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The Christmas Boutique
(Elm Creek Quilts #21)
by
Just weeks before Christmas, severe wintry weather damages the church hall hosting the Christmas Boutique—an annual sale of handcrafted gifts and baked goods that supports the county food pantry. Determined to save the fundraiser, Sylvia Bergstrom Compson offers to hold the event at Elm Creek Manor, her ancestral family estate and summertime home to Elm Creek Quilt Camp.
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Start your review of The Christmas Boutique (Elm Creek Quilts #21)
I'd say 80% of this book is just copy and pasted from other books in the series, so there were several slooooowwwwwww moments that almost made me stop reading. I also thought it was strange that the author would choose this particular time period to go back to, because the last book in the series was much farther ahead in the future.
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I'm not quite sure how I feel about this book. I know this is a popular series, loved by many. I read one about ten years ago but it just wasn't for me. Reading this Christmas version, book #21, hasn't changed my mind.
Some faithful readers of this series commented that they felt this book was, "cut and paste from previous editions, then edited here and there for updating." Now I can't speak to whether that's true or not; but as a constant reader, I sure can't argue with them.
So, bottom line, thi ...more
Some faithful readers of this series commented that they felt this book was, "cut and paste from previous editions, then edited here and there for updating." Now I can't speak to whether that's true or not; but as a constant reader, I sure can't argue with them.
So, bottom line, thi ...more
Dec 02, 2019
Deanne Patterson
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Deanne by:
cnnamongirl@aol.com
Shelves:
netgalley-oct-2019,
netgalley
I was so excited to see another book in the Elm Creek Quilts series, this is #21.
We go back to Elm Creek Manor and the town of Waterford in Pennsylvania.
Catching up with past characters between Thanksgiving and Christmas time.
I've missed reading about Sylvia and her quilting .
This reminds me a big fun get together that I really wish I could take part in at the manor especially during Christmas time.
Published October 1st 2019 by William Morrow.
I was given a complimentary copy. Thank you.
All opin ...more
We go back to Elm Creek Manor and the town of Waterford in Pennsylvania.
Catching up with past characters between Thanksgiving and Christmas time.
I've missed reading about Sylvia and her quilting .
This reminds me a big fun get together that I really wish I could take part in at the manor especially during Christmas time.
Published October 1st 2019 by William Morrow.
I was given a complimentary copy. Thank you.
All opin ...more
I was so excited for a new Elm Creek Quilts book. It's too bad that half this book was a recap from her former stories. I skipped whole pages that were, word for word, from her former books. I was looking for something new and heart warming from this story and it left me feeling annoyed.
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Sylvia, the beloved co-owner of Elm Creek Manor, and her friends return in the latest installment of the Elm Creek Quilt series. This time, they are asked to host the local Christmas boutique fundraiser event and, of course, they do it with much enthusiasm and aplomb!
After seven years, the Elm Creek Quilt series has returned, and I could not be happier. I've read and loved the entire series and revisiting each of the beloved characters did not disappoint. It's difficult to believe that it's been ...more
After seven years, the Elm Creek Quilt series has returned, and I could not be happier. I've read and loved the entire series and revisiting each of the beloved characters did not disappoint. It's difficult to believe that it's been ...more
Please note: I read this as a free e-ARC from Netgalley. I was so thrilled to see a new addition to the Quilter's Apprentice series. It was sweet and easy read. It takes place near the Christmas season as Sylvia reminisces over the many Christmas seasons that have occurred at Elm Creek Manor. The story begins in present day as the Waterford quilters need a new place to host their annual Christmas Boutique. Of course, Sylvia opens the Manor. As the story progresses, each chapter is devoted to a m
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I was so excited to see this book, I loved this series, and a new book after all this time, awesome!
You will not be lost if you pick this one up for the first time, there is a lot of information offered from the past books to update you, but you will be missing out on some great addicting reads if you pass up the previous books.
We are back with some dear friends, and updated on the lives we have come to love, and now we are back at Elm Creek!
