Each of these stories was unique; each centered around either celebrating Christmas at home or finding a new home (emotionally) for Christmas.
The Christmas Carousel (Mary Carter)
The story opens when Georgia Bradley helps a sickly girl ride a carousel at Christmas; not long after, she learns that the young girl has died. Twenty years later, Georgia is facing a bleak Christmas season. The other tenants in a building in the center of a lovely, small, Rhode Island town are talking about taking a buy-out from a developer. She is devastated by her growing sense of losses until a mysterious box arrives at her auction house.
I had an incredibly strong reaction to this short story; I cried through much of it. Perhaps it is because my brother died of cancer and this reminds me of the times we lost because of his death.
A Rose In Winter (Laura Florand)
Allegra Caldron is a graduate student doing research in France at Christmas. Although Allegra had decided to stay for the holidays, at the last minute, she realizes she wants to go home. Instead, Allegra strikes up a conversation with a stranger, Raoul Rosier. He invites her to experience a unique Christmas with his extended family.
For me, this was the weakest short story of the group; too much seemed to have been left out so that the reader was inferring a great deal. After reading some other reviews, I find that this author has been doing a series on this extended family. No wonder so much seemed to have been left out of the story.
The 24 Days Of Christmas (Linda Lael Miller)
After both marriage and career disasters, Addie Hutton has returned to her hometown. The man she left behind, Frank Rayner, has married another, had a daughter and survived the death of his wife. Addie moves into the garage apartment behind Frank and tries to sort out her life. It is Christmas and the matchbox advent calendar from Addie and Frank's past helps them to take another look at their past and future.
Christmas Angel (Kat Martin)
It is the Christmas after the end of the Civil War and things are still desperate in Georgia. When a group of vanquished Reb families derail the Union train (full of food and medical supplies), the town's citizens smile across their kitchen tables, enjoying food meant for Union officers. Southern lovely Angel Summers sees her fiancee from her past (Union surgeon, Dr. Josh Coltraine) while he is searching for his lost supplies. Angel swore she would hate Josh forever, but does she?
The Christmas Carousel (Mary Carter)
The story opens when Georgia Bradley helps a sickly girl ride a carousel at Christmas; not long after, she learns that the young girl has died. Twenty years later, Georgia is facing a bleak Christmas season. The other tenants in a building in the center of a lovely, small, Rhode Island town are talking about taking a buy-out from a developer. She is devastated by her growing sense of losses until a mysterious box arrives at her auction house.
I had an incredibly strong reaction to this short story; I cried through much of it. Perhaps it is because my brother died of cancer and this reminds me of the times we lost because of his death.
A Rose In Winter (Laura Florand)
Allegra Caldron is a graduate student doing research in France at Christmas. Although Allegra had decided to stay for the holidays, at the last minute, she realizes she wants to go home. Instead, Allegra strikes up a conversation with a stranger, Raoul Rosier. He invites her to experience a unique Christmas with his extended family.
For me, this was the weakest short story of the group; too much seemed to have been left out so that the reader was inferring a great deal. After reading some other reviews, I find that this author has been doing a series on this extended family. No wonder so much seemed to have been left out of the story.
The 24 Days Of Christmas (Linda Lael Miller)
After both marriage and career disasters, Addie Hutton has returned to her hometown. The man she left behind, Frank Rayner, has married another, had a daughter and survived the death of his wife. Addie moves into the garage apartment behind Frank and tries to sort out her life. It is Christmas and the matchbox advent calendar from Addie and Frank's past helps them to take another look at their past and future.
Christmas Angel (Kat Martin)
It is the Christmas after the end of the Civil War and things are still desperate in Georgia. When a group of vanquished Reb families derail the Union train (full of food and medical supplies), the town's citizens smile across their kitchen tables, enjoying food meant for Union officers. Southern lovely Angel Summers sees her fiancee from her past (Union surgeon, Dr. Josh Coltraine) while he is searching for his lost supplies. Angel swore she would hate Josh forever, but does she?
