In this standalone holiday novella, return to the charming Cornish village readers fell in love with in The Secrets of Paper and Ink.Women’s counselor Joy Beckman has always been a friend and helper to all. That’s why she’s given up everything to be with her parents as her mother suffers through Alzheimer’s. Joy may not have a thriving career or a love life at the moment, but she’s doing what she … but she’s doing what she does best—taking care of others. And even though it’s difficult, she knows it’s where she is supposed to be.
But life throws a curveball when she has to leave her parents temporarily to travel to Cornwall, England, for the Christmas-time wedding of her best friend. While there, Joy helps Sophia tackle her last-minute to-do list, and in the process, finally meets a man who turns her head—and her heart. The only problem? He lives in snowy London, and her life is with her parents back in sunny Florida.
She tries to resist Oliver Lincoln’s charms, but it’s harder than it should be. With her heart torn in two, Joy is forced to choose between a life she knows she’s meant for and the one she didn’t see coming.
“The sumptuous sea-swept shores of Cornwall provide a unique and alluring canvas for Harrel’s Like a Winter Snow. Readers wishing for an arm-chair vacation for the holidays will find themselves happily accompanied by Joy and Oliver to a beguiling British setting. Borrowing the enchanting village from her reader favorite The Secrets of Paper and Ink, Harrel’s foray into Christmas romance is bolstered by a strong and empathetic look at love, faith, restoration and the promise of love where we least expect it. I hope to revisit Port Willis for many reading adventures to come.” —Rachel McMillan, author The Three Quarter Time series
“A romantic Christmas story set in beautiful seaside England? Yes, please! Lindsay Harrel’s Like a Winter Snow is the perfect mix of depth and charm. Joy and Oliver are so likable and relatable—and together, they’re just plain adorable. Plus, I can’t help but love that they’re a little older than your average hero and heroine. From the Christmasy atmosphere to moments both swoony and poignant, I loved this story…and I know readers will, too!” —Melissa Tagg, Carol Award-winning author of Now & Then & Always and the Walker Family series
“Like a Winter Snow offers all the depth of emotion Lindsay’s readers have come to expect from her books—wrapped up with a wonderful Christmas bow! A beautiful story of learning to let go of the uncontrollable and opening your heart to love. I highly recommend!” —Liz Johnson, bestselling author of The Red Door Inn
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This was my first Lindsay Harrel book and I really enjoyed it. Like a Winter Snow is a moving yet sweet contemporary novella with slightly older heroine and hero (which is awesome). I could easily identify with Joy’s ‘Martha-like’ personality. I want to read the authors book The Secrets of Paper and Ink since it obviously shares characters with Like a Winter Snow. I bought a copy and wasn’t required to write a review.
“I suppose it’s a reminder. That sometimes, the things God has planned for our lives aren’t what we expect. But they’re good. Somehow, they’re good.”
If you’ve read The Secrets of Paper and Ink, this novella will thrill your heart as we reconnect with Joy, Sophia’s best friend, as she helps Sophia prepare for her Christmas wedding in Port Willis, England. Even if you haven’t read the first novel, this novella can be read as a stand-alone and you’ll fall head-over-heels in love with Joy and Oliver. Written in her easy-to-read style, the novella will enchant you with the quaint festive beauty of a small town during Christmas and charm you with the real, down-to-earth, struggling characters trying to make sense out of their fears and hopes and dreams.
Joy, who gave up a thriving counseling practice, has now lost herself in taking care of her mother who suffers from advanced dementia. Taking two weeks off from her care-giving duty to see Sophia get married induces much guilt and then she’s forced to face her fears when Oliver comes into her life. Oliver is a straight-laced and driven accountant who is in Port Willis for the holidays to help out his aunt who owns an antique store. Their attraction is instant and their relationship is so wonderfully tender and sweet but Joy must learn to be unshackled from the fears that hold her rooted. It is such a heart-warming Christmas story. If you love contemporary Christmas romance, this book is definitely for you!
I received a copy of the book from the author and was under no obligation to post a positive review. All comments and opinions are solely my own.
Oh how I loved this novella! It was so good! This made me want to pack my bags and go to Port Willis! Too bad it isn’t a real place. Oliver was so swoon-worthy. My only complaint is that the story wasn’t longer. I didn’t want it to end!
I was given a complimentary copy of this ebook from the author, but was not required to write a review. The thoughts and comments are my own.
This overtly Christian story deals with living the belief that God is in control.
In spite of being a counselor, and really good at her job, Joy sure could use some counseling of her own. She gets it in kind words from friends and her parents. It just take a bit to soak in, like real life sometimes.
This book ends with a HFN, but with what we know of the characters involved we can be sure their will reach a HEA.
Joy moved back home to help her Dad take care of her Mom when her mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Joy blames herself for her Mom getting out of the house and getting lost for a couple of hours and falling and breaking her hip. The reason Joy blames herself is that she was in charge of her Mom but Joy had fallen asleep and didn’t know her Mom was gone.
Joy’s best friend was getting married and Joy was the Maid of Honor so she had to leave her parents for about 2 weeks. As you can imagine Joy was a nervous wreck about leaving them behind. She meets Oliver.
The book was so good that I just could not put it down. Once I started reading I had the book in hand until it was finished. Check it out. You won’t be disappointed.
This is a wonderful story about family, close friends and moving forward with life.
I Loved the story and the characters: Joy, Sophia, Oliver and Ginny.
The setting – England – and the places they explored, were well described.
The hard choice that Joy had to make was real and well written.
1)Joy Beckman, friend and helper to all, flies over to Cornwall for her friend Sophia’s Christmas wedding
2)Joy is torn between her responsibilities with her parents and her blossoming attraction with Oliver in Cornwall
3)a mixed up wedding dress, left behind rings
4)a snowstorm keeps Joy and Oliver overnight in London
5)”I can logically recognize that the rain falls on the evil and the good alike. Even that our perception of rain and lightning can be flawed. We see only the chaos and the destruction, the inconveniences, the way they ruin our plans. But fire and water, they bring life too. Refining. Rejuvenation.” Joy shook her head. “Still. . . this time, I don’t think I want what God seems to have planned for my life.”
This Christmas novella takes us back to Port Willis where we met Sophia in Secrets of Paper and Ink. I always enjoy Lindsay’s books, I love how the faith story is woven in so naturally with the characters.
Like a Winter Snow: a heartwarming novella by Lindsay Harrel
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This book start out with Sophia and she’s near London about to be married and she can’t wait for her maid of honors to show up.
Joy is visiting her mother in the nursing home and she’s soon to be released to her dad and she assumes they will head home. Her dad wants to put them both into an assisted living home where it will free up Joy’s part in taking care of them.
Joy leaves to attend the wedding in London and loves helping her bestie with all kinds of chores. She is sometimes thrown together with Oliver a friend of the groom and she likes him.
She gets a call about her mother and leaves suddenly to Florida without saying good bye to Oliver. After she finds her parents at peace in their location and has a super talk with her mom who reminds her of things she heads back to make things right.
Cute short story about friendship and hard times.
I was happy to see that Lindsay Harrel followed up The Secrets of Paper and Ink with a novella for Joy’s story. This story was a lot of fun for me as I share a name and (current) age with the heroine. Joy is a very relatable character and the lessons she learns throughout the story are appropriate to her age and current circumstances in life, especially with aging parents. The setting of the story was once again one of those places that leaves you longing to travel.
I absolutely adored this heartwarming Christmas novella. I loved The Secrets of Paper and Ink so I was thrilled to revisit old characters and journey back to the charming town of Port Willis. This story does stand alone just fine so if you haven’t read the first one, no worries.
The characters were wonderful. I liked the fact that they were a little older than the average in these types of stories. That was a nice change. Oliver is such a dreamy leading man. A cross between Henry Cavill and Gerard Butler who has a dog named Rascal? Yes, please! Joy has a lot on her plate. It feels like she has the whole world on her shoulders. So many people are counting on her and she feels like she’s letting every one of them down. Her journey of letting go and trusting God was inspiring.
If you’re looking for a quick and sweet holiday read, Like a Winter Snow is sure to delight.
Have you ever had your life figured out? Joy does. Then she goes to Cornwall for her friends wedding and her life path doesn’t seem so clear anymore. She meets a charming professor, Oliver. Joy is a counselor who helps so many and is taking care of her parents. She hasn’t met a man like Oliver. The scene is beautifully set in Cornwall and London. I really liked that we get to revisit characters from The Secrets of Paper and Ink again. A great read for Christmas or really any time of year. Because Christmas lives in our hearts and we can celebrate all year long. I received a copy of this book from the author. All opinions are my own.
Have you ever felt you needed to be all and do all for those you love, to be the one to make sure everything is right? It’s a very big task and sometimes we aren’t to be that person. We forget to trust God, that He actually can handle things without us.
That’s what Joy and Oliver both learn in this charming book.
This story by author Lindsay Harrel is a sweet story of tender love and a beautiful lesson of how God really does want to take our burdens, and that He has a plan for our life.
Set in the quaint Cornish village of Port Willis, this tale comes alive with festiveness, charm and sweet romance. As well as an enchanting Christmas story of love.
I truly loved reading this book because it had wonderful relationships between Joy and her friend Sophie, as well as the newfound friendship with a gentleman named, Oliver. It was full of tender moments where Joy learned she didn’t need to have everything under control.
I also loved the fact the author created these two main characters a bit older than the normal young couples you read about in books.
I really enjoyed this book and liked how it got me in the holiday spirit. I highly recommend you pick this book up.
Lindsay Harrel’s Like Winter Snow is a must read novella for readers of her previous book The Secrets of Paper and Ink. The story transports us back to the village of Cornwall, England for a Christmas wedding. Oh, how sweet is the return!
Joy Beckman is the maid of honor for her friend, Sophie’s wedding. She leaves an enormous responsibility at home in Florida just for a bit to be with Sophie and celebrate. Who knew Oliver Lincoln would be there to make her question all the things she thought her life was supposed to be?
The setting is wonderful and Oliver is just a gem! It’s a fairly quick read, but so full of romance and all the tingles necessary for a love story. In addition, Harrel handles a storyline about Alzheimer’s in a sensitive way.
If you have read the previous book, you will not want to miss this one. If you haven’t read the other book, you will still be able to enjoy this lovely story and then, you will be adding The Secrets of Paper and Ink to your TBR list!
I received a copy of this story from the author. I was not required to give a positive review.
This is the first book I’ve read by Lindsay Harrel. I really enjoyed it. It’s story of Joy who leaves her aging parents to go help her best friend Sophia in charming town in England prepare for her Christmas time wedding. She meets Oliver who is helping out his aunt in her antique shop. That’s where Joy and Oliver meet. So happens Oliver is a friend of the groom and is also in the wedding.
Joy, torn between home and her ailing parents and the possibility of finding love at 42. I loved the setting, I want to go there and visit and go to the lighthouse. It’s a story of leaning to love and trust that God does know what He has plans and not what we think we need or need to do.
I look forward to reading more of Lindsay’s books. I read this in one afternoon and evening. It was hard to put down. So yes, I really, really liked it. Read, enjoy, blessings.
BEAUTIFUL STORY!
WOW! What a beautiful, heartwarming story that author Lindsay Harrel has given us just before Christmas! This Novella may be read as a stand alone but if the reader wants a deeper understanding of the characters, then they need to read THE SECRETS OF PAPER & INK first.
LIKE A WINTER SNOW takes readers back to beautiful Port Willis, England. Sophie is there to celebrate the Wedding of her best friend. She is also struggling with her aging parents and how best to help them. Also, where does that leave her future? She’s never left her heart open to be vulnerable because she’s always the one taking care of others. Until one day she has a “chance” meeting with a groomsman and all her lifetime of rational thinking seems to escape her as if a hurricane force wind knocked it out of her. It was a delightful feeling but oh, so dangerous just the same. She has “too many responsibilities to take care of” to even think about making a connection with anyone let alone THIS MAN. Can knowing someone one or two weeks be long enough to know anything? To make you want to uproot your entire life?
Harrel takes readers on a breathtakingly quick trip in this Novella. It is a story of LOVE – for family, for friends (that compels you to travel around the world to be in their Wedding!) and for pursuing the call of a lifetime (even if you end up doing it for free while you’re just sitting around talking with your friends). And maybe, True Love can be found after all!
The story opens with Joy Beckman. Joy recently quit her job in a counseling center to move to Florida. She moved to help care for her mother who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. Joy was struggling with trying to reframe her life in terms of becoming a caregiver. Her mother suffered a fall when Joy fell asleep while being her caregiver and Joy blamed herself for letting it happen.
In the midst of working through her guilt she was scheduled to make a trip to Port Willis to be the maid of honor for her best friend’s Christmas wedding. She was looking forward to going but felt such deep guilt over leaving at such a crucial time in her parents’ life. Several surprises await her on this journey.
Harrel weaves a beautiful story of trusting God in the timing and details of a life. It is a lovely Christmas tale of family, friends and romance just in time for our coming holiday season.
I truly enjoyed this book! It put me in the mood for the holidays and gives a sweet message of trusting God in the details of life. I highly recommend you grab this one and then get the Secrets of Paper and Ink when you get the chance. If you are a book love you won’t regret it!
Lindsey Harrel does it again! A brilliantly written book that tugs at the readers heart and won’t let go. Joy is there for everyone but herself, she has a heart of gold. I loved her character and wanted to just step into her shoes so I could give her happiness. There are many great characters in this book, I really enjoyed them all. The author does a great job of pulling you in from page one. There is so much to like about this book, Joy’s sacrifice of happiness for her family, love for friends and romance. God’s plans for our lives and how he takes care of us. This book will keep a smile on your face and Joy in your heart!
Was given a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
Lindsay Harrel brings to life the story of Joy Beckman, the best friend of Sophia from Harrel’s The Secrets of Paper and Ink. Here, Joy gets her own story told. This story is about giving up a life and career to help take care of a parent with Alzheimer’s and the pains and joys that come with that. It’s about a best friend’s wedding and about falling in love when you least expect it. This story is sweet and charming and one that readers will thoroughly enjoy!
Series: Port Willis
Genre: holiday, Christmas, Christian
Publisher: Indie
Publication date: October 29, 2019
Number of pages: 148
An ARC copy of this book was provided for review by the author, as well as an ecopy of this book pre-ordered for review. A review was not required and all views and opinions expressed are my own.
‘I don’t think I want what God seems to have planned for my life.’
This was my first book by Lindsay Harrel and I enjoyed it very much. I need to go back and read the book before it, though, because I felt as if I missed something. But I think it stands well as a stand alone. Like a Winter Snow is a precious little story of a woman who thinks she has to be there for folks but doesn’t take the time for herself, not realizing that God has planned a great life for her also! It was truly a wonderful little novella and I’m so glad I read it. I recommend this very much.
I was so happy to return to Port Willis and catch up on the characters!! She brings them to life in this wonderful wintery story! I love the way Lindsay writes! This is a MUST READ!