#4: Christmas Cake

A retreat leader and writing teacher, Lynne Hinton is the author of numerous novels including Pie Town, Wedding Cake, Christmas Cake, Friendship Cake, Hope Springs, and Forever Friends. She also writes a mystery series under the name Jackie Lynn. She lives in New Mexico.

Lynne Hinton, a minister at St. Paul’s United Church of Christ in Albuquerque, New Mexico, has come out with a new “cake” book called Christmas Cake. Set in the tiny village of Hope Springs, North Carolina, four devoted friends, Louise, Beatrice, Jessie, and Margaret, are in charge of putting together a cake cookbook for their church and organizing a contest to see which cake is best. But spirits are running low for everyone, partly due to the fact that Margaret is in the end stage of cancer. The story meanders along until one woman’s husband, James, suggests a trip to Goodlett, Texas, where Margaret is from originally, so she can visit her mother’s grave. Piling up in funeral home van, the ladies take off for Texas a few days before Christmas. Another friend, a young pastor named Charlotte who runs a women’s shelter in Gallop, New Mexico, meets them in Goodlett, and the visit to the gravesite is done. Margaret passes on shortly afterward when the group arrives back in Hope Springs in time for Christmas.

This is a very light, relatively unimaginative novel that explores women’s friendships and devotion to each other. There are scarcely any religious references, and no biblical quotations. The women characters are sort of fleshed out, but it is difficult to discern one from another. Margaret’s fight with cancer is treated with dignity and feeling, and the author does a good job studying the other friends’ reactions to her. They either want her to continue treatments and fight or just accept the inevitable with grace. The best bonus features of this book are the cake recipes that begin each chapter. As an inspirational book, this one falls short, and it is not recommended for the serious Christian reader. – Anita Tiemeyer, www.ChristianBookPreviews.com

“A tasty holiday treat.” — Library Journal on Christmas Cake

“Hinton perfectly captures the intimacy and humor of women’s friendships in a lighthearted, pleasurable story that’s just in time for the holiday season.” — New Mexico Magazine on Christmas Cake

“With heart, humor, and a soul-satisfying story, Lynne Hinton’s latest takes the cake!” — Kathi Kamen Goldmark, author of And My Shoes Keep Walking Back to You on Christmas Cake

“The perfect recipe for friendship, Christmas Cake is a delightful read for the holidays. This is a book to be shared, a story to be treasured.” — Joan Medlicott, author of The Ladies of Covington Send Their Love on Christmas Cake