Meet me under the kissing bough

Meet Me under The Kissing Bough
A Christmas Romance Collection

I love the Christmas Collections that come out each year. I was very excited to be able to read an advance copy of this one this year. 

Meet Me under The Kissing Bough by Josi S. Kilpack

The first story Meet Me under the Kissing Bough is of a widow who has finally decided that she is ready to host a Christmas party and to invite friends and family to come to celebrate the Christmas season. 

One of the activities they do is make kissing boughs. I had to look them up to see what they looked like as I hadn't ever heard of them before. They were usually made with greenery and shaped into a round ball. They could have many different decorations added on them. They really can be really beautiful.

Deborah is a widow with three young children and Phillip has been a friend of the family and her late husband. When her husband passed he has helped in in learning how to manage and run the estate. 

Deborah has always listened to her mother's opinion on things as she had never guided her astray before. I love that in this story that Deborah learns to trust herself and what she wants over what her mother thinks. She truly comes to think about her happiness and what she wants in the future.

Healing Hearts for the Holiday by Anneka R. Walker

I loved that we were still able to see a little bit more of Ivy and Lord Blakely's story that was in A Hopeful Christmas from last year. Though they are more side characters.

I can see so much of myself in Julia. She cares so deeply for those that she loves and she tries to do everything she can do to ensure their happiness. But it can come at a cost of making sure she gets her happiness.

At some point we all come to see that our own happiness is important. That we need to do what truly makes us happy. Whether that is the friends that we make, who we fall in love with and what career will make us happy. Julia comes to see that for herself and makes the decision to see after what makes her happy. 

A Christmas Correspondence by Sarah L. McConkie

This story has been so fun to read. My husband and I have been to see the A Christmas Carol a couple times. The story just kind of has a sense of magic about it. 

It has been so fun to read a twist on this story with the scrooge being a women. But see her interactions with those of a lower standing and remembering the friendships she had with them when she was younger and the new friendships that she has been able to build.

I truly feel like Christmas gives us that chance to ponder how we have been during the year. Gives us that chance to slow down and reflect. Caroline has that opportunity to be able to see what her life would be like without friends and to realize what she needs to do to make amends and to seek out those only friends that she made but pushed away. 

I love the happy ending in this book. She finally gets to have the family that she has been missing and the love she has been seeking without realizing.