Blue. You can almost guess what will be the them of each. In the first, Christmas in Gold, an elderly German woman Astrid takes an unexpected spill down the stairs outside her home while carrying a full load and it prevented her from accurately seeing the steps. Now her son, Alex believes it is time for her to pack up her home, sell it and move to a retirement community where she can be looked after should something like this happen again. While it does offer independent living apartments, Astrid believes in her heart that it is time. After 40 years of dealing with the loss of her last husband and with family being busy with work and living a distance away, it is probably for the best.

Like all great novels, there has to be something more, and for Astrid, she feels that her physical therapist Carly is bearing the weight of the world on her shoulders. She knows she might not be able to do much, but sometimes just having a friend to talk to really helps. For Carly, she hopes that the man who has been trying to contact her, will finally lose hope now that she has obtained a restraining order against him. She only hopes she won't have to pull her son out of school and move again, meaning she would lose her job as well. But as God has a bigger plan in mind. "No two people suffer in identical ways, and we must not discount any suffering. The greatest gift we can give each other is to see suffering and name it as real. Always in suffering we meet fear. Always in suffering we must raise our eyes from darkness to light that awaits. There we will find others who have known suffering. Even God knew the suffering of His own Son."

In Christmas in Blue a long time resident that has always hosted the towns A Christmas to Remember event has passed away and the church committee members believe that the one who knew her the best would be the better choice at continuing the town's desired Christmas event. Angela was her dearest friend but has no clue where to begin or even what to do to make this happen and worst yet, the committee members have given her only 10 days to make it happen. Seems like it will take a Christmas miracle to make that happen and one by one, every single process is hampered in unexplained ways where she will be forced to make some hard decisions and running away is not one of them.

I received Colors of Christmas by Olivia Newport compliments of NetGalley and Barbour Publishing. I found myself relating quite a bit to Christmas in Gold, because my husbands parents are now beginning to look at retirement communities now that they are having so many health issues and family is more than 4 hours away. They desire to stay independent and have no desire to move back to be closer to family either. I found myself sharing this story with my husband and found a common connection with Astrid's character. This is such a wonderful novel and you truly feel like you are getting two books in one. I savored each one for a different night. I didn't want to rush through them and was so glad I did. I easily give this book a 5 out of 5 stars and one doesn't have to wait for Christmas to enjoy them. A reader's discussion guide is included at the conclusion of this book which would make it a perfect book club selection.

Colors of Christmas by Olivia Newport is warmly written about how grief changes the way we look at Christmas. How at sometime in all our lives, we all have a blue Christmas. But we also have the grace of God and friends to get us through.
Beautiful heartfelt story line. My favorite book for the season.
Absolutely FIVE stars.

Two wonderful Christmas stories that spoke of hope and faith.  Both stories were well worth reading Astrid was in the first story and there was a lot of history of Nazi Germany and her history there. She had fallen and broke some bones in her leg and her family pretty much forced her to sell her home of 40 years and move to an assisted living home.  She did find friends there and helped a young physical therapist who was struggling with life (and a stalker).  It had a sweet ending.  
The second story was about a woman struggling to enjoy Christmas since her best friend had passed away in the year.  A stranger showing up helps her change her mind.  Also a good story about Christmas and hope and faith.  I got this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

Two stories in one. There was a GOLD version about elderly Astrid, leaving her home and moving to an assisted living facility. Due to her traumatic child experiences during WWII, she is more flexible than most on her accommodations. She also misses her two grown children who are so busy with their own grown-up lives. The second story was a BLUE version about Angela who lost her best friend during the year. Angela inherits her friend’s dog and her friend’s town Christmas celebration management, reluctantly. I enjoyed both stories as they told about finding Christmas spirit after significant loss.

I enjoy reading Christmas books/novellas at Christmastime. I was hoping I had found two Christmas romance novellas, written by an author I respect. Unfortunately, I found two women’s fiction novellas (or if there was romance, I didn't see it in the pages I read), which didn’t interest me. The story is full of redundancies and I didn’t feel the pacing worked, probably due to the repeated information.  

These two novellas weren't for me, but I plan to read more books by this author in the future.

First Thank you Netgalley for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. 

This is a charming little Christmas read. Both stories have a friendly predictable plot line of a Christmas novel that you secretly hope for...and of course everything wraps up nicely and just as you think it should.  Normally I do not like that in a book but this time of year I prefer it.   

I really enjoyed Newport's style of writing and her ability to quickly make the characters relatable and developed in such a short time.  Overall a nice, sweet and short Christmas read. 

"We didn't think of it as courage. It was what we had to do.  Just take the next step, do the next thing."

This is two stories in one. An elderly lady who has survived the Nazis, falls, and is put into an assisted living facility. She keeps having past visions of her life. Carly is younger, all she cares about, is the here and now, and truly wants Christmas over. This is a first time read, with this Author. I liked it, however, not during the Holidays. I wish it were set for some other Holiday. 
I highly recommend! Thanks! Enjoy!
carolintallahassee 👒

In the first a piano teacher suddenly gets tasked with arranging the town's Christmas celebration.  That will teach her not to miss a meeting.  A stranger appears in town and every thing that goes wrong seems to be his fault.  , The celebration is the best one ever.  The second story tells of a woman who moves into an assisted living facility.  While she adjusts to the move, she is missing three gold ornaments that mean the world to her.  Both stories are great entertainment.

