My Review:



Before you read this review, you need to know I will be trying other books by this author because of her long writing history and I hold hope that her older books will be great since I know two people who enjoyed them. (One of them would be my mom, and she isn't too thrilled with my review being so horrid. Horrid is my word for the day.)



Genre: Historical fiction.



My Rating: 2 stars.



Recommendation: I don't recommend this book. If you want to read it go for it!



My Favorite Character/s: I wasn't able to keep up with the characters, and they weren't very interesting. (What you can't see here is me ... Hitting my head on the wall as I want to cry in sadness for the poor book I'm reviewing because all books are precious; there are just some that are for other people and NOT me.)



My Thoughts: OK, so, I thought this would be an interesting read, and it was until the second chapter; I couldn't connect with the characters and the book had a dragging storyline. So, while I see a good bit of potential it was slightly boring. I did enjoy reading the beginning but if I hadn't needed to review it I would have stopped reading around the 3rd chapter.



It was like the author threw awesome ideas in a mixer hoping to make macaroons and it came out as pickled eggs that are considered edible by some people but are too horrid to eat. (You want proof I HATE pickled eggs? I have a video ... *ducks in embarssment*)



Major Spoiler (That is needed. Sorry!) Don't read further if you want to regret having eyes to read with because of this horrid book read this book




*cries* It disturbed me that the main character's mother and the main character's fiance was supposed to marry got married. Who does that? It was horrible to me!



If books had feelings, this book would feel like Job wishing it was never written.
COPYRIGHTED to Kaylee's Kind Of Writes.



Not really copyrighted just thought it be fun to say that!



(I received this book in exchange for my honest review and I'm happy to provide it.)

The Christmas Prayer by Wanda E. Brunstetter is a heartwarming tale that take you back to 1850. Cynthia Cooper, her mother Mabel, and Cynthia's fiancée Walter Prentice missed the wagon train they had originally intended to join in Missouri and are instead having to travel with two other families that are also headed to California. Jack Simpson is traveling with his two young children, Alan and Amelia, and Cole Edwards is traveling with his sister, Virginia.

Cynthia is with Mr. Prentice, a much older man, not because she loves him but because he will be able to financially care for her and her mother. In all actuality Mr. Prentice is stuffy, pretentious and almost unbearable to be around. He is of no help to any of the other men during their trying journey and Cynthia finds herself fighting feelings for another man in the group and wondering how she will ever be able to share a life with Mr. Prentice.

When the team reaches the Sierra Nevada mountains bad weather, along with even more wagon issues, lead Jack and Cole to search for shelter, and they soon find a little log cabin in the middle of nowhere. The group is forced to stay in the cabin for months while winter rages on outside and patience and hope begins to wear thin as it nears Christmas. It is this, along with their dire situation, that Cynthia sends up a prayer on Christmas, and the group does what they can to make Christmas as special for the children as possible.

As you read you fall in love with the characters, with the exception of Mr. Prentice, who quickly gets on your nerves. You find yourself rooting for Cynthia and hoping that she ends up with anyone else but Mr. Prentice, as well as a happy ending for everyone in the group.

Wanda Brunstetter has a wonderful, fluid writing style that is easy to read and you find yourself getting lost in the story. It takes no time at all to read and it leaves you with a sweet smile on your face. It's the perfect story to kick off the holiday season. ( )

This historical romance novella, The Christmas Prayer by Wanda Brunstetter, had a good plot, but just didn't hit the mark for me. I think the idea of this story was too big for this short novella. Cynthia Cooper and her mother were traveling west to California over the Sierra Nevadas. Cynthia is betrothed to Walter Prentice and older man who is a bit of a stick in the mud. She is traveling with Walter and her mother as well as a few other wagons. As the trip progresses, Cynthia realizes that she does not want to marry Walter and that he doesn't measure up to the other two men in their wagon train. One of the men, is a widowed father with two delightful children, that cause a few problems on the journey, the other a prospector traveling with his sister. When the weather turns unexpectedly, they have to hole up in a cabin they found for the winter.

The portrayal of the characters was interesting, but at the end, I wanted to see more fleshing out. I realized many were more two-dimensional than I would have liked. Even though I liked the idea of Cynthia, it was hard to get too attached to the characters. The journey was interesting, but it seemed to reach a climax, then abruptly it ended. It was a very simple story with a message of praying for guidance and support as well as being true to yourself. The publisher, Shiloh Run Press, generously provided me with a copy of this book to read. The rating, ideas and opinions shared are my own. ( )

Looking for a good Christmas story. Wanda give you one. I really liked it. They wonder what it like to be on trail to west to California. It about Three wagon trains that meet up and are all set to travel to get to California.

There a young girl that is to marry a fellow traveler? Will she do so to help her mother or will her heart win out? For there are two others that are interested in Cynthia. There are quite adventure for all of them.

They seem to get stuck in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Will they survive or will they not. Will Christmas bring them together or will is pull them a part. Will Cynthia get her Christmas payer be answered?

Wanda does a wonderful job with showing us the hardships of Oregon trails and natures? She show us what it like on the trails though a young woman and always the friendship that are built. ( )

Wanda Brunstetter’s “The Christmas Prayer” leaves me with mixed feelings. A brief novella, it is great for a one-to-two hour diversion, and the writing is very easy to understand. However, these qualities are also part of my criticism. The storyline seems like it would have been better suited to a full-length novel, as the plot comes across as rushed, jumping over weeks and even months at a time. The same is true of the characterization. As the reader, I did not feel any strong connection with any of the characters, and they were not developed to any real extent. Part of the narrative comes from Cynthia Cooper’s journal, which in my opinion detracted from the flow of the story. This read more like a teen or young adult novella, and everything came together too neatly and too quickly to be believable. It is reminiscent of a Hallmark Channel movie. Nevertheless, the cover is absolutely beautiful, with an embossed gold border on both the front and back, and anyone looking for a fast, feel-good tale will enjoy this one.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review. ( )