Written by Lisa Schnedler
Published by Scrivenings Press
Number of pages: 324
Reviewed by: Ellen E. Withers
For those who love to read, nothing signals the joy of the Christmas season quite like a sweet, romantic book with a yuletide theme. Bentonsport: A Christmas Story is exactly the feel-good story this reader wants to enjoy. The story is as moving and enjoyable as discovering candy in your stocking on Christmas morning.
There are two bonuses for this particular Christmas tale. The first one is that this book is a time travel story. The time travel aspect adds depth and makes the novel intriguing. When the author introduces two lonely people, we find they are from the same place, but from two different eras.
The second bonus relates to the setting described beautifully within its pages. Bentonsport is an existing historical town, which is an artist community in Van Buren County, Iowa, on the Des Moines River. Part of the village’s charm is that it has kept many of the 1840s structures from its history as a lively steamboat port during the 1800s.
In the story, Bentonsport Academy Headmaster Thomas Barton finds the approaching celebration of Christmas accentuates his loneliness. He lives in 1869 Bentonsport and, in his heart, he’s given up hope of finding a woman to share his life. He decides to return to his hometown for the holidays.
Through circumstances beyond his control, Thomas awakens in modern day Bentonsport, which fulfills the “unbelievable” prophecy related to him by a trusted friend. When the friend relayed the prophecy, he also advises Thomas could make the journey only one time and never return. Thomas must find his way in a modern world for the two weeks leading up to a miraculous Christmas and discover the reasons behind the miracle transporting him there.
In modern day Bentonsport, Sarah Peterson owns a bakery and has everything she needs … but she wishes for a man to share her dreams. She would be open to building a future with the right man, if only he would come along. With her business in a town of less than fifty citizens, she accepts she may never meet someone right for her. At least that is the case until Thomas walks into her bakery. He is handsome and soft-spoken. Even though he might be odd and seems a bit out of place, he is considerate and funny.
Will something special happen between these two this magical Christmas? You’ll enjoy answering this question while experiencing the trials and tribulations of these sweet characters and their adventures in this engaging novel.
This book review was originally produced for Life in Chenal Magazine and published in their November 2023 edition.
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