Restoring Christmas by Cynthia Ruchti

This is a delightful novella. Ruchti is a master story teller and she shines in this touching story.

Alexis is a home interior designer who has a chance to make it big – if she can land a spot on the Home Project Network Restoring Christmas special. But her aspirations hit a few roadblocks. The videographer she hired is down with back pain and Alexis has to settle for his son, Gabe. Then the woman for whom she is doing the remodel is an older woman hiding a world of hurt. How Alexis and Gabe help her work through her pain tugs at the heart.

Ruchti has done an excellent job developing the characters within a great setting. It was fun to see Alexis face her motives in doing the remodel. My favorite character was Gabe. Besides having a great eye behind the video camera, he is an amazing man. He is godly and has an interesting sense of humor.

And that brings up another fun aspect of this novel, the humor. It was frequent in the novel and often made me laugh out loud. Much of it came from the snappy dialogue between Alexis and Gabe.

I highly recommend this novella as a great one to read during this Christmas time. I have read a number of novels by Ruchti and this may be her best one yet. The story is heartwarming. The small town Wisconsin setting is wonderful. The characters will draw you in and keep you interested. The hint of romance is fun. The message of God being in the restoration business is encouraging. Be sure to have your tissues ready as you near the end, however.

My rating: 5/5 stars.

Cynthia Ruchti is the award winning author of over over eighteen books and is a frequent speaker at women's ministry events. She serves as the professional relations liaison for American Christian Fiction Writers, helping retailers, libraries, and book clubs discover good books and connect with authors. She and her husband live in central Wisconsin. You can find out more at www.cynthiaruchti.com.

Worthy Publishing, 272 pages.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.