THE CHRISTMAS RING Book Review

The Christmas Ring¹ by Karen Kingsbury, eBook, 206 pages

Synopsis from GoodReads: Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. While searching for her family's long-lost heirloom ring, military widow Vanessa Mayfield meets handsome antique dealer Ben Miller. The two are drawn to each other and forge a friendship that soon becomes a deep and breathtaking romance. But neither are sure that what they've found can last.

As Vanessa organizes her annual Columbus Cares Christmas Military Dance, she looks forward to her daughter's return from college. But Vanessa hasn't told Sadie about Ben. After all, Vanessa hadn't anticipated finding love again after losing her husband. And now she wrestles with feelings that are becoming hard to ignore. Just as Ben is about to declare his love for Vanessa, he learns more about her missing Christmas her great grandfather found it in France on D-Day, and engraved on the band is a single meaningful word. The details confirm a terrible truth, one that Ben cannot ignore.

Certain he now knows where Vanessa's ring is, Ben leaves town in a frantic rush. But can he stop a certain sale, or will Vanessa's ring be lost forever? Days before Christmas, when all seems hopeless, Ben and Vanessa learn an important eternal Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

BOOK REVIEW: If you're looking for something cozy with some sweet romance during the holiday season, look no further. This is the book you'll want to read. You could probably devour this book in less than a day if you're not being constantly interrupted by your kids and spouse and pets...or is that just me? Normally I wouldn't read a book set during the holidays when it's barely even fall but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to read an ARC from this author when I saw it. I'm so glad I was picked to read it! I love that this is centered around helping military families as I am a military veteran and a military spouse. It makes me wish I was able to do something similar in my community.

What I liked the most about this book actually has to do with the movie that is coming out. I am a visual person and I've mentioned it before that I cast movies in my head when I read so I can put a face to a character but I didn't have to do that this time. I was able to put the cast of the movie right into the book and it made it that much better in my opinion. From start to finish this book made me smile, laugh, shed a few tears, and I love how the author includes prayers and Bible verses in this book. In case you didn't know, this author is a Christian author so no spice. It has that classic Hallmark feel to it and I can't wait to see the movie adaptation!

This was a 5 star read for me. It's the second book I've read by this author with the first being The Bridge and I think I review that last year or the year before because it was one of my book club's December reads. We get quick character development without it feeling rushed, in my opinion. She was able to convey the hurt and sorrow during scenes that didn't feel childish or over the top. This book is out today and available in all formats wherever you get your books. She even has signed copies on her website! If you want to support a local to you indie bookstore, check out the link above in the title of the book to purchase from Bookshop.

5/5 Stars

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