Colors of Christmas was my first contemporary novel by Olivia. Newport.  I had read several of her historical fiction novels. The author uses two colors gold and blue as a theme to tie the plot and unite the two distinct stories together in the collection.  Both deal with loss in different ways, and intertwine Christmas throughout in a heartwarming way.  Cuddle up with a blanket, hot cocoa, and a pet this holiday season and enjoy a delightful read!

Check out Colors of Christmas: Two Contemporary Stories Celebrate the Hope of Christmas by Olivia Newport

Thank you netgalley for giving me this book that contains 2 stories.
First story: I loved this one! The characters were simply charming, and this really managed to get me in the Christmas mood. I am very glad it had a happy ending too, and that I got to know more about history. Great one! 
Second book: Oh, this was also nice. I just felt as if I enjoyed the first one more, but the spirit of Christmas was definitely spotted in this novella as well. 
After all, I am looking forward to more works of this writer!

Colors of Christmas Two Contemporaries Stories Celebrate the Hope of Christmas by Olivia Newport have been written specifically for people in sufferance.

I can tell you I felt a lot this book because it's a series of years we live at various levels robust sadness in our family during this period of the year because of little or big problems and or/loss.

Questions are many and Christmas' meaning is the born of a new baby, new life, but Christmas was and remain also a feast of Light, of vision, of redemption.
If just an example like Ebenezer Scrooge can become true, Christmas is a miracle for the hearts and souls of people.

It's a feast against the obscurantism of our feelings, our sentiments, it's a feast that wants to give and wants to spread the best of us, our joy, our enthusiasm for future in the moment of the year in which there is the most profound lack of light in the real sense of the word and where the shadows of darkness, figuratively could attack us with more simplicity.

It's a feast for children and families. Children because of course being Little Jesus Christ the Star of the festivity it is felt a special sentiment for babies and children.

But, it's undoubtedly a feast for families. All reunited. In their functionalities and dysfuncionalities.

Sure, it's not said that in this moment of the year we won't receive sufferance or grief, pain and tears. How can we metabolize pain when is it too much? How can we find comfort?

The author speaks for everyone. People with a loss in the family, dad, mother, sibling, a friend, people without job, people in sufferance for a divorce, a break-up.

These two stories are very intelligent and beauty.

I focused my attention in Christmas in Gold and being a reporter, who started this job interviewing people in pain during the last Second World War Conflict it was wonderful reading Astrid's story.

Astrid is in his 80s and falls injuring various bones. Her son doesn't live close to her and so he thinks it's arrived the moment for her mom of spending her final years in an apartment and structure for elderly people.
Astrid is sad to leave her house, her normality for this new reality and apartment although she discovers pretty soon a new world and routine made by physiotherapists, and new friends. The time the one close to Christmas.
Astrid slowly slowly remembers the time during the Second World War spent in Germany, her devotion for her parents and her papa, the decision of becoming catholic, the trip to the USA. It's also a culinary story this one, German food one of the most beloved and appreciated of the USA.
At the same time this tale tells also the story of Carly, her little son and her ex boyfriend a real stalker. But maybe thanks to Astrid and her optimism the future of this girl won't remain obscure for too much time!


I loved so badly to read this book, as always another great one by Barbour.

Highly suggested for sure for everyone!

I thank NetGalley and Barbour for this eBook.

Title: Colors of Christmas
Author: Olivia Newport
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc. 
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Five
Review:

"Colors of Christmas" Two Contemporary Stories Celebrate The Hope of Christmas By Olivia Newport

My Thoughts....

Two Contemporary Stories Celebrate The Hope of Christmas:

Christmas in Gold

What a story that had me in tears...What will happen when a older woman [Astrid] falls and breaks her ankle. Then her family wants to put her in an assistant living facility. Wow, what a family! You will just have to pick this one up to see how it will all come out as she meets a Physical Therapist named Carly.

Then next we have....

Christmas in Blue

This was such a wonderful contemporary heartwarming story of 'love, loss and the beauty of family and friends.' What will happen as a mysterious stranger [Gabe] appears in town to help Angela. How will this take a turn and instead of dread there will be 'joy and tenderness in Angela's heart' for this holiday.

Both of these stories are well written and will contain a message that is only for the reader to receive. I found these stories tender, so endearing and hopefully one hearts will be lifted for this Christmas holiday season from the read. I was left to be reminded to be 'thankful and never take anything for granted.' 

Thank you to NetGalley and Barbour Publishing, Inc. for a review copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book, Colors of Christmas, has two stories set for the contemporary book reader. Christmas in Gold tells about an older woman who faces the changes moving into a community housing center can bring. She grew up during the time of Hitler, in Germany. She tells about the fighting and not being allowed to ask or say anything. The tale is from her perspective and how her life has brought her closer to others, especially the physical therapist. She also shares Jesus and her telling shows how this was how she broke through to her therapist.



Christmas Blue features Angela who lost her best friend eight months ago and still misses her. Her friend had the joy of Christmas. She would lead decorating and all the special traditions that made this time of year special. Now Angela is expected to take her friends place, which she accepts. Unfortunately, misfortunes keep appearing - a broken wagon, water damage on ornaments that were stored in the basement of the church when a pipe broke and so on. When someone arrives to help, things begin to look better.



Both of these stories are good Christian fiction without being preachy. They each deal with loss and love during Christmas. I enjoyed both of these books. tremendously.



I was given these book by NetGalley and Barbour Publishing Company in exchange for my honest review.  



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