Seasons Greetings! I’m dreaming of a Christmas kindle, stuffed with stories of Christmas love, Christmas hope, Christmas mishaps, Christmas parties and cookies and festivities! Let’s have a holly jolly reading Christmas. Santa’s helper suggests…
A collection of short stories from simpler times, brimming with charm, love and hope! Come and warm yourself by the fire and hear the stories of Newfoundland.
JENA’S REVIEW
Christmas in Newfoundland — Memories and Mysteries: A Sgt. Windflower Book by Mike Martin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Seasons Greetings! If the most wonderful time of the year is getting to be too hectic and stressful for you, then let this charming book transport you 50 years back to Christmas in Grand Banks, Newfoundland.
At Christmas time, Grand Banks was either fogbound, snowbound, or both. In addition to plenty of weather, there was also an abundance of love and goodwill. This series of nostalgic short stories will transport you to a simpler time. You will read about the special “first times” of Christmas, the first time a young boy rides the bus with his family to see the Christmas lights around town, the first time he stays up to see the visit of the mummers. I also enjoyed the stories of the first Christmas in a new house, the first with a baby brother, and the first Christmas with a wife and adorable young daughter.
One of the most heart-warming stories was about the first time it seemed that Christmas might be postponed. Each story is simple and calm, a gem that sparkles with the Christmas blessings of love and hope. “He prayed for those who might be alone or troubled this Christmas morning…he reminded himself to be grateful for all he had received and the love that this place held in his heart.” Charming illustrations accompany each story, too.
What a delightful book to read in a quiet moment by yourself or to read aloud with your family. Many thanks to the author Mike Martin for a sweet selection of stories, and to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for a digital review copy. This is my honest review.
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Mike Martin was born in Newfoundland on the East Coast of Canada and now lives and works in Ottawa, Ontario. He is a long-time freelance writer and his articles and essays have appeared in newspapers, magazines and online across Canada as well as in the United States and New Zealand. He is the author of Change the Things You Can: Dealing with Difficult People and has written a number of short stories that have published in various publications including Canadian Stories and Downhome magazine.
The Walker on the Cape was his first full fiction book and the premiere of the Sgt. Windflower Mystery Series. Other books in the series include The Body on the T, Beneath the Surface, A Twist of Fortune and A Long Ways from Home.
A Long Ways from Home was shortlisted for the 2017 Bony Blithe Light Mystery Award as the best light mystery of the year. A Tangled Web is the newest book in the series.
I am a writer, blogger, book reviewer, and bon vivant and encourager. I have lived my entire life in Tropical Ohio. My goal is to make friends with everyone in the world. I wrote a fiction series, The Golden Age of Charli, that presents the problems and praises, and the love and laughter of family life and retirement. My passions are blogging, reading and reviewing, and writing. My life is a WIP.