Once Upon a Time: Book Review with Celebrate Lit.

About the Book

Book: Once Upon A Christmas

Author: Andrea Boyd, Mikal Dawn, Toni Shiloh, Angela Ruth Strong, Jaycee Weaver

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: October 1, 2019

Embrace the magic of the Christmas season with these contemporary twists on timeless tales.

Upon a Dream — A rare sleeping disorder keeps Talia from performing, but when Philip recognizes her gift, he’ll do whatever it takes to see her onstage.

Claim My Heart — Li Na and Colin Wen face off in a Mulan-esque courtroom battle where the real win might be losing their hearts.

A Snow White Christmas — Sheltered heiress Amala White flees her conniving stepmother’s plans and finds refuge with a handsome orchard owner and his seven quirky uncles.

Christmas Ella — Reality TV meets Cinderella story when a location director is swept off her feet by a rising star.

A Splash of Love — Las Vegas glitz meets Land of Enchantment culture in A Splash of Love, a modern twist on the Little Mermaid.

Click here to get your copy!

Book Review:

Upon a Dream by Andrea Boyd

A Sleeping Beauty Retelling

Beautiful mixture of sweetness and character depth. Talia has wrapped herself in a cocoon of invisibility after her diagnosis of KLS. Phillip might be the only one who can break the spell.

Andrea Boyd did a wonderful job of making the theater life come alive. I could see the stage she set with detail and I felt deeply for her characters as they worked through their problems. As a novella, Upon a Dream moves quickly, not leaving any room for mundane or unnecessary scenes. Beautifully written with a true sense of Christmas.

Claim my Heart by Mikal Dawn

A Mulan Retelling

I need Li to be my friend. Her spunky personality and klutziness are perfectly blended. I loved how the author brought so many aspects of Mulan into the story, even mentioning lines and characters. It was fantastic.

The Christian aspect was subtle, with each character offering small prayers on occasion to ensure the reader knew where they stood with God. And it appears some of the characters in Claim my Heart can be found in some other books as well. Now I need to go look those up.

A Snow White Christmas by Toni Shiloh

A Snow White Retelling

Beautiful story and wonderful characters. The seven uncles were phenomenal. Amala led such a sheltered life, I wasn’t sure how her story would turn out.

With such a nefarious plot, Amala’s character made quite an arc, and I loved the redemption qualities.

Christmas Ella by Angela Ruth Strong

A Cinderella Retelling

Oh, my, this one was so much fun to read. Reality TV with a flannel twist. Ella isn’t looking for love, especially from the brother of reality TV stars who make her life miserable. When the tables are turned, will Ella finally find the acceptance she craves?

The setting and character depth brought me deep into the story while the story line kept me flipping pages till the very end.

A Splash of Love by Jaycee Weaver

A Little Mermaid Retelling

I found so many references to The Little Mermaid in this story. Each one made me smile and want to give the author a high five.

Gabrielle wants out of the mermaid gig and to open her own museum. When her dream is within her grasp, everything seems to fall apart. But God is a master planner, and He knows exactly where Gabrielle belongs.

I requested a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. I was not required to leave a positive review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

About the Authors

Andrea Boyd Author–
Each of Andrea Boyd’s series represents a different genre but all fall into the category of romance. All offer an element of her own brand of humor. And all are a tribute to God. Besides writing, she loves spending time with her family, quilting, going to car shows, and driving around in her 1968 Barracuda convertible. Andrea lives with her husband, Tommy, and at least a couple of cats in York County, SC. Visit her at www.andreaboyd11.com.

Mikal Dawn Author
Mikal Dawn is an inspirational romance author, wedding enthusiast, and military (retired) wife. When she isn’t writing about faith, fun, and forever, she is obsessively scouring Pinterest (with coffee in hand!) for wedding ideas for her characters.

Mikal lives in Oklahoma with her husband and two of their three children. Visit her at www.mikaldawn.com.

Toni Shiloh Author
Toni Shiloh is a wife, mom, and Christian fiction writer. Once she understood the powerful saving grace thanks to the love of Christ, she was moved to honor her Savior. She writes to bring Him glory and to learn more about His goodness. Visit her at www.tonishiloh.com.

Angela Ruth Strong Author
Angela Ruth Strong sold her first Christian romance novel in 2009 then quit writing romance when her husband left her. Ten years later, God has shown her the true meaning of love, and there’s nothing else she’d rather write about. Her books have since earned TOP PICK in Romantic Times, been optioned for film, won the Cascade Award, and been Amazon bestsellers. She also writes non-fiction for SpiritLed Woman. To help aspiring authors, she started IDAhope Writers where she lives in Idaho, and she teaches as an expert online at WRITE THAT BOOK. Visit her at www.angelaruthstrong.com.

Jaycee Weaver Author 
Jaycee Weaver is a wife, mother, and substitute teacher living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Jaycee writes contemporary Christian romance with lifelike characters in everyday situations who always get their happy ending. Visit her at www.jayceeweaver.com.

More from the Authors

Dear Readers,

Thank you for stopping by the Celebrate Lit blog tour of Once Upon a Christmas. We are so excited to bring you this Christmas collection. All of us had a lot of fun writing it as we delved into the fairy tales of Sleeping Beauty, Mulan, Snow White, Cinderella, and The Little Mermaid.

What we discovered when writing is that in the heart of every girl is the desire to be a princess. Now, I’m not talking about dressing up in a beautiful gown and wearing a crown while twirling around (although I, Toni, admit I would do that in a heartbeat). No, we discovered that in the heart of every girl (sister, mom, daughter, etc) is the desire to be loved and accepted.

Can Talia find someone who can accept all of her, including her health issues? Can Amala find someone who will love her for her and not her money? Can Li find acceptance for who she truly is and not the façade she presents? Will Ella find a familial kind of love? And Gabrielle, can she find a love so powerful that all her dreams will come true?

As the heroines of our stories journey down their path to love and acceptance, they all come to realize a deep-seated truth. They are loved. They are princesses. They have a love of a King who laid down His life for theirs. A King who is preparing a home for them. A King who sees who they truly are and loves them without hesitation.

As you read these stories, we pray they touch your heart. We pray they entertain you and maybe even make you laugh a time or two. And lastly, we pray the Christmas truths bless you this holiday season.

Blessings,

Andrea, Mikal, Toni, Angela, and Jaycee