Mosaic Collection. A Thrill in the Air: A Mosaic Christmas Anthology. 2023

Guide to categories: Adult Review – review of books for adults – may or may not be appropriate for a school library

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Summaries

The Prodigal’s Feast by Milla Holt

Every family has a screw-up, but Linnea is done with that label. To show her loved ones how far she’s come, she volunteers to host this year’s Christmas dinner. But when things don’t go as planned, will her family ever see beyond her past mistakes?

A Merrytime Cruise by Lorna Seilstad

Christmas is not the time to announce their marriage is over, so Rick and Meredith Stevens agree to join forces one last time and give their children a magical family holiday that they’ll treasure. After the family embarks on the jolliest vacation ever, a Christmas cruise to the Bahamas, Rick and Meredith find there’s more to Christmas and to their marriage than carol-oke and cookies.

Meg and the E-Monster by Eleanor Bertin

With every new day bringing more costly bad news, Envy creeps through Meg’s smiling persona to spill his poison onto hapless victims close to her. When Meg most needs someone in her corner, she ends up at odds with her new best friend, Hayley. Can she find a way to defeat the E-monster for good and salvage what’s left of a great friendship?”

The Other Way by Sara Davison

Lawyer Cassasndra White has always wanted to spend the holidays in New York City, and this is the year. 

Except God is clearly calling her to go see her sister Daria instead, a call Cassie seriously objects to. After all, given what Daria did to her, Cassie owes her nothing.

So, even if reconciling with her family is the only way to experience peace this Christmas, Cassie is heading the other way. 

And no one, not even God, is going to stop her. 

The Home for Christmas Challenge by Brenda S. Anderson

Christmas isn’t Christmas without drama, and this season might be the worst of all.

Dating hasn’t been on Lee Aldrich’s mind since Amelia’s mother abandoned the two of them over thirteen years ago. Since it’s the last year before his daughter heads off to college, he wants to make the upcoming holiday season memorable. Unfortunately, Amelia has other plans, beginning with a blind date for Lee. A date that stirs up memories of the past that he has no desire to revisit.

But if Lee wants to have Christmas with his daughter, he and his date need to accept Amelia’s Home for Christmas Challenge. As the months pass, Christmas nears, and the challenges continue, forcing Lee to face hard truths. If he doesn’t meet the truth head on, he risks losing what he cherishes the most.

Scrabbling by Deb Elkink

It’s time for their annual Yuletide tournament, anticipated by house-bound Kristen despite the apprehension of worldly-wise Taylor. After all, even disjointed game tiles might divulge hidden motives. The two young women, friends since university, hold differing perspectives regarding their student trip to Amsterdam a decade ago – and the incident that left them both profoundly maimed. 

The Angel Voices by Candace West

All will not be calm and bright for estranged sisters Natalie and Chloe Frost. A bed and breakfast is the last thing they want for Christmas, but their aunt signs it over anyway.

Cookie-cutter smiles for their holiday guests split open old wounds between them. If they could wrap up the past and stash it with the oodles of gifts under the tree, they would survive the season.

Hiding the ugly truth will prove much more difficult, however. 

Christmas Comes to Springlight by Johnnie Alexander

Lemora Violet McElhaney-Smyth is bewilderingly befuddled when a notorious newcomer arrives at the When at a Loss Pawn Shop on a bleak afternoon to return a purloined present. Meanwhile, her identical twin, Elmira Rose, is troubled by a tragical tragedy. 

Will the sisters celebrate Christmas with acrimonious animosity? Or will a shooting star kindle kindred kinship?

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My Review

I have to say, these ladies contribute to sleepless nights. Their stories are often so good I’d rather read than sleep. There is so much that is good in these stories. And so many of the stories felt like they contained a little bit of my life – I could easily relate to many of the characters. 

The Prodigal’s Feast by Milla Holt

Linnea has always lived in the shadow of her unwell twin. Signy has always taken their parents’ attention with her poor health. That may have contributed to the path Linnea took in her life which made her seem like a prodigal. Now she is trying to show her family she has changed, but another tragedy in Signy’s life draws the attention off the positive in Linnea’s life back to Signy’s struggles. I really like Linnea, her daughter Hanna, and her boyfriend Andreas. I’d really like to read more about them in future stories.

