Christmas at Carnton

An excellent shorter Christmas story. Aletta is a young widow in 1863, partway through the Civil War—facing the birth of her second child, the loss of her job, and foreclosure of her home, all at the same time. For a novella this book is pretty chunky, which makes me quite happy! (Oh, if only it would be published in one of those darling mini hardcovers!...)

Jake has a new future to find after a head injury leaves him with impaired vision and an inability to shoot. It's devastating to the sharpshooter to realize he's no longer useful for the war effort. His general orders him to a house party as an ambassador of sorts, or as a sort of thank-you to the women's aid group so the general can show his gratitude by letting them meet one of the soldiers. He definitely didn't expect to run up against a fetching young widow and her energetic son and to feel his heart stirred by thoughts of home and family for the first time.

Aletta's son Andrew quite steals the show for me, also. He's such a vibrant and typical six-year-old.

There is so much I enjoyed about this book! Very good job, Mrs. Alexander. And I can hardly wait for that real-life love story we'll be getting next year, in the first book of the series.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free review copy.