Home for the Holidays

Tales from Grace Chapel Inn #7

by Rebecca Kelly

About the Tales from Grace Chapel Inn Once readers visit the charming village of Acorn Hill, they'll never want to leave. Three sisters -- Louise, a widow from Philadelphia; Alice, an unmarried nurse who lived with her father; and Jane, a divorced chef from San Francisco -- reunite in the sleepy town after their father's death and turn the family home into a charming bed-and-breakfast. Here the sisters rekindle old memories, rediscover their childhood bonds, revel in the blessings of friendship, and meet fascinating guests along the way. Home for the Holidays , a new Christmas installment in the bestselling Tales from Grace Chapel Inn series (over a million copies sold), takes readers back to Acorn Hill and the characters they've grown to love. The Christmas spirit is settling over Acorn Hill, and the town is gearing up for a holiday house tour to showcase Acorn Hill's finest homes all decked out in wreathes and bows. But an unpleasant group of tourists is doing anything but making the season bright, and a stranded group of travelers shows up at the inn on Christmas Eve, seeking shelter from the storm and throwing off the sisters' plans for a quiet Christmas together. Through it all, the Howard sisters show their special blend of hospitality with their guests, who discover the importance of family and friendship -- and the true meaning of Christmas.

Genres: Christmas, Christian Fiction, Fiction, Christian

306 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2005

About the author

This page contains work by multiple authors with the same name

Reviews

[Kirby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tales From Grace Chapel Inn has become a new favorite for me, and Home for the Holidays ended up being my favorite story of the series so far. As wonderful as all the stories have been, there was just something special about getting to visit Grace Chapel Inn during the holiday season, and follow along with Alice, Jane and Louise as their long awaited "vacation" from guests turns out to be anything but.

When five visitors to Acorn Hill end up being stranded, the three sisters decide to do their part to try and make them welcome. This starts off as offering their services as tour guides to some of the local historic homes, and turns into the sisters having unexpected house guests. As they all struggle to come to terms with the fact that this Christmas is going to be unlike anything they could have imagined, they'll also learn what it means to have a true spirit of giving, and show hospitality to those in need this holiday season.

A truly wonderful story that will give every reader a case of the warm fuzzies, I never wanted this one to end, and I'm so glad I read it during the Christmas season. I loved how many new to me historical tidbits I learned from reading it, and I also loved how it touched on some more emotional moments from the sisters' precious memories of their childhood Christmas memories.

Final Rating: 5/5.

I adored this heartwarming story, and I can't recommend it enough. I'm also looking forward to trying to included beef stroganoff recipe in the very near future.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This holiday book brings Three Sisters, a town, and five unlikely strangers together to share an unexpected holiday together everyone will cherish.

It is reminiscent of christmases spent as a child with traditions that are often forgotten as we get older. s quoted from the book, it is not the gift that matters but the love behind it.

[Linda Corrigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little slow-moving, with many details regarding the home tours: facts on architecture, artwork, furniture, horticulture. But towards the middle, the story became more interesting and everything came together for a heart-warming ending.

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't wait until Christmas time this year, because I am definitely going to be re-reading this!

So, I decided to switch this book with the sixth one in the series because #6 takes place in January and this is in December obviously, but this is placed after because the beginning and end of the book take place in March/April looking back at the past Christmas. But I like reading things in order for the most part, so this one first.

So, this one, along with the first two, is probably my favorite! I love anything that gives me that cozy happy holiday feeling and give high rating to anything that can make me cry. The ending to this book really hit me in the heartstrings and I am not mad about it. And I don't like snowstorms for fear of my power going out, but if I lived in this house/inn, I would never be afraid of that because it is so warm with the fireplaces that you wouldn't even miss it. Plus, they have a gas-powered stove, so you can still have hot cocoa or tea. Anyway, this book is about the sisters giving a tour of different homes around their town, because a historical house tour bus breaks down and the tour guide gets injured. The people in the tour group are all characters themselves and picked the perfect town to break down in, because the sisters got plenty of hospitality and yuletide cheer to spread around. I mean the lengths they go to for the tour group leading up to Christmas is just so inspiring and creative.

Found: My grandmother's

[Marlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is something special about getting to visit Grace Chapel Inn, a bed and breakfast, tucked away in the charming village of Acorn Hill in rural Pennsylvania. The three Howard sisters, Louise, Alice and Jane decided to close the inn temporarily and take a long awaited “vacation” from guests during the holiday season.

When five visitors to Acorn Hill end up being stranded after their historical house tour bus breaks down and the tour guide is injured the sisters offer their services as tour guides to some of the historic homes in town. I especially enjoyed learning about the many interesting facts about historic homes.

These five unlikely strangers are all characters themselves who together with Louise, Alice and Jane make an enjoyable holiday story. When they are stranded in a terrible snowstorm, the sisters unselfishly forego their vacation and invite them to stay as their house guests.

