Homespun Christmas: Hope For The Holidays/More Than Tinsel/The Last Christmas/Winter Sabbatical

by Colleen L. Reece, Janelle Burnham Schneider

Book DescriptionFor the good citizens of Hope, Washington, the future appears hopeless- until a small boy's crazy idea for a Homespun Christmas begins to turn things around. A century earlier, when pastor Fergus McKay came as pioneer to the small logging village of Hope, he envisioned a place where couples could fall in love and grow old together in service to God and community. But over the years, the hope died - and all that remained was a village filled with despair. This Christmas, will the vision of that young minister find fulfillment at last? Can the Christmas wishes of one small boy ignite the fires of optimism in the citizens of Hope, Washington, once again? Enjoy the holiday season as it once was - and may be again - in a town called Hope. Discover a real Homespun Christmas. About the AuthorColleen L. Reece is a writer who brings Christianity and family together in her books Joy to the A Treasury of Holiday Traditions, Stories, Prayers, Poetry, Recipes, and More and Apples for a Lesson Plans for Life. Reece also writes romance fiction and was voted Favorite Heartsong Author in 1993 and 1994.

Genres: Christmas, Christian Fiction, Romance, Fiction, Christian Romance

Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

COLLEEN L. REECE writes under the pen name Connie Loraine and is one of Heartsong's most popular authors. Colleen learned to read beneath the rays of a kerosene lamp. The kitchen, dining room, and her bedroom in her home near the small logging town of Darrington, Washington, were once a one-room schoolhouse where her mother taught all eight grades! An abundance of love for God outweighed the lack of electricity or running water and provided the basis for many of Colleen's 140+ books.

Her rigid "refuse to compromise" stance has helped sell more than 6 million copies that help spread the good news of repentance, forgiveness, and salvation through Christ. Colleen helped launch Barbour Publishing's Romance Reader flip books, the American Adventure series, and her own Juli Scott Super Sleuth Christian teen mystery series. In 1998 Colleen was inducted into the HeartSong Hall of Fame in recognition for her contribution to Heartsong's success.

Reviews

[Deanne Patterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book starts out in the early 1900's, shortly after the turn the turn of the century in Hope,Washington. Pastor Fergus McKay came to the small logging village to start a church in the village and spread the word of God. His wife is upset to be there but he has his mind set on starting a thriving church community full of hope,love and grow old together in service to God. Despite the hope there are seven saloons in this village. Fast forward 100 years and there are four authors writing about people coming to this town, Hope, Washington to experience the town as it once was and may be again full of Hope!
Published September 1, 2002
Owned personal book

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Homespun Christmas is 4 neat stories in Hope Washington Where a whole community is fighting to save its town
Where a 6 year old comes up with an idea for a homespun Christmas You will thoroughly enjoy reading these stories
Absolutely what small town living is like
I was given this book for my honest review

[Anne Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has four short stories.
Hope for the Holidays - A town, Hope, decides to raise money by having a “Homespun Christmas” extravaganza throughout the town. It’s such a success it will become a tradition every year. Ben, the sheriff, finally tells Sarah McKay that he loves her and wants to get married. The new teacher he recommended to get hired, Jenny, has also found love with Sarah’s cousin, Patrick.
More Than Tinsel - this was a story I didn’t want to end. Susanna Little quit her job working in a spa in the city to come back to her hometown of Hope to care for her best friend, Kelly, who is going through chemotherapy treatments. Susanna thinks she will eventually go back to the city being that she doesn’t like the small town. She left primarily due to the gossip when Kelly got pregnant right out of high school. But as Susanna is taking care of Kelly and keeping her daughter occupied, she comes to see what a great town Hope really is and the people who live there, including Pastor Damon. With Damon helping out by fixing up an attic space for her to live, helping to fix a new store Susanna wants to open, and being great friends with her dad, falling in love just falls into place. They will soon be married.
The Last Christmas - Walt and Dee don’t have the best of marriages. They think this will be their last Christmas together. Walt finds an ad in the paper for a Homespun Christmas in Hope. He decides to take Dee there and stay in the B&B. At first, Dee complains and acts like she isn’t enjoying herself. But as time goes on, Walt thinks Hope would be a perfect town to have a retreat center and even finds a house to buy. Dee is asked to help out at a craft sale, makes a cake for Jesus’ birthday, and makes a traditional Finnish dish she used to have for Christmas for a man who never leaves his house. When their two children surprise them by coming to Hope for Christmas Eve, the family attends the Christmas service. Dee realizes she truly loves her husband and family. Walt and Dee will probably move to Hope together.
Winter Sabbatical - Brinn Colston from the Seattle Times is sent to Hope to take over the town’s paper because the current head of the paper is scheduled for surgery and will need time to recover. Over time, she gets to know the residents and the small quiet town grows on her. When she learns a lawsuit is taking place because loggers can’t cut down trees or build on their property because of an endangered owl, Brinn tries to help the town by spreading the town’s plight in her articles. Then the lawyer who is against the loggers comes to the town. Jordan Burke is young and handsome and when Brinn gets to know him, she realizes he is only trying to help the town for the future by saving the land. With God’s help, they find a way for the townspeople to get government jobs of preserving land and working on a dam. The person who was trying to kill Jordan admits guilt, and soon Jordan and Brinn will be married and have a vacation cabin to go to in Hope.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

(3.5) This is a great short read with 4 separate stories about the residents of Hope. Each story ties into each other and shows how each character “finds hope again” in the small town set around Christmas time.

