The Christmas Blessing

The Christmas Blessing is the latest story by Christian author Melody Carlson. It is November 1944 in San Diego, California. Amelia Richards and her baby, Jimmy has decided to pack up and move to Rockford, Montana to be near Jimmy’s paternal grandparents. James Bradley is the father of little James and he passed away a month after he was shipped out. James and Amelia were going to marry on the first leave that he received, but his plane was shot down before that could occur. Amelia is spending the last of her funds to get her to Montana in the hopes of a better life for Jimmy and herself (a family). The only hitch in Amelia’s plans is Mr. & Mrs. Bradley are unaware of Amelia and Jimmy. Amelia is not sure how they will be received. Will they be welcomed or turned away? Christmas is the season for miracles. Will Amelia’s dreams come true this Christmas? The Christmas Blessing is a lovely story. I found it to be well-written and to have a good pace (once you get into it—it starts off slowly). It is a short shorty containing under 200 pages (can be finished in just a couple of hours). It contains good messages (forgiveness, trust, power of prayer, faith) and has a heartwarming ending. My rating for The Christmas Blessing is 4 out of 5 stars. I did feel that the characters are not fully developed (fleshed out), the ending is slightly rushed, and the story is predictable (unoriginal). I missed the humor that is present in Melody Carlson’s other Christmas stories (Christmas at Harrington’s and The Christmas Joy Ride). The Christmas Blessing is a charming novella that will appeal to readers who enjoy happily-ever-after romance stories.