Christmas Charity

Irish Brides #1

by Susan G. Mathis

Susan Hawkins and Patrick O'Neill find that an arranged marriage is much harder than they think, especially when they emigrate from Wolfe Island, Canada, to Cape Vincent, New York, in 1864, just a week after they marry-with Patrick's nine-year-old daughter, Lizzy, in tow. Can twenty-three-year-old Susan Hawkins learn to love her forty-nine-year-old husband and find charity for her angry stepdaughter?

Genres: Historical Fiction

125 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2021

About the author

ABOUT SUSAN:
Susan G Mathis is an international award-winning, bestselling author of historical fiction and Christian historical romance. Her novels celebrate faith, family, and hope through richly detailed historical settings and memorable characters. A passionate researcher and storyteller, Susan has written nineteen novels inspired by real people and places and enjoys sharing history through story.

She has been published thirty-eight times in full-length novels, novellas, and non-fiction books and is a winner of more than two dozen book awards including four Illumination Book Awards, four American Fiction Awards, three Indie Excellence Book Awards, six Literary Titan Book Awards, three Golden Scroll Awards, a Living Now Book Award, and a Selah Award. She lives in northern Virginia and travels around the world but returns each summer to enjoy the Thousand Islands. Find out more at www.SusanGMathis.com/fiction.
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What people are saying about Susan’s stories:

Susan G Mathis never fails to pack her books with memorable characters. ~Margaret Brownley, N.Y. Times bestselling author

Could it be my imagination, or is each Thousand Island story from Susan G Mathis better than the last? It’s hard to tell because they’re all delightful! ~Kathleen Rouser, award-winning author of Rumors and Promises

Like a monarch emerging from her cocoon, Susan's characters spread their wings in Mathis’s Thousand Island Gilded Age novels and learn how to fly with beauty and grace. ~Melanie Dobson, award-winning author of Catching the Wind and the Legacy of Love series

Spun with mystery, romance, and atmospheric history, Susan's stories capture readers' imaginations in a world divided by class yet brought together by the common bonds of humanity and love. A story Downton Abbey fans won't want to miss! ~J'nell Ciesielski, author of Among the Poppies and The Songbird and the Spy

Susan G Mathis has written another story full of history, love, and faith. She weaves a tale of longing, intrigue, and mystery around real-life people and events. A must-read for any fan of well-written fiction. ~Donna Schlachter, historical fiction author

Mathis's delightful writing style is

Reviews

[Denise Weimer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A new home, a new husband, and a new and not-so-willing step-daughter! Our heroine has a few holiday hurdles awaiting her if she wants to arrive at that cozy Christmas she's envisioning. This delightful novella, based on the story of the author's ancestors, offers the perfect recipe to get you in the holiday spirit.

[Davalynn Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This sweet Christmas novella builds hope in the heart of those dealing with difficult family relations as the heroine, Susan Hawkins, discovers that unconditional love is all she can use to bring harmony to her new home and family.

[Susan Plante · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really sweet story told from a Christian perspective. I really disliked the character Lizzy and admired the way Susan was able to come to a relationship with her.

[Savannah Neave · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wouldn't reccomend this book. Flat characters, nauseating dialogue, and a plot that seems to be a carbon copy of love Comes Softly.

[Sandra Arbeni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic

Although quite short, it's an excellent story of forgiveness and new beginners.
I highly recommend it and you won't be disappointed.

[Jean Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short, faith-filled story. I loved watching Patrick, Susan and Lizzy change throughout the book and become a real family.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this new Christmas novella! I seldom read seasonal/holiday-specific books, but found this one to be an enjoyable interlude that helped me mentally prepare for the holiday season. It was a short read, only a couple of hours, but it packed a lot of emotion and life lessons into a few pages. I enjoyed the love story that was as much about the love of a mother for her 'adoptive' child as about a man and a woman. I found Susan's struggle to connect emotionally with her stepdaughter to be very relatable, being an adoptive mother myself. The biblical advise she received about unconditional love, expecting nothing in return, is a lesson we can all benefit from but one that is still difficult to master. This was a good read and I look forward to future installments in the Irish Brides series!

[Kathleen Rouser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christmas Charity, by Susan Mathis, warmed my heart to its very center! Schoolmarm, Susan Hawkins, doesn’t want to leave her family on Wolfe Island for an arranged marriage to widower, Patrick O’Neill, and have to deal with his spoiled young daughter. Yet Susan learns a willingness to trust God and let Him work through His unexpected plan for her life. Not only does the love between Patrick and Susan develop sweetly, but she learns how it is God’s love and compassion through her that can bring even the most unlikely of family members together. Not only a lovely romance, but Christmas Charity is also an inspiring read any time of year!

[Vicky Sluiter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This heartwarming Christmas story is a quick read but rich with well-developed characters you’ll fall in love with. Author Susan Mathis does a great job of taking us on the journey with Irish immigrants in the 1800s.

The biblical lesson of charity towards others is something each of us needs a reminder of from time to time, and Mathis does it in a non-preachy manner. Courage and faith are woven throughout the story as Susan learns about unconditional love in the face of rejection.

If you enjoy a good Christmas story with history and love laced through it, then you will enjoy Christmas Charity.

I received a complimentary copy of this book but was not required to leave a review

[Erin Kohler · Rating 5 out of 5]

A touch of history, believable characters, and scripture-based lessons in patience and love that we can all relate to make this sweet Christmas novella a perfect read this time of year. This delightful book makes a great stocking stuffer or quick read for holiday travels.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a charming story of a young woman who finds herself in unexpectedly circumstances. She must choose to act in love and compassion towards one who is cruel to her. Heart-warming read just in time for the holidays.