December 8th

Reviewed by Donna

TITLE: Home Is Where The Christmas Trees Are

SERIES: Sleigh Ride (2015 Advent Calendar)

AUTHOR: CJane Elliott

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

BLURB:

After the tragic death of his sister Jan, Dex Crawford leaves his life in Portland to take care of his twelve-year-old niece Rowan. He gets a job as a physical therapist and tries to be a good guardian to Rowan, but they’re both grieving. The Christmas holidays hit Dex especially hard this year. He’d always left it to Jan to make the season merry, and now it’s up to him. Two weeks before Christmas, Dex has yet to even put up a Christmas tree.

Things go from bad to worse when Rowan’s clarinet is stolen right before the school holiday concert. Dex’s life begins to turn around when he accompanies Rowan to school to talk to her band teacher, Ed Alcott. Handsome and kind, Ed likes kids, music, and holiday decorations. Dex comes to think of him as his very own Christmas elf. Ed brings with him everything that’s been missing in Dex’s life: the possibility of love, home, and celebration… and Christmas trees.

REVIEW:

Dex Crawford is struggling to adjust to life as the guardian of his niece, Rowan. As Christmas approaches he feels even more lost, having relied on his now deceased sister to provide the holiday cheer in all of their lives. When Rowan’s clarinet, a final gift from her mother, is stolen the day before her Christmas concert Dex appeals to her music teacher, Ed Alcott for help.

I really liked the tone of this story. You could feel the grief that Dex and Rowan were suffering with, as they almost reluctantly entered the holiday period. But you could also feel their love for each other, and the fact that they were willing to make an effort to move on from their loss and make the best of what they have left.

I would have liked to see more of Ed throughout the book because I missed the connection between the two main characters. I realize that you need to be a little more forgiving with these short stories but the evident connection between Dex and Rowan just made my perceived lack between Dex and Ed seem all the more obvious.

The resolution with Rowan also felt totally wrong to me. And I know it’s not really fair to say – I think an author should have written it this way – but when it comes to Christmas stories, I just really feel the need to have that big red bow of happiness slapped on top. Usually I’d never say something like that, but it just threw off the “perfect happy ending” that I expect from holiday shorts.

I actually think that most people will enjoy this story, it just didn’t feel quite right for me.

RATING: 

BUY LINKS:

Dreamspinner Press – Single Story

Dreamspinner Press – Anthology

Amazon