A Melodious Sonnet

Book Review: It Came Upon a Midnight Clear (New Release!)

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I’ve had the privilege of working with author A.M. Heath for several years now, and each time I hear that she has a new book coming out, I excitedly and semi-patiently wait to have a turn to read it. Last month, when she sent me the file for her next release, I couldn’t wait to get to it—but I had some other tasks to do before the weekend, so I had to wait until the following week to crack it open.

Friends, when I did finally open the story and start reading, I . . . um, well, let’s say that I dropped into a bit of a reading coma. I’ll explain about that in a moment, but first, I’ll share the back cover blurb of the story.

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear tour banner

Note: Some links in this post are affiliate links, which help support this blog at no added expense to you. Thanks! Also, the author gave me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review, and all thoughts expressed here are entirely my own.

About the book:

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear by A.M. Heath cover

Can a cozy inn at Christmas transform the troubled hearts seeking refuge there?

Pregnant and alone, Alissa Hill moved to Garland, Tennessee to help at her aunt’s inn. When a guest brings her hidden past to the inn’s door, she must decide whether to face it or continue to run.

A career-ending injury ruined Stephen Powell’s life plans. Now a former NFL kicker, he’s searching for a new purpose while recovering at the Cheery Inn. But those at the inn may offer him much more than he expects.

Sparks fly the moment Alissa and Stephen meet, but secrets and regrets may keep them apart unless they can learn to forgive and move beyond their brokenness.

Read this heartwarming Christmas romance today!

Buy yourself a copy | Add It Came Upon a Midnight Clear on Goodreads

My thoughts:

I’m not a fast reader—well, not fast compared to my mom, anyway. But when I started reading this book, expecting to get a few chapters into it and then stopping to move on to something else, I greatly underestimated the power of this story and this author’s prowess. I’ve enjoyed A.M. Heath’s work for years, and it’s especially fascinating to see how she’s grown in skill as time has gone on. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, though, was a real winner for me.

There were so many relatable situations with these characters. Although I haven’t found myself in the same place as either of the main characters (thankfully!), their struggle toward forgiveness, healing, and figuring out what God wanted from their lives did feel very familiar to me. Sometimes, when life doesn’t turn out the way that we expected, it can be hard to know what to do next—and it can be especially hard to receive the grace He has offered us when we don’t feel like we deserve it. It’s also really difficult to learn to trust again when your feet have been knocked out from under you. There was so much truth included in these pages, and I really appreciated that!

The characters, too, were great. David, the young boy in the story, was an absolute hoot, and paired with the older sisters that were featured at times, I had to stop reading several times as I laughed. Despite some of the heavier portions of the book, there was humor throughout the story, and I really loved that. I also fell in love with Stephen and the way he was so gentle and loving, and passed along grace-heavy tidbits even when he was dealing with his own pain and questions. For example, here’s my favorite quote from him:

“Lord, help her to see that she’s more to You than her sin.”

—Stephen

In all, I absolutely loved It Came Upon a Midnight Clear. And when I said I fell into a “reading coma”? Yeah. It happened. Even though I only intended to read a few chapters, I “came to” about an hour and a half after I started, and realized I hadn’t even thought about stopping. If it weren’t for the fact that I had other commitments over the time I was reading, I’m fairly certain I would have finished this book in one sitting. I did finish it the same afternoon, and after I reached the end, I had a moment of grief—“Wait, I have to say goodbye to these characters already?” This is a very sweet, Christmassy read with a wonderful message, so if you’re looking for something short with a bit of meat alongside a satisfying romance, this could be just the book for you.

Giveaway!

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear tour giveaway image

Enter to win a Christian Reader’s Cozy Packet!

Prize pack includes a signed copy of It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, a stack of other Christian Christmas reads, and … a little something extra to round out your cozy day of reading.
(* Open to continental U.S. Residents only.)

Of Special Note — on Sale This Week:

Project Scrooge ebook sale image

Grab book 1 of the Christmas in Garland series for $.99 this week! (Read my review of Project Scrooge here, if you’re interested. This is a standalone series.)

About the author, A.M. Heath:

Besides being an Indie Author, I’m a wife, mother of four, ladies’ Sunday School teacher, sweet tea drinker, history fanatic, romantic, bubbly, lover of broccoli, and a retired cake decorator who has a soft spot for Christmas trees, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

What I’m not is a laundress (or at least not one who keeps up very well), a duster, tall, or patient in a doctor’s office.

