The Gift of Christmas Past

I'm sure all of us can remember our first loves. Those times when we believed we were invincible based on the belief that love would and could conquer any challenges that we faced. Then it seems as if somewhere along the way our fairy tale bubble burst. We were faced with dealing with picking up the pieces of our broken hearts and no longer did we want to believe in love again. That is the very underlying theme facing Hadley when faced with moving from foster home to foster home and dealing with the emotions one might when you feel your life slipping away. Now trying to work through anger management issues and facing the threat of possible jail time for a crime she didn't intentionally commit.

She was now facing having to find somewhere else to live after her current foster parents were asking her to leave. They couldn't deal with her lies and not being able to trust her, when they had tried to give her the benefit of the doubt. But Hadley knew that if she could just find a way to reach Monroe, the love of her life, she might convince him to marry her quickly and the two of them could runaway together and find a new life and future. After he gladly proposes, he tells her that he will meet her later once he is able to go home, talk to his parents and get the money he has saved up, which will be just what they need to start over. Only like most parents, they refused to let Monroe leave. Once they knew that Hadley was facing jail time, his wealthy parents, offered to pay for the best lawyer and provide a financial scholarship for her to continue to pursue her dream as a speech therapist without knowing his family provided it. It was the only reasonable option that would benefit Hadley the most, and with it came the exception that he could not reveal any of it to Hadley and he would break off any future contact with her.

Now ten years later, the two have moved on respectively in their own futures but like all divine appointments, God will once again intervene like a wonderful Hallmark movie and cause them to reconnect not only to find out if they have feelings for one another, but more importantly to heal the brokenness they each have carried since carrying the secrets into their futures. Will there be a true Christmas miracle in store for them both and will love really conquer their tainted pasts to give them a future neither could imagine? Pick this one up to find out.

I received The Gift of Christmas Past by Cindy and Erin Woodsmall compliments of Woodsmall Press and Litfuse Publicity. While you might be thinking this is something predictable, there is a bigger lesson at work between the cover of this novel. It is showing that forgiveness can be found, even if despite all the evidence facing you that points to someone's guilt, resolution is possible. It shows how carrying secrets that could lead to restoration have caused additional pain and hurt that were not needed, but most of all it does show that love really is the greatest gift one could possess. I give this novel a 4 out of 5 stars and it does include discussion guide questions at the conclusion which is perfect for book clubs.

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The Gift of Christmas Past by Cindy and Erin Woodsmall

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