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kristy1992's review
4.0
A Lowcountry Christmas is the ideal holiday read. It's a sweet story about family, sacrifice, and healing. This book will warm your heart and entertain you. Highly recommended! Note: I read this book without reading any of the prior Lowcountry Summer books.
colleenlovestoread's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
rebar351's review
5.0
I love this series so much!! I really liked getting to see the beginning of Taylor and Thor! Highly recommend this series!!
modknight's review
5.0
Very moving story about a Marine veteran with PTSD. As a fan of this series it was nice to learn more about Taylor's backstory and how he received his service dog, Thor.
mishale1's review
3.0
This is the fifth in a series, of all the books it is the most likely to work as a stand alone. That being said, the other books are great too so I'd recommend them all.
In the Lowcountry series, Taylor is the love interest for one of the Muir sisters. He was a great character who we didn't know that well. We did know he has PTSD and a service dog named Thor. This story finds Taylor reminiscing about a very important Christmas 5 years earlier.
In the flashback, Taylor is freshly home with an honorable discharge from service. He has PTSD and is trying to learn to adjust to regular life again.
This story alternates chapters between Taylor, his brother Miller, and their mom Jenny. Jenny just wants everything to be ok for her boys. But she can't make Taylor's sadness and nightmares go away and she can't give Miller the puppy he wants.
Taylor gets his service dog Thor and the family starts to heal.
Ofcourse everything takes place at Christmastime and this adds a bit of magic.
In the Lowcountry series, Taylor is the love interest for one of the Muir sisters. He was a great character who we didn't know that well. We did know he has PTSD and a service dog named Thor. This story finds Taylor reminiscing about a very important Christmas 5 years earlier.
In the flashback, Taylor is freshly home with an honorable discharge from service. He has PTSD and is trying to learn to adjust to regular life again.
This story alternates chapters between Taylor, his brother Miller, and their mom Jenny. Jenny just wants everything to be ok for her boys. But she can't make Taylor's sadness and nightmares go away and she can't give Miller the puppy he wants.
Taylor gets his service dog Thor and the family starts to heal.
Ofcourse everything takes place at Christmastime and this adds a bit of magic.
bookishmama13's review
5.0
I loved it! I didn't realize until halfway through that it was #5 in a series (not that it affects the story, AT ALL!) I'm just glad to know I can visit Mary Alice Monroe's Lowcountry again and again.
see_sadie_read's review against another edition
3.0
For those who enjoy this sort of book, I imagine this will be a winner. Personally, I gave it a shot, but I call this sort of book Misery Porn. Yes, there is a happy ending and you get a taste of it in the prologue to know it's coming. But the whole rest of the book is people being miserable.
I can sense Monroe had a good intent. She obviously wanted to inform readers about PTSD and the healing powers of service dogs. But the book often felt didactic and I felt the 'healing' happened too abruptly.
Further, I had a hard time buying into the whole, "The splintered family must come together to rediscover their strengths, their family bond, and the true meaning of Christmas." when the father is so obviously left out of the equation. He's the only family member without a POV and until you're supposed to go "awww" and believe everything suddenly happy he's the antagonist of the book.
The writing however is perfectly readable and the book seems well-edited. I honestly think this is just a matter of wrong book for the reader. But it's Christmas Eve and I wanted to read a Christmas book.
I can sense Monroe had a good intent. She obviously wanted to inform readers about PTSD and the healing powers of service dogs. But the book often felt didactic and I felt the 'healing' happened too abruptly.
Further, I had a hard time buying into the whole, "The splintered family must come together to rediscover their strengths, their family bond, and the true meaning of Christmas." when the father is so obviously left out of the equation. He's the only family member without a POV and until you're supposed to go "awww" and believe everything suddenly happy he's the antagonist of the book.
The writing however is perfectly readable and the book seems well-edited. I honestly think this is just a matter of wrong book for the reader. But it's Christmas Eve and I wanted to read a Christmas book.
booksuperpower's review
5.0
A Lowcountry Christmas by Mary Alice Monroe is a 2016 Gallery Books publication.
You will want to have a box of tissue close by when you read this one! I promise you, it will touch you right down to your very soul.
As a special bonus, fans of this series will have a chance to touch base with their favorite characters, which brought a big smile to my face.
The author has also included a few recipes from the famed ‘Queen of Southern Cooking’, Nathalie Dupree!
Overall, I couldn’t be happier with this book and I highly recommend it to one and all!! Merry Christmas!
This review is the copyrighted property of Night Owl Reviews. To read the full review, click on this link:
https://www.nightowlreviews.com/v5/Reviews/Gpangel-reviews-A-Lowcountry-Christmas-by-Mary-Alice-Monroe
You will want to have a box of tissue close by when you read this one! I promise you, it will touch you right down to your very soul.
As a special bonus, fans of this series will have a chance to touch base with their favorite characters, which brought a big smile to my face.
The author has also included a few recipes from the famed ‘Queen of Southern Cooking’, Nathalie Dupree!
Overall, I couldn’t be happier with this book and I highly recommend it to one and all!! Merry Christmas!
This review is the copyrighted property of Night Owl Reviews. To read the full review, click on this link:
https://www.nightowlreviews.com/v5/Reviews/Gpangel-reviews-A-Lowcountry-Christmas-by-Mary-Alice-Monroe