A Christmas of Hope

by Danyelle Ferguson

A Christmas of HopeA Holiday Short Story with Bonus ContentForget the eggnog. Throw away the candy canes. Christmas is going all wrong this year.Struggling through her first Christmas as a single mother, Holly can't decide if she should use the little energy she has left to clean the kitchen or wrap holiday gifts. Especially when all she wants to do is sink into bed and embrace the oblivion of sleep. When her friends from the local autism support group arrive full of holiday cheer, Holly pastes on a smile and tries to fake the fa-la-la. Can the power of laughter, ribbons and bows pull Holly out of Grinch mode? Or is Christmas doomed to end up like a plate of misshapen Santa cookies?BONUS CONTENTEnjoy the first five chapters of Sweet Confections - winner of the 2015 RONE Award for Best Contemporary Sweet Romance Novel.Plus a sneak peek at the 1st chapter of Love Under Construction, coming out in 2016.

Genres: Christmas

54 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 5, 2015

About the author

RONE Award-Winning Author

Danyelle Ferguson is author of the award-winning Crystal Creek sweet romance novels. She loves writing stories that feature strong women conquering difficult challenges and finding love along the way.

When she’s away from her laptop, Danyelle enjoys dancing in the kitchen with her family, all things pink, and is obsessed with pretty pens. Follow her online for IRL goofiness, cat photobombs, and writing life updates.

Reviews

[H.L. Burke · Rating 1 out of 5]

The story wasn't really for me, but I wanted to try it. I knew that included sample chapters of the author's full novel because the blurb said so, and I usually don't mind that.
However, what I didn't expect was for the "story" (which was really just an exposition dump disguised as a conversation between friends setting up what I assume are characters from the series) to end at the 17% mark of the ebook. A 54 page ebook, and less than a fifth of it was actually story. The rest was sample chapters and ad copy for her other books.

It feels really dishonest. Even saying it has sample chapters in the blurb, that is way too low of percentage to be new material. I am pretty sure it is against Amazon's policies. I normally don't leave negative reviews but this just really bothers me.

[Jillian · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was an excerpt only, not a short story, and it ends at 15%.

[Deborah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just an excerpt, only 9 pages long.

Holly is the mother of two children and this is the first Christmas after her divorce, she has two children Marcie and Ben, Ben has autism and her ex husband Steve just can't cope and only wants Marcie for Christmas dinner but luckily Holly is blessed with two really good friends.
I knew this was a short read but I didn't expect it to only be 9 pages long, it's really only a conversation between friends and not what I was expecting, apparently it turns out this is just a short excerpt from Holly's book.
The author states this book is close to her heart since her son has autism and I think it's wonderful that she's written this it's just a shame there wasn't more or we weren't made aware that it was just an excerpt.

[Lisa Blair · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a free Christmas book.
It contained several short stories.
1) A Christmas of Hope - a sweet short story of friendship in the midst of hard times.
2) Sweet Confectioners excerpt - well written, but I don't care for the brashness of "life as a single chick sucked." Really? You couldn't find an edifying way to say that? So demeaning and lowering of the writing. Definitely lost a star for this type of speech. This was an unfinished story.
3) Love Under Construction - this is a lead into a book. This is not a true story. And it ended with a foul word. Definitely not buying!
NOT recommended!

[Joan · Rating 1 out of 5]

This wasn't a story, it was just a conversation really. I knew it was short, but wtf! It ended at 15% on my Kindle!! I have no problems with short stories but, I DO like them to 'go the whole length' - at least to the 80% mark. I didn't read the next 85% - which consisted of the start of two other stories.

[Tahmara · Rating 1 out of 5]

do not waste your time reading this book. the story it was meant to be lasted a whole 9/10 pages. followed by the start of two separate books. one of which clearly followed on from the other. the only reason I can give this 1 star is that 0 is not an option.

[Nadine Keels · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three mothers enjoy a friendship sparked by their shared journey of raising their autistic little boys. Now as one of the mothers, Holly, is struggling through her first holiday season since her divorce, she'll need all the encouragement she can get in A Christmas of Hope by author Danyelle Ferguson.

Gee. It'd be hard for me to describe the nuggets I liked most in this story without giving away all the good stuff. It's a little pet peeve of mine when book blurbs and such basically spell out the moral of a short story because there isn't a whole lot of material to pull the descriptions from.

But I'll say that I appreciate the correlations the three mothers find in their situations to that of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Whether or not you're a parent, the overall principles Holly and her friends share with each other are encouraging and universal principles for life.

Besides that, this quick read really put me in the mood for a warm mug of Christmassy cocoa or another such treat.

[Daphne Self · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not what I expected

While the writing was okay, I found myself skimming a lot of the story. I really didn't care for the language and that was a major strike against the book.
Not my style of romance...

[Laura Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing.

Its an amazing book that sheds some light on autism and I think that is something that helps others understand. I am ready to read more of her books.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first taste of her books and the story was very well written but I was left wishing it was longer. I will definitely check out the rest of the books about the moms in the Autism Society.

[Talitha · Rating 3 out of 5]

These short stories hook you in enough to make you want to get the full story but its bloody annoying when you realise that. Good writing and both hook you in

[Donna Peake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mothers bonding through autism.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

15% in and your are done with the story. I hate being misled. This is a story about having faith and hope even if the toughest of times. It's not always easy having faith but God has your back.

[Julie Barrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Christmas of Hope
This collection of very short stories starts out with A Christmas of Hope, about a boy who's autistic and it's the holidays. Mostly about his mom Holly and how she and her friends help each survive their children's illnesses.
Great if it was longer because the subject fascinates me.
Next story is Sweet Confections excerpt about Rachel who dumps her married boyfriend...
Next excerpt is Love Under Construction.

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew the author back when our boys attended the same preschool, and this felt like I was reading an actual conversation from that era (minus the divorce part, her husband is awesome). I wish the story had been longer though. I've read Sweet Confections, part of which was included with this story and loved that one. I'm looking forward to her next book. You are talented, Danyelle, and I so admire that you are living your dreams.

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slightly better than the other one but still no good. The author ends the short with a note saying her son has autism and that is why the story is close to her heart. I admire that, but the story itself is so rushed, for what seems to be an excuse for this author to post a seriously long excerpt of her book. Blah

[Princess Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hope there's a bigger story...

...than just this conversation between friends. The tips and tricks were appreciated but I was hoping for an actual story. I have an autistic daughter, so Legos were not the bane of my existence, I got Betty Spaghetti.

[Kendra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story

I really enjoyed this story. It reminds me how much friends are there through my journey with my son who is autistic.

[Andrea Mcbride · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh yes I think I found my next favorite author ! And you can betcha I'll get Sweet Confection! . I was teased with a really great story and I can't wait for more :):)

[Dannielle Potts · Rating 2 out of 5]

To Be Honest, I Preferred The Excerpt Of "Sweet Confections"

[Cheryl · Rating 1 out of 5]

Was this a story?! I don't think so!

[Jenny · Rating 1 out of 5]

This says it is a short story, but it is a start of a story.... SO unless you like to be left wondering how the story continues, don't read this one.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story- but too short. I'm not sure I'd even call it a story!

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story. Would love the author to write a series about each of the friends. It is a story about friends, family, trials, and hope. I liked it so much I bought this author's next book Sweet Confections.