These characters come alive to me through this author, ...more
You will not be lost if you pick this one up for the first time, there is a lot of information offered from the past books to update you, but you will be missing out on some great addicting reads if you pass up the previous books.
We are back with some dear friends, and updated on the lives we have come to love, and now we are back at Elm Creek!
These characters come alive to me through this author, ...more
This 2019 Christmas installment in the Elm Creek Quilts series shows the quilters preparing for the town's Christmas boutique which benefits the food pantry. Originally scheduled for the church hall, the church sustained water damage due to frozen pipes. It is moved to Sylvia's retreat. A little Christmas reconciliation occurs within the narrative. Each long chapter is told from the perspective of a different woman. The book gave a lot of back story with little forward progress. Still it was a p
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The Elm Creek Quilters are brought together once again in this Christmas read when the church hall floods and Elm Creek Manor has to be used for their annual Christmas fund raiser for the food pantry. I didn't find this one as interesting as the previous books in this set. I like Chiaverini's writing, but this one didn't capture my attention like some of the others I've read. Still overall a good Christmas read.
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First, I give Kudos to the author for mentioning my hometown of Wilkes Barre Pennsylvania and the Osterhout Library (a gem in our community) along with the quilting craft.
While I know many who religiously attend the state fairs entering quilting contests it's a respectable and difficult task that the mostly all women grouping manage to make look effortless.
The ending leaves us in awe of the beauty behind such a skill that has taken years to master.
So with this said, I hold great respect for quil ...more
While I know many who religiously attend the state fairs entering quilting contests it's a respectable and difficult task that the mostly all women grouping manage to make look effortless.
The ending leaves us in awe of the beauty behind such a skill that has taken years to master.
So with this said, I hold great respect for quil ...more
The Christmas Boutique was written as part of a series – The Elm Creek Quilts series. It is not necessary, however, to have read the previous novels in order to enjoy the story: I had not read the preceding novels and there was not a time in which I was lost or confused. Chiaverini describes her characters well enough for a first reader of her series; and places them in a setting that is very quickly understood.
Women who quilt will enjoy reading the detail that the author adds to the narrative. ...more
Women who quilt will enjoy reading the detail that the author adds to the narrative. ...more
This was the first book I've read by Jennifer Chiaverini and it didn't disappoint. It is a very heart-warming Christmas story about friendship and community. It even got me choked up at the end. So refreshing to read a Christmas story that wasn't a predictable love story.
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Although there are more than twenty books in the Elm Creek series, this was the first one I have read. After reading reviews written by faithful followers of the series, I find that the very things that most of them didn’t like about the book are what I like!
This is not an action-driven book. There is not a mystery to solve, or a love story to sigh over. This is a wonderful character study of the main women that make up the quilting community in Elm Creek. It shows how strikingly different wome ...more
This is not an action-driven book. There is not a mystery to solve, or a love story to sigh over. This is a wonderful character study of the main women that make up the quilting community in Elm Creek. It shows how strikingly different wome ...more
4 stars because I just loved revisiting these characters. Some people didn’t care for the repetition of background on the characters, but because it’s been a while, I liked the refresher on their histories. I was a warm snuggly kinda book, just like a worn family quilt.
Dnf @ 50%
This is too wholesome a read for my grim, sardonic soul.
This is too wholesome a read for my grim, sardonic soul.
Beautiful story of friendship, forgiveness, joy and grace.
Days before Waterford's Christmas Boutique is scheduled to open, severe winter weather damages the church hall that was to host the fundraiser. So it won't be cancelled, Sylvia offers to host the event at Elm Creek Manor, and she and the rest of the Elm Creek Quilters pitch in to set up booths for the sale and decorate the Manor in a unique way – with quilts that have been made by the members of the group.
It has been quite a few years since the last Elm Creek Quilters book, so I was excited to ...more
It has been quite a few years since the last Elm Creek Quilters book, so I was excited to ...more
Such a nostalgic listen over the weekend while I finished sewing a Christmas quilt ❤️ I’ve loved this series since the beginning and while this had a LOT of recaps from previous books in the series, it’s been long enough for me that it was a welcome reminder.
This wasn't what I was expecting. I thought it would focus on the Christmas Boutique, but Christmas and the quilt event are secondary. It's the quilter's histories and a lot of pettiness. Also, there is a lot of quilting in this story. I didn't find it interesting.
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3.5 stars
This is the first book in the series that i picked up and unfortunately I felt like i missed out on a lot. Though it could technically be read as a standalone i felt like there was too much catching up that i needed to do.
Weeks before Christmas the church hall is damaged and can't hold the annual Christmas boutique that benefits the food pantry. Sylvia agrees to let the quilters hall hold the boutique and starts getting it ready. They decide to decorate using quilts so everyone is scrambling to get quilts done. Background on different quilters and a long term feud is resolved.
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Sylvia Bergstrom Compson lives at Elm Street Manor in Pennsylvania with her second husband. Andrew. Sylvia is a quilter and offers a annual season of Elm Creek Quilt Camp. When she was growing up during the depression, the Bergstrom family was the wealthiest family in town. But they too lost money when the Bank of Waterford went under. They had raised thoroughbreds. But with their home paid for, no bills, and lots of land for growing things, they did well. Many men in town went to war and did no
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I enjoyed the book and it was great to have a new Elm Creek novel. But I did think that there was an awful lot of recap and retelling of previous story lines.
Love this series. Not a quilter but enjoy the stories and history. The women are not sweet little old ladies in a quilting bee, but very human: plenty of moxie and determination yet flawed and imperfect. Enjoyed the organizational skills.
This book was received as an ARC from HarperCollins Publishers - William Morrow in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.
This was such a heartwarming story of some heartfelt women that share a passion for quilting and making an overwhelming amount and love to give. I was refreshed when I saw that these women held their Christmas boutique in a church bringing forth so many people that is a blessing to share their gifts. Even when life ...more
This was such a heartwarming story of some heartfelt women that share a passion for quilting and making an overwhelming amount and love to give. I was refreshed when I saw that these women held their Christmas boutique in a church bringing forth so many people that is a blessing to share their gifts. Even when life ...more
I've read, and enjoyed, many of the books in this series but can find very little to recommend this newest one. Granted, I'm not a fiction author but this pre-pub book read like a short story filled with meaningless asides until it reached book length. After a few chapters I had to just keep skipping past the filler until I got to the dialog, over and over again. The characters themselves were their typical great selves - the best part of the book. Apologies for ripping another person's work but
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This book was received as an ARC from HarperCollins Publishers - William Morrow in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.
This is my first book of this series and I have to say it was a bit disappointing. Too much blahblahblah in between the storylines. The ending was rushed into a few pages and some storylines were left hanging. I was really looking forward to reading this, and while the basic story was good, it felt very mediocre.
This is my first book of this series and I have to say it was a bit disappointing. Too much blahblahblah in between the storylines. The ending was rushed into a few pages and some storylines were left hanging. I was really looking forward to reading this, and while the basic story was good, it felt very mediocre.
I have read all of the Elm Creek Quilt books and love them all! My favorite fiction is always about women helping/supporting women - in this case the community coming together to help each other. My only disappointment was that there are not pictures of quilts on the inside cover of the book. Every November I read "The Giving Quilt" and I anticipate that "The Christmas Boutique" will be on my December reading list. Jennifer Chiaverini also writes great historical fiction.
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It's good to see the Elm Creek Quilters back. Enjoyed the story. I'm not a quilter, but love to look at other people beautiful handiwork. I've enjoyed all of Jennifer Chiaverini's novels. Her historical novels are particularly wonderful. Hope she keeps writing for many year to come.
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Jennifer Chiaverini is the New York Times bestselling author of several acclaimed historical novels and the beloved Elm Creek Quilts series, as well as six collections of quilt patterns inspired by her books. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame and the University of Chicago, she lives with her husband and two sons in Madison, Wisconsin. About her historical fiction, the Milwaukee Journal Se
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