From Donna VanLiere, the New York Times bestselling author of The Christmas Hope series comes another heartwarming, inspirational story for the holidays, The Christmas Table. In June 1972, John Creighton determines to build his wife Joan a kitchen table. His largest project to date had been picture frames but he promises to have the table ready for Thanksgiving dinner. Inspired to put something … dinner. Inspired to put something delicious on the table, Joan turns to her mother’s recipes she had given to Joan when she and John married.
In June 2012, Lauren Mabrey discovers she’s pregnant. Gloria, Miriam, and the rest of her friends at Glory’s Place begin to pitch in, helping Lauren prepare their home for the baby. On a visit to the local furniture builder, Lauren finds a table that he bought at a garage sale but has recently refinished. Once home, a drawer is discovered under the table which contains a stack of recipe cards. Growing up in one foster home after another, Lauren never learned to cook and is fascinated as she reads through the cards. Personal notes have been written on each one from the mother to her daughter and time and again Lauren wonders where they lived, when they lived, and in a strange way, she feels connected to this mother and her daughter and wants to make the mother proud.
The story continues to from 1972 to 2012 as Joan battles breast cancer and Lauren learns to cook, preparing for the baby’s arrival. As Christmas nears, can Lauren unlock the mystery of the table, and find the peace she’s always longed for?
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What an awesome book. A great cast of characters and a very well written story. This book contains all the feels. I laughed, cried, was sad and really enjoyed the little bit of mystery we tried to solve as we read. It was inspirational as well.
Joan wasn’t much of a cook but her Mom made her recipe cards of meals and things that she used to cook for Joan while she was growing up. On the cards she told a little story about each recipe. She mentioned that you only use farm fresh milk for this, you cook the bananas till they are black for that and so on. Joan followed these recipe cards making sure to read even the notes her Mom wrote while making them. Joan’s husband John starts to make a table for Joan for Thanksgiving.
Thirty years later the cards and table fall into the hands of another Mom to be that doesn’t know how to cook. What an awesome story you really must read.
I’ve read several of Donna VanLiere’s Christmas stories, and The Christmas Table does not disappoint. It is just as charming, heart-warming and uplifting as all her other Christmas tales.
Family, friends, faith and love
A wonderful, beautiful, story woven around a table, recipe cards and two families going through life changes. The family treasured recipes card inspires two women, from two different time periods, to learn to cook. They’re not just recipes, each card is filled with family memories and stories. Wonderful writing, interesting characters, and the storyline captured my heart. I hope this inspires you to write your favorite recipes and memories down to be handed down to future generations. A new to me author who has quite a few books out that I’m eager to read.
(Bonus – recipes from the story are included at the end of the book)
“The Christmas Table” by Donna VanLiere
Two stories fifty years apart and the table that is the link between them. I loved this story. I laughed and I cried, buckets of tears. You see, I tend to feel the emotions of a well written story. So, if you have the same tendency, you best have your tissues handy. This is a sweet clean family love and faith book. The author included several of the recipes from the story as a special treat for you to try at home. So, be sure to check out those final pages !! Happy Reading ! !
note: I received an ARC of this story from the publisher with the request to post an honest review.
This is a faith-based story about putting your trust in God, especially during times when things seem hopeless.
It alternates between two stories, 40 years apart. One involves the making of a table as the man’s wife battles cancer, the other a young mother-to-be who purchased the table and discovered family recipes/remembrances in its drawer. The table and recipes pull, not just each family, but the families as a whole together.
A good, maybe not great, heartwarming story with some unexpected humor.
Note: Don’t read this while hungry…there’s some scrumptious recipes featured, and a few included at the end.
Thanks to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for providing me the ARC. The opinions are strictly my own.
This story was so heartwarming and actually touched my heart, and even if the story leaned into faith it didn’t feel like to much, I rather liked it!! I was so impressed in the author and how effortless she had the characters and stories intertwined. She tied up all the loose ends by the end of the story perfectly, and some of the happens just made me say WOW didn’t see that coming!! Incredible story!!
This book was nothing I expected and everything I loved! First, let me say this book is not a romance. It’s about love, hope, faith and inspiration. I wanted to read something a little different from my usual genres and this book was perfect for that.
There is nothing I love more than small-town stories. The loyalty, love and friendships between everyone is rarely something I ever see in real life. In fact, I haven’t seen small towns, or neighborhoods in my experience, come together since I was a child. This world we live in has changed so much in the past thirty years. When a book like The Christmas Table comes along, I feel like I’ve just taken a long overdue breath of fresh air.
There are three main characters in this book and many secondaries that are prominent in carrying this story along. Without them, there is no story. Everyone has a particular part to place. The book is written with two time elements, jumping back and forth every chapter or so between 1972 and the present. At first, I was not a fan of the switching back and forth so frequently because there was not enough focus on one particular character in order for them to grow. But I quickly realized that this book is not about character growth and development. We are simply being told a story. A story we need to pay particular attention to. Among these characters is a mystery. A Christmas table is the main focus, and one that brings the climax to completion. I am not going to give away any details on the plot. This was a lovely, refreshing and endearing story and I want you to experience it on your own.
I do want to add that there are quite a few moments of sadness, and even more of humor. There is a bit of mystery but no angst. This was a well-balanced novel; one I will not soon forget. While I read a lot, and enjoy most of what I read, it isn’t frequent when books as refreshing and endearing as The Christmas Table come my way. When they do, I’m smiling for days, remembering moments in the book, fondly.
One more thing I’d like to mention is after selecting this book to read, I realized I had read this author years before with The Christmas Shoes which was turned into a movie. That story had me in tears. This author is talented when it comes to pulling heartstrings. She has written
quite a few other Christmas themed books that I am planning to read and am looking forward to the holiday season to do just that.
This is my honest and unbiased review and I thank you for taking the time to read it. 🙂
The Christmas Table is a magnificent holiday tale by Donna VanLiere. Ms. VanLiere has brought the stories of two families to life in this well-written book. She has created a cast of characters that are fun and heartwarming. This book is the blending of two stories, a table, recipe cards and faith. Joan struggles with cancer in the 1970’s and Lauren is starting her family in 2012. Kudos to Ms. VanLiere for her masterful weaving of these two stories. The Christmas Table will make you smile, it may make you cry. But it’s positively going to keep you entranced. I loved every page of this book and look forward to my next book by this talented author. This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is the first book that I’ve read by this author- I thought that I would give it a try when I was offered a copy from the publisher. It is a very sweet|clean story that takes place in 1972 and 2012. The two situations tie up quite nicely at the end of the book in a surprising way. There were unexpected moments throughout the book that made my heart happy.
This was a very quick easy book to read. I was really expecting more of a Christmas story. I guess it is but not quite what I was expecting. It does have a nice Christian message. I enjoyed the story.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy
I really enjoyed this story. It is a heartwarming tale. I really liked all the characters, especially Lauren. There’s great dialogue and the storyline flows really well. I liked this book so much that I plan to find more stories by this author especially since she writes Christmas stories.
The Christmas Table by Donna VanLiere is a lovely women’s fiction story that kept me turning the pages throughout the afternoon.
The story is about two women, one in 1972 and one in 2012, and their lives as they experience life surrounded by family, friends, love and faith. Ms. VanLiere’s writing is poignant and descriptive throughout the story. The plot is smooth and the characters develop organically and become people who I would love to call friends. The recipes shared between mother and daughter all sounded delicious and some of them were included at the end of the book. A Christmas story that links two women from different generations by a black walnut table and family recipes.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book from St, Martin’s Press via NetGalley. All of the above opinions are my own.
The well written storyline and the wonderfully created characters made this book a very enjoyable and entertaining read!
I loved this story. I think this is a story I could read every year. Ms. VanLiere brings such emotion to her stories. She takes the reader on the highs and lows of the characters. The cast of characters in this story was really eclectic. The story switches back and forth between a 40 year period; 1972 & 2012, and the trials and tribulations of two young couples (Joan and John & Lauren and Travis) that are each connected; by chance, by a set of family recipe cards. The story unfolds in a steady manner and the reader is drawn into the lives of these couples from such different circumstances. I like how the author brings faith into the story, in my mind, as a side-character. Always there, but not always seen.
If you like stories that make you laugh and cry, involve families in it’s many different definitions, and you don’t mind talk of Faith and God; then, I believe you would like this book. Reading the last few pages left me so uplifted in the human spirit.
She doesn’t know how to cook, set up a house or worse yet deal with her upcoming surprise. Before meeting and marrying, her life didn’t nurture or enable these skills. When friends gather to help her take on decorating for her and her husband that all changes. Who knew that finding the perfect table would lead her on a journey of discovery. Searching for the owner of the cards takes on a life of it’s own and leads to a heartwarming revelation and new friends. A sweet engaging, clean and fun read with a few surprises thrown in and happy coincidences make this a book to read. The characters and story hook you and keep you turning the pages for more. I haven’t had the pleasure of reading this author before but now that I have I will be back for more.
It was a bit difficult to find this information, but I believe this is the 10th book in the Christmas Hope Series. I did not read the other books in this series or any books by this author prior to this book. I really enjoyed this Christian based story linking two families by a special table. The story is written in dual timelines, so the reader knows this link early on. The story also centers on handwritten recipes cards and notes from a mother to her daughter. In both timelines a young woman learns to cook from these recipes. It was delightful to experience the joy that they found in cooking, since I really never have felt that way. I was motivated and actually cooked a few meals after finishing this book. I wish my mother was still here to teach me to cook some of her favorite meals.
The author does a great job of character development and I came to know and like many of the people she created. One character was very annoying, but I know she has a golden heart, so I tried to not write her off as a nasty person. I definitely want to go back and read the entire series. I believe in an earlier story this character’s attitude is probably explained.
I liked the plot very much. I enjoyed how all the loose ends of the story are tied up very neatly and realistically at the end.
I want to thank St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read the Advanced Reader Copy. My review is my own opinion not influenced by receiving the ARC.
Story of two families and the table. Story starts in 1972, when John started to build a table for his wife Joan.
Then story jumps to 2012, and it’s about Lauren (who buys the table) and Travis, Lauren finds recipes in the draw of the table, and she and Travis try to find family, who owned the table.
This story is absolutely wonderful, it’s about struggle and faith.
I did enjoyed so much.
A warm, fuzzy, delightful Christmas story that can be read at any time of the year!
You do not want to miss this one!
Most families love to congregate around a kitchen table where there is food, drink and conversation.
This is a novel told between 1972 and 2012 between two families and the journey of a special homemade table with its magic drawer full of delicious recipes and life lessons!
This book has spirit and strength throughout each chapter!
Do yourself a favor and sit for a day and nourish your soul!
“We may not be able to see God, but just like the wind we can see what He touches.”
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this title. It’s the first time reading Donna VanLiere’s work, which reminds me of Debbie Macomber’s stories.
The Christmas Table is a sweet, precious, endearing story about two families and their connection to a handmade table and the hidden recipes.
In 1972, John Creighton found a piece of black walnut and was determined to turn that slab into a beautiful table for his wife, Joan, for Thanksgiving. Joan decides that she wants to learn to cook like her momma, Alice, and uses her recipes to start her lessons. This young family of four has so many trials and tribulations through their young lives you wonder how they are going to make it.
In 2012, Lauren Mabrey, who was recently wedded to Travis, found out they are expecting their first child. In preparing for the baby’s arrival, Lauren’s friends help her out by decorating their starter home. Lauren needs a kitchen table and finds one at Larry’s place, which they purchase only to find handwritten recipes inside the little draw. Lauren learns how to cook using these recipes and reads all the individual notes set aside each one, knowing that she needs to return them to their rightful owner. The mystery of the owner of the recipes begins.
We learn everyone going through life, and their journeys are all unique. However, each life intertwines with the other. So remember to be kind to others since we never know what they may be going through.
Newlywed Lauren finds a collection of handwritten recipe cards in the drawer of a refinished table she buys for her new kitchen. Each recipe has a tender, personal note from a mother to her daughter. Lauren teaches herself to cook using the recipes and begins searching for their rightful owner. The book alternates Lauren’s story with flashbacks to the original owner and her family. The storylines converge at Christmas.
This is a sweet, short, faith-centered book with some delicious-sounding recipes and good dialogue. It would make a nice Christmas present for a cook, an expectant mom, or anyone who enjoys passing along treasured family recipes.
This book is not for readers looking for conflict, complexity, or mystery. All the characters are admirable; the antagonists are physical fragility and the struggle to have faith when bad things happen to good people. It would be more helpful for readers who want to try the recipes if all of them were collected at the end of the book, instead of only a selection of the many dishes described.
Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for the honest review.