Christmas in Winter Hill by Melody Carlson

Good Day!  The Candy Cane Caper by Jane Kilpatrick, The More the Merrier by Linda Byler and What Comes My Way by Tracie Peterson come out October 1.  The Painted Castle by Kristy Cambron releases October 15 along with Read and Buried by Eva Gates.  My TBR pile keeps growing!

Christmas in Winter Hill by Melody Carlson has us traveling to Winter Hill, Washington.  Krista Galloway and her daughter, Emily are moving from Phoenix to Winter Hill where Krista has gotten a job as the new city manager.  Emily is excited to have a home with a backyard, but when they arrive in town, they discover that due to a housing shortage, they will be living in a tiny, outdated apartment without a backyard.  Krista also noticed the sign when they drove in announcing that Winter Hill is the Home of Christmasville.  Christmas is Krista’s least favorite time of year (she has her reasons), and she hopes her job will keep her far away from the festivities.  Krista soon discovers that Christmasville is an important event for the town and it draws numerous tourists to the area.  As city manager Krista must make some unpopular decisions with the repercussions affecting her and Emily.  She wonders if she made the right decision moving to Winter Hill.  It is going to take a Christmas miracle to turn this situation around.

Christmas in Winter Hill by Melody Carlson is a sweet Christmas novella.  I look forward to reading this authors latest Christmas story each year and I was not disappointed with Christmas in Winter Hill.  It is well-written with relatable characters in realistic situations.  It moves along at a steady pace and can be finished quickly (only 164 pages).  Krista Galloway is looking forward to starting over in Winter Hill.  She has not had the easiest life growing up in the foster care system and the last few years have been difficult.  Her daughter, Emily is looking forward to having a white Christmas and she wants a real home with a backyard.  Unfortunately, things do not go as planned for the duo.  Emily, though, does enjoy living in Winter Hill and makes friends right away.  I enjoyed Emily’s enthusiasm as she embraced all the Christmas festivities.  The little girl wants her mother to love Christmas as much as she does and comes up with a plan (I just loved it).  The townspeople enthusiastically embrace Christmas and their Christmasville activities.  Winter Hill is a quaint town who came up with a clever way to revive their dying city.  It is the tenth year for their Christmasville celebration, and they have big plans.  Unfortunately, there are a few hiccups along the way.  I enjoyed the subplot with Winston Palmer who is the town’s grinch (bah humbug type of guy).  Christmas In Winter Hill has new beginnings, a cute little girl, crime, a touch of romance and cheery Christmas festivities.  The story has a good moral.  We learn that we get what we need in His timing, not when we want them (it can be hard to be patient though).  The ending was a delight and left me with a big smile on my face.  My favorite phrase comes from Krista who said, “I like to think our troubles make us stronger.”  Christmas in Winter Hill is a heartwarming, uplifting story with apartment anguish, Christmas catastrophes, elf escapades, a great giveaway, and holiday high spirits.

Christmas in Winter Hill is available through major booksellers including Amazon (Amazon UK).  You can find out more about Melody Carlson's and a list of her books on her website (also a list of her books on Amazon).  Thank you for joining me.  I am going to review Stitches in Time by Suzanne Woods Fisher as part of the Celebrate Lit Tour.  It is the second novel in The Deacon's Family series.  May you have a merry day.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader