An inspirational story that was perfect for the season. A sweet read. ( )

The Christmas Table is the tenth and latest book in Donna VanLiere’s perennial favorite Christmas Hope holiday-themed novella series. This one takes place in two different time lines with different characters that are connected by a shared kitchen table. In 1972, John and Joan Creighton are a loving couple who are living their best lives and raising their two young children, until Joan receives a devastating medical diagnosis. In 2012, Lauren and Travis Mabrey are preparing for the addition of a new little one to their lives, while Lauren worries that she may not be a very good mother, since she spent a large part of her life in foster care. In 1972, John is building a new kitchen table, which Lauren purchases from a furniture refurbisher in 2012. Inside she finds a stack of old, hand-written recipe cards that speak to her. Thinking that these cards are a family heirloom that someone must be missing, she sets out to find their owner.

In 1972, the Creightons are a loving couple who are simply enjoying life, while raising their five-year-old daughter, Gigi, and one-year-old son, Christopher. John hasn’t done much woodworking or carpentry in his life, but he commits to building a new kitchen table for his wife and family to enjoy over the holidays. Inspired by this anticipated gift, Joan decides to figure out how to cook, using recipe cards that her mother handed down to her. It’s a learning curve for both of them, but going well, until a routine doctor visit ends with Joan receiving a devastating diagnosis of breast cancer that’s metastasized to her lungs. For the next several months, she battles the disease, while her husband discovers a faith in God that he’s never had before, something that he draws upon to encourage his wife to keep fighting. Even though the timeline gets pushed back, he keeps working on the table little by little, hoping to finish it by Christmas and that Joan will still be alive to enjoy it. I really liked this little family and how John supports and encourages Joan even when things are looking bleak. Some days, it’s difficult for them to carry on, but with God’s help they find the strength to keep going.

In the 2012 timeline, we have Lauren who was first introduced in the eighth book, The Christmas Town, where she was a lonely young woman, searching for a family for the holidays. In that book, she was warmly welcomed into the close-knit, little town of Grandon, where she met Travis. The two of them married in the previous book, The Christmas Star, and as we quickly discover are now expecting a new little one. However, because her own mother never modeled good parenting and she spent a large part of her childhood in foster homes, Lauren worries whether she can be a good mother herself. She hasn’t even done much with her new home, but knows it’s time to start decorating and getting things in order, a task she sets about doing when she isn’t working or volunteering at Glory’s Place. With a little help, she finds a refurbished kitchen table, which she quickly discovers has a drawer full of recipes that were lovingly hand-written from a mother to her daughter. The cards inspire Lauren to take up cooking, and they also drive her to start searching for their original owner, somehow knowing in her heart that whoever that person is must be missing them. When no one in town seems to be able to help, though, it appears to be an impossible task until a little good fortune comes her way. I’ve always liked Lauren and Travis and enjoyed this new chapter in their story together. As usual, all the generous townspeople come together to help them out in whatever way they can.

While The Christmas Table was a pleasant, heartwarming story with the serendipitous ending I’ve come to expect from this series, it still wasn’t as good as many of the earlier books. About halfway through the series, Donna VanLiere switched up her style and started writing these books in third person, present tense. Ever since, each time I read one, I’ve mentioned what an unusual style this is. I’d never read a book written this way until she made this choice, and IMHO it wasn’t a good one. It has led to far too much passive narration, as well as over-simplistic sentence structure. I simply don’t feel as emotionally connected to or invested in the characters as I did in the beginning, because she doesn’t dig as deep with the characterizations. Unlike other books of the series, this is also a very food-driven story with detailed descriptions of both Joan and Lauren cooking and baking. I’m sure genuine foodies who love these activities will be in heaven reading this, but this is not something that I particularly enjoy. Also for those foodie readers, several of the recipes are included at the end of the book. All this said, I did still like the story for what it was. As I mentioned it has the feel-good aspect I’ve come to expect from this author, so in that respect it was still a pretty good read, just not quite up to the same level as the first five books of the series. ( )

The Christmas Table by Donna VanLiere is a 2020 St. Martin’s Press publication.

2012

Lauren and Travis learn they are about to become parents. Lauren’s friends from Glory House pitch in to help her prepare for the pending arrival. Visiting a local shop, Lauren buys a used table and discovers, by chance, a stack of old recipes. Not knowing how to cook, Lauren decides to try out these recipes. As a result, she realizes how special these memories must be for someone and hopes to find the table’s previous owner.

1972

John Creighton is trying to build a table for his wife, Joan, hoping to have it done by Thanksgiving. While John struggles with his project, Joan, who is battling breast cancer, begins work on the Thanksgiving meal- determined to make it more special than ever. For inspiration, she turns to her mother’s recipes…

In all the years I’ve been reading Christmas/holiday books, I have never read one of Donna VanLiere’s books!! I do have several of them on my Kindle- but… well, you know the score by now…

I’m thankful I made time to look through my TBR pile for older holiday stories before diving into some of the newer ones I’ve added this year. This is such a lovely story! The power of prayer and faith is woven throughout the story, as does the various stages in life and the challenges and wonders they present.

Overall, though, it’s an inspirational story that will warm your heart and leave you with a full heart and a smile on your face!! ( )

This is the first book that I have read by this author but it certainly won't be the last.
The writing just flowed, I couldn't put it down.

I found both stories within that end up converging at the end, to be gentle, kind-hearted tales of two families and their search for God in their every day lives.

To try and explain the stories would only belittle the magnificent writing and take away from the events depicted. It is a book that needs to be experienced. ( )

The Christmas Table by Donna VanLiere is part of the Christmas Hope series. Lauren’s story started in The Christmas Town and I recommend reading it prior to beginning The Christmas Table. All the books in this series are a delight to read. I thought The Christmas Table was well-written with steady pacing. The characters are realistic and relatable. They have fears, joys, heartaches, and tribulations just like real people. This is a dual timeline novel that takes readers between 1972 and 2012. Joan Creighton along with her husband, John and their two children are looking forward to the holidays. John is determined to build the family a dining room table out of walnut he found in an old barn. While Joan tackles the recipes given to her by her mother. Their lives are upended when Joan is diagnosed with breast cancer. Things begin to look grim for the family when John meets someone who gives him hope. Lauren Mabrey discovers she is pregnant which thrills her and her husband, Travis. She wants to make sure that her child has a warm, loving home to grow up in. Her friends from Glory’s Place begin the makeover under bossy Miriam’s direction. Lauren finds handwritten recipe cards in a dining table that she purchased. They contain detailed instructions along with family memories. Lauren wants to return the recipe cards to their rightful owner and sets out to find them based on clues in the stories. I like how the author tied the two stories together. We see Lauren learning to cook using the cards and enjoying the special tales on each one. The ending was touching. Some of the recipes from the book are included at the end. I am looking forward to trying Aunt Dee Dee’s Peanut Butter Fudge (I have been trying to find the right recipe for years). The Christmas Table would make a charming Christmas movie. I enjoyed reading The Christmas Table which is a heartwarming, faith filled tale. ( )