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Little Shoes and Mistletoe
Not only has her fiancé, Weston Elliot, run away with someone else, but that someone else had been her best friend. Now living with an aunt in New York City to escape the sympathetic glances of people in her hometown, Eliza is building a new life. One without men, or social gatherings, or the least bit of danger that she will lose her heart again. But that is before she meets two young orphans who quickly steal her heart, before Weston Elliot makes a disturbing reappearance, and before Eliza finds herself fighting an attraction to another womans fiancé. Will Eliza discover a path of service that can keep her heart safe from the dangers of love, or will she find the courage to accept a surprising gift from God hidden between four pairs of little shoes and a bunch of mistakes?
170 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
4 people are currently reading
22 people want to read
About the author
Sally Laity
68 books40 followersSally Laity considers it a joy to know that the Lord can touch other hearts through her stories. She has written both historical and contemporary novels, including a co-authored series for Tyndale House and another for Barbour Publishing, nine Heartsong Romances, and twelve Barbour novellas. Her favorite pastimes include quilting for her church’s Prayer Quilt Ministry and scrapbooking. She makes her home in the beautiful Tehachapi Mountains of southern California with her husband of fifty years and enjoys being a grandma and great-grandma.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 20, 2019
Update 02/20/19: I'm changing which book I plan to try next by this author based on a someone's comment below.
I read the newest release of this story in My Valentine (Barbour, 2017), by Tracie Peterson, which includes a “bonus story” titled Little Shoes and Mistletoe by Sally Laity. I've been enjoying Barbour’s repackaged Heartsong books and I've liked a couple of books by each author, so I decided to give this book a try.
This review is for Little Shoes and Mistletoe only. I do not know whether the edition I read was edited in any way from the 1999 printing.
Little Shoes and Mistletoe by Sally Laity
Published by Heartsong in 1999
A historical Christian romance set in Manhattan, New York in 1898
Rating: 4 1/2 stars
Eliza Criswell left her home of Harrisburg to escape a recent hurt. She now lives with her 64-year-old aunt Phoebe Harper, who she has not seen in ten years. Aunt Phoebe runs a combination tea parlor and gift shop, and she uses the profits to “give regularly to the needy. Orphans in the city, to be more precise.” Eliza promises her aunt that she will learn some of the skills required to keep up with the gift shop supply for the Christmas season. Micah Richmond, who works with Child Placement Services, is Aunt Phoebe’s collaborator in the giving of aid to needy people. Unfortunately, it turns out that he could be a double for Weston, Eliza’s former fiance, who unexpectedly ran off with another woman. ”How would she ever banish her former betrothed from her mind when she’d be crossing paths with someone whose very appearance would be a constant reminder of the man who had stolen her untried heart and thoughtlessly smashed it into a million pieces?” Micah’s fiance Anabelle Dumont, 22, rounds out the cast of main characters. Eliza befriends Anabelle after she is drawn to Ana’s very talented organ playing at Aunt Phoebe’s church
Christian elements: “I know that eventually I must let go of my anger and humiliation … Help me to remember that Your Son forgave even His murderers. Please don’t let me forget His example.” Nice! We all need to be reminded to follow Jesus’ example even in our hurts. Other mini-gems are in the book, which give practical examples of what Christian living can look like. This is a real strength of the book.
What I liked:
*The inclusion of orphans, a topic dear to my heart. And attachment issues are dealt with realistically.
*I liked a subtle lesson included in the story by the author to the reader. I thought it extremely clever.
*Eliza learns to walk with God more closely.
What I didn’t like:
*It’s a minor detail, but I felt that Eliza seemed to know her aunt better than warranted after a ten-year absence.
*I believe the word averted was used incorrectly on three occasions. I found a couple of other word usage errors as well as a couple of odd turns of phrase. I recognize it’s hard to get an entire book perfect, but it was distracting. To be fair, these issues were by no means prevalent.
“Eliza … averted her attention to the cup she held.”
I would like to read more of Sally Laity’s stories, as this makes two or three of hers that I’ve enjoyed. I've put The Gathering Dawn on my to-read list.
I received a copy of this book for free from NetGalley.
I read the newest release of this story in My Valentine (Barbour, 2017), by Tracie Peterson, which includes a “bonus story” titled Little Shoes and Mistletoe by Sally Laity. I've been enjoying Barbour’s repackaged Heartsong books and I've liked a couple of books by each author, so I decided to give this book a try.
