Krampus by Billy McLaughlin
Krampus
Author: Billy McLaughlin
Published: December 15, 2017
52 Pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Date Read: November 29, 2019
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Short Story Description:
Krampus is a festive short that tells the story of two brothers, Kramp and Kris who have been placed on opposite sides of Christmas folklore. For one hundred years they’ve been separated. Now they must come together to save Christmas.
Jessica’s Review:
Today is Krampusnacht, also known as Krampus Night. According to folklore, on the evening of December 5th, Krampus tags along with St. Nicholas. He visits houses all night with his saintly pal. While St. Nick is on hand to put candy in the shoes of good kids and birch twigs in the shoes of the bad, Krampus’ particular specialty is punishing naughty children. Legend has it that throughout the Christmas season, misbehaved kids are beaten with birch branches or can disappear, stuffed into Krampus’ sack and hauled off to his lair to be tortured or eaten.
Billy McLaughlin’s take on Krampus is a bit different from the original folktale. Instead of being evil, Kramp is innately good and comes to be with his brother Kris who has lost his faith in humanity. Kramp must show Kris that not all hope is lost with humanity in the form of a little boy and his Christmas wish.
This is a pleasant little Christmas story that needs to be read by all!
Read more about the actual Krampus folktale here.
Purchase Links:
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Video Review: The Lovely and the Lost
Today Kim brings you a video review of The Lovely and the Lost by Jennifer Lynn Barnes:
The Lovely and the Lost
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Published: May 7, 2019
328 Pages
Reviewed By: Kim
Kim’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
Kira Bennett’s earliest memories are of living alone and wild in the woods. She has no idea how long she was on her own or what she had to do to survive, but she remembers the moment that Cady Bennett and one of her search-and-rescue dogs found her perfectly. Adopted into the Bennett family, Kira still struggles with human interaction years later, but she excels at the family business: search-and-rescue. Along with Cady’s son, Jude, and their neighbor, Free, Kira works alongside Cady to train the world’s most elite search-and-rescue dogs. Someday, all three teenagers hope to put their skills to use, finding the lost and bringing them home.
But when Cady’s estranged father, the enigmatic Bales Bennett, tracks his daughter down and asks for her help in locating a missing child—one of several visitors who has disappeared in the Sierra Glades National Park in the past twelve months—the teens find themselves on the frontlines sooner than they could have ever expected. As the search through 750,000 acres of unbridled wilderness intensifies, Kira becomes obsessed with finding the missing child. She knows all too well what it’s like to be lost in the wilderness, fighting for survival, alone.
But this case isn’t simple. There is more afoot than a single, missing girl, and Kira’s memories threaten to overwhelm her at every turn. As the danger mounts and long-held family secrets come to light, Kira is forced to question everything she thought she knew about her adopted family, her true nature, and her past.
Kim’s Video Review:
Purchase Links:
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The Book in Room 316
The Book in Room 316
Author: ReShonda Tate Billingsley
Published: July 10, 2018
Audiobook
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: October 30-November 11, 2019
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
Savannah Graham thought she had the perfect marriage…until grief drove her husband into the arms of his best friend’s wife. Now, she believes revenge is the only way her heart can heal from the betrayal.
For fifty-two years, Ollie Moss lived side by side with the love of his life, his wife Elizabeth. But now that she’s gone, so is his desire to live, despite the love from his children, and his beloved grandson Samuel. Can anything save Ollie’s life?
Anna Rodriguez just wants to work and provide for her three children by any means necessary. But her decision to break the law in order to get a job is threatening life as she knows it.
Trey Brown is known in his neighborhood as a hustler, so much so that the gangs want him to join their ranks…but there’s a reason the nineteen-year-old does what he does—he’s the only one left who can save his little brother.
Different circumstances lead each of them to The Markham Hotel, where they hope to find solace, comfort, and answers. Told from multiple perspectives, The Book in Room 316 will renew your strength and faith that there is always a way forward.
Jessica’s Review:
When I picked up The Book in Room 316 I did not realize it was Christian Fiction, but I did not have an issue with that. It is not overtly Christian as some novels in that genre can be much to the detriment of the novel and then deter people from reading. The Book in Room 316 pulls you in and is a novel that focuses on four different people in four very different circumstances that are all brought to room 316 in the Markham Hotel. Besides being connected to a single hotel room, I enjoyed seeing how all the stories were entwined with each other. As big as our world is