A Christmas Homecoming

I truly believe that books don't have to be too long to get their message across to the reader. Especially at this time of the year where we often have very little time to do anything but last minute shopping, work so we can pay the bills, and spend the evenings with family. That's why I love it when you find an exceptional book you can squeeze in and still get something magical out of it. The Christmas season is more that just gift giving and the hustle and bustle of life, it's about coming to realize what's really important. It the season of hope and believing that the world in general will be a much better place if only for this time.

In A Christmas Homecoming by MaryAnne Diorio, we get that sense once we reach the end of the book. It begins with heartache, loneliness and death for a family facing what most would considered unimaginable odds. Sonia Pettit is still going through dealing with the recent death of her husband and all the things that often went unsaid. As with most circumstances dealing with death, it drives a family apart as each of them tries to find their own way to cope and move into a new sense of normal. Her son, Ben is becoming increasingly distant and bitter, her daughter Jody has left her family unexpectedly and without any logical reason and now resides more than a half a world away. Now with Christmas coming is there any way for this family after seven long years to find a way to reunite and find the love that held them together at one point or has too much time simply passed and allowed them all to become different people?

I received A Christmas Homecoming compliments of Litfuse Publicity for my honest review. At this time, this book is only available in ebook format and I am hopeful that this will soon become a print book after all the wonderful reviews. This is truly the story of unconditional love, forgiveness and hope that can become yours no matter how difficult any situation is that you are currently facing. This is the true message behind the Christmas season and I believe that MaryAnn Diorio did an exceptional job at bringing this to the conclusion to this short story. It would be the equivalent of about 53 print pages and just perfect for settling down with a warm cup of cocoa by the fire for some inspirational reading this Christmas. I would rate this one a 4 out of 5 stars and look to more by this wonderful author.

For more information about A Christmas Homecoming, MaryAnn Diorio, or where to pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

A Christmas Homecoming by MaryAnn Diorio

You can also find MaryAnn Diorio on Facebook to stay up to date with all her latest books.

To read more reviews from the Litfuse Book Tour, please click here. 

Baby It's Cold Outside

A storm house for those of you that are not quite sure what that is, is simply a house of refuge in a storm, created when families that lived really far from the school, an hour or more, would be assigned a storm house. In the event of a storm once school was dismissed, you were to head to your storm house and wait out the storm or until your parents picked you up from there.

There hasn't been a blizzard to hit the town of Frost, Minnesota, for quite some time but in 1949, there are about to get another, and with that the basis for the novel, Baby, It's Cold Outside by Susan May Warren. Five people are about to spend Christmas snowed in and miracles are about to happen.

Dottie Morgan is the librarian for Frost, Minnesota and has in a sense isolated herself from people ever since the death of her son, Nelson in the war. She now spends her time all alone in a fairy-tale like Victorian home on the outskirts of town. Her son, Nelson's star used to top the tree in the center of town but for the last 5 years, Dottie has been unwilling to part with it, so now the tree stands decorated in lights with the exception of the tree top.

Violet Hart, has spent the last few years serving in the WAAC's during the war and now her mother firmly believes that since she can fix engines better than most men, she will spend the rest of her life alone. Little does she know, she's been writing to a service man, named Alex for over 4 years now and has even invited him to the town Christmas dance. However when she shows up at the post office, she finds her letter is stamped Return To Sender. Feeling a bit blue during this time of year, she is convinced she can get Dottie to let her use the star for the top of the Christmas tree. When she leaves the community center to head out in the storm, she is about to get more for Christmas than she ever dreamed of.

I received this book compliments of Litfuse Publicity for my honest review and LOVED it! A lot like, It's A Wonderful Life, we see how God works things that were once intended for sadness bring a whole lot of joy and love into Christmas. I would love to see this picked up and turned into a holiday classic. You see how people perceptions of others, leads them at times to think the best and the worst of some people and simply just being yourself is the best way of all! Thank you Susan for sharing this beautiful and heartwarming story with all of us. A MUST READ for Christmas, this rates 5 out of 5 stars!

For more information on this book, the author and even where to pick up a copy of this amazing book, please click on the links below:

Baby, It's Cold Outside by Susan May Warren

You can also find Susan on Facebook by clicking here.

Baby, It’s Cold Outside – warm up with a Kindle Fire from Susan May Warren



Warm up to Chrismtas early this year with Susan May Warren's Baby, It's Cold Outside! To celebrate the release of her new Christmas book with Summerside Press, she and the publisher are giving away a Kindle Fire and hosting an early Christmas Party on Facebook!



Read what the reviewers are saying here.

One festive winner will receive:

• A brand new Kindle Fire


• Baby, It's Cold Outside by Susan May Warren

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. Giveaway ends on 10/26!



But, wait there’s more! Join Susan May Warren on 10/27 for merriment and a few early Christmas presents at her Baby, It's Cold Outside Christmas party! Grab your Christmas sweaters, socks and pj’s and join Susan and a few friends for a fireside chat about her recent books (Heiress & Baby, It’s Cold Outside), holiday traditions, favorite Christmas recipes, a trivia contest and more! Invite your friends and don’t miss the fun!



RSVP here and we'll see you on October 27th at 5 PM PST / 8 PM EST!