Together for the Holidays

Fostered by Love #5

by Margaret Daley

A single mother with a traumatic past, Lisa Morgan only wants to raise her son with love and values. But lately the boy is struggling. When his basketball coach becomes a reluctant role model, Lisa is relieved. Until she learns that David Russell is also a cop. She's not ready to share her past—or her heart. And neither is the world-weary detective. Yet as Christmas comes closer, the true meaning of the holiday brings them together in ways they never dared dream.

Genres: Love Inspired, Christmas, Romance, Christian Romance, Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Christian Fiction

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Margaret Daley, an award-winning author of seventy-six books, has been married for over forty years and is a firm believer in romance and love. When she isn’t traveling, she’s writing love stories, often with a suspense thread and corralling her three cats that think they rule her household. To find out more about Margaret visit her website at http://www.margaretdaley.com.

Reviews

[Paula]

Lisa Morgan is a former drug addict who’s straightened out her life and is trying to raise her twelve-year-old son, Andy, with good values. When Andy has trouble with some boys on the basketball team at school, Lisa fears it may involve drugs. Andy’s basketball coach who is also a cop, David Russell, wants to help Lisa and her son and look into things for her. David and Lisa are also finding they have romantic feelings for each other.

This was a very enjoyable inspirational romance. The story had an interesting cast of characters including the many secondary characters. I liked Stone Refuge, a place that took in foster kids, but I really liked that it also took in abandoned animals and tried to find them good homes, or gave the animals a home there. I adored the cute pig named Bolt. Although Thanksgiving and Christmas did take place in the story, it wasn’t throughout the entire book. Still, it was a really enjoyable read.

(This book was re-published as Heart of a Hero)

[Laura]

Pleasant inspirational romance about second chances, redemption, forgiveness and moving forward. The main characters Lisa and David are fairly well developed. The secondary characters are moderately interesting. All this is set around Christmas, with a happily ever after ending.

[Melody Cox]

Read this a few years ago and failed to review.

[Jennifer Robb]

I got this book in a box from a friend (who doesn't seem to have reviewed it here) and I haven't read any other books in the series. I did notice 3 different conversation instances between Lisa and David where the response quite match the previous line. Different verb tenses, maybe? Maybe a regional thing that's different from where I live? All I know is that the dialogue didn't ring true to me in those instances.

I admire Lisa for getting herself clean, getting her son back, getting a job, and being willing to share her experience with others that might benefit from it. (At the same time, she seems reluctant to share her past with David, though that might just be from a fear of rejection.) I admire Mitch for getting himself out of the drug scene, going back to high school or the equivalent, getting a job (even though it's low paying), and trying to keep his brother out of the drug scene.

I like the ideas of the shelter and the ranch to help others out. With the shelter, in this book, they alluded to some women who weren't helped--they chose to go back to their previous lives or relationships. I didn't get that same sense from the ranch--it was kind of made to sound like all of their kids eventually turn around and get with the program. That's probably not realistic.

[Teresa]

This was a surprise! A book I had a hard time putting down. It had some dark corners and mysteries layered with the love of Christmas traditions.

[Raja Marimuthu]

Hey Everyone!

I just finished an amazing book called #Together For the Holidays. Author: Margaret Daly, this book is worth reading.

I really loved the way the story of a Mom [ Lisa ] & Son [ Andy ] was narrated. It was the beautiful roller coaster ride that this book talks about.

I think the story kept its charm until the end. In the climax, this book put a big smile on my face.

[Michelle]

I really enjoyed this book. The main characters and their back stories were great. The kids and the animals were cute.

[Shari]

I'm not gonna write a review for ya'll.


If you know, you know.

[Karen]

Not really in depth but enjoyable.

[Val]

A good read about addiction and PTSD.

[Barbara]

I have really enjoyed this series about foster care, and I am actually sorry this is the last book. The mother in this story, Lisa, has overcome a great deal with the help of her Christian faith, and she is now willing to help others. When her son seems to be having some problems, her reactions seem genuine; she is very protective of him, yet insecure in how to best respond. She doesn't want to make things harder for him. The son, Andy, is a wonderful young boy I came to admire more and more as the story went on. There were several minor editing mistakes that were a distraction to me as I read, but that is the only minor drawback I found.

[Amanda]

This book wasn't too bad, although after reading this series, I'm pretty much over Daley's books. She does manage to change the story, but her characters are pretty much all the same. My biggest problem with this book, though, was the continuity errors with the rest of the series. Peter left his job as principal of the high school shortly after starting the foster home, yet in this book, he's suddenly principal again. Also, she's overlapped several names of pets and kids. It's very confusing.

[Karen]

Lisa Morgan and her son Andy are making a go of it on their own. David Russell moves to town to get away from his past as a police officer. Can the ex-drug addict and the cop come to terms with each other?

[Mary]

Just average story of recovering addict, her young son, and a policeman.

[Jessica]

Not worth the time...

[Sarah Lesan]

Cute is definitely a word to describe this book. Although the storyline is quite predictable and a little unrealistic, its a good read.

[Linda]

Overall a nice little romance. My main problem was the lack of editing, there seemed to be a lot of missing words and sentances that didn't flow well.

[Jill Twigg]

The storyline was good.