Book of the Month: The Christmas Candle

Imagine a Victorian England village in the Cotswolds where very little out of the ordinary ever happens... except at Christmas time.

This year, Edward Haddington, a lowly candle maker, is visited by a mysterious angel. That angel silently imparts a precious gift—a gift that’s bungled and subsequently lost. The candle maker and his wife, Bea, struggle to find the gift.

And when they do, they have to make a difficult choice. Who among their community is most in need of a Christmas miracle?

My Rating: ***** 

This was a nice, short, Christmas read. Actually, it was a lot shorter than I originally thought it would be, because it turned out that a good chunk of the book contained excerpts from other books. The length isn't really a negative, as a short story can be really great, but it does make it slightly harder for me to review. I don't want to give away any spoilers, so this is probably going to be short as well.

The Haddingtons are a family of candle makers with a very special tradition. Every twenty-five years, an angel will impart a gift on one of the Christmas candles, and the family will give it to someone in their community. Whoever receives this candle will light it and pray, and they will receive a Christmas miracle. Edward and Bea believe this will be the last year of the Christmas candle, and with everyone in their community in need of a miracle, choosing someone is difficult. And when an incident occurs with the candle, well things aren't exactly going as planned.

The story primarily revolves around Edward and Bea, with a little bit of focus on the community's new minister who doesn't believe in the Christmas candle miracle. There are also a few segments with a woman and her baby who making a journey on their own. In the end, everything comes together and we have a happy Christmas tale.

If I were to have any complaints, it would be that I would have liked a few more details with some of the other people in the community. I just feel like it would have been a nice addition and it would have added more to the story.

Overall, this was a good Christmas story, and if you're looking for something to read this weekend in preparation for Christmas, I'd recommend picking this one up.