The Christmas Keepsake: a family's story careful told in Christmas ornaments

The Christmas Keepsake is the second book in the Love in Bloom series by Annie Rains. Mallory Blue’s beloved grandmother, Nan, puts on a Christmas play in her community theater that has become a beloved tradition. However, this year is different. Nan is in a memory care living facility and putting on the Christmas play has fallen onto Mallory’s shoulders. As Mallory struggles to put on the play, two things help her keep going. First, a journal written by Nan which explains the story behind each handmade ornament on Nan’s tree. And second, Hollis Franklin, a man who is trying to prove to their small town that he is no longer the rebellious boy from the past. As Mallory reads Nan’s journal, she sees her Nan in a whole new light. There was so much she didn’t know about her grandmother, her family and the past. Can Mallory and Hollis learn the key to holiday magic isn’t the gifts under the tree? 

From the opening chapter, Mallory is a woman stuck in the middle. Between preserving her grandmother’s legacy and the expectations of the town with the reality of how to do it all. I loved that she wanted to hold on to her grandmother and the closeness they shared. My heart broke for her as she watched her grandmother slip away from her. I also enjoyed Hollis’s character. My heart broke for him as a man who was still trying to belong and seek forgiveness for all he did as a wild teen. I liked that Mallory learns to see Nan as a person, as a flawed woman who made decisions and choices. Overall, I enjoyed this story. It had great drama with lots of emotions. While this story is a sequel to The Finders Keepers Library, but I do recommend it, readers do not need to read it to understand Mallory’s story. If you enjoy a holiday story with a bit of romance, I highly recommend The Christmas Keepsake.  

The Christmas Keepsake is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

The Finders Keepers Library: a heart-warming second love story with hope and healing

The Finders Keepers Library is the first book in the Love in Bloom series by Annie Rains. Savannah Collins’s life has been filled with lots of thorns and zero roses lately. As a gardener with a green thumb, she finds herself out of a job, dumped and evicted, all in one swoop. With all her belongings in her car, she heads to her Aunt Eleanor’s in Bloom, North Carolina, to spend the summer and hopefully figure out a new plan. What she doesn’t expect is to run into Evan Sanders, her childhood crush. Eleanor shares her love of literature with the Finders Keepers Library, located in the beautiful garden her late husband cultivated; anyone can stop by to pick a book or even leave a book. When a sudden summer storm destroys a portion of the library and the garden, it is a race to clean it up for a coming wedding. 

The Finders Keepers Library is a heart-warming second chance love story about hope and healing. It is a sweet story with a few tears and self-discovery. I loved the great applications of books into life situations. From classic stories like Anne of Green Gables to modern stories like The Hunger Games, the characters show us that books can be entertainment as well as  life lessons and inspiration. I also loved that the story uses the therapeutic aspect of gardening. I loved all the characters. From Savannah to Evan to Aunt Eleanor and to the secondary characters, just wonderful, wonderful characters. Their hopes, dreams and struggles were relatable and inspiring. I am looking forward to the more books in this series. I just didn’t want this story to end. If you love stories of second chances, healing with books and gardening, I highly, highly recommend The Finders Keepers Library. 

The Finders Keepers Library is available in paperback and eBook