12 Days of Blogmas Day 1: A Baxter Family Christmas by Karen Kingsbury

First off, before the review, I'm so excited that you are here for Blogmas! It's a little different from last year, but I hope you like it just as much.


Now for the review. A Baxter Family Christmas finds Ashley Baxter Baker at odds with her father, John, over his choice of Christmas Eve guests. John has invited Kendra, who happens to be the woman who got Erin's (his youngest daughter) heart after Erin and her husband and three of her daughters died in a car accident. Ashley is afraid that seeing the woman with Erin's heart will upset her niece Amy, the only survivor of that horrible accident. In another storyline, Maddie West, one of the Baxter cousins, is consumed with guilt over something that happened twelve years ago. Everyone in the Baxter family is in need of a Christmas miracle this year.


This beautiful Christmas book gets 5 stars.

1: Honestly, I have yet to get through a Karen Kingsbury book without crying. Seriously, so sweet. Her books play me like a fiddle. Every time.

2: So this book is like number 24 or something like that in the line-up of Baxter family books, but this was my first experience with them. And I wasn't really all that lost ( I got a few of the kids mixed up a couple times, but with so many, I'd likely do that if I had read all the books three times) because Karen did a really good job explaining back story and incorporating it, and also, at the beginning of the book is a character list which helped a whole lot. I totally want to read the others now!

3: This book did not have a POV that I didn't like! I enjoyed reading from John, Ashley, Amy, Connor, Maddie, and Kendra's view. They each had their own struggles (so relatable) and triumphs and it made it really fun( and like I said, emotional) to read.

4: I know this is in literally everything I write, but I love books with kids. This book definitely fits that category! Like a bajillion kids, as important characters, not just filling in for no good reason. LOVE it!

5: The power of a Christmas miracle, or of many Christmas miracles, as the case may be. How can you not be totally in love with this plot, this story. I'm ready for Christmas to come again! (and it's like February because I need to write this while everything is still very fresh on my mind)