Each of the stories was really heart warming and makes you really wish you can visit the town for yourself. ❄️

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really loved how all 4 stories were about the same town. However, I found myself wanting to know the full story of how the town was built that was in the epilogue. I thought that would have been the most interesting story out of all of them.

[Shandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very short and easy read, part of a 4 part Novella Series.

[Genesis Pagan]

wonderfully wholesome

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paperback Christmas gift box @bookshelbs

[Sally Andrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet and heartwarming.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hope for the Holidays
★ ★.75

"My grandmammy taught me not to rush out and meet Old Man Trouble. She said if a body just sits back and waits, half the time he will head off in another direction and never get to you at all."

The story starts in western Washington Hamlet of Hope in the 1900s. In the first few pages we learn how the town was established and what it originally started out as and how a preacher and his friend turn it from having seven saloons to having a church and the whole community working together.

We then jump to present day where the town is slowly dying due to the logging industry having problems because of all the new rules created. But with the help of Sarah's son Mike they come up with a plan that just might save the whole town. Mike's idea is for the whole town to take part in a Home Spun Christmas where they bring tourists in and show them how Christmas used to be done before it became commercialized like it is now. Everyone likes the idea and immediately starts trying to figure out what they can do to bring in tourists. Between families using their homes as bed and breakfast, Loggers making wooden toys/furniture and people singing Christmas carols along the street corners. Everyone has some sort of job to do.
Not only does this plan start to work it also brings people closer together and reminds them what this town is all about and how it may be tough times, but they will all make it through somehow.
The main problem I had with this story, and why I didn't give it three stars is because of the romance in the last few pages. It was all so rushed and I mean two couples getting engaged and then married all within a few months of knowing/dating each other. I just couldn't like that part. But the rest of the story was very nice and sweet.

[Meredith (Austenesque Reviews) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a Christian Inspirational Romance, it is written in Novella format (f short stories, about 90 pages each). The collection of four relate to the same little town called "Hope" that because of an endangered owl, the town's logging business is closed, leaving the town worried that they soon will have nothing left in Hope and need to move elsewhere. A six year old boy gives them the idea that they can make their town into a tourist attraction during the Christmas season because they way they celebrate Christmas is "old-fashioned," "simple," and "homespun."

The four stories each ahve a different couple as the main characters, these couples find things they have been looking for in Hope, in the "Homespun Christmas," and the town strives to work together to save it from being no more.

I enjoy reading Christian Novellas, this one surprised me because I was expecting a historical novel and it was contemporary. The message was nice and I wish that I could live in a town that celebrated Christmas and was as united as Hope was. I give the book four stars because the plot focused so much on the town and townspeople you lost a little bit of the characters and I would have liked to see their development and personalities more.

[Victoria (hotcocoaandbooks) · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this was a good book, I think that two of the stories in it (which all the stories are put in the same setting, time, and scenario with characters popping in all of them which I liked that they did) were more realistic, and the other two stories seemed more unrealistic by making relationships skip the whole dating/courting experience and right into engagement and very short ones of that. One of the stoies that jumped to engagment at least showed that they knew each other for a longggg time. but those other two . . a month to a few short months and bam then engaged? The overall spiritual perspective in these were great. it showed how faith and learning to forgive people when thinking of God is helpful. Then there are the situations that can get all jumbled in our heads with a lack of communication with each other can cause issues. The Christmas aspect was very much in a couple of the stories but seemed to be less of a big deal in the last story completely. All of them had their sweetnesses about them but I liked the first story best. The book as a whole was a nice read and brought a couple watered eyes at points of reading.

[Joyful · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Christian Contemporary Inspirational Romance is written in four short stories relating to the same little town called "Hope" Washington. The town is in danger due to the the lack of work because of the logging company closing due to an endangered owl. Will they all have to move somewhere else? Can a six year old boy save the town with his idea that they can make their town into a tourist attraction during the Christmas season because of the way they celebrate Christmas, as old-fashioned, simple," and homespun. The four stories each have a different couple as the main characters. Can the town strive to work together to save it? I was given a copy for an honest review.

[Marilyn Miles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to confess, I picked this book up partly because I lived near the real small town that this story was written about, and partly for the cover with the horses and sleigh.
But then I read the stories and I enjoyed them, some better than others, but still they all tied in together, and the authors did a good job of that--again, some better than others.
I also liked that it was an anthology, with four novellas by four authors, and they were all quite different.
And of course, they were about Christmas!

[Linda Rainey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Four authors band together write about Hope,Washington and four couples who found love plus God's love along the way.
This book also makes us aware of what is happening in small town America, the young leaving to find jobs and towns crumbling.
I was impressed by the war the entire town bands together to create a Homespun Christmas that saves the town.
It was nice reading about Christmas in June.
A copy of this book was given in exchange for an honest review.

[Tiffeny · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a book of 4 Christmas stories and I seriously spent all of December reading it. I finished it just after the New Year. What a bummer. The books were OK. The 4th was actually my favorite and if they'd have all been like it I would have given the book a 3. All the stories were OK, but not exciting and not worth wasting your whole December reading on.

[Fay Risner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading four novellas all in one book about the same town and citizens trying to save their town by having a Christmas celebration. Each story features romance for a different couple. A great read.

[Kristy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ehh. I wasn't fond of any of these stories.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not into religious books but, it is a good read.