Review: The Christmas Shoppe by Melody Carlson

Matilda Honeycutt shows up mysteriously in Parrish Springs and buys an old building that others in the city had their eye on. She has plans to turn it into a store, but what kind of store?

Susannah Elton, the city manager, wants to give Matilda a chance, but she doesn't seem interested in securing all the right business licenses, which is causing problems with the other business owners in town. They want to make sure the store won't drag down the value of their own businesses during such a trying economy. But as time passes and Matilda's store opens up, it seems she may have something to offer the town that will exceed their expectations.

I enjoy Christmas books during the holiday season and this one was a really cute novella. I was actually pretty intrigued by the concept of the store and I don't think Carlson quite drew it out to its full potential. She makes a really strong link between possessions and memories which is a fascinating idea to me, but it's not really explored in depth. It is, after all, a Christmas novella meant to warm your heart and cheer you up and give you hope. :)

I liked this book, but the fact that Melody Carlson is now publishing at least a book a month was evident. It felt like a story that hit all the points it was meant to without any depth of characterization, exploration of ideas, or stand-out prose. Even so, it's a fun quick read.

Rating: 3.5/5
Things You Might Want to Know: Even though this is technically Christian fiction, there's only tiny section where the Christmas story is told that makes it so.
Source of Book: Received from publisher for review
Publisher: Revell