Welcome to the blog tour & giveaway for The Ornament Keeper by Eva Marie Everson, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
ABOUT THE BOOK
Title: The Ornament Keeper
Author: Eva Marie Everson
Publisher: New Hope Publishers
Release Date: September 24, 2018
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Holiday
Award-winning author Eva Marie Everson wraps up a Christmas story of hope, love, and forgiveness just in time for the holidays.
The Ornament Keeper, a contemporary Christmas novella, features Felicia and Jackson Morgan who are spending their first Christmas apart after twenty years of marriage. But a lifetime of gifted ornaments helps Felicia piece together the story of their marriage and the one mistake of unforgiveness she made before they said, “I do.”
Can these memory-filled ornaments reunite this family before Christmas? Only time will tell.
PURCHASE: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | CBD | Book Depository
MY THOUGHTS
The Ornament Keeper by Eva Marie Everson is among the best novellas I’ve ever read, with an impact far greater than its size. The writing is strong, characters well drawn, and I was connected emotionally from the first page. Often novellas feel under developed or needing more, but The Ornament Keeper is the complete package.
The story is set during the Christmas season as Felicia, separated from Jackson after twenty years of marriage, reluctantly promises their children that she will decorate the Christmas tree. As she slowly unpacks special keepsake ornaments celebrating yearly events in their lives together, a lifetime of memories come flooding back.
“I had lain my naïve body alongside Jackson’s and
fallen
into a trap offered on a platter of guilt.”
into a trap offered on a platter of guilt.”
The Ornament Keeper is the story of a marriage, revealed in layers with the opening of each ornament. It’s a poignant story, raw and emotional at times, but with the promise of God’s grace and hope throughout. There’s the message that I always need to be reminded of, that God never wastes a tragedy and always uses our mess-ups. And at it’s heart is the sharp reminder of the effects of unforgiveness in any relationship. In Felicia’s words … “I’d dropped a seed of unforgiveness into the fertile ground of our marriage and, over time, I’d watered it and nurtured it until … the tiny seedling burst from the ground, ready to bloom and produce its poisonous fruit.”
The Ornament Keeper concludes in a beautiful, touching way. “Best of the best” for me.
Very highly recommended.
I received a copy of this book through Just Read Tours. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Eva Marie Everson is a multiple-award winning author and speaker who hails from the picturesque Southern town of Sylvania, Georgia. She is president of Word Weavers International, director of Florida Christian Writers Conference, Managing Editor at Firefly Southern Fiction, and enjoys coaching new authors through her company, Pen in Hand. She is an avid photographer who enjoys turning her photos into inspiring memes for you to share (with proper attribution). Eva Marie and her husband make their home in Central Florida. They are the parents of three fabulous children who have blessed them with the world's greatest grandchildren.
CONTACT: website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
TOUR GIVEAWAY
(1) winner will receive:
- a print copy of The Ornament Keeper, and
- an ornament handpicked by the author
Follow along at JustReadTours for a full schedule of stops!
I love collecting ornaments!!!! I sm looking forward to reading this!!!! Thanx for the giveaway!!!!
ReplyDeleteThe keepsake ornaments are so integral to this story! I hope you get to read it soon because I think you'll love it, Jennifer. Thank you for stopping by.
DeleteThank you so much, Carole! I'm thrilled that you loved it!
ReplyDeleteI love reading Christmas stories each fall! This sounds like a good one.
ReplyDeleteI identified with this story. I also have ornaments that are reminders of certain events and times in mu life.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to this as one of my holiday reads. I buy ornaments every year for each of my grandchildren. Sometimes they have meaning for that year or just traditional and beautiful ornaments. I figure that when they turn 18 or so, they will have their own set to start their own traditions someday.
ReplyDeleteCarole, Thank you for the wonderful review!
ReplyDeleteThis book is so real! A sweet story of life and love and how we are sometimes our own worst enemy! bitterness and unforgiveness can bury your soul! But love and understanding can change a heart! This book is so well written- I felt like I was a part of this family - I think we all will learn some valuable truths from this little novella!��
ReplyDelete