Kiltie’s Advent Book Calendar – 22nd December

Belle, Book and Christmas Candle by Sharon Booth; Green Ginger Publishing

Page Count (e-book): 225

The Blurb:

Do you believe in magic?

Sky St Clair doesn’t, and growing up in Castle Clair, a small town renowned for its mystical past and magical legends, she never felt she belonged.

Sky got away from Castle Clair as soon as she could, but when a run of bad luck leaves her homeless and jobless, she has little choice but to accept her sister Star’s invitation to return home for the festive season.

When Star has an accident, Sky finds herself running the family’s magical supplies shop. Wands, crystals, pendulums … really? It’s a tough job when she doesn’t believe in the products she’s selling, but how can she? Magic isn’t real, no matter what her deluded siblings think.

Jethro Richmond doesn’t believe in magic either. In fact, he doesn’t believe in anything much anymore, which is proving to be a bit of a problem for a writer of fantasy novels. With a self-constructed wall around his heart as high as Clair Tower, and his dreams as ruined as the town’s ancient castle, he’s lost all hope of repairing his tattered career. The last thing he needs is to get involved with a family like the St Clair’s, and no matter what a certain little black cat seems to want, Jethro has no intention of spending any time with Sky or her unusual sisters.

But this is a strange little town and, as the residents prepare to celebrate Christmas, Sky and Jethro might just discover that in Castle Clair, anything is possible. Even magic…

My Review:

Up to this point, nearly all of my reviews have focused on traditional Christmases, and so I thought it would be good to mix it up a smidge. Belle, Book and Christmas Candle deals with Christmas and also the earlier pagan festival of Yule which begins at the Winter Solstice and runs for eleven days until the 2nd January.

Sky and Jethro first meet on her train journey back to her hometown of Castle Clair. As first meetings go, it definitely lacks any kind of lustre and Sky is certainly less than impressed with her travelling companion. They go their separate ways when they disembark and Sky’s attentions are soon focused elsewhere – such as going home to live with her two older sisters who totally buy into the whole magical legend which surrounds not only their little town but which they are also a part of by being direct descendants of the two magical brothers the town is named after.

The blurb tells us that through some misfortune, Sky ends up taking care of her sister’s Magical Emporium and the reader gets to enjoy the contradictions Sky has to face each day being surrounded by all the spells and potions which she does not believe in. She is highly cynical regarding the concept of magic and, when her path crosses with Jethro’s again, she believes he feels the same. In the true style of a good old-fashioned story, there is an element of confusion over who thinks what and believes in what which results in a book that is difficult to put down.

I first read this book last year, when it was released, found it really enjoyable and so was delighted to have a valid excuse for reading it again. It is light-hearted, easy to read and weaves a tale that keeps you glued to the (in my case) screen long into the night. I could easily wax-lyrical for a good length of time over this particular book but I won’t because I don’t wish to reveal too much of the plot for it is one which is better read first hand. So, I will finish the review by saying it is a lovely, magical tale which gives all the feels and may just be another offering to add to your yearly Christmas reads.

Available in e-book on Amazon