Book Rating: Up All Night'er
I'm starting on my Christmas book reviews now and I'm loving it! This adorable holiday story written by Amanda Cabot will have you sniffling your way through the end.
As with many HCR's, I began this book prepared for a great romance, but in that respect it didn't deliver. However, the end was SO dang-flippin' cute it more than made up for the slow parts. (No kisses in this story...it's a very clean, very sweet book that--in my opinion--you could have your daughter read. Which in fact, I believe could be said for all Cabot books. I have only read one other by her--Summer of Promise, but it too was very clean. For me, her style borders on unexciting, but the messages and just plain lovable characters make her stories enjoyable.)
Celia Anderson is a widow caring for a young daughter while running a boarding house in a small Wyoming town. When Mark--a traveling carpenter--comes to town looking for his long-lost father, he needs a place to stay for just one night. Little did they both know how their serendipitous meeting was actually God working in their lives.
I must admit, my favorite part of this book is when Mark comes to find Christ and connects with Joseph (as in Mary and Joseph) and what he might have experienced with being called to be the Savior's "earthly" father. Mark wants to be a father to Celia's daughter (as well as a husband to Celia, of course!) but he isn't sure he can do it...you'll have to read the rest to find out how he comes to terms with it. I have always LOVED thinking about Joseph and what he experienced and felt through the whole miraculous story of Christ's birth, and I was just thrilled to see that Cabot included that in this book.
A side note here...have you noticed the trend toward many characters/stories with a Swiss, Dutch or "the like" background? Celia had that heritage as well and I found it fascinating that it seems to be so popular. Other books such as the Blue Willow series by Brendan and the book I just reviewed by Miller...and I know there are other books that have characters from Holland, Norway, Switzerland, etc. Have you noticed that too?
Anyway back to this book...
The end will melt your little 'ol heart. I was so touched and I know you won't be able to escape the sticky sweetness...have a tissue ready!! When you read this one let me know what you think about it!!
*Thank you to Revell for providing this review copy to me for free.*
Happy Reading!
Thanks so much for your review. I'm glad you enjoyed the ending!
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