My Review of CHRISTMAS SANCTUARY by Merry Stahel

The Blurb:

Dea Lacey is on the run. Scared and alone, she has to protect her endangered nephew. If she can find Garrett's father, perhaps he'll keep the boy safe and learn to love the child she'd trade her life to keep.

Jesse McTavish has lost his family. Abandoning his faith, the seeds of destruction are sown. As he struggles with grief, the last thing he needs is a woman showing up with a child who's the mirror image of his dead son. But he can neither ignore nor reject the woman and child who threaten to break through the protective shield he's built around his heart.

Through the ensuing storm of pain and loss, Christmas teaches Dea and Jesse about faith and forgiveness.

Sanctuary may be what we ask for, but God gives us so much more.

My Review:

Emotion packed!

I enjoyed so many aspects about this book. Let’s start with the characters. Dea Lacey has raised her young nephew, Garrett, since birth, without finalized adoption papers. When Garrett’s mother terrorizes them, Dea takes off with Garrett, her only concern protecting her little boy while she tries to find his father. She’s determined to find a safe haven for Garrett, even if it means prison for her.

With the devastating loss of his wife and son two years before, Pastor Jesse McTavish rejects his faith and the ministry. When Dea shows up with Garrett, a replica of his dead son, Jesse dives back into his grief and rejects them. Ms. Stahel does a fantastic job showing Jesse’s transformation from pain and grief to love and life.

Christmas Sanctuary is 246 pages of emotion-packed romance mingled with a message of faith and forgiveness that kept me turning the pages, never quite knowing what to expect. I enjoyed Jesse’s transformation, the connection between Garrett and Alex (Jesse’s dead son), and the correlation between Jesse and Jesus (carpenter & pastor).

I regret that I didn’t have time to read Christmas Sanctuary during the Christmas Holiday Extravaganza offering by White Rose Publishing, but don’t let the Christmas title bother you. Christmas Sanctuary is a timeless message of renewed faith, forgiveness and love, which is nice to read anytime!

Merry Stahel is a new author to me. I won’t wait until after Christmas to read her next book. Congratulations, Merry Stahel.

Disclaimer: The author provided a review copy in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.