My Valentine - Tracie Peterson/Little Shoes and Mistletoe - Sally Laity

This book contains two stories, each about the same length.  These are both what I would call “diet” books, and I enjoyed one a LOT more than the other.

My Valentine – Tracie Peterson - 1839

Darlene is a Jewess living in New York City with her father.  Together, they run a tailor shop.  One of their clients has been discussing Christianity with her father, and Darlene is worried about the consequences.

Pierce has had enough of society life, but his father and aunt want him to get married and settle down.  When he meets Darlene, he’s instantly attracted to her, but he won’t unequally yoke himself to a woman of a different faith.

I wasn’t fond of this story for the most part.  The first half of it felt like a lesson on the Jewish faith, and the second half was the story of Darlene’s conversion.  Every once in a while there was mention of Pierce coming around the shop, but the encounters weren’t written out.  It was more a conversion story than a love story, in my opinion, since more time was spent on the spiritual side of the story than the romantic side.

I’ve read books by Peterson that I really love, and then there’s others that just don’t move me the same way.  Sadly, this one wasn’t up my alley.  The last few pages were the best part, but there was so little of Pierce and Darlene’s relationship that it felt like the expected ending rather than a natural one.  2 stars.

Little Shoes and Mistletoe – Sally Laity – 1898

Eliza has come to live with her aunt to escape the scandal of being jilted.  She’s immediately drawn to a man who works trying to help the poor, but she’s also friends with his fiancé, and she’s determined not to make the same mistake her own friend made.

Micah has been engaged to his childhood friend for years, but she doesn’t seem to understand his calling to help the poor.  He wishes she had a more sympathetic ear and tries to stop himself from making comparisons between his fiancé and Eliza.

The characters in this story were very well developed.  Everyone seemed to grab my heart, from Micah and Eliza to her aunt, all the way to the small children that needed help.  This is the first story I’ve read from this author, and I was impressed with her style.

This story is set around Christmas, and would be a great read around that time of year.  This story alone would rank 5 stars, and I kind of wish it would have been on its own.

And here’s my problem: I liked one story in this “book” and didn’t like the other.  I’m not quite sure why these two were paired together, they don’t seem to have any real connections beyond their setting of New York.  I personally don’t put Valentine’s Day and Christmas in the same category.  Overall, I hate to drag down the score of the story I really liked, so I’ll give this an overall score of 4.

*I received a copy of this book from Barbour Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.