About the Books
Book: Mistletoe Melody and Mistletoe Mission
Author: Stacey Weeks
Genre: Contemporary inspirational romance
Release Date: Book 1 (December 1, 2018) Book 2 (December 1, 2019)
Mistletoe Melody:
Former musician, Melody Staff, spends Christmas at a bed and breakfast in the village of Mistletoe Meadows. While everyone sings familiar carols of Christ drawing near, Melody stumbles over misplaced notes. Her recent diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis has scared off her fiancé and thrust her life into a grand pause. She’s not sure her heart will ever sing again.
Quentin Oxford has endured a devastating year. His preteen daughter suffered a stroke, and they’ve grieved his wife’s sudden death, but the Lord coaxes a surprising refrain from Quentin’s heart as God rewrites his and Melody’s score into a holiday love song that will last for Christmases to come.
Mistletoe Mission: 
While her own relationships always end up doomed, Emily Colt is still determined to create happily-ever-afters through her wedding and event planning business. In hopes of expanding her business, she enters her latest project–staging the Christmas wedding of the year–into a town-wide contest. But between crossing paths with the first man to break her heart and dodging a saboteur, she doubts even career success is within her grasp.
Jilted pastor, Luca Wilson, fled to the mission field to escape a broken heart. All the hurt rushes back when he returns home to officiate his cousin’s wedding, and he finds Emily, the girl to whom he once promised forever, organizing the celebration. Despite his lost faith in love, their unforeseen reunion rekindles a spark, and Luca vows to help her save her struggling business. But to succeed, they will have to learn what it means to trust each other and believe in the God of Christmas miracles.
My Review:
Mistletoe Melody - What a sweet story. It's warm and yet pulls at my heart. MS and strokes are not good, yet this book tackles this and focuses on the fact that God never leaves us. He's not far away, ever. It's a different way of "let go and let God". I found it to be well written and very movie-like. It's a well-rounded story with the perfect happy ending. Mistletoe Mission - Back at Mistletoe Meadow, we have a charming romance. It's very mission and ministry-focused, both the characters and the book itself. I loved the mystery, I always like those. Faith, trusting God, coping with being a wedding planner, these are all in this book. Forgiveness plays a big role, and I loved the dramatic and all too real Mother-In-Law. (I have known some people just like that!)
5 Stars on both books, because they fit just right for the season and for a good Christmas read.
About the Author
Stacey Weeks is the multi-award-winning author of Glorious Surrender (2016) and Chasing Holiness (2020), inspirational romances The Builder’s Reluctant Bride (2016), Mistletoe Melody(2018), Mistletoe Mission (Dec 2019) and inspirational romantic suspense novels In Too Deep (2017), and Fatal Homecoming (2019). Stacey lives in Ontario where she speaks at women’s conferences, teaches writing and bible study workshops, and writes about the things of the Lord. www.staceyweeks.com
More from Stacey
It is strange, sometimes, what inspires a story. At the time of writing Mistletoe Melody, the ten-year-old daughter of a good friend was on the recovery side of a massive stroke. This young girl inspired Janie, and she gave the character her contagious smile, a mischievous pre-teen sense of humor, and a fierce love for family. You don’t read all of Janie’s story in Mistletoe Melody, but perhaps you will in a later novella.
Melody was the result of my lovely twenty-something niece receiving a shocking diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis. She endured painful tests, had hopes raised and dashed, and was blessed when the Lord saw fit to work through a drug trial to ease her suffering. Watching her life, her plans, and the things she assumed were a given for her future get shaken to their core sent me to the Scriptures.
Not too long before drafting Mistletoe Mission (book two set in Mistletoe Meadows), my husband and I travelled to Haiti. As our driver transported us from the airport to the compound on which we stayed for the duration of our trip, he pointed in the general direction of the beach that receives cruise ships and tourists. He said that portion of Haiti is separated from the rest and is considered by some to be the most beautiful section of Haiti. I disagree.
To be fair, I didn’t visit the cleaned-up beach just around the other side of the mountain, but I saw something most tourists do not get to see. I met the people and visited several in their homes. I witnessed the determination and hard work that life requires from them. I observed a light in their eyes, fueled by a love for Jesus. There is nothing more beautiful than a person on fire for the Lord, a person who is ready to be a light in a dark land.
Luca’s character is loosely based on the Director of Missions and Compassion at Hope Bible Church in Oakville, Ontario. He arranged our trip – my first overseas mission trip – and it changed my life. I have huge respect for the work he is doing, and I am thrilled to see how God is blessing the work.
Another real-life connection that made its way into Mistletoe Mission is a business that inspired the fictional start-up I called One Village. Little by Little is a business for mission committed to empowering Haitian parents. Little by Little sells the Morse Code bracelet featured in Mistletoe Mission. I fell in love with the concept of this business, and it was my delight to write a fictional version into the story. You can visit Little by Little’s website and order a bracelet like the one featured in the book (or maybe you’ll win the one I am giving away on this tour!). http://www.littlebylittle.ca/store/p326/morse-code-bracelet.html
Be blessed this holiday as you seek the Lord who has done and is doing great things.
Stacey
Gift From Stacey
Here are a few fun coloring items from Stacey!
Blog Stops
Just the Write Escape, December 20
My Devotional Thoughts, December 20
Blossoms and Blessings, December 21
Blogging With Carol , December 22
A Reader’s Brain, December 23
mypreciousbitsandmusings, December 23
Emily Yager, December 24
Adventures of a Travelers Wife, December 25
Deanne’s Book Thoughts, December 26
Genesis 5020, December 26
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, December 27
Remembrancy, December 28
Inklings and notions, December 28
Quiet Quilter, December 29
For the Love of Literature, December 29
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, December 30
Texas Book-aholic, December 31
janicesbookreviews, January 1
Reading Is My SuperPower, January 2
Batya’s Bits, January 2
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Stacey is giving away the grand prize of the winner’s choice of a Morse Code Bracelet!! (found here: http://www.littlebylittle.ca/store/p326/morse-code-bracelet.html)
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
Thank you for the wonderful review! These books sound like ones I'll enjoy reading. Thank you for being part of the tour.
ReplyDeleteI love how a short term mission trip can change your outlook on life and sometimes your life goals. I think every teen should have to go on one.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments Caryl and Arletta. It is kind of you to pause in your day to write such encouraging words! I hope you enjoy the books if you have the opportunity to read them.
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