This was a very quick easy book to read. I was really expecting more of a Christmas story. I guess it is but not quite what I was expecting. It does have a nice Christian message. I enjoyed the story.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy

I really enjoyed this story. It is a heartwarming tale. I really liked all the characters, especially Lauren. There's great dialogue and the storyline flows really well. I liked this book so much that I plan to find more stories by this author especially since she writes Christmas stories.

The Christmas Table will make you feel all the feels. Set close to Christmas and told in two points of view, we get to follow two sets of people. I love getting to revisit Gloria and her gang again. The characters are all sweet, fun and loving and will have you wishing you could go for a visit. The banter between Gloria and Miriam is one of the best parts of each story they are in. You will find yourself rooting for Joan and excited for Lauren. There was a little added mystery that was a treat as well. I look forward to any future installments of this series.

Thanks to the publisher for the chance to read and review this book. Any opinions reflected are my own.

My heart was filled with joy as I read Donna VanLiere's latest faith based Christmas story. It is such a delight to read knowing you won't be assaulted with uncomfortable images or unkindness. I found myself wishing that I could visit Glory's Place and get to know these people. I felt comforted knowing that people like this exist in this difficult time in which we live, even if they are in the author's imagination. I found that inspiring and hopeful.
I loved 'The Christmas Table', and can't recommend it highly enough.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Donna VanLiere never ceases to give us a wonderfully delightful Christmas story.

She introduces us to two families in different time periods who are drawn together by a table made by Joan’s husband in 1972. Lauren purchases the table in 2012. The story goes back and forth between the two characters and their families, which I found sometimes hard to follow, but I still enjoyed the book very much and how these two families are brought together.

I recommend it for anyone who likes to read sweet Christmas stories. I was given a copy of this book by the publisher, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley. Opinions expressed are my own.

"The Christmas Table" by Donna VanLiere is a delight to read! It make me laugh and cry. The book tells the story of 2 different families, one in 1972 & one in 2012. So the timeline goes back and forth, but it is easy to follow. Both storylines kept me wanting more and wondering when they would merge. I believe this book would be considered women's Christian fiction, but it was sweet & not in your face.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the ARC to read and review.

This is a typical heartstrings Christmas tale about two families connected by an heirloom table.

The novel is comfort food for anyone looking for an inspiring Christmas love story.

The Christmas Table is a heartwarming story about the importance of connections via a handmade table. It's also about family recipes passed down from generation to generation. Told from two seemingly unconnected POVs the story moves between 1972 when a young wife and mother is battling cancer and 2012 when a young wife is figuring life out. I enjoyed it all and was happy to find several recipes at the end. This book would be a wonderful gift this holiday season.

This book was an excellent read. A good, wholesome story that sucks you in until the very end. I received an ARC from Netgalley and the publisher. And this is my honest review. A definite recommendation!

4.5* Hope and Faith Stars

This was a beautiful heartfelt Christian story about two women, Joan and Lauren set in different time periods. Joan’s story begins in 1972 where we are introduced to her and her close-knit family and newly married Lauren in 2012 where she is about to begin a family.

Both women are surrounded by caring families, strong friendships and an abundance of love. Their journey towards each other starts with a Kitchen Table that was painstaking built by Joan’s husband John for her as she battled breast cancer. 40 years later the table has made its way into the home of Lauren and her husband Travis. When a secret drawer is discovered a stack of recipe cards are found, all handwritten and personalised to a loved one, Lauren is inspired to cook using them and feels a strong desire to return them to their rightful owner. As Laurens search begins, new friends are made, and life lessons are learnt.

The ending of the book was so perfect and beautiful, I felt so happy and content.

Every Christmas I anxiously await the latest book from Ms VanLiere. After the Christmas Shoes I was hooked. Her books leave you wet with tears but also very hopeful. The Christmas Table did not disappoint. This story introduces you to two families the Creighton family in 1972 and the Mabrey family in 2012. And you guessed it the table is what joins these two families together. The table and some incredible family recipes. This story has some surprises along the way and also gives hope. Also you will realize that sometimes the answers we are searching for are right under our noses. Read this story this Christmas and if you haven't read the others read them as well and like me wait for the next one next Christmas. We can all use a little hope in our lives.

Comfort food! That is exactly what this book is... comfort food with reading mixed in!
Lauren buys a kitchen table is 2012 that has been refinished, after getting it home, her husband finds a secret drawer containing a families old recipes mixed with family stories.
John makes his wife a table in 1972 as she is battling cancer.
I absolutely loved this book and the seamless way it drifted between the two families and time periods.
While it is listed as A Christmas book, this was so much more. The power of love, family, friendships and beliefs!

The Christmas Table by Donna VanLiere is a lovely women's fiction story that kept me turning the pages throughout the afternoon.

The story is about two women, one in 1972 and one in 2012, and their lives as they experience life surrounded by family, friends, love and faith. Ms. VanLiere's writing is poignant and descriptive throughout the story. The plot is smooth and the characters develop organically and become people who I would love to call friends. The recipes shared between mother and daughter all sounded delicious and some of them were included at the end of the book. A Christmas story that links two women from different generations by a black walnut table and family recipes.

Donna VanLiere does it again with another FANTASTIC holiday feel good read! I love this book and how the past and present collide! I love the recipes shared and the way the mother tells a story with each one! Want a great way to start off your holiday season? Read this book!!!

I received an advanced reader copy of this book and am voluntarily reviewing it.

The Christmas Table by Donna VanLiere is a heartwarming book about family, marriage, and the power of love. Told across two time frames, 1972 and 2012, two families are brought together by a table, food, and recipes. This book has a faith-based lens (centered in Christianity), though it is with a light touch.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book for an unbiased review. All thoughts are my own.

What a delightful, inspiring book! It left me wanting to know what happened next. If you have ever experienced "that" Christmas that you will never forget, you will identify with this story.

Donna VanLiere has become one of my go to authors for great reads here recently. I always enjoy her heartfelt stories that draw you into them and make you feel like you are a part of the story. These characters are so warm and loving that it makes you feel like you are part of their families and they are part of yours.

I love the way that this story is written where we go from 1972 to 2012 and get both sides of the story. In 1972, Joan's husband is determined to build her a kitchen table because she has always wanted one. When John starts out on the table he is apprehensive because he has never built anything bigger than a picture frame. John is just going to take his time and get it done though.

When Lauren finds out she is pregnant, the ladies that she is with everyday pitch in and help her get her home ready for the baby. Lauren finds a table at a local furniture builders shop that he picked up at a garage sale and talks him into selling it to her. When Lauren gets the table home she discovers that there is a hidden drawer with lots of recipes in it. With Lauren being in foster homes for most of her life, she never had the chance to be taught how to cook. Lauren decides that she is going to go by these recipes and teach herself how to cook. These recipes are very detailed and easy to follow.

Lauren loves the way that there is a memory written along with the recipe to the daughter of the woman writing them. They all have a very special memory for them. When Joan gets cancer, John has to spend some of his time that he wanted to work on the table to get it done for Thanksgiving taking care of her and their two kids. Joan tries her best to keep going and loves to cook with her two kids as well. How she kept going on is amazing!

I loved getting lost in this story with Joan, John, Lauren and all the ladies that helped her get her home together. Lauren decides that she is determined to find out if this family is still around and to get these recipes back to who they were originally intended for. Her search has some detours but she is persistent. Will Lauren find what she is looking for? Such a great read!

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book and all opinions are my own. Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for an advanced copy of this book.

The Christmas Table by Donna VanLiere is one of many in a long line of Christmas themed books she has written over the years. I've read a few here and there not realizing that it was, more or less, a series. It is, however, one of those series that features a different person in each book so that you can read them as a stand alone feature. Some of the characters will be familiar if you have read her other books and some are newly introduced. Regardless, it is an endearing story featuring a dual timeline, the 1970s and 2012, a kitchen table and recipes that have been lovingly  written for someone's daughter. How the two timeline's merge and the importance of the table is beautifully told and intertwined. I loved the story, thought it was wonderfully and carefully written and enjoyed the recipes at the end of the tale.

I was not forewarned that VanLiere's books are Christian based and I think it is important to know this. There are many people who celebrate the holidays, Christmas, or who are religious but do not believe the same way as others. In this particular book it wasn't so overt that I felt uncomfortable, but I do wish these types of books were marked accordingly. That said, I did like the book and do recommend it for your holiday reading.


Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for my copy of #TheChristmasTable.

The Christmas Table by Donna VanLiere was an interesting Christian based read spanning dual-timelines linking two families through a table. This was my first time reading anything from Ms. VanLiere and I found it to be quite different and very enjoyable.

An ARC was generously provided in exchange for an honest review of which this is both honest and completely voluntary.

The well written storyline and the wonderfully created characters made this book a very enjoyable and entertaining read!