Reviewed by phyllish on
Mending a marriage through memories
My rating is 4.5 stars
In The Ornament Keeper, Leesha had a very specific way their Christmas tree had to be decorated. You see, each year of their marriage, her husband gave her an ornament. And those 19 special treasures had to be hung by her before any of the other decorations could be added to the tree. But this year, she fought the memories with each one and it took forever for her to accomplish just this simple task.
The author did such a great job in crafting this story. With ornaments triggering flashbacks and bits of the picture placed into the puzzle a little at a time to keep and pique my interest, she led me through an emotional journey as Leesha examined all that had gone wrong with her marriage and her life.
Leesha felt trapped. Making what she felt was her only choice, she married her best friend – because she had to. And then, as she raised their children, she never had the chance to go back to school like she wanted. Unlike Jackson who was actively pursuing his dreams.
What would it feel like to know that your husband married you out of obligation? Doing the right thing, but still! Not because he chose to. My heart was touched and I wondered about things that I had never considered before.
As in real life, things are not always what they seem and assuming one knows what others are thinking is never a good choice. There were some lovely lessons about marriage and communication.
Despite being a short story, it was the perfect length and didn’t feel rushed or like details were skimped on. It is a wonderful story with a message of hope.
This review was originally posted on Among the Reads
I was given a free copy of this item. This gift did not influence my opinion or review.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- Finished reading
- 20 September, 2018: Reviewed