Welcome! Christmas Angels by Nancy Naigle releases on October 15 with Snow Angels by Nadine Dorries out October 17. All these new Christmas stories has me humming Christmas carols around the house. I saw that Lifetime will have Christmas movies 24/7 starting at the end of October which is a first for this channel. They are imitating the Hallmark Channel (of course). Do you like to watch Christmas movies? I wish they would have a few Christmas mysteries to spice things up.
The Christmas Boutique by Jennifer Chiaverini returns readers to the Elm Creek Valley of
Pennsylvania. Sylvia Bergstrom Compson and
the people who live at Elm Creek Manor are preparing for the upcoming
holidays. Sylvia and Andrew will be
celebrating their one year wedding anniversary on Christmas Eve and will be
hosting a party. Sarah McClure is thirty
weeks pregnant with twins and is distressed that her husband, Matt is three
hours away helping his father with his construction business. He agreed to help
Hank without consulting Sarah and knowing that he will be missing their
childbirth classes. Gwen Sullivan is
missing her daughter, Summer who is away completing her doctorate. Anna Del Maso has an extra spring in her step
and sparkle in her eye. The ladies
wonder if it can be courtesy of her neighbor who she keeps insisting is just a
good friend. When the water pipes burst in
the church hall at the Good Shepherd Church, a new location for the annual
Christmas Boutique needs to quickly be found.
The Christmas Boutique is a sale of handcrafted items and baked goods
that supports the local food pantry. When
asked if the event can be held at Elm Creek Manor, Sylvia and the group quickly
agree. They then set to work to make sure
the event will be a hit which includes decorating the manor, promoting the
event, whipping up a buffet, and hanging quilts. Of course, what would be a
major event without a hiccup a two along the way.
The Christmas Boutique by Jennifer Chiaverini is the 21st An Elm Creek Quilts Novel. The Christmas Boutique can be read by those
who are new to the series and those who have read each and every book. During the time between Thanksgiving and
Christmas, we get to catch up with Sylvia, Sarah, Gwen, Diane, Gretchen, Anna,
and Mary Beth. Learn all you need to
know about Sylvia and how she established the quilting camp with Sarah’s
help. Find out how Gretchen and Joe came
to live at Elm Creek Manor and why Matt McClure is currently away. Mary Beth Callahan and Diane Sonnenberg are
neighbors with a contemptuous history. Mary
Beth dearly regrets a terrible incident and how it affected her son. Diane wants to find out who turned off the
heat in the church hall at the Good Shepherd Church which led to the pipes
bursting and does a little investigating.
Diane is the one quilter without a finished Christmas quilt to display at
the Christmas Boutique and we get to find out why. There are beautiful quilt descriptions that
will have you heading to your local fabric store to sign up for classes (or
just drool over the fabrics). Anna is
whipping up a feast that will have your mouth watering. While I enjoyed catching up with the Elm
Creek Quilters, I would have preferred a completely new full-length story
(instead of reminiscing with a little bit of story tossed in). I was so disappointed when the author quit
writing this series and I was tickled when I saw a new Christmas story was
coming out. The Christmas Boutique is
well-written with developed characters and a gorgeous locale. I love how the quilters have become a family
who are supportive of one other. It is
wonderful how they quickly rallied to help such a good cause. My favorite phrase from The Christmas Boutique
is “We must have faith that the Lord who loves us will not abandon us.” I hope that the author will keep writing new tales
for this delightful series especially since we do not know the sex of Sarah’s
twins. The Christmas Boutique is an
upbeat Christmas story with gorgeous quilts, mouthwatering munchies, stacks of
snow, faithful friends and Christmas conviviality.
The Christmas Boutique is available through Amazon. The Quilter's Apprentice is the novel that began An Elm Creek Quilts series. You can find a list of the novels in the series here (on Amazon) as well as on the author's website. Thank you for stopping by today. Tomorrow I am featuring A Christmas Home by Marta Perry. It is the first book in The Promise Glen series. I hope you have a jovial day. Take care and Happy Reading!
The Avid Reader
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