Christmas in Winter Hill, by Melody Carlson, 2019, Revell (Baker Publishing Group)

I almost wanted to move to Winter Hill at some points while I read!  But then the protagonist was plunged into heartbreaking problems and I felt that life was not perfect there after all.

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It was a nice little escape for me though, from my own stuff!  Easy to read and only 164 pages long, perfect for the season leading up to Christmas when you want to get in the mood but not get bogged down in something long and involved.

Although Winter Hill is a fictional town located in eastern Washington, it sounds quite bit like a real town there that my brother and his family visit every October during our Canadian Thanksgiving weekend.  I’ve heard that they put on quite a Christmas experience and my husband and I have often thought it would be fun to go!

In the story Krista and her eight year old daughter move here from Phoenix Arizona two weeks before the American Thanksgiving which falls in November.  Krista is coming to begin her new job of city manager.  The town has never had one before.  She is surprised to find that the whole town puts on a big Christmas celebration starting from the Thanksgiving Weekend and running right to Christmas and she is expected to be involved!

Krista has had a series of disappointing experiences that have soured her feelings about Christmas, but she does hope for a nice Christmas for her daughter.  However, in her new role as city manager she runs into some tricky situations that put her in a tight spot and it looks like yet another Christmas will be ruined in a big way for both of them!

Will she be irredeemably plunged into further disillusionment or will things turn out better in the end?  Krista does have a faith in God and prays and hopes and strives to do what she sees as the best thing to do.

Personally I found the story charming and I would definitely read more of Melody Carlson’s books.  I love Christmas celebrations and also have a Christian faith.  Some people who don’t feel this way may find it offensive, but then I suppose they would not read it to begin with.

Themes in the book are single motherhood, professional workplace relationships, romance, family, American holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas), small town America, faith and hope.