About this book:
“Celebrate the Season with Three Timeless Tales Inspired by Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, and Beatrix Potter.”
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“Christmas in Tetbury” - contemporary story (Beginning, Ending, & In-between each novella)
About this book:
“When Emma Grace Langley retreats to her grandmother’s antique shop in the snowy Cotswolds after heartbreak and job loss, she hopes to find clarity. Instead, she finds a collection of heirlooms—a portrait, a rare book, and a charming figurine—that unlock stories from the past. As each tale unfolds, Emma is drawn into the lives of three remarkable women whose lives were touched by England’s greatest storytellers.”
Series: Does not seem to be connected to any of the authors’ other books.
Spiritual Content- Prayers & Blessings over food; Talks about God, trusting Him, & praying; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Set during Christmastime; Mentions of God & Jesus; Mentions of prayers, praying; A few mentions of books of the Bible, Bibles, & Bible reading; Mentions of churches, church going, & services.
Negative Content- A few mentions of deaths & grief;
*Note: Many mentions of authors, books, & fictional characters (Beatrix Potter, Jane Austen, & Charles Dickens); A mention of a movie (While You Were Sleeping).
Sexual Content- Noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); Emma’s boyfriend recently broke up with her; Mentions of dating, dates, boyfriends, & break-ups; Some attraction/possibly falling in love.
-Emma Grace Langley, age 27
P.O.V. of Emma
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Pre Teens- 
New Teens- 
Early High School Teens- 
Older High School Teens- 
My personal Rating-
“A Portrait of Faith” by Carole Lehr Johnson
About this book:
“In A Portrait of Faith, dutiful daughter Violet Walford longs for a life beyond duty to her family. When she is asked to paint a portrait of lively Regency-era author Jane Austen, their unexpected friendship inspires Violet to pursue life and love with new courage.”
Series: Does not seem to be connected to any of the author’s other books.
Spiritual Content- Psalm 23:5 at the beginning; Prayers & Thanking God; Church going; A couple talks about God & His will; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Set during Christmastime & a hymn is sung; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers, praying, & thanking God; Mentions of church, church going, rectors, services, & sermons; A few mentions of blessings; A couple mentions of miracles; A mention of Heaven.
Negative Content- Some eye rolling & sibling bickering with mean/hurtful intent; Mentions of illnesses, mothers being unwell (including mentally and nervous disorder), & grief; A few mentions of gossip; A couple mentions of jealousy; A mention of possible alcohol drink at a party;
*Note: Violet’s mother stays in bed all day (*Spoiler, but mention of a baby’s death* due to the death of an infant after a difficult labor affecting her; Called “melancholia” and the remedy shared for this is “inhumane—leeches or an asylum” *End of Spoiler*) & Violet has been responsible for all of her siblings and household work from a young age; Violet struggles with being short tempered with her family members & wishing her mother would “pick herself up and dosomething”; Violet believes that her life is not her own due to caring for her family (and thus unable to have a life of her own or be able to get married); Violet’s father verbally lashes out at her and her siblings when frustrated (which causes her to use a sharp tone on her siblings as well; He later apologizes to her); Violet’s father’s behavior has no sympathy towards his wife because he believes that she could control her mood if she wanted & calls her selfish; *Spoilers* Halfway through, Violet’s little brother asks their mother why she hates him which causes Violet’s fury to rise and tell her mother to get out of bed; Her mother comes downstairs shortly after and tries to start being with the family more; Violet wonders if “perhaps being stern held the secret all this time. They had bowed to Mamma far too long.” and later apologizes to her mother for her cruel words, but her mother thanks her for speaking the truth she needed to hear *End of Spoilers*; Featuring & many mentions of Jane Austen (also a couple quotes by her are said/shared); Mentions of the death of an infant, grief, & the difficult labor; A few mentions of a mother thinking she’s being punished to having only daughters after being very disappointed when her firstborn is a girl; A couple mentions of sons being “esteemed” over daughters (which Violet thinks is unfair).
Sexual Content- Two barely-above-not-detailed kisses, and a semi-detailed kiss; Fingers to lips touches, Wanting to kiss, Staring at lips, & Thinking about being kissed (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Touches, Dancing, Nearness, & Smelling (up to semi-detailed); Blushes; Noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of kisses & kissing; Mentions of blushes & crushes; Love, falling/being in love, & the emotions.
-Violet Walford, age 24
P.O.V. of Violet
Set in 1816
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Pre Teens-
New Teens-
Early High School Teens-
Older High School Teens-
My personal Rating-
“A Victorian Christmas Tale” by Carrie Turansky
About this book:
“In A Victorian Christmas Tale, Clara Reynolds struggles against physical challenges and family expectations while falling in love with John, a writer with ties to Charles Dickens. Their work at the London Foundling Hospital brings healing, hope, and a Christmas transformation that would make Scrooge proud.”
Series: Does not seem to be connected to any other book.
