The Christmas List
By: Dixie Jo Jarchow
This short Christmas novella follows two opposite friends as they look for love. Mandy the list and numbers girl and Jennifer who is carefree and fun. While out birthday celebrating, they meet the unpredictable Max and love is in their air.
This was a cute novella but the length made it hard for the story to be realistic. The relationship budded and escalated in an unbelievable short timeline. Not that it isn’t possible but it seemed creepy and unrealistic how the relationship progressed. Max was a far-fetched and unreliable character in my opinion.
Although it was an easy read I can’t say I would want to read it again.

If you're looking for a clean novella with a fast paced romance, then this is it.

Mandy has a list of things her husband needs to be, no exceptions. That is, until she meets Max. He's a painter, sculpture, and hot. He's charming in a carefree sort of manner that Mandy isn't used to. And he needs her help. He's just as messy as he is good looking. She's an accountant and he needs to get himself organized if his business is going to take off. Mandy knows that she shouldn't get close to Max. His type isn't on her list, but maybe he's just what she needs to break free from her insanely organized ways and embrace a new way of life....with him in it.

As I have said before, with short stories, I feel like romance is rushed through and not thoroughly explored. This is the case for this story although I feel like the author handled the progressive romance better than some. That's why I am giving this novella a three star rating.

This is a clean story with no sexual content or language.

The title is very misleading as the story has very little to do with Christmas and is more about God and Christianity.
Thankfully the story is short.
Not what I was expecting.

The Christmas List is a beautifully written inspirational romance. I love the plot, characters and setting. The author is new to me and I anticipate reading more of her books.

The Christmas List – Dixie Jo Jarchow

Rating: 1 out of 5 stars

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Story Notes

Dixie Jo Jarchow attempts to bring a Christmas timed story of trust to her readers that quite frankly falls flat as it has gaping holes in the plot and character development.

I’m going to apologize for bringing this book to anyone’s attention but let’s call this review a PSA to bring a warning: Run far away from this book!! I’m smart enough to know that the author was attempting to bring the concepts of trust and contentment that are found in God to the fore but I’m also smart enough to know that those concepts cannot be taught without examples from others and personal experience. Ms. Jarchow begins her story fairly well with her main character spending the evening with her best friend for her birthday. As they are both single, they are discussing what they look for in men. Mandy (main character and accountant) has a list for a specific type of man – even having a preference for brown hair and eyes, while Jennifer is looking for someone who would love God and her. They head out for an evening of painting and wine and at the studio they meet Max, who turns out to be just the opposite of the type of man Mandy is looking to date. But Max has other ideas, the most important of which is to convince Mandy that she is the one he has been waiting his whole life to love. All of this is great, a wonderful plot with several ways to go about playing out the romance. However, Ms. Jarchow proceeds to subject her readers to an unbelievable story that left me feeling like I wasted 45 minutes reading this book. Yes, that’s what I said, 45 minutes to finish this story – not a good thing in my opinion. First, she is trying to convey the idea that Mandy needs to let go of her controlling tendencies and rely more fully on God, so she brings Max into her life to convince her. Max asks Mandy to be his financial advisor and help him with his taxes given that he has never had to file taxes before. But reading a little closer into the story I found that Max apparently made more than the minimum required to pay taxes in years past but never has. This is not a good concept to share with readers as Christians are not supposed to skip paying their taxes, even if they are tithing faithfully. Jesus himself tells us to “render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s” and therefore honor God by obeying leadership. In fact, if you’re in debt, God would prefer that you go and pay that off before you bring any offerings to Him (above your tithe). So that really bothered me and now I will turn to Max himself. I think I might have run away screaming if this guy had shown any interest in me. Not only does he not show up when he says he will but further he makes no plans at all. He says that he “relies on God to provide for him what he needs to live by simply trusting Him” but I would argue that God does provide for us all very well with the gifts and talents with which He graces us. God does not expect us to just stand idly by and let Him run our lives, never entering into His work with Him. He gives us our gifts and talents so we may share them with others and point the glory back to Him. Through those gifts and talents He also provides the means for us to live – food, clothes, homes etc. I’m sure that Ms. Jarchow was trying to convey the idea that if we wish to grow closer to God then we need to let go of the control of our lives and let Him work through us. But as there was not real discussion of this, I was left a bit angry at the flippant way in which Max views God – as an indulgent father who will never allow His children to go without. Yes, when we are in the will of God, He cares for us well but that does not mean that His care does not also include fiery testing at times to stretch and grow us into the people He desires for us to be. I was also offended at the way in which Ms. Jarchow really knocked on Mandy for her lists she had made – like it was really bad to make lists for anything. She was probably intending to show that Mandy needed to trust God more and not rely on what she thought she needed out of life but it was not expressed very well at all. I’m a list person too and while I would say that I’m learning greater trust in God daily, I also feel that my lists are the way He has gifted me to keep in mind the goals He has given me. Lastly, there were so many pieces of this story that were missing and there wasn’t really any attempt to ensure that they were all found. From Max’s background of wealth and Mandy’s lack of family, I felt like I was thrown off the train of this story before it reached the end station (there was also no “Christmas List” to be found anywhere in the book…….guess there wasn’t time to include it??) Perhaps Ms. Jarchow should have taken this one back to the drawing board – there is a lot of potential here for it to be a much better story if she would have given it more room to expand and develop. Hopefully she will spend more time on her future works and create characters that readers will be able to root for. I will not be recommending this book to anyone and will not purchase a copy for my shelves as I couldn’t stand to spend money on it. Try harder next time Ms. Jarchow!!

