The Battle for Christmas by Jeremy Hinshaw

After training and practicing for the auditions, Andy’s friends excelled. Andy, however, failed miserably. When the positions were posted, his worst fears came true – he was the only angel not given a job for the birth of Lord Jesus.

Would Andy be the only angel not to have an assignment for this climactic event?

How did Heaven defend Bethlehem from the onslaught of Lucifer and his horde of demons?

Praise for the Book

This was a great book to bring alive the story of Jesus birth, especially for those who have heard it many times before. Although fiction, it challenges us to remember that we are not doing this on our own. There is a whole army of angels at our disposal.

Thank you Jeremy for captivating my thoughts and painting such a glorious picture, not often considered when thinking of that blessed day. From the very beginning as you described the landscapes I was hooked. The details breaking out the characters and each one’s place in the story are masterfully woven. The story is packed with enough intrigue, adventure, and truth to be enticing to readers of all ages, and especially the youth of today. Compared to other books I have read on the subject, this one takes the cake with its creative story-line that is jam packed with adventure, humor, and close-calls. I recommend this book to anyone that is a fan of adventure. A fresh take on the matter that is certain to wow its readers. Especially those interested in a view behind the veil that we all know exists!

I loved The Battle for Christmas. Not only is it a book I’ll read again, but it’s also a book I can’t wait to share with my children and nieces and nephews. In The Battle for Christmas we get a great fantasy paired with reminders of our hope and our faith. Plus, what an adventure! I really liked Andy. He’s the type of character young readers will want to emulate, and one we’ll want our children to emulate. I think his gift is one we all struggle with and one of the most important.

Excerpt

“Who’s Andy?” one of the little ones asked.
“This is outrageous! I’m going to tell you the story of the birth of Lord
Jesus …” The nursery erupted with groans again. “But …” Stephen raised
his hands to quiet them. “I’m going to tell you about Andy the Angel and
how Lord Jesus’s birth really happened.”
David floated back to the ground and looked at Stephen with distrust.
The small angels murmured and mumbled questions.
“Whaddya mean, ‘How it really happened?’” one small angel asked.
“It’s written in the Bible, and we all have heard it, read it, and recited it
countless times—and who is Andy?”
“Yes, yes. You’ve read it in the Bible.” Stephen raised his hands again
to quiet the dissention. “And what the Bible says is true, but it’s written
for men and how they saw the events of that day. It’s not the only account
of that blessed day.
“You see, many of us in Heaven worked tirelessly behind the scenes
to make it happen. There were some moments when we weren’t sure if
we were going to be able to pull it off. We fought off demons, helped
humankind bring about fulfillment of Scripture, and did many other
things to make sure Lord Jesus’s birthday was going to happen.
“Of course, if you don’t want to know how it happened here in
Heaven, or what happened to Andy, that’s fine …”

Author Jeremy Hinshaw

Jeremy Hinshaw grew up in central Indiana. He graduated from Olivet Nazarene University, and now resides in Muncie, Indiana.

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A CHRISTMAS WISH by Steven Manchester
Published by Fiction Studio Books, LLC
Publication Date: June 1, 2015
ASIN: B00Y7KNEXE
Pages: 91
Review Copy From: The Story Plant
Edition: Kindle
My Rating: 5

Synopsis: (via GR)

In this heartwarming holiday story, Steven Manchester, author of the #1 Kindle bestseller TWELVE MONTHS, takes us into the world of three of his characters from his novel GOODNIGHT, BRIAN (January 2013). Steph is on a search for truth in her heart as she faces the prospect of real love for the first time. Brian is out to enjoy his favorite season in a way that doctors never thought he could. And at the center of it all is their grandmother, affectionately known as Mama, a woman of remarkable commitment and charity who knows something very important about making Christmas wishes come true.

This brief, beautiful tale captures the promise of the holidays and the longing we all have for the magic of the season.

My Thoughts and Opinion:

Wanting to read a couple of Christmas stories this week, who better to read than one of my favorite authors, Steven Manchester. This is the Prequel to GOOD NIGHT, BRIAN, which I read in 2013.

Mr. Manchester, in 91 pages, warms the reader’s heart with the wise wisdom of MaMa, Angela DiMartino, the Italian matriarch. Mama is sensing that something is bothering her granddaughter during this holiday season. And with her infinite experience, knowledge and unconditional love teaches Stephanie the greatest gift of all.

Steve Manchester delivers another emotional read that will leave the reader thankful for Mama and her insight. I felt like I was going home, to have the chance, to see my own grandmother again.

Beautifully written!

THE THURSDAY NIGHT CLUB by Steven Manchester
Published by Fiction Studio Books
Publication Date: June 1, 2015
ASIN: B00Y7KNNJY
Pages: 144
Review Copy From: The Story Plant
Edition: Kindle
My Rating: 5

Synopsis: (via GR)
Five college friends, three men and two women, have been getting together every Thursday night to share humble meals and an abundance of laughter. But when tragedy takes one of them, leaving the others to question the fairness of life, the Thursday Night Club decides to embark on a contest in the memory of the generous spirit of their fallen brother. The objective of the contest is simple: whoever performs the kindest deed by Christmas night wins the pot – four quarters. And there are only two conditions: the benevolent deed must be anonymous, and it cannot cost a single penny to pull off.

As the four friends undertake the contest, the healing begins and they become inspired beyond their expectations. There might be a winner in this competition, but it is very clear there will be no losers.

A story of Christmas spirit that will strike a chord in your heart any time of year, The Thursday Night Club will make you look at the holiday season in new ways.

My Thoughts and Opinion:

Five friends, in their senior year in college, meet every Thursday night, sitting on Izzy and Ava’s porch playing cards, talking, teasing each other and making 25¢ bets. Then a fatal accident changes them forever. Jesse was always doing good deeds but never spoke of them. So to honor their friend, they make another 25¢ bet. By Christmas, each of the remaining four needs to complete the kindest deed in Jesse’s memory.

A touching story of friendship, love and the realization that altruistic acts will affect them as much, or more than the people they help.

Heartwarming! A lesson for us all. Steve Manchester is the master at writing about emotions and feelings!

I highly recommend this novella, not only at Christmas but year round!.

After all the hustle and bustle of the holidays, and the bitter cold and snow, what better activity to do than a Read-A-Thon. Since I haven’t participated in quite awhile due to my LOA, I thought this would be fun. And maybe, just maybe, I will make a small dent in my 2017 Challenges! Care to join me?

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 2nd and runs through Sunday, January 8th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 18 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

Instructions:
1. Post on your site, Twitter, Google+, Goodreads, YouTube, Instagram or Facebook account and declare your intentions to join us. It’s EASY. We ask you share info to help spread the word. Please link back to us so others can find us here.
2. Add the direct link to your sign up post to the linky in this post. You have until Tuesday, January 3rd at 11:59pm CST to sign up. (If the linky is closed, you’re too late.)
3. On January 2nd, READ!

I will be keeping track of my progress on my Current Challenge page HERE.