This review is for Little Shoes and Mistletoe only. I do not know whether the edition I read was edited in any way from the 1999 printing.
Little Shoes and Mistletoe by Sally Laity
Published by Heartsong in 1999
A historical Christian romance set in Manhattan, New York in 1898
Rating: 4 1/2 stars
Eliza Criswell left her home of Harrisburg to escape a recent hurt. She now lives with her 64-year-old aunt Phoebe Harper, who she has not seen in ten years. Aunt Phoebe runs a combination tea parlor and gift shop, and she uses the profits to “give regularly to the needy. Orphans in the city, to be more precise.” Eliza promises her aunt that she will learn some of the skills required to keep up with the gift shop supply for the Christmas season. Micah Richmond, who works with Child Placement Services, is Aunt Phoebe’s collaborator in the giving of aid to needy people. Unfortunately, it turns out that he could be a double for Weston, Eliza’s former fiance, who unexpectedly ran off with another woman. ”How would she ever banish her former betrothed from her mind when she’d be crossing paths with someone whose very appearance would be a constant reminder of the man who had stolen her untried heart and thoughtlessly smashed it into a million pieces?” Micah’s fiance Anabelle Dumont, 22, rounds out the cast of main characters. Eliza befriends Anabelle after she is drawn to Ana’s very talented organ playing at Aunt Phoebe’s church
Christian elements: “I know that eventually I must let go of my anger and humiliation … Help me to remember that Your Son forgave even His murderers. Please don’t let me forget His example.” Nice! We all need to be reminded to follow Jesus’ example even in our hurts. Other mini-gems are in the book, which give practical examples of what Christian living can look like. This is a real strength of the book.
What I liked:
*The inclusion of orphans, a topic dear to my heart. And attachment issues are dealt with realistically.
*I liked a subtle lesson included in the story by the author to the reader. I thought it extremely clever.
*Eliza learns to walk with God more closely.
What I didn’t like:
*It’s a minor detail, but I felt that Eliza seemed to know her aunt better than warranted after a ten-year absence.
*I believe the word averted was used incorrectly on three occasions. I found a couple of other word usage errors as well as a couple of odd turns of phrase. I recognize it’s hard to get an entire book perfect, but it was distracting. To be fair, these issues were by no means prevalent.
“Eliza … averted her attention to the cup she held.”
I would like to read more of Sally Laity’s stories, as this makes two or three of hers that I’ve enjoyed. I've put The Gathering Dawn on my to-read list.
I received a copy of this book for free from NetGalley.
October 17, 2022
Great, inspiring and well written. Sally Laity's Little shoes and mistletoe has had a huge influence on several christian novellas I've been privileged to author. Showing us how God makes all things work together for the good of those who love him is clearly demonstrated here in the lives of Eliza and Micah.
June 6, 2023
I loved this story so very much. It was touching and pulled at my heartstrings in all the right ways.
January 14, 2016
Eliza has been jilted and moves to another town with her elderly aunt.
Micah's engaged to a refined lady. He does tenement ministry though his fiancee is not interested and wishes he would take a respectable job.
The two women become friends.
Eliza becomes interested in some of the orphaned children living with friends of their in the tenement.
How will that affect the women's friendship?
When the former boyfriend shows up, what will Eliza do?
How does the aunt's faith affect Eliza?
Will she have an opportunity to help the orphans she met before?
How will they respond?
Micah's engaged to a refined lady. He does tenement ministry though his fiancee is not interested and wishes he would take a respectable job.
The two women become friends.
Eliza becomes interested in some of the orphaned children living with friends of their in the tenement.
How will that affect the women's friendship?
When the former boyfriend shows up, what will Eliza do?
How does the aunt's faith affect Eliza?
Will she have an opportunity to help the orphans she met before?
How will they respond?
December 10, 2013
Such a sweet & well written book. Thoroughly enjoyed the simplicity & God's grace in ALL circumstances if life.
December 17, 2016
No suspense
A nice story but not for me. I like more mystery and less Biblical but still decent. This is almost a Sunday school lesson.
A nice story but not for me. I like more mystery and less Biblical but still decent. This is almost a Sunday school lesson.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews