**I received a complimentary copy for consideration. All thoughts are my own.

About the Book

Book: Wish Upon a Star

Author: Jennifer Sienes

Genre: Christmas Christian Women’s Fiction

Release date: November 9, 2021

Fairy tales and wishing upon stars are for those who still believe in romance.

Sometimes misplaced trust injures more than ourselves, and doesn’t Elaina Hensley know it. When her oldest daughter is left suffering the consequences, Elaina vows to protect her girls at any cost. Nothing, not even her own happiness, will sway her again.

Or will it?

She’s got this protective self-denial down pat–right up to the moment her best friend’s brother arrives on the scene like a fairytale knight, vowing to slay all her dragons. She must—she will resist.

However, when her worst nightmare comes back to haunt her, Elaina has to admit she needs that white knight on her side.

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About the Author

Jennifer Sienes holds a bachelor’s in psychology and a master’s in education, but discovered life-experience is the best teacher. She loves Jesus, romance and writing–and puts it altogether in inspirational contemporary fiction. Her daughter’s TBI and brother’s suicide inspired two of her three novels. Although fiction writing is her real love, she’s had several non-fiction pieces published in anthologies–two in Chicken Soup for the Soul. She has two grown children and one very spoiled Maltese. California born and raised, she recently took a step of faith with her real-life hero and relocated to Tennessee.

More from Jennifer

Do you remember what Christmas was like as a child? I do. Some of my fondest memories come that holiday when I was growing up. There was a deep sense of family and tradition that I desperately wanted to instill in my own children. No small part of that was the innocence that came from being protected by the harsh realities of life. I envisioned growing old with the grands and great-grands gathered around a Christmas tree bursting with ornaments and sharing the customary Christmas dinner.

My future didn’t quite pan out the way I’d envisioned it. What was it John Lennon said? “Life is what happens when you’re busy making plans.” Or if you want to keep with the Biblical viewpoint: In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps (Proverbs 16:9)

Although my innocence went by the wayside as I became an adult, I held onto that dream until the Christmas morning my first husband announced he was leaving me. It was then I surrendered my life to Jesus Christ. He anchored me in the following months along with my full-time teaching job, two teenage children, and a mother who was dying of leukemia. It wasn’t until October rolled around when my then seventeen-year-old son burst into my bedroom early one morning and said, “I just realized, Christmas will never be the same” that it hit me. I wasn’t the only one affected. For him, the dream died much too early. He was right—when splitting time between divorced parents, things get rather disjointed and complicated. Christmas was never the same for any of us.

But our God is a God of redemption. He takes our brokenness and disappointments and uses them for our good and His glory. Wish Upon A Star isn’t the traditional Christmas story you might find on the Hallmark channel. It’s about a broken family in need of a merciful Savior, and one woman in need of a white knight.

Just like Elaina Hensley, the main character, God had a more perfect plan for my life, too. Without the brokenness we cannot be made whole through Him to be who He calls us to be. In the years since that fateful Christmas morning, He’s given me my own white knight, a godly husband who loves to serve, and the opportunity to follow another childhood dream—to write the stories He’s laid on my heart.

My Thoughts

Wish Upon a Star is a holiday novella that is part of the Apple Hill series. While I think this could be just fine as a standalone, many of the characters were introduced in previous novels so I think having that previous backstory certainly might help to fully appreciate the story.

One of the things that I have really loved about this series is how well the author manages to take on very difficult subjects, while still creating stories that leave you walking away with a sense of hope. This was no exception to that. Eliana's story is certainly not an easy one, but this book offers such a beautiful message of faith and of trusting God even in the messiest parts of life. In the midst of that was a sweet holiday romance that I could not help but root for too (though it wasn't overly holiday themed and really could be enjoyed any time of year). As a novella, this was a very quick read as well. I personally read it in one sitting, in under two hours... a great length for the holiday season. That said, it didn't feel rushed or incomplete in any way either.