Whether you’re on social media or not, you can ensure that you never miss one of my sales, giveaways, or new releases by signing up for my newsletter. I’ll send you a direct link to your email anytime something big happens.

Other links: Website | Blog | Facebook | Goodreads | BookBub | Instagram

Tour Stops!

Nov. 7:
Marilyn @ Lighthouse-Academy
Raechel @ God’s Peculiar Treasure Rae
A.M. Heath @ A.M. Heath Blog

Nov. 8:
Becky @ Blossoms and Blessings
Esther @ A Melodious Sonnet

Nov. 9:
Deana: Texas Book-aholic

Nov. 10:
Nyla @ Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess

Nov. 11:
Connie @ Older and Smarter
Debbie: Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations

What story based at Christmas time has impacted you lately? What was the most memorable Christmas story you’ve ever read (besides the story of Jesus’ birth 🙂 )?

Morning Moments

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Good morning, everyone! As I write this, it’s 8:05 am, and I’m sitting at the table eating my breakfast, staring out the window at the hill just across the road from the house. The new day is waking up around me—I heard the birds singing around 6:30 this morning while I was getting dressed.

I’m in Nelson now, nearly three weeks into the two-month stint I’m doing up here working as a nanny. The family I’m living with and working for are absolutely lovely; this feels like one of the easiest jobs I’ve ever had so far. They have two children, and most of my time has been spent on keeping the baby happy, but I’ve also enjoyed getting to know the daughter who is a little older—she’s close to the age of my youngest sister, and the two of them have a lot in common.

Below: My view every morning (it’s a panoramic picture, so that’s why the railing looks bent).

One thing I’ve been greatly blessed by in my time up here is all the walks I’ve been able to take since I’ve arrived. One of the baby’s greatest pleasures is getting outside, so nearly every day, we’ve explored around some part of the suburb we’re living in, him in the front pack and me getting some decent exercise! It’s way more fun walking with someone than going by yourself, I’ve found. I’m living in a hilly area, so that makes the exercise feel even more worthwhile. It also means we get some incredible views if we take the time to climb to the top of a hill, which I’ve done multiple times!

Another blessing I’ve enjoyed while I’m up here is being able to reconnect with friends that I haven’t seen in a while. I was able to spend last weekend with a dear family friend whom we were very close to for many years, and last evening, I went to visit some other long-time friends and enjoyed catching up with them.

God is good. So good to us!

Well, my little charge has woken up for the day, and the sunlight is slowly creeping down the hills toward the house. Have a blessed day, everyone!

What have you been keeping yourself busy with lately?

Inspiration

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One skill I have been keenly interested in for the last six months or more is bookbinding! I haven’t spent a lot of time on the craft myself, but I’ve accumulated some supplies and completed one book so far. I have one more printed and ready to bind and am dreaming of making more . . . it’s all about taking time for it and doing it well.

I’ve been a notebook collector since I was young. I always dreamed of keeping journals, of writing stories that would become beautiful books, and generally, anything made with paper fascinated me. Well, this is the latest step in my paper craze. Today, I thought I’d share two videos that have particularly inspired me (the first also inspired my mom to get back into bookbinding!), and perhaps one day on here, you’ll find a post about my latest creations. I’m dreaming of doing more, anyway. 🙂

Video #1:

This was the first video I came across, where I realized, “WOAH! I could totally do this!” And I did. I had a three-ring notebook full of notes from my personal Bible time from years ago, and converted it into a hardcover book. It wasn’t great, but it got me started on the bookbinding journey.

Video #2:

I just came across this video today, and it inspired me again. I love how simple yet effective this method is (although I wouldn’t do all that hand sewing!). It’s more time-consuming than some, but if you’re wanting a useful journal, this would be an excellent way to get one! Also, I think the background music is beautiful.

Have you done any bookbinding before?

Public Service Announcement: Back Up Your Website!

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Two weeks ago, all the websites I manage (my book reviews website, Mom’s blog, and this blog) went down at the same time. Our web host was hacked and all their servers were wiped. That meant that it took a good week for our websites to come back online, and during that time, I really didn’t know whether to even hope for them to come back, or whether I’d have to rebuild them all again.

It was a test of faith, and honestly, I didn’t do very well at it.

