Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Review #32: A Blue and Gray Christmas by Joan Medlicott

Title: A Blue and Gray Christmas

Author: Joan Medlicott
Publisher: Pocket Books (Simon and Schuster)
Format: Hardcover
Genre: Fiction
Series: A Covington Holiday Novel

Rating: 3/5

My Review and Description:

A Blue and Gray Christmas is a holiday themed book with the characters from Medlicott's Ladies of Covington series.

The jacket cover includes this brief description: "In this stunning holiday story, a cache of Civil War era letters and diaries sweeps the ladies of Covington up into a dramatic and heartwarming historical saga that inspires them to plan an unforgettable Christmas for two families forever changed by war."

I had never read any of Medlicott's other novels so the characters were brand new to me. Grace, Amelia and Hannah are the three older women that the "Ladies of..." refers to. They are all housemates and take pleasure and pride in each other's friendship, even though the differences between them are definitely present.

It was refreshing to read a story of older women who were down to earth and straight forward.

When they find the letters and diaries they are torn at first as to what to do but then quickly get absorbed in putting together the puzzle of these soldier's lives. Along their journey you meet a cast of characters that make up the extended family of these two soldiers. It was quite intriguing to piece it all together with them.

I found the story to be quite sweet and simple, perfect for a holiday read. The writing itself wasn't anything extraordinary or in depth but I can see the appeal of the ladies and the community in which they live in. I would recommend this to fans of all holiday themed novels in general. It leaves you with that Christmas feeling that doing good unto others is a pretty darn fulfilling thing to do.

I would recommend reading her other Covington novels to get a better look at the lives and history of the women. Check out Joan Medlicott's webiste here.

Thank you to Sarah at Pocket Books for providing me a beautiful copy to read and review.

Happy Reading!

red headed book child


2 comments:

Ryan said...

Everytime I see this book around I decide I need to give it a try even though it's not something I would normally read. Great review.

Tales of Whimsy said...

Great review. I really want to read this one.