As they all struggle with the fact that this Christmas is going to be quite different, they also learn what “the spirit of giving” truly means which is all summed up in this quote: “It is not the gift that matters but the love behind it”.

[Wilani Wahl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the Grace Chapel Inn Books and this one was just as great as all the other ones I've read. Loved having a Christmas book. It is amazing how all these books fit in together and you would never know that several different authors have written these books. They all read like they have been written by the same author. I look forward to reading more books in this series

[Hannah Barnette · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was for the most part an “easy read” there where lots of facts about the antique homes, but I appreciate them and actually learned a thing or two. Towards the end, the four Howard’s sisters always do the right thing. It ended very sweet, as always.

[Amy S · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slow start. I just couldn't get into it like some of the other Tales From Grace Chapel Inn. I didn't finish this book. I just stopped. I'll try again at a later date.

[Lavender · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read from this series in awhile and I forgot what a great bedtime read it is. I'm an old soul and I love "granny fiction “.

[Abbie W · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great story for around the time of the holidays. Can't wait for the next book in the series.

[Concetta Kellough · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite of the series so far, probably because it’s a Christmas story. The characters’ experience at the inn was thought provoking.

[Kathie D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mel book

[Theresa Lange · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful story♥️❣️

[Alley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent holiday read.

[Katy Lovejoy]

I might check this series out after christmas

[Jeanann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and a half stars.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

7th book in series. Its march and the sisters are reminiscing about their guests that got stranded at the inn over Christmas.

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book. Five people are on a tour group that travels thru town. The tour group gets stranded and the sisters take them on the tour thru town. On Christmas Eve they have a blizzard and there is no where for the five to go. The sisters take them in. In the beginning they are very unhappy guests. The sisters help them relive childhood Christmases and everyone has a wonderful time. The chapter if great because they get to see how the five have changed their lives and become much happier and doing what they love. Only one recipe and I still have nightmares of beef stroganoff from my childhood so would never attempt in my household.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book to read at any time but especially during the Christmas season, as I did. It is another in the Grace Chapel Inn series about 3 sisters who, upon the death of their father, turn their Victorian family home into a B&B. Each book in the series shows how the sisters interact with each other, with other townspeople and with the guests at the inn. In this one, the sisters decide to close the inn so they can just enjoy the Christmas season with each other. That is not how it turns out, though, as a small group of people on an historic home tour is stranded in Acorn Hill. To see how the sisters step up to help, albeit somewhat grudgingly, is a lesson to us all.

[Rosa Cline · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 star

This is part of the Tales From the Grace Chapel Inn Series but since the series is written by a various authors you don't really know the 'feel' of each book. Although each author does stay true to each characters personality etc. This author, though, put more scripture and Bible refrences in the text than the other authors did. Which to me, didn't harm the story but was different than the other books.

This story started out really slow and I just couldn't really get into it. I kept falling asleep before I could get through one chapter. But toward the end of the book she found her place and story picks up it's pace and picked up 'star' rating for me

[Lynnea · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was another fun quick Christmas read. The little summary/preview of the book is a bit deceiving talking about a sudden snowstorm leaving a traveling group stranded. That does happen; however, not until after you've read 200 pages. So for the first 200 pages I was wondering when the snowstorm was going to hit and already predicting what would happen. Had the "teaser" not been so complete, I may have enjoyed the book even more.

[Charlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to give inspirational another shot, and I picked this book because I like the author's other work (under other names). I trusted her to tell a good story, and I was not disappointed. This is a warm, fuzzy holiday read I enjoyed enough to revisit next year, with a cast of characters that were fun to hang out with and get to know.

[Angela Keller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book was orginally meant to be #6 instead of #7, but something went wrong in publishing as book #6 is set in january and this one in December of that same time period. They added a preface and afterward to make it like a flashback. The story was great and well worth reading, I would reccomend reading this book before before Winter Wonders.

[Karen Hollcraft · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Christmas reading I felt like a friend included in the problem solving

Our family has a tradition of helping others. We could use some of the Christmas ideas. I learned something about the Craftsman style. Look forward to more

[Joanne DeBenedictis · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best Grace Chapel Inn stories in the series

I love this series of books and Rebecca Kelly really bring out the warmth and spirit of the Howard Sisters and their friends and neighbors.

[Lynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another sweet visit to Acorn Hill and Grace Chapel Inn. The series has just the right touch of "the right things to do" without hitting you over the head. This series is very inspiring.

[Kitty Tomlinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blizzard strands tour group that the sisters take in. Enjoyable.

[Cws]

YA GCI

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

all of these books from Tales from Grace Chapel Inn are such a blessing. They're so uplifting and remind me how my Christian life should be.

[Billie · Rating 5 out of 5]

i started this book on 9-18-12


i read it in just a few hours. the story is very moving. i was in tears towards the end of the book.