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Ever since I heard that Cindy Woodsmall wrote a book about a cake decorator, I've been wanting to read it. I love cake decorating! So I jumped when I had the chance to review this novella collection which happened to feature said story. I don't read a lot of novellas on general principle, as I'm a fan of fully developed plots and nearly all novellas I've read feature very simple ones. But I must say that these were extremely well-done and did not disappoint in the slightest!
"The Sound of Sleigh Bells" was the first story, and it was downright amazing. Our heroine, Beth, lives with a dark secret that surrounds the death of her fiance some years earlier. A woman now given to business with a heart closed to love, she feels stirrings when she comes across a beautiful carving. Unbeknownst to her, the artist also knows about loss, having been in an accident which nearly cost him his life and left him with physical limitations. When Beth's aunt discovers who the artist is and that he is close to Beth's age, she begins to orchestrate a friendship in hopes that Jonah's wisdom can help
Beth heal. When Beth finds out that Jonah isn't the grandfatherly man she had pictured, she must choose between reacting and retreating further inside herself, or opening her heart to truth, healing, and love.
We meet cake decorator Mattie in "The Christmas Singing." Mattie runs a bake shop and has a serious boyfriend in Ohio, where she had moved to escape the pain of another boyfriend's jilting her a few years before. But when disaster strikes and Mattie must move back to her parents' house in Apple Ridge for a few weeks, she comes face to face with Gideon again. Gideon has never stopped loving Mattie, having only left her to protect her from his scary leukemia diagnosis. Now that it is in remission and he sees Mattie again, he wants to rekindle their friendship, if not their romantic relationship. The struggle of steadiness versus passion is at hand: will Mattie return to Ohio and the reliable Sol, or choose to stay with the uncertainty and love in Apple Ridge?
"The Dawn of Christmas" is the new release that finishes out this collection. Sadie is a young woman whose heart was broken by an unfaithful man but she's now found a purpose in life through mission work. During a visit home with her family, she saves the life of a man after a horseriding accident. Levi has seen enough marriages and relationships fall apart that he has vowed to never fall for a woman, but he begins rethinking things when Sadie enters the picture. In order to get both sets of parents to stop pressuring them in the relationship department, Sadie and Levi agree to pretend to date until Sadie's next planned mission trip. When the lines of pretense and reality begin to blur, choices about where their lives are going can either unite them or tear them apart.
Three very satisfying stories! My favorite was the first one, and I would even go so far as to say it's my favorite of Woodsmall's stories to date. Click here if you'd like to check out the first chapter! Thanks to the publisher for my copy, which I received in exchange for this honest review. All opinions are my own.
If you would take a moment to rate this review, it would be greatly appreciated! Just click here. Thanks!
"The Sound of Sleigh Bells" was the first story, and it was downright amazing. Our heroine, Beth, lives with a dark secret that surrounds the death of her fiance some years earlier. A woman now given to business with a heart closed to love, she feels stirrings when she comes across a beautiful carving. Unbeknownst to her, the artist also knows about loss, having been in an accident which nearly cost him his life and left him with physical limitations. When Beth's aunt discovers who the artist is and that he is close to Beth's age, she begins to orchestrate a friendship in hopes that Jonah's wisdom can help
Beth heal. When Beth finds out that Jonah isn't the grandfatherly man she had pictured, she must choose between reacting and retreating further inside herself, or opening her heart to truth, healing, and love.
We meet cake decorator Mattie in "The Christmas Singing." Mattie runs a bake shop and has a serious boyfriend in Ohio, where she had moved to escape the pain of another boyfriend's jilting her a few years before. But when disaster strikes and Mattie must move back to her parents' house in Apple Ridge for a few weeks, she comes face to face with Gideon again. Gideon has never stopped loving Mattie, having only left her to protect her from his scary leukemia diagnosis. Now that it is in remission and he sees Mattie again, he wants to rekindle their friendship, if not their romantic relationship. The struggle of steadiness versus passion is at hand: will Mattie return to Ohio and the reliable Sol, or choose to stay with the uncertainty and love in Apple Ridge?
"The Dawn of Christmas" is the new release that finishes out this collection. Sadie is a young woman whose heart was broken by an unfaithful man but she's now found a purpose in life through mission work. During a visit home with her family, she saves the life of a man after a horseriding accident. Levi has seen enough marriages and relationships fall apart that he has vowed to never fall for a woman, but he begins rethinking things when Sadie enters the picture. In order to get both sets of parents to stop pressuring them in the relationship department, Sadie and Levi agree to pretend to date until Sadie's next planned mission trip. When the lines of pretense and reality begin to blur, choices about where their lives are going can either unite them or tear them apart.
Three very satisfying stories! My favorite was the first one, and I would even go so far as to say it's my favorite of Woodsmall's stories to date. Click here if you'd like to check out the first chapter! Thanks to the publisher for my copy, which I received in exchange for this honest review. All opinions are my own.
If you would take a moment to rate this review, it would be greatly appreciated! Just click here. Thanks!
