My review of Christmas in Mistletoe Square may be a bit premature since I’ve only read part of the book. Christmas In Mistletoe Square is a novella collection from four well-known authors. I’ve read two of the four, but I’m sure the other two will be delightful as well. I’ll be reviewing The Christmas Clue to Finding You and Silver Bell Secrets.

The Christmas Clue to Finding You by Pepper Basham

If you’ve read my blog posts before, you know Pepper Basham is one of my favorite authors. No one can tell a story like Pepper, especially if it involves kissing. This second-chance story is sweet and funny even though the characters are dealing with various forms of grief. Gabe Cameron and Piper Dawson were the best of friends through high school and then they were not. As the story unfolds, we discover that while their friendship disintegrated, their feelings for each other remained.

Piper’s come home disillusioned and thinking she’s wasted the last five years of her life. As she shares these thoughts with her grandmother, her grandmother reminds her of something we all tend to forget. God is in control. “Do you think God handles time so poorly, that he would have you waste a whole five years?” Piper had been so caught up in trying to make her life work, she’d let her faith go the same way as her good memories of home.”

The folks in Kedgewick Creek have a long-standing tradition involving a scavenger hunt, and when Piper starts getting clues, she’s on a mission to discover who her secret admirer is. Heartache blinds her to the obvious, and she realizes that maybe she’s been just as blind to God as she is in trying to figure out who’s leaving her clues. “Maybe God was being so obvious with his clues this time because he recognized how dull Piper’s ‘clue sense’ really was.” I’m pretty sure my clue sense is rather dull too, and I, like Piper, need a heavenly chorus in the sky to set me straight.

Gabe Cameron is a swoon-worthy, kilt-wearing hunk who broke Piper’s heart, but not with malice. Grief and guilt interrupted his life. “Gabe had to learn to forgive himself and to turn his eyes upward instead of inward.” Yep, that’s where most of us trip up. We look inward instead of upward when life crushes us. And we’ll never find the answers in ourselves.

In the end, The Christmas Clue to Finding You is a message of forgiveness and hope. “It was time to let go of all the hurts and embrace the hope. To forgive and live. To choose tomorrow instead of yesterday.” That last sentence is a reminder to us all. We can’t change yesterday, but we can change tomorrow by living with hope today.

The only negative about this story is I wanted more Piper and Gabe because every kilt-wearing hunk deserves a full novel.

Silver Bell Secrets by Cara Putman

The second novella I read in Christmas in Mistletoe Square was by Cara Putman. It’s the first I’ve read by her. She’s been on my need to read list, but all my tried and true authors keep bumping her down the list. I enjoyed her story and will read more she’s written.

Silver Bell Secrets is about Avery Blair and Hunter Chase. Avery owns the coffee/book shop and has a viral blog. Hunter Chase is an editor for a big New York City publisher who wants to turn her blog posts into a book. Avery has a secret, though, and the last thing she wants is to make a book out of her posts. So, when Hunter shows up, secrets get harder to hide.

Avery’s secret struggle tugged at my heart. I felt her pain and sadness and could see why she had a low opinion of herself. It’s so easy to focus on what we can’t do and overlook all the things we do so well, which then leads us to isolate ourselves. “Maybe that’s why her life felt so lonely. Nobody knew everything about her because she didn’t let them.”

Hunter has a job to do – convince Avery to sign a contract, but in wooing her for business, he discovers what he’s missing in his big city life. Hunter is a guy with integrity and a kind heart. He’s just what Avery needs to see her worth. “You should never live as less than the person you are. Never.” I think there’s a lesson in that sentence for us all.

As the story unfolds, Avery begins to see herself through Hunter’s eyes and it’s liberating for her. “Her heart swooned at the words. Avery wanted to capture the moment and the way he saw her. It was so easy to focus on everything she wasn’t. Not on what she was.” Because we’re all created in God’s image, we have worth, but He’s where we find our worth.

One thing you need to know about Silver Bell Secrets is there is a mystery in it that isn’t resolved. But it’s my understanding, Cara has a book coming out that will resolve the mystery.

Final Thoughts about Christmas in Mistletoe Square

I’ve pre-ordered the book, so I’m looking forward to reading An Unscripted Christmas by Teresa Tysinger and Dreams in Toyland by Janine Rosche. I’ve not read anything by either author, so this will be a whole new experience for me. I’m sure both will be excellent.

Do you like novellas? Why or why not?

You can find more reviews on my blog.