The Library of Christmas Memories: A Christmas Market Novel by Steena Holmes
Friendship Fiction, Holiday Fiction, 252 pages
Published December 3, 2023 by SH Press
Some Christmas trips should come with a warning label…
Every year the Tinsel Traveler friends visit Christmas markets in different countries. This year is Belgium.
Mara wasn’t planning on going though, she was grieving the loss of her mother Stella. But her Tinsel Traveler friends - women who have become her family; Donna, Jo-Jo, Kat, Sandra, and Lucy, weren’t leaving one of their own behind.
If it wasn’t bad enough Mara had to be ready to leave in two days, Lucy gives her the first of a series of letters left by Stella, letters that reveal shocking discoveries and Mara questions if her whole life has been one lie after another.
With each letter Mara reads, Stella reveals another truth.
Amidst the twinkling lights of Brussels and Bruges, Mara looks to Lucy for answers, and it turns out visiting Belgium wasn’t just about the lure of handmade crafts and the aroma of mulled wine, or even the amazing chocolate. The bed and breakfast they’re staying at holds the key to Mara discovering more about her past and learning the truth the whole truth to who she really is.
And every Christmas trip must involve markets, carols, and of course chocolate!
During delicious chocolate walks and meanders through the Christmas Markets, not to mention tasting the different gluwein and endless hot toddies, Mara grapples with feelings of betrayal and forgiveness towards those she loves the most, she wonders if there are more secrets to come?
Explore fairy-tale Christmas Markets with The Library of Christmas Memories, the first book in The Tinsel Travelers Series, a new series that fans of Viola Shipman, Jenny Colgan, Rachel Hanna, and Mary Kay Andrews will enjoy.
(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first line.)
First lines—"Mara Pearce is three days shy of her forty-sixth birthday. She's three days shy of a birthday she won't be celebrating, and she's completely fine with that."
I know going into a Steena Holmes' novel that I am going to be going on a grand adventure. That was never more true than when I opened the pages of The Library of Christmas Memories. Mara and her group of friends take a wonderful trip together somewhere each year. She decides she isn't going to go this year as she is still grieving the recent loss of her mother.
Well, her friends have other ideas and drag her along. It's what her mother wanted for her. She is totally sidelined when their dear friend, Lucy, gives her a letter that her mom wrote to Mara before her passing. The trip to Belgium is unlike any other trip she has taken, with so many questions and surprises, most of them so shocking to Mara.
I loved everything about The Library of Christmas Memories. First of all, it's a Christmas story and what's not to love about that. There was plenty of drama as Mara tries to resolve the secrets that were kept from her by her mother. And then there were all of the Christmas markets that the group visited—something I would love to do someday—and I felt like I was experiencing it right along with all of these women. And lastly, but maybe the most delicious part, was all the chocolate that the group tested, tasted, and purchased to take home. Honestly, you'll need to have some chocolate on hand you're while reading this because you will be craving it!
I highly recommend The Library of Christmas Memories. It checks off all of my boxes as the perfect read for this time of year. This is book #1 is The Tinsel Traveler Series. I'm so excited to see what the Tinsel Travelers' next adventure will be.
***************************
About the author
New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Author!
With 2 million copies of her titles sold world wide, Steena Holmes was named in the Top 20 Women Author to read in 2015 by Good Housekeeping. She continues to write books that deal with issues that touch parents heart, whether it is through her contemporary fiction or psychological suspense novels.
To find out more about her books and her love for traveling, you can visit her website at http://www.steenaholmes.com ~ Amazon