Praise the Lord, we did get the websites back, and the backup our host had was two months old, so between the three websites, we didn’t lose a lot of posts. A little work was lost, but nothing like it could have been. I’m so grateful. Especially since I know that some people still haven’t recovered their websites, and it looks like at this point they likely won’t. I’m sorry for them, but what can we do?

It’s been interesting to see people’s responses to the problem—including my own! Some people were very angry, to the point of threatening lawsuits the longer the downtime lasted, others tried to encourage being patient with the company, and others tried to give helpful advice or resources to people who were feeling stuck. I found myself waffling between disappointed questions (“How could this have happened?”), searching questions (“Lord, can you please make sure we don’t lose it all?”), and too many what-ifs to count. This event brought together a scattered community of sorts—everyone was in the same boat, asking the same questions, and we had to support each other and wait to see what the news was as it all unfolded.

In retrospect, there isn’t a lot I could have done to prevent this from happening. My main takeaway from the event is to make sure I back up our websites at least once a month, so even if something does go terribly wrong, at least we won’t have lost too much! And if you run a website, I’d encourage you to do the same—make sure you have your own copy of your website somewhere besides just a backup on your hosts’ servers! After the servers were wiped, my backups weren’t there anymore, and even if they are supposed to be there, I still have no way to access them.

Our God is gracious, and it’s all worked out alright, despite my worries to the contrary. He is good!

How have you seen the Lord stepping in to help in your life lately?

Traveling, Home Time, and the Blessings of Life

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As I was mixing bread this morning, shaping loaves, and punching batches down to wait their turn, I was thinking about my neglected blog and all the hopes and dreams I had for this space when I finally finished the site shuffle and rebuilding I worked on last year. Many times in these past few months, I’ve thought that I ought to get something up. Even if not brilliant, or particularly encouraging or interesting, it’s still special to hear from old friends on their blogs, and that’s a gift I want to give to you, the reader, too.

It’s been an interesting year, jammed full of new experiences and old, familiar routines, growth and stress, strength and weariness.

So far this year, I’ve spent the majority of my time at home. I never thought of myself as a traveling sort of person, aside from the time when I was eight or nine and exclaimed to my mom, “I wish we could take a long trip!” . . . or something along those lines. I remember her smiling back at me from the front seat of our old white station wagon, “I’d much rather be home.” I love being home, too—the quiet, predictable routines, my enthusiastic siblings, my loving church family that often do feel more like family than friends. But some days, I’ve caught myself looking wistfully out at the mountains across the valley, wondering if the Lord will call me away to help another family at some stage, or if living at home has a special purpose for the season I’m in right now. As time has gone on, I’ve realized I miss traveling.

After living away from home for nearly a year several years ago, moving from one family’s home to the next, my life and experiences have broadened considerably. There’s something special about being invited into someone else’s life to share a few days, weeks, or months together while they’re going through a difficult season. Not only do you learn to know people on an entirely new level, but you get to know their friends and family as well. It’s a gift. Something precious. And in some ways, I miss that. I miss wondering where my next posting will be, and what new surprises the Lord has in store for the next chapter.

But even as I write the words, I realize there are surprises in the mundane as well. Special moments, like cuddling with my sisters while we read a story together, or watching my brothers’ eyes light up at the mention of fresh-baked bread and butter. Or when we have company, and the house rings with laughter as we swap tales and play a game of dominos or Imaginiff. Life is beautiful.

And as I reflect on life these past few months, I’m thankful. God has richly blessed me, and I don’t want to take it for granted.

Life changes all too swiftly to be taken for granted, anyway. Just a few weeks ago, I got a message out of the blue from a friend I’ve only chatted with two or three times. She was wondering if I could be a nanny for their two young children for two months later this year. Another friend—one I helped a year and a half ago—asked if I could come to be with her for a few weeks while she recovered from surgery. And yet another friend asked if there was a possibility I’d be able to help family members for a time. So far, I’ve agreed to the nannying job, even though I’ve never done anything quite like what I expect that to entail! But I love children and have loved the times I’ve spent helping various families, so I’m telling myself not to worry about it . . . too much. As for the other two needs, time will tell when or if either of those will eventuate.

Our God is a God of surprises. And as I wait for the next batch of bread to come out of the oven and the last batch to finish rising, I’m thankful to know that, one day at a time, He is leading and guiding my life.

I find great contentment in that.