Once upon a Winter's Heart

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Once Upon a Winter's Heart

Center Street (January 7, 2014)


by

Melody Carlson


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Over the years, Melody Carlson has worn many hats, from pre-school teacher to youth counselor to political activist to senior editor. But most of all, she loves to write! Currently she freelances from her home. In the past eight years, she has published over ninety books for children, teens, and adults--with sales totaling more than two million and many titles appearing on the ECPA Bestsellers List. Several of her books have been finalists for, and winners of, various writing awards.

She has two grown sons and lives in Central Oregon with her husband and chocolate lab retriever. They enjoy skiing, hiking, gardening, camping and biking in the beautiful Cascade Mountains.


ABOUT THE BOOK

Emma Burcelli has suffered over a decade of dating disasters. But she concludes that love is officially dead when her grandfather Poppi suddenly passes, leaving her grandmother Nona devastated. To help out, Emma works in the family bookstore, which Nona insists must be decked out in sweetheart décor as Poppi would have done for Valentine's Day. Although she feels like a V-Day Scrooge, Emma quickly learns to enjoy the task with the help of a handsome family friend, Lane Forester, who shows her that hanging hearts is much more fun when done to the tune of Dean Martin. As Emma and Lane share time and memories of Poppi, she reconsiders the notion that romance is alive.




If you would like to read the first chapter of Once Upon a Winter's Heart, go HERE.





My Thoughts:

Once Upon A Winter's Heart is  a cute and quick read (155 pgs).  I was thankful for a very cold winter day, snow was falling and the fire was roaring, so I grabbed the book and commenced to reading.

For the most part I enjoyed Once Upon A Winter's Heart. There was just enough "cute and predictability" that kept me turning pages to see just how and when Emma and Lane would get together! I loved Nona and Poppi and the legacy of their love and character.

What I had issue with, was the dysfunction in this family.  Don't get me wrong, I know no one has a perfect marriage or perfect family, but I hated how childish and selfish Emma's mom and dad were while going through a rough patch in their marriage. While that was frustrating, it was the relationship that Emma's mother had with her youngest daughter, Anne. When a mother not only acts like she is above others, but then also acts as if she and her younger daughter are superior to the other daughter, well, that is just hard to read.  These issues covered the majority of the pages throughout the book, and then with just a few pages left, Emma's parents appear to have reconciled but without any word of how that all played out.

Overall I would give this 3 out 5 ♥'s

Thank you CFBA for allowing me this complimentary book in exchange for my honest review.