A Merrytime Cruise by Lorna Seilstad

Meredith likes to control everything. Rick does not like to be controlled. Yet there is a reason for Meredith’s controlling nature. It is not until his mother-in-law fills Rick in that the desire to control is a symptom of something that Rick learns to better understand his wife. I found the cruise setting to be a fun place to tell the story which has a bit of a lesson for those who tend to be controlling (and those who live with them).

Meg and the E-Monster by Eleanor Bertin

The lesson for me in this story was that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.Meg and her husband are struggling to get him through seminary. Hayley, a church friend, lives in a nice home and often offers to help Meg out in some way. Meg is jealous. When she has to make an emergency trip back home, Hayley selflessly gives Meg a ride to the airport. Meg learns later that her friend was dealing with a family crisis at that time but never let on. May we all learn to be more like Hayley.

One of the things I loved about this story is that it is set in Grand Rapids, my hometown although we don’t see much of the town in the story. 

The Other Way by Sara Davison

Davison revists a minor character from one of her series. Cassie has had some relationship struggles – we don’t find out the extent until near the end of the story. Even though she does have a sister, they are estranged and Cassie feels like she is alone in the world. She senses God nudging her to visit her sister for Christmas, but Cassie resists. Much like in the story of Jonah, God uses unusual events to get Cassie to the town where her sister lives. The story is very well-written and readers may not be able to anticipate all that is coming. I hope Cassie shows up again in another story – I’d love to know what happens next. 

The Home for Christmas Challenge by Brenda S. Anderson

I cannot imagine what it would be like to be abandoned by a spouse. Yet that is what Lee has experienced. Now his daughter is getting ready to move on to college and doesn’t want to see her father alone. Amelia has a relationship with her mother and doesn’t want to see her mother alone either. Amelia concocts this plan to get her parents together – or she will spend her last Christmas with her friends “whole” family. While Amelia does seem a bit manipulative, her heart is in the right place – she wants her parents together again and thinks they can make it work. Both parents and daughter learn a skill we all need – communication and its importance in relationships.

Scrabbling by Deb Elkink

Two friends – if you can still call them that. One is still overcome with guilt at a stupid mistake she made years ago that left Kristen in a wheelchair. Kristen came to grips with her life a long time ago and has forgiven Taylor. A Christmas eve scrabble marathon is their annual gathering. Kristen can’t be left alone and all the other residents of her group home have a place for the holidays so Taylor spends the evening with her so that the caregivers can have the evening with their families. The words they spell with the letters they end up with show so much about what is in their hearts. Can Kristen help Taylor to forgive herself?

The Angel Voices by Candace West

This is another one of the stories where I hope the characters show up again. Natalie and Chloe were close at one time in their life but Chloe was also the clingy little sister. When Natalie was applying for college she did something that she now regrets – it built the wall between the sisters. No one but the two of them know of the incident. I loved how West shared the feelings of both of the girls – describing how the incident had affected each of them. This is a story of correcting wrongs – and the difficulty in correcting them when so much time has passed. It is also the story of love – an aunt, who raised the girls, who has enough love for both of them to want them to work through their differences. 

Christmas Comes to Springlight by Johnnie Alexander

This story is more literary fiction than the other stories in this book. I’ll admit I struggle a bit with this type of story – I enjoy the plot-driven nature of fiction. Christmas Comes to Springlight focuses on the characters – their thoughts and actions. I’m afraid Christmas Comes to Springlight didn’t have enough story for me. Doesn’t mean it isn’t good – just means it isn’t my style of writing. I’m sure that others greatly enjoyed this fiction.

I don’t remember anything in this anthology, A Thrill in the Air that would prevent it from being included in a K-12 Christian school library. Most of the stories will appeal to high schoolers. 

I received an advanced copy of A Thrill in the Air in order to write this review – but I also purchased a copy. This is my honest review.

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