A beautiful story of navigating grief within a family after the loss of a husband and father. Hannah tries to hide her grief from her children but checks out emotionally as her eldest tries to reconcile grief and if it’s worth loving someone in case you lose them. As each hides their true feelings they find it takes a family to openly communicate to find healing. I especially loved the epilogue. The only problem for me is it was to short as I loved the characters enough to want more. A quick read that is enjoyable. You will want to try the recipes included.
I received a complimentary copy from the author/publisher. The honest review and opinions are my own and were not required. ( )

What a lovely and emotional story the author has written. It is hard to lose a loved one and this Christmas Hannah and her daughters are grieving the lose of her dear husband. They were a very close family and his sudden death really took them by surprise. Hannah wants to be strong for her daughters, so she grieves alone in her bedroom crying long into the night. What she doesn’t realize is her daughters need her right now. They have lost their father and need comfort from their only parent now.

Mae is an exceptional character with such compassion for others. She knows her mother is grieving and it hurts to hear her crying alone. The love her parents shared was suppose to be forever but God had other plans. I enjoyed the relationship between Mae and John. As they spend more time together their feelings for each other grow deeper. Mae is holding back telling John her feelings for him because she is worried that something will happen to him and she will face the grief her mother is right now.

I felt such sadness for Mae as she decides that it would be better to be alone than risk the pain of losing John. She sees how her mother is having such a difficult time and doesn’t want to have the same thing happen to her. This story is a great illustration of letting God heal your broken heart. When we give our hurts to Him, he heals us and shows us that he is a God that will “never leave us nor forsake us.” Mae will take an emotional journey that will show her to trust God and allow her to tell John how she feels.

I loved the story and appreciate how the author takes a difficult subject and shows us that God heals the broken hearted. He restores our faith as He heals our heart. The ending is so beautiful and I especially loved a special gift that was shared. Thank you for writing a story that shares the unconditional love that God has for each of us. He dries our tears and turns sorrow into joy.

I received a copy of this book from the author. The review is my own opinion. ( )