Spiritual Content- 1 Samuel 16:7 at the beginning; Many prayers & Thanking God; Talks about God, His will and direction, & praying; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Set during Christmastime; Mentions of God, His will, trusting Him, & the Holy Spirit; Mentions of prayers, praying, & answered prayers; Mentions of churches, church going, a reverend, & sermons; A couple mentions of miracles; A couple mentions of baptisms;
*Note: ‘Thank heavens’ is exclaimed one; Mentions of the ghosts in ‘A Christmas Carol’; A mention of luck.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘blast’, A mention of a curse (said, not written); A bit of eye rolling; Mentions of rumors & gossip; A few mentions of an accident & death; A couple mentions of jealousy; A mention of a young girl being treated differently by other children because of her disability;
*Note: Clara has a “weak leg” that is “several inches shorter than the other” and has faced men who look down on her because of her “deformity” or like she is a “cripple”; Clara wishes her mother could be more understanding about her “defects”; Clara’s sister tells her to start making her own decisions and live her own life rather than follow what their parents want her to do (Clara thinks that it’s time to stand up for herself after this conversation); Mentions of prejudice towards orphans, those who don’t know their biological parents or could have been illegitimate, & those in the lower class; Featuring & many mentions of Charles Dickens, his books, & fictional characters.
Sexual Content- A forehead kiss; Touches, an Embrace, Warmth, Tingles (barely-above-not-detailed); Noticing & Staring (barely-above-not-detailed); Clara and John go into a hotel to eat without a chaperone and while she’s nervous at first, she decides that because her conscience is clear, she’s going to stop worrying about what others think; Mentions of chaperones; A few mentions of a man possibly illegitimate; A few mentions of an unfaithful fiancé; Love, falling/being in love, & the emotions;
*Note: A couple mentions of a mother passing away after birthing complications.
-Clara Raymond, age 24
-John Stafford, age 28
P.O.V. switches between them
Set in 1843
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Pre Teens-
New Teens-
Early High School Teens-
Older High School Teens-
My personal Rating-
“A Tale of the Season” by Marguerite Gray
About this book:
“In A Tale of the Season, Edwardian heiress Arabella Graham escapes to the Lake District and meets a charming country veterinarian—as well as artist and children's author Beatrix Potter. With gentle wisdom and the peace of a country Christmas, Arabella discovers the joy of finding her own path.”
Series: Does not seem to be connected to any other book.
Spiritual Content- Philippians 2:13 at the beginning; A couple Scriptures are quoted & thought about; Prayers; Church going & sermons; Talks about God & His plans; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Set during Christmastime; Mentions of God, finding your purpose from God, His will, & His plans; Mentions of prayers, praying, & thanking God; Mentions of churches, church going, vicars, services, sermons, & stained glass; A few mentions of a nativity; A few mentions of miracles.
Series: Does not seem to be connected to any other book.
Spiritual Content- Philippians 2:13 at the beginning; A couple Scriptures are quoted & thought about; Prayers; Church going & sermons; Talks about God & His plans; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Set during Christmastime; Mentions of God, finding your purpose from God, His will, & His plans; Mentions of prayers, praying, & thanking God; Mentions of churches, church going, vicars, services, sermons, & stained glass; A few mentions of a nativity; A few mentions of miracles.
Negative Content- Mentions of deception; A few mentions of taverns/bars & alcohol; A couple mentions of deaths & grief; A couple mentions of gossip;
*Note: Arabella wants a different life than want her parent’s want for her (such as living in the country instead of the city); Featuring & many mentions of Beatrix Potter, her books, & fictional characters; A couple mentions of daughters keeping their parents happy with a “mask of obedience”; A mention of Beatrix saying that marriage “in general is not for every woman”.
Sexual Content- Three hand kisses, a nose kiss, a forehead kiss, a barely-above-not-detailed kiss, a semi-detailed kiss, and a border-line semi-detailed // detailed kiss; Remembering a kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, Nearness, Warmth, & Smelling (barely-above-not-detailed); Wanting to touch, embrace, & kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); Some flirting & blushes; Noticing & Staring (including muscles, barely-above-not-detailed); A few mentions of kisses & kissing; Love, falling/being in love, & the emotions.
-Arabella Graham, age 21
-Thomas Rowe
P.O.V. switches between them
Set in 1906
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Pre Teens-
New Teens-
Early High School Teens-
Older High School Teens-
My personal Rating-
Overall Ratings:
Pre Teens-
New Teens-
Early High School Teens-
Older High School Teens-
My personal Rating- 
Unlike other novella collections I’ve read, this book had a contemporary story at the beginning, end, and in-between each of the historical novellas to connect them all together. I preferred the historical novellas compared to the contemporary one, but I think that might have been because the contemporary story seemed to be the shortest of the four novellas.
I’m not really familiar with Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, or Beatrix Potter as actual people (as opposed to knowing only a bit about their fictional works), so I’m not sure how accurate they were and can’t really judge those elements. I’m not one for adding fictional details for an actual well-known historical figure, personally, but that probably wouldn’t bother many readers.
As far as the historical novellas, I personally found the first historical one (by Carole Lehr Johnson; featuring Jane Austen) a little…depressing. It had a melancholy feel to it because of the main character’s home life, responsibilities, her being a caretaker for her mother, and feeling trapped in her situation and duty for her family. Thankfully it ends happier, which was good because I struggled to finish it at times. ⭐️ 2 stars, personally.
The second story was by far my favorite of this collection. It was a sweet one (by Carrie Turansky; featuring Charles Dickens) and had one of the sweetest male leads. John was such a dear and so was Clara! Their faiths were wonderful and this novella had such a sweet premise and message. 4 stars, personally ⭐️
For the final historical novella, this third story (by Marguerite Gray; featuring Beatrix Potter) was enjoyable, though it was mostly set in the summer. Only the last few of chapters were set during Christmastime. I liked both of the main characters well enough and liked the amount of faith content and discussions as well. 3 stars, personally ⭐️
This Christmas collection ended up being quite different than I was expecting, but still an overall pleasant and calm read.
See y’all on Friday with a new review!
*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
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