Review: The Snow Globe by Sheila Roberts

 

Title: The Snow Globe

Author: Sheila Roberts

Genre: Fiction (Christmas Themed)

Publisher: St. Martins Press

About (From St. Martins Press):

On a blustery afternoon, Kylie Gray wanders into an antique shop and buys an enchanting snow globe.  “There’s a story behind that snow globe,” the antique dealer tells her.  The original owner, he explains, was a German toymaker who lost his wife and son right before Christmas.  When the grieving widower received the handcrafted snow globe as a Christmas gift, he saw the image of a beautiful woman beneath the glass—a woman who would come into his life, mend his broken heart and bring him back to the world of the living.  For years, the snow globe has passed from generation to generation, somehow always landing in the hands of a person in special need of a Christmas miracle.  

Kiley could use a miracle herself.  This year, all she wants for Christmas is someone to love.  A hopeful shake leads her on an adventure that makes a believer out of her. When Kylie shares the story of the snow globe with her best friends—two women with problems of their own—they don’t believe it.  But they’re about to discover that at Christmastime, sometimes the impossible becomes possible and miracles really do come true.

My Thoughts:

The Snow Globe is a perfect read for this time of year when you need something light, meaningful and well written. This is a quick read at 166 pages and can easily be read in an afternoon while you sit by the fire sipping a hot chocolate or coffee. This is the story of Christmas hope and miracles and how faith can open up a new world of opportunities. Kylie stumbles upon a beautiful antique snow globe that opens up a new world of happiness to her but the key was to believe. She shared her miracle with her two best friends who are skeptical and Kylie wants to share this miracle of hope with them. This was the first book that I've read by Sheila Roberts and I look forward to reading more of her books.

Recommend: This is a wonderful holiday treat full of warmth, hope and charm. Most of us will relate to the realistic characters and heartfelt emotions and this book will make you wish for your own Snow globe and miracle of hope. 

Source: Thanks to Newman Communications for sending me a copy of this book to review. 

About The Author:

Sheila Roberts is the author of On Strike for Christmas and four previous novels for St. Martin’s Press.  When she’s not speaking to women’s groups or at conferences, she can be found writing about family, friendship and other things near and dear to women’s hearts.  She lives in the Pacific Northwest.

Read an Excerpt of The Snow Globe, here.

Check out Sheila Roberts Website, here.

Review: Finding Father Christmas & Engaging Father Christmas by Robin Jones Gunn

Robin Jones Gunn's Father Christmas Series are wonderfully charming novella's. There are currently two books in the series and they are both cozy and warm stories that are perfect reading for the Christmas season. I hope that the author will continue this series as I look forward to reading more Father Christmas Books.


The author shares on her website in The Story Behind the Story, that she "....realized the book was going to be about belonging. What sweeter gift is there for any woman at any stage of life than to discover the place and the people to whom she belongs?"

Finding Father Christmas (Father Christmas Series #1)

Description: Miranda Carson's search for her father takes a turn she never expected when she finds herself in London with only a few feeble clues to who he might be. Unexpectedly welcomed into a family that doesn't recognize her, and whom she's quickly coming to love, she faces a terrible decision. Should she reveal her true identity and destroy their idyllic image of her father? Or should she carry the truth home with her to San Francisco and remain alone in this world? Whatever choice she makes during this London Christmas will forever change the future for both herself and the family she can't bear to leave.

This is the first book in the Father Christmas series. I would highly recommend starting with this one as they are important to read in order to follow the events of the story. This first book, starts off with Miranda's search for her father which takes her from the US to England during Christmas. She finds herself in a cozy tea shop called The Tea Cosy which is just the kind of place I would imagine visiting in England. She finds new friends and the truth that she has been searching for.


You can read an excerpt of the book and find a reading guide HERE.



Engaging Father Christmas (Father Christmas Series #2)

Description: Miranda Carson can't wait to return to England for Christmas and to be with her boyfriend, Ian. She has spent a lifetime yearning for a place to call home, and she's sure Carlton Heath will be it, especially when a hinted-at engagement ring slips into the conversation. But Miranda's high hopes for a jolly Christmas with the small circle of people she has come to love are toppled when Ian's father is hospitalized and the matriarch of the Whitcombe family withholds her blessing from Miranda. Questions run rampant in Miranda's mind about whether she really belongs in this cheery corner of the world. Then, when her true identity threatens all her relationships in unanticipated ways, Miranda is certain all is lost. And yet . . . maybe Father Christmas has special gifts in store for her after all.


In this follow up to Finding Father Christmas, Miranda returns to England for Christmas with a new boyfriend and a new extended family. A twist of events makes Miranda question everything that she has learned to appreciate. Both books tie into the true meaning of Christmas and are uplifting stories of the peace and grace that the spirit of Christmas can bring. Miranda may not have found her true birth father but she did find the true Father of Christmas which is a blessing that we can all find.


You can read an excerpt of this book, HERE.

Check out Robin Jones Gunn website for more information and The Story behind the Story of writing these wonderful novellas as well as listening to an excerpt read by the author.


*Thanks to Miriam from Hachettte Books for sending me these books.