Five of today’s Best-selling Christian Authors weave five unique, connected stories where handmade Christmas ornaments lead to miraculous answers to prayer.Comfort and Joy, by Lesley Ann McDanielRecently divorced from her cheating, narcissistic ex-husband, Joy Bennet has set a firm boundary against dating until her kids are grown. But when Kyle Montgomery brings his dog to her clinic for … her clinic for emergency surgery, her resolve is put to the test.
Brushed with Love, by April Hayman
An unlikely couple? Perhaps, but when Shelby Matthews and Beau Wright work together to reestablish the Wright family annual Christmas pageant, a beautiful picture of love, family, and commitment emerges in this modern retelling of Ruth and Boaz.
Tangoed in Tinsel, by Chautona Havig
It took twenty years for Wayne Farrell to find the love of his life and only a sprained ankle to lose her. Still, when a new shot at romance presents itself, Wayne finds himself tangling and tangoing his life in unexpected directions.
Shattered Pieces, by Alana Terry
A young boy discovers the story of how his parents survived as an interracial couple in the American South during the Civil Rights movement.
Under the Christmas Star, by Amanda Tru
When an autistic young woman’s car and handcrafted ornaments are stolen, she struggles to keep her business and doubts her future could include friendship, love, and answered prayer.
Please Note: The Crossroads Collections are sets of stories that are interconnected in some way, but the collections are independent, complete, and can be read in any order.
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Two of the stories were great the rest were below average to average.
Comfort and Joy by Lesley Ann McDaniel
Joy went through a divorce before the holidays a year ago, and is still trying to figure things out. Kyle is a customer who brings his dog in late one day. Confusion, mistrust and a brand new relationship with God has her trying to figure out which was is up. Victoria, Brian, Mike, Cyndi, Wes, Wendy, Betsy and Joy’s parents and kids round out the characters in this story. Fun story overall, that’s hard to put down and set in Seattle around Christmastime.
Brushed with Love by April Hayman
Shelby has just lost her job, though it’s no loss really, it was a paycheck in a town she looked far too different to be accepted in. Beau is a rancher, whose sister has moved in and started making changes. Some needed, some he’d rather do without, like the winter Christmas Pageant. Beau is intrigued when he meets Shelby, though Shelby is wary of strangers and content to help out Anne, whom she’s rooming with. Beau offers her some short term work, which she accepts. Along with Shelby, Beau and Anne, we meet Ed, Peter, Dale, Stan, George, Lena, Ollie and a few others. Nice story, with strong supporting characters to encourage some growth in our two main characters.
Tangoed in Tinsel by Chautona Having
Wayne and Lena were introduced in a previous Crossroads Collection and we get a story that focuses on these two, and misunderstandings, patience and forgiveness. Fun getting to know them plus seeing a few names we’ve seen in the earlier collections. Some humor along with some more serious points round out this story, with Ramon being one who is part of both, though not the only one. Easy to get into story with these two quirky characters.
Shattered Pieces by Alan Terry
This story is told from Woong’s point of view and in letters. Nice twist from this author, with a character who’s always been fun and talked a lot. We see familiar names and learn about the early relationship of Carl and Sandy. Fun story, with Woong’s rambling way of explaining things.
Under the Christmas Star by Amanda Tru
We get to know the person responsible for the beautiful ornaments in the previous stories. Emma was briefly introduced in the previous collection and takes center stage here. Chief Jacobs is the other main character with references to other familiar names, like Kate and Brook, as well. Love Emma and seeing another side of Chief Jacobs occasionally, lol. The minimal suspense added to this story, along with really liking Emma’s character, kept the pages turning to see what happened next.
I loved the different stories.
Like the 1st Christmas collection, I thoroughly enjoyed the several novellas that were wonderfully climaxed in the final story by Amanda Tru. Each story was different and inspiring. As a with the 1st collection I read, my favorite authors were Chautpna Havig and Amanda Tru, but all the stories were entertaining and spiritually enriching. It’s so refreshing to confidently read authors who encourage faith and can be trusted not to pollute the reader’s mind with ungodly words or word pictures.