This is a Christmas story, but this is way more then a Christmas story. This story is also different then most other Christmas/holiday story I have read before. I love reading Christmas story in June and July. This story follows two families that is going through life changes events near Christmas. The time lines are 1972 and 2012. Everything in the story comes together over recipe cards and a table. I really loved this story, and the ending was so very good. I did find the time lines hard to follow at first because there was nothing big happening or very different to make them stay apart in my mind, but that changed fast. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (St. Martin's Press) or author (Donna VanLiere) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review , and I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

I really enjoy Donna VanLiere's books I love the sense of family and community in the storylines. This is another winner by the author.

This was a special holiday novel! The story alternates between a family in the past and a family in the present time. The characters were wonderful! The story had its serious moments but also so much fun humor. The surprises throughout the story were so good also.

What a sweet, warm fuzzy kind of story! Telling events in both 1972 (incidentally, that was the year my parents were married) and present day, we learn the history of a table made with great love in a time of great distress, and the joy of finding that same table, some 40 years later, during a time of great joy. The table itself brings people together in the strangest of circumstances and it’s lovely to see how it continues bringing people together decades later. I very much enjoyed it! I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and was under no obligation to write a review.

I loved this book. The way the two stories worked together and the ending was simply perfect. It was such an uplifting love story all the way around. I can't recommend this beautiful book enough.

I absolutely love Donna VanLiere. It all started with the Christmas shoes. She makes you feel the words on the pages. Loved it!

The Christmas Table by Donna VanLiere is tenth in a series of wonderful Christmas books. A dual timeline between 1972 and 2012, two families are connected by a simple handmade table.
In 2012 Lauren is preparing her home for a new baby and purchases a refinished table. She finds a hidden drawer with recipes written twenty years earlier by the original owner, Joan. The story goes back and forth as we learn the table was made for Joan by her husband as she was battling breast cancer. Lauren wants to learn more about this family as she learns to cook from the recipes left behind.
This was my first book in the series so I did feel I would have been a bit more invested in the embracing feel of the community as supporting characters came and went. Although the book can be read as a stand alone I knew I was missing out on these ‘cameos’. The faith-based themes are a strong component and are sure to be a draw for many during the Christmas reading season. Know this is an overriding factor if it’s not a comfort zone.
I recommend The Christmas Table for those that enjoy faith based Christmas books during the holidays, or any time! Especially those that enjoy dual time lines and foodie fiction. I am sure to read more by this author and series!
Many thanks to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for the advanced reader copy and the opportunity to review The Christmas Table by Donna VanLiere. All opinions are my own.

What a fascinating book. I was impressed by the storyline and the characters were all well written and complex. Where there are complex storylines combined with intriguing characters the reader experience is magnified tremendously. To have a book that is well written as well as entertaining is a delight. Reading is about escaping your world and entering another one. Here I forgot about my own life and was immersed in the world created by the author. I would recommend this book.

A heartwarming read. Who doesn't believe in second chances. The story isn't all about doom and gloom but hope and the meaning of loss & hope. The stories flow into each other even though we go through different years.
A good read for the Christmas holidays.
I was lucky enough to receive a copy via Netgalley & the publisher a copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book shows the sweet, enviable friendships imaginable. And sweet Lauren goes to such lengths to help this family get back their treasured recipes. But, along the way Lauren gets to finally feel the love of a family and learn to cook from their sweet family heirloom recipes. I think Joan wouldn't have wanted her recipes to get to another person, things happened just as they needed to happen. These great friendships turned family are so heartwarming. I recommend this cute, quick book.

I flew through this book. ONLY Because I wanted to know how it ended. After I read it I was just speechless. It wasn't a great book, it wasn't a great ending but it had me hooked and I was really disappointed. I understand what the book was about and it was a great story but it was rushed and felt like it could have been so much more. In the end, the book is not one I would recommend but I can understand how others will enjoy it.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC.

Sometimes we need an escape and I feel like The Christmas Table provided that. It was a very sweet and heart-warming story. The only con I found was I didn’t know which timeline I was reading at first, but overall, I really enjoyed this. I highly recommend giving this a read no matter what time of year it is!

ARC for honest review with no compensation received from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley 4.5 stars

The Christmas Table is book 10 in the Christmas Hope series by Donna VanLiere and a new to me author. I will certainly be looking for more of her books!

