5-Star Review of "Beautiful Star of Bethlehem"

Review of Beautiful Star of Bethlehem

by Lori Copeland

Meet Arlene Santana, a vibrant wife and young grandmother whose life suddenly takes a confusing and often laughable turn into a new reality framed by a severe brain injury. As one holiday after another speeds by, Arlene takes comfort in the amusing old people who surround her in the rehabilitation center and one special friend who relates well to Arlene. But when will her husband, whose love is more real to her than anything, come to visit her? Treasure this Christmas novella from bestselling author Lori Copeland that demonstrates the healing power of true love.

MY REVIEW:  Being a young grandmother in my fifties as the main character, Arlene Santana, is in the book, this book resonated with me.  It could just as easily happen to me or my friends.    This book really held my attention as I just felt so bad for Arlene who was trapped in a world that seemed entirely foreign to her.  Her family discussed whether or not the rehabilitation center was best for her, but for the majority of the book, she remained locked in it.  Yes, it seemed to be one of those centers that is far above others due to the money they charged.    Arlene waits and waits for her husband but her family only tells her that he is away and can't come ......for years.  I had to wonder here if honesty wouldn't have been a wiser option to answer Arlene's desperate pleas.  

       This is definitely a 5-star book and will give readers a great deal to ponder.

       I received a copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

About the Author:

Lori Copeland was born on 12 June 1941. She had a relatively late start in writing, breaking into publishing in 1982 when she was already forty years old. Over the next dozen years, her romance novels achieved much success, as was evidenced by her winning the Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award, The Holt Medallion, and Walden Books' Best Seller award. She has been inducted into the Missouri Writers Hall of Fame.

Despite her success in more mainstream romantic fiction, in 1995, she decided to switch focus. Her subsequent books have been in the relatively new subgenre of Christian romance. She has also collaborated with authors Angela Elwell Hunt or Virginia Smith on a series of Christian romance novels.

Lori and her husband of over forty years, Lance, live in Springfield, Missouri, surrounded by the beautiful Ozarks. They have three grown sons, three daughter-in-laws, and six wonderful grandchildren, and two great-granddaughters. She and her husband are very involved in their church, and active in supporting mission work in Mali, West Africa.