Christmas Past
Magic Moments Novella, Book #1
By Tara Taylor Quinn
Author website: http://www.tarataylorquinn.com/
ASIN: B01M5GBZOL
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra
Synopsis:
What do you do when you live in Christmas Town, Maine, and don’t believe in Christmas or faith or magic? You become their sheriff and protect the town so that her people can have their fantasy.
What happens when a three-year-old child goes missing right before Christmas in this town you’ve sworn to protect? You do whatever it takes to find her and bring her home.
Even if the only lead you have is a gypsy empath you have reason to mistrust?
Review:
I must say, I usually do not have a great love for novella’s but Christmas Past blew me away. I thought, maybe it is that time of year (seeing as Christmas is now only five days away). But on closer examination, it is just that this story is so well told. Right from the cover, I was totally immersed in the story. The main characters, Sheriff Chad Andrews and Bella Potter were engaging and well developed in this short read.
We start the tale in Christmas Town, Maine. Bella Potter is feeling off, she feels fear first and then panic. Bella wants to fight these feelings but she knows better. You see, Bella is an empath (though she is trying to fight/deny this “gift” of hers). At one point, the feelings are so great she calls Sheriff Andrews to tell him what she is feeling. Prior to this (and unbeknownst to Bella), Camille Posey (a three-year-old) has been taken. So when Chad gets the call from Bella, he proceeds to her house to find out what is going on. Is Bella the lead he needs to find Camille in a speedy time frame? After all, the faster a missing child is found, the better the outcome.
What transpires is a coming of age so to speak of Bella accepting her gift and of Chad opening his heart and accepting differences among people.
I found the following passage quite telling of Chad’s views and acceptance of love (at least initially):
“Mostly I believe that what people call ‘love’ is really a feeling of well-being they get because the other person is somehow meeting their needs. And when they no longer meet those needs, the feeling dissipates, evaporates, until there isn’t even vapor evidence that it ever existed.”
Given the brevity of the story, I won’t go into more details so as to not give away any spoilers. Suffice it to say that I literally could not put it down. I will certainly go looking for more stories by Tara Taylor Quinn.
