The Christmas House
By: Victoria James
My Recommendation: 👍👍👍👍 - (Out of 5 👍)
This time of year I have a strong desire to read as many holiday stories as I can.
The Christmas House by Victoria James is a heartwarming story about overcoming life’s struggles. The story follows the story of two generations, a grandmother and her granddaughter, and how one’s life choices can impact and mold who the other would become.
Ruby’s story is told in pieces at the beginning of each new chapter. As a young girl she found herself pregnant out of wedlock, alone, and disowned by her family. With help from a couple of perfectly placed altruistic souls, Ruby found a job, a home, and friends who would become her family. Ruby vowed that she would be strong for her daughter and never allow herself to fall for a man again.
Charlotte, Ruby’s granddaughter, had grown up in a home with an alcoholic mother and a father who walked out when she was twelve. Being the oldest child, she had always taken on the role of creating order out of chaos. Charlotte made sure the house was clean, the lunches packed, and that her younger sister, Olivia, was looked after. The only bright spot in her life was spending time at The Christmas House with her grandmother Ruby.
Charlotte was hopeful for a peaceful holiday season spent at The Christmas House but realizes that is not meant to be when it becomes obvious something tragic is going on in Olivia’s life, her mother arrives early, and the man living next door is her childhood crush who disappeared the same day her father did. Can Charlotte handle all of the chaos.
I loved The Christmas House. It had so much depth and layers. It was heartbreaking to follow Ruby’s story while still hoping for some kind of well deserved happily ever after. All of the characters are so well written and James did a great job world building. I also appreciated her ability to tackle the hard topic of child abuse and neglect and one’s ability to overcome.
Purchase: Amazon
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