I received this e-book from Prism Publishing Group via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. I will receive no fiscal compensation from either company for this review.

A short novella for Christmas. On the one hand there is Mandy, a person very rigid and strict, with lots of notes and lists for every step of her life. Then there is Max, a homeless artist, who loves to trust in the Lord to provide. A more balance between the two makes more sense, but maybe that is the point of the story. Not a bad story. but needs more details and a fuller story-line to feel more complete. Would recommend if you want a quick romantic read for Christmas. A little preachy, but not overly pushy.

Mandy is a super organized accountant, who makes lists for everything, and even for what she wants in a husband: Tall, professional, and makes a good living. But when she meets artist, Max, at the Paint N Go, she begins to wonder if God has something different in mind?



Max is smitten with Mandy, spontaneous and artistic, he isn't exactly the man that Mandy has outlined in her list, and he's never filed a tax return in his life! Max grew up in an affluent family, but he is taking a leap of faith by pursuing his dreams, and trust Got to provide.



Will these two opposites find a happy medium together this Christmas?



I like that Max is a man of faith, and while for many what he is doing might seem unwise, for him growing up the way that he did, he feels that living the way he is, is something that he has to do. Max is a sincere man, who makes friends easily and is genuine in his actions. I like how he helps Mandy to get out of her comfort zone, and she in turn helps him turn his talent into a business. I like that Mandy teaches Max to be more responsible, and give him a chance even though she's pretty sure that he's not what she has in mind.



This was a sweet short story, perfect for fans of the Hallmark Christmas movies, but this story has more faith. A romantic, yet humorous Christmas read that I thoroughly enjoyed.



Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and testimonials in Advertising."

The Christmas List by Dixie Jo Jarchow is a very short christian romance read. I’d like to say it was a problem with the book being so short that has my rating dipping down so much but I found a few other things with this one too.

First, with a title that includes “Christmas” I would expect more than the author simply saying it will be Christmas soon. It was a bit disappointing that the story didn’t focus a bit more on the holiday. I would almost even forget the time of year with the focus on work in this one.

Now for the relationship, it’s one that you blink and it moves into the I love you territory which Ok the book is short so it needed to move quickly but I just didn’t see it myself. Max seemed rather flighty so I didn’t get the appeal to sitting around waiting for him to visit and being all goo goo over a man Mandy barely knew, this lost the strong business woman characterization that the author had tried to establish. Unfortunately when it was all said and done with this one it just wasn’t for me.

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

A good thing i don't let personal opinions stand in my way. This was ridiculous. I get it was for Christmas but come on. He was such a flibbertigibbit. Talk about role reversal.

The Christmas List was an interesting book. Within the first two Chapters you could tell what Kind of book this was going to be. It was a boy crazy, drinking a lot just in the first chapter alone, and this is suppose to be a Christian book, shocker. Jennifer is Mandy's best friend and is trying to help her find the perfect man. What is the perfect man for Mandy? Will she have a list that she has that she wants the man to fit? But she met Max who doesn't fit perfectly to the list but sets Mandy's heart to racing. So will Mandy throw away the list or Max?

This book was so good! M and M are a great team in every sense and really compliment each other. Jennifer is a hoot and hope to read about her more in another novel if written.

To see how Mandy reacted to the first phone call to Sophie was hilarious. Max loves very strongly and shares so much wisdom and joy! This is a clean, warm, fun, inspiring story. 5 stars 🌟 Thanks to the wonderful author!