Book Review: The Christmas Blessing by Melody Carlson

When she receives the news in late 1944 that her baby's father was shot down in the South Pacific, Amelia Richards loses hope. Jobless and broke, she has nowhere to turn for help but her infant's paternal grandparents. The only problem is, they don't know that she--or their grandson--exists. When Amelia discovers that the family is wealthy and influential, dare she disclose the truth of her relationship with their son? Or could the celebration of the arrival of another unexpected baby nearly two thousand years ago be the answer to her dilemma?

Beloved author Melody Carlson pens a story of love, hardship, and reconciliation that will leave readers filled with Christmas joy.

My rating:

So, I have a confession: I...don't really care for Christmas books. *hides* I'd rather read other books, honestly, and I don't think I could give you a reason. Maybe because Christmas is so overplayed that the simplicity and beauty of the season is lost.

And while some books try to capture that...I don't know. I think they try too hard to be beautiful sometimes. (Really, I think the only Christmas book I've rated 5 stars is Bespoke, and I reviewed that one last year already, soooo yay) So, even though the cover is gorgeous, The Christmas Blessing was a bit of a letdown.

It didn't really hook me. And I tried to figure out why during the whole book, and finally, after I closed the book at the end, it hit me: the plot is so good and really could've been done amazingly...but there was no character development. Word to the wise: no matter how good your plot is, if there's no character development, you're just hurting yourself.

Amelia is determined to do what she has to for the sake of her baby boy. A mother's love right there, y'all. So promising. But...literally everything that happened just...happened. Poor Amelia had to quit her job and move. She gets sick. She has to make a huge decision but it was kind of obvious the choice that she'd make.

The good doctor was a kind, sweet man. Caring. Yay, more fluff.

His wife was annoying after the death of her son but suddenly this child is making her tenderhearted again. Which, I know, is totally realistic. And if any of the characters had any development at all, it was her. But she was still annoying.

The message was...nonexistent? Hm...I read the book about a week ago, and there at least wasn't any message that I remember, sooo it obviously wasn't prevalent enough for me to pick up on it very well.

The ending was super cute and heartwarming. A cute story wrapped up in a nice lil' bow. So. If you're a fan of cute Christmas stories with fluffy to give you all the cozy feels, this one's for you. *grins*

Again, the 12 Days of Christmas blog party is still running (with a giveaway!) so be sure to go enter, and maybe join the party yourself!

Are you a fan of Christmas stories? What's your favorite?