The Christmas Promise (Christmas Hope) [Kindle Edition]

Donna VanLiere (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Van Liere's seasonal confection (following The Christmas Hope) finds 60-year-old Gloria Bailey doing informal good works for needy cases seven years after her husband died, and her youngest son, Matthew, disappeared without a trace at age 17. With infinite good nature, Gloria fends off the complaints of her crabby widow neighbor, Miriam, annoyed by the constant riffraff at Gloria's house, while Gloria still sadly hopes that wayward Matthew will somehow return. Meanwhile, 24-year-old Chaz McConnell, a hard-luck drifter and drinker with a good heart, starts his Christmas season job as a security guard at the local department store and is reluctantly drawn into the lives of the people around him. Everyone changes for the better in this tidy fable. (Oct.)
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Review

Praise for The Christmas Shoes:
“A delightful book.” —Tampa Tribune & Times
 
Praise for The Christmas Blessing:
“A cozy, inspirational holiday tale.” —Publishers Weekly
 
Praise for The Christmas Hope:
“A magical story of second chances that will stay with readers long after the ornaments have been put away.” —Bookpage
 
“Donna VanLiere does a superior job of dramatizing her story
in The Christmas Hope.” —AudioFile magazine

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 417 KB
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press (July 1, 2010)
• Sold by: Macmillan
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000V770IM
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #184,678 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

Donna VanLiere is a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author and gifted conference speaker. She has published ten titles including The Christmas Shoes and The Christmas Blessing, both of which were adapted into movies (starring Rob Lowe, Kimberly Williams-Perry and Neil Patrick Harris) and garnered big ratings for CBS television. LifetimeTelevision adapted The Christmas Hope (starring Madeline Stowe) and premiered it December 2009 to stellar ratings as well. Donna's non-seasonal novel, The Angels of Morgan Hill, has captured the same warmth as her Christmas books and continues to please loyal and new fans alike.

Donna is the recipient of a Retailer's Choice Award for Fiction, a Dove Award, a Silver Angel Award, an Audie Award for best inspirational fiction, a nominee for a Gold Medallion Book of the Year and was recently inducted into the Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges Hall of Excellence joining such luminaries as Coretta Scott King, Hugh Downs, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale and Senator John Glenn. Donna is an in-demand conference speaker having appeared at countless women's and family events, including select Women of Faith and Extraordinary Women conferences.

Donna's latest book, The Christmas Journey (October 2010) is a retelling of the story of the Nativity told through Donna's signature voice and accompanied by moving and beautifully rendered watercolor illustrations throughout. The eighty-mile journey of a common carpenter and a simple peasant girl is one of the most powerful stories in history. As books go out of print and stories fade from memory, the journey of Joseph and Mary and her delivery inside a common barn continues to bless and inspire hope in people around the world.

Look for her brand new novel entitled "The Christmas Note this fall (2011).

Donna lives in Franklin, Tennessee, with her husband, Troy, and their children, Grace, Kate and David.

Learn more at www.DonnaVanLiere.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Christmas gift from Donna VanLiere, October 25, 2007

By 

Mary G. Longorio "Texasbookgirl" (Eagle Mountain, UT) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Christmas Promise (Christmas Hope Series #4) (Hardcover)

Several years ago I picked up The Christmas Shoes and found myself quickly caught up in the simple, heartwarming story. I couldn't put it down. Every year VanLiere crafts another story that quickly engages the reader and keeps them reading until the last page. The Christmas Promise is another in what has become a series of intersecting Christmas books that are sweet, simple and heartwarming to read. This Christmas we follow Gloria who is almost a one-woman social service agency for the town in which she lives. Weighed down by the loss of a husband and son, she still tries to reach out to others and is the person many turn to when there is no other help. Unfortunately, she is the port in the storm for her judgemental and nosey neighbor Miriam, who has been flooded out of her home. Add a soon to deliver unwed mother and several of the town's homeless and down and outs and she is almost busy enough to forget her losses...almost. This is a sweet and simple story that will bring tears to your eyes (don't read it at your desk at work, like I did). Look for an appearance by Nathan Andrews, one of the continuing threads through all these stories, and if you are like me, you will go back to the first three books in the series to read agian.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars beautiful and simple, November 4, 2007

By 

B. Ruiz "loves a good read" (Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Christmas Promise (Christmas Hope Series #4) (Hardcover)

I picked this book up at the library at a whim, not hoping for much. The story is beautifully crafted. Its' simplicity brought me to tears. I am so moved that I'm going to read more books by this author. I highly recommend this story for a good rainy/snowy night!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Christmas Gem from Donna, November 15, 2007

By 

Mark Lopa (Connecticut) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Christmas Promise (Christmas Hope Series #4) (Hardcover)

Just when I think Donna cannout outdo herself, she does! The Christmas Promise is an absolutely beautiful story about people who would be the furthest things from friends coming together to create yet another family of happy souls centering around the joy of Christmas. What makes this book even more special are the hidden gems for readers who are familiar with Donna's three other Christmas Shoes books. With each book, she comes full circle again, and the possibilities are endless for us to see these friends of ours in future writings (hint hint, Donna!).

For the last 50 pages of this book, I did not have a dry eye. It was a wonderful release and an exceptional conclustion to a fantastic book. Make sure you re-read the prologue right after finishing the book, and you will recognize another little surprise you probably did not catch when reading it for the first time.

I highly, Highly, HIGHLY recommend this book. Make sure you make The Christmas Promise part of your Christmas celebration!