Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Pocket Books Tour, Review and Giveaway: A Blue and Gray Christmas by Joan Medlicott

A Blue and Gray Christmas A Blue and Gray Christmas by Joan Medlicott




My rating: 3.75/5.0


I received this book for a Pocket Books Tour for December.

This is a Covington Holiday novel and part of a series that I believe centers around 3 friends who met later in life and moved to Covington, NC together to live in a farmhouse that one of the friends inherited.

This was an enjoyable novel, I enjoyed the characters and getting to know them. I also enjoyed the Civil War letters from the two soldiers that were found. I loved learning about the families of the men and how people can come together after never knowing they were related and get along. The book read easily and was a great way to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon. I never lost interest in the book or in the characters.

My main complaint with the novel was the fact that there was a lot going on. There were several small story lines that were glossed over and I didn't feel like they truly added to the story. However I don't know that they weren't story lines from previous books being revisited and those that have followed this series may enjoy this book more than someone picking up this book for the first one in the series. You will not be lost if this is the first Covington novel you pick up, you may just not get as much out of it, but on it's own it is still an enjoyable novel.

I will say I enjoyed the characters enough that I do want to know more about them and I will be checking out the earlier books to learn more about this series and these women that are the focus.

About the Book:

When a rusty old tin box is unearthed at the Covington Homestead, longtime housemates Grace, Amelia, and Hannah discover that it contains letters and diaries written by two Civil War soldiers, one Union and one Confederate.

The friends are captivated by the drama revealed. The soldiers were found dying on a nearby battlefi eld by an old woman. She nursed them back to health, hiding them from bounty hunters seeking deserters. At the end of the war the men chose to stay in Covington, caring for their rescuer as she grew frail. But while their lives were rich, they still felt homesick and guilty for never contacting the families they'd left behind.

Christmas is coming, and the letters inspire Amelia with a generous impulse. What if she and her friends were to fi nd the two soldiers' descendants and invite them to Covington to meet? What better holiday gift could there be than the truth about these two heroic men and their dramatic shared fate? With little time left, the ladies spring into action to track down the men's families in Connecticut and the Carolinas, and to make preparations in Covington for their most memorable, most historic Christmas yet.
 Giveaway:

In an effort to keep my bookshelves cleared off, I would like to give away my read one time hard cover of A Blue and Gray Christmas by Joan Medlicott.  Simply say you would like to enter and leave your email address if it's not available in your blogger profile, additional entries for being a follower here on blogger and on twitter, subscribing and tweeting.  Just leave a comment..  Giveaway open worldwide and ends 12/20.  I can't promise you'll get it before Christmas, but I will try.


Challenges:
100+ Book Challenge
Fall Into Reading Challenge 2009






17 comments:

Mary (Bookfan) said...

Nice review, Crystal. I've read a few of the earlier books in the series (and enjoyed them) so I'll be reading this at some point. I have to catch up in the series, though (I hate reading series out of order) so don't enter my name in the giveaway. It's definitely going on my tbr list!

Simply Stacie said...

Please count me in. I follow and subscribe by email.

simplystacieblog at gmail dot com

Marjorie/cenya2 said...

A super giveaway, I would like to
win this Christmas book.

I subscribe by email.


cenya2 at hotmail dot com

Sue said...

Thanks for the fun giveaway!

s.mickelson at gmail dot com

Lee P said...

Oh, I'd love to read this book! Thank you for this giveaway and please count me in.

chinook92 at gmail dot com

Lee P said...

I follow My Reading Room via Google Friends.

chinook92 at gmail dot com

Lee P said...

I follow you on Twitter as chinook92 and Tweeted:

http://twitter.com/chinook92/status/6703507319

chinook92 at gmail dot com

fredamans said...

Good review. I would like to win. Thank you.

freda.mans[at]sympatico.ca

rubynreba said...

This sounds very good.
I follow
pbclark(at)netins(dot)net

apple blossom said...

I'd love to be included in this book giveaway.

I'm a follower

I'm a subscriber too.

Thanks.

ABreading4fun [at] gmail [dot] com

Jill Buck said...

I don't need to be a part of the giveaway, i just wanted to let you know that I liked your review and agree with you. It seemed like a lot was happening with different characters and at times like there were too many of them. Bob just kind of popped up in the middle and I didn't remember him at all from the beginning of the book!

Margie said...

This sounds like a fun Christmas read. Thanks for the giveaway.
mtakala1 AT yahoo DOT com

Just became a follower.

Jan said...

This sounds like a great story, I would love to read it. Please count me in.

I am a follower

alongtheway(at)telus(dot)net

Anita Yancey said...

I would like to be entered to win this book. It sounds like a wonderful read. Thanks for this chance.

ayancey(at)dishmail(dot)net

Michelle Stockard Miller said...

Please enter me. I have read a couple of positive reviews on this one.

I follow via Google Reader.

miller4plusmore(at)bellsouth(dot)net

Aimee said...

Sounds like a good read. Please count me in. Thanks!
Google Friend Connect follower

Anonymous said...

Thanks for having this great giveaway—please enter me to win! Thanks!!

Sheila
skkorman@bellsouth.net

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