A modern Christmas Carol... God Bless Us Every One by Eva Marie Everson (Blog Tour Review)

God Bless Us Every OneGod Bless Us Every One
by Eva Marie Everson
Christian Contemporary Fiction
Paperback & ebook, 224 Pages
September 6th 2016 by Abingdon Press

Summary

Charlene Dixon---called Charlie by family and friends---is devastated at the recent loss of her job. 

For the last five years, the twenty-seven-year-old has blossomed as the activities director of an exclusive all-girls school. But when a misunderstanding with the headmistress leads to a pink slip right before the holidays, Charlie packs up her dreams and returns to her grandmother, Sis, who raised Charlie as her own in the mountains of North Carolina.

When Charlie arrives---broken and confused---Sis immediately puts her granddaughter to work behind the scenes of the local school's Christmas play, A Christmas Carol. Charlie prickles at working with Dustin Kennedy, the drama teacher and her old crush from schooldays, but is even more put out at that the choice of the Dickens' classic for the holiday performance. When she discovers her estranged father's involvement her world turns on its head once more. But when Sis and Dustin encourage her to take a deeper look at the story behind A Christmas Carol, Charlie learns about trust, faith, and forgiveness and the needs of people in their own community.

 
   
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My Review

GOD BLESS US EVERY ONE was a sweet story about a woman who struggles with her past while living an uncertain future. It's about family, friendship, romance, and a connection with Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. If you enjoy short and sweet inspirational romance with a theme of forgiveness and Christmas, then give this one a try.

What I liked:
- I liked the characters in the story. Charlie had some moments where I was a little frustrated with her, but she's just a girl who was deeply hurt in the past and is trying to deal with it the best she can. Of course that leads to trust issues. I loved Dusty. He's a great guy. I also loved Sis who seems sure and steady and unconditionally loving.
- The romance was super, super sweet. It also just kind of fell into place and didn't overtake the story.
- I loved the play off of Dickens' A Christmas Carol. It's one of my favorite holiday films and I am a big Dickens fan, so I was all for it.
- I loved the overall message of forgiveness and not ignoring the past to the point where you don't work through things or resolve issues.
- I loved the feel of the small town.
- I loved Charlie's look at life and wanting to enjoy some moments or create good moments for past moments that were lost.
- The story was short and sweet and just plain fun.

What I didn't like:
- I did want more development in places, like more between Charlie and Dusty so that the relationship felt stronger. I also wanted more between Charlie and her dad. It seemed like that just was resolved in a second.
- I would have loved more character development in places and more lines from Dusty's son, who is supposedly living with his father, but who stays pretty much completely in the background.
- A lot of the dialogue was very short. Such as a lot of one-word lines. I also didn't get a different feel for who was talking based on just the words. There wasn't really a switch in the voice tone of words used between characters.
- I didn't read the first story that this follows, The Road to Testament, and felt like the author expected me to be more familiar with the characters. It didn't affect my ability to follow the story or anything, it just left the characters less developed than I think they could have been and affected how I connected to some of the characters.

In the end, was it what I wished for? This was sweet (as I've said) and a quick read. It was a light inspirational holiday romance that mainly focused on forgiveness. Overall, an enjoyable read.


Content: Clean

Source: Received a complimentary copy through Litfuse Publicity, which did not affect my review in any way.

About the Author


Eva Marie Everson is an award-winning speaker and author of "The Road to Testament," "Things Left Unspoken," "This Fine Life," "Chasing Sunsets," "Waiting for Sunrise," "Slow Moon Rising," and The Potluck Club series (with Linda Evans Shepherd). She is the president of Word Weavers International, Inc., a member of AWSA, ACFW, RWA, the director of Florida Christian Writer’s Conference, and the contest director for Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writer’s Conference. She and her husband make their home in Casselberry, Florida.



Have you read any of Everson's other books? Are you ready to start seeing holiday lit and reading it?

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