Colors of Christmas|Book Review

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Celebrate Lit, Netgalley and was under no obligation to post a review. No compensation was received for sharing this review and all opinions are my own.

Colors of Christmas by Olivia Newport
Amazon|Barnes&Noble|Goodreads

Published by BARBOUR PUB Incorporated on 2017-10
Source: Celebrate Lit, Netgalley
Genres: Christian, Fiction, General, Holidays, Romance
Pages: 320

Christmas in Blue In the wake of a personal loss deeper than anyone realizes, Angela plans to bypass as much of the season as possible and get through her duties as the church organist by going on autopilot. Instead, she finds herself in charge of the town's celebration. After a mysterious young man arrives, townspeople suspect he is the reason that one set of plans after another disintegrate until little is left of their traditions. Yet Angela warms to Gabe because she suspects they share a secret--his real reason for coming to town. Even when all they have to work with is a garish supply of blue Christmas decorations, Gabe helps Angela discover the hidden beauty of hope.   Christmas in Gold After eighty years, change is nothing new for Astrid. By the time she was twenty, she survived the destructive Nazi regime, caring for her family under brutal circumstances, moving to America, and losing her husband. At forty she was widowed again and left to build a new life with her children. Now, when she faces a move into an assisted living community and meets a young woman on the brink of despair, she resolves to stir up hope through tragedy one more time.

Note: Kristin reads and reviews both Christian and secular fiction on A Simply Enchanted Life. Out of respect for my readers, I am including a content review. This content review will help you decide whether this book is suitable for you.

Content Review:
Christian or Secular: Christian.
Profanity: None
Sex&Violence: None/Mentions of war (bombs dropping/Hitler). Not overly graphic.
Trigger Warnings: See above

I loved Colors of Christmas for a rather odd reason. It wasn’t a Christmas romance! I don’t know if I’ve ever read a Christmas book that didn’t have some kind of romance. Why is that? There definitely should be more books like this. I mean, there is a backstory there but no current romance and I’m more than okay with that!

I also loved that in Christmas in Gold, the main character is in her eighties!  Astrid is an older woman who has transitioned from her home to an assisted living center.  I often feel that the older generation is overlooked by authors so I found Astrid’s story to be refreshing.

Christmas in Blue took more for me to get into for some reason. I wasn’t connecting with Angela at first and felt her story started off a bit slow. However, once it picked up I really enjoyed her part in this book. Angela is mourning the loss of her close friend and letting it rob her of her Christmas joy. How many of us have been hurt and dread the holidays because of a heartbreaking loss? I know many of us have been there.

The author was able to tell a story without using romance as a crutch and while I sound like a broken record about it—I found it to be a nice change of pace. I have nothing against romance but I loved that these women found joy in life and didn’t need a man to give them that. I mean, after all, if we need a person to give us joy—aren’t they going to let us down?

This book told a heartwarming tale of Christmas joy. While some of Angela’s woes seemed so outlandish to me—it did lend a near comedic air. And while Astrid’s life wasn’t always the happiest she made the best of things.

Overall, I’d give this story a good solid five because I would love to pick this book up again.  I am definitely considering reading it once more before the Christmas season.

Posted By: Kristin Filed Under: Book Reviews, Olivia Newport Tagged With: Christmas, Olivia Newport