Both in their eighties, Dodie
and Wilson Binder celebrate every Christmas as if it were their last. This
year, their only grandson, Micah, asks his girlfriend, Katie, to marry him—in
front of the whole Binder family. But things go terribly wrong when she says
no. Now Katie is stuck. Too many people, too much snow, and too little room
should be a recipe for disaster. But, sometimes too much is just enough.
Especially, when it’s Christmas.
Will Katie let herself love and
be loved before it is too late?
An Endless Christmas is a Christmas
novella by Cynthia Ruchti, and is the first book by her, to date, that I have
ever read. Although I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect going in—since I had
never read any of her novels, or very many Christmas novellas for that matter—I
had heard wonderful things about both An
Endless Christmas and Cynthia’s writing. Clearly I was a little excited for
this novella, partly because it does sound wonderful and all, and I have to
tell you that I wasn’t disappointed. This was the sweetest, most touching
Christmas novella I have ever read. That may not mean much since I haven’t read
that many to begin with, but this really was such a great book.
Katie
and Micah were such a sweet couple. I would say the sweetest, but that title
goes to Grandma Dodie and Grandpa Wilson, because they really deserve it. But I
just love Katie, even with all of her hesitancy and belief that she wasn’t good
enough for Micah, wasn’t what he really wanted. Maybe I love her as much as I do
because of all that, as those fears make her so completely relatable to me. Although
I’m not in that situation or anything, I can definitely see myself, when I am
eventually proposed to a million years from now, feeling less than worthy—not good
enough—for the wonderful man that God will send to me. So I really understand
where Katie is coming from, especially considering all of her baggage. And Micah,
Micah is THE BEST guy you could ever imagine. But let me let you in on a little
secret: there really are guys out there like him. I’ve seen them, they’re just
a little hard to find. Because the main qualities that make Micah so wonderful
are his love for his family and Katie, and his constant understanding,
selflessness, and faith, he becomes so easy to love, but he is pretty far from unrealistic,
which makes him all that much better. And their relationship, despite the few
bumps and bruises, is one of the cutest ones I have ever seen.
But,
like I said, the best relationship was between Dodie and Wilson. They are, by
far, the absolute sweetest old married couple that has ever existed (forget the
fact that they aren’t actually real). After being married for over half a
century, Dodie and Wilson have the perfect, I’ve-been-with-you-far-longer-than-I-ever-was-alone,
type of companionship, and it was so sweet to see how they are still so in love
with each other even after all those years, and all those children and grandchildren.
Dodie is so wise, experienced, and full of all kinds of knowledge, especially
the exact kind that Katie needs. Dodie is just the absolute perfect matriarch
of the large Binder family, and I wish she was my grandmother so that I could
experience some of her must-be-wonderful hugs and learn from her wealth of
wisdom. Honestly, I want Wilson for a grandparent as well. He is the epitome of
the sweet old man, and I just LOVE his
nightly traditions!!! I obviously can’t tell you what they are since I don’t want
to spoil anything for you, but they are the sweetest things!! Can’t I have a
grandpa just like him? (Just to let you know, I don’t have an actual
grandfather who is present in my life, so I’m not stepping on any toes by
saying that).
Speaking
of traditions, can I just go on and on about the Binder family traditions for a
moment? I love, love, love traditions, even when the tradition is to every year
throw one tradition on its head, so believe me when I say I oohed and ahhed (is
that spelled right?) over all of their traditions. I cannot tell you how many
times I had to stop reading for a moment to catalog one tradition or another so
that I could either plan to implement it or base my own tradition off of it in
the years to come. Since I come from an already fairly close family, I just
love the dynamic of the Binders, and I hope that my family will someday be so
completely steeped in tradition and love. Maybe I’ll be the one to start the
trend. You never know and besides, I am such a sentimental person. Traditions are
just up my alley.
The already
conflicting beginning, unexpected surprises, and wonderful ending all gave this
novella a permanent spot on my all-time favorites list, and helped it to earn
all five bookshelves. As we get ever closer and closer to the Christmas season,
I highly recommend this novella as the perfect Christmas read, and the perfect Christmas
present. I promise you that you’ll enjoy it immensely, and you won’t ever regret
picking it up.
Happy
reading!
I received a copy of this novella from the Litfuse Publicity Group in exchange for my honest review.
To see where I'm liking up, check out my Where I Party page.
All credit for the photo goes to my amazing sister, Allie. Check out her blog here.
All credit for the italicized synopsis goes to Cynthia
Ruchti and Worthy Inspired Publishing.
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