Book Review: Ribbons & Bows A Holiday Collection
I can’t say for sure, but I think this is the first time I’ve reviewed an anthology. The Rebel Christian is always looking for unique and interesting Christian fiction to read and review, so when I was presented with a Christmas anthology, I had to grab a copy!
For any readers who may not be very familiar with the term, an anthology is a collection of short stories. Typically, they follow a theme or specific genre—obviously the theme of this collection is Christmas. What a fitting time to review such heartwarming stories!
As a Christian, I definitely appreciated all the sweet and creative stories in this anthology. There’s a variety of books in the collection; some novellas, some flash fiction, devotionals, etc. I think there’s something here for every reader to enjoy and appreciate, especially for the Christmas season. Perhaps one of the best things about reading anthologies is that you get a number of stories you can pick and choose from—but I think this happens to be its biggest weakness.
I’ll be honest and admit I haven’t read many anthologies in my meager 26 years (huge fan of Chicken Soup over here!) but of the anthologies I have read, I’ve never enjoyed every single story in the set. Unfortunately, that hasn’t changed with this collection.
Overall, I certainly liked the anthology. I highly recommend this to readers of all ages, and I’d be surprised if there was anyone who didn’t smile while reading this. This will certainly be appreciated by Christian audiences but if you can be openminded and if you’ve got a heart for Christmas, I don’t see why you wouldn’t enjoy it either—no matter your beliefs!
Now, earlier I mentioned that anthologies can be something like a double-edged sword. I love having a bunch of different stories to read but at the same time, it leaves room for readers to like some and dislike others. I always feel bad when that happens because I know each author put in just as much work as the next and I want to show appreciation for every writer involved. Sometimes you can’t help what you like and don’t like.
There were definitely some stories I liked more than others; I got the feeling that some authors had a better grasp on characterization and development while others maybe struggled with fitting that into short stories and novellas. As a writer myself, shorter fiction is something I’m not always confident with. I have a number of short stories available on The Rebel Christian and even more on my flash drive waiting to be published. I know the struggles of cramming in development, fleshing out characterization, worldbuilding, creating tension, inputting believable emotion, etc, etc, etc…. there’s so much that goes into writing short fiction, I sincerely applaud authors who give it an honest try!
That being said, there were some stories I loved and others I did not. Personally, I did not enjoy the devotionals but that’s a matter of preference. The Rebel Christian does not review non-fiction, but I was willing to make an exception for an anthology. I felt like some of the stories struggled because of issues with development or structure, some even with the writing itself. But there were others I didn’t enjoy simply because the story was hit or miss. On the other hand, there were definitely a number of stories I absolutely loved! Despite my complaints about short fiction and its difficulties, I want to point out that my favorite stories were the flash fiction. I remember writing flash fiction in high school and wondering how on earth I could tell a story in just a few short sentences. This brought me back to the days I first fell in love with writing so I couldn’t help but love these little snippets.
I don’t want my honesty about this collection to turn anyone away from a truly good book. If you aren’t familiar with anthologies, I think this is certainly something you might want to give a try as a first read. At the very least, it definitely helps bring in that wonderful Christmas spirit!
*The Rebel Christian received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*