What a heartwarming story that involves two families from 1972 and 2012 about a handmade table with a hidden drawer. This intertwining story will keep you wondering what’s around the corner for each family...tears, laughter, second chances and how this table brings them all together during the holiday season!

Told in two different viewpoints this book tells us of a table that was lovingly made and the two women who's lives it shows up in. I enjoyed the book but found that sometimes when it jumped back and forth it wasn't clear which era we were in for a few moments. I did enjoy the recipes at the end of the book!

The Christmas Table was an emotional read for me and I had to set it aside a few times before finally finishing it. Not because it isn't good, it certainly is, but because of some emotional things in my own life that paralleled this story a bit. Now, here's where I'll say that I would've found it emotional with or without my own life events, but sometimes things are just harder and even fiction can ring truer than we expect. That said, once I was able to sit down and just get involved with these characters, this story brought me more peace than I would've thought possible. It's wonderfully written, and the message comes through loud and clear. It's a story of family, prayer, faith, healing, and hope, and yes, it does happen around the holiday, but the message is much needed and appreciated by this reader any time of year. This is my first read by this author and in this series. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that this one is a standalone, and I'll add that neither the author nor the series will be strangers any longer.

What a beautiful, heart-touching story! I almost wish this book was not listed as a “Christmas” story, because it’s a story that can be read at any time of the year. It takes a talented author to write a split-time story and have both timelines equally interesting. I loved Jean’s story, set in 1972, and her struggle to discover hope in difficult times. I equally loved Lauren’s story, set in 2012, and the hope she’s found in her faith. driends, and fami,y. As Lauren cooks her way through the recipe cards she found in an old table, she could never imagine the journey on which these cards will take her. Just have some tissues on hand when you read the last couple of chapters in this book. My heart was full when I finished the last page.

I didn’t get this book read before Christmas, but I had, it would have been in my top reading list for 2020. As it is, it was a great way to begin a new year of reading. Don’t miss this one!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

What a lovely Christmas story that really gets you at the core. I felt I went on an emotional journey with this book. It was truly heartwarming.
Many thanks to both net galley & the author for allowing me to read this book for a fair & honest review.

I absolutely loved this book. It was just the escape I needed from the busyness of the holidays and the chaos of 2020. Even though this book includes characters from previous Christmas books written by this author this book could be considered a stand alone title - but you will want to read the others. If you love to cook and remember when recipes were written on recipe cards you will appreciate this heartwarming story. There is great wrap up to all story lines and an ending that will not disappoint! The story of Joan in 1972 and Lauren in 2012 learning to cook from the same family recipes amidst fighting cancer, pregnancy, jobs, small children and navigating life is inspiring and will make you want to cook the recipes included at the end of the book. This book should not be read on an empty stomach but with a box of tissues!

I look forward to Donna VanLiere's Christmas Hope book each year. These stories always have a great message and are well written family based stories. This year we have a dual-timeline story that comes together nicely in the end. With Lauren Mabrey recently discovering she is pregnant, she is dealing with monetary issues in preparing for the new arrival in 2012. She is gifted a table from friends for her kitchen. When it is refurbished, she finds recipe cards in a hidden drawer and she begins to learn to cook. The other timeline is 1972, when John Creighton is determined to build his wife Joan a kitchen table. With Joan being diagnosed with cancer, the table gets put on the back burner while dealing with her worsening illness. Lauren is sure that whoever owned the table and the recipe cards will want them back is both she and her husband follow clues to find the original owners of the table.

This story finds us back at Glory's Place where there are both new and familiar characters. The warmth, generosity and caring of the people who live and work in their town shines through. I loved hearing about the recipes and the comments put on the cards, it reminded me of the recipes I received from my mom, grandma and mother-in-law. This is not a fast paced story, but a story of love, sharing and caring. A story that shows the toil a serious illness takes on a family. A story that deals with the magic of Christmas and how determination can help someone achieve a goal. This is a wonderful Christian based Christmas story showing how the power of prayer can make the difference in a situation. Although this is part of the Christmas Hope series, you do not need to read them all to enjoy this one. I definitely recommend this one.

Wow! I have read all of Donna’s Christmas books and this is one of my favorites. I fell right in love with the characters and the story. The setting and atmosphere are perfect for the Christmas season. Each member of the town has their own little piece to add to the story.
I really enjoyed about days gone by and how one wife was learning how to cook like her Mom and using her recipes. Then how another generation was just starting their family and own traditions and even though there are big differences were still connected through a simple table and traditions.
I look forward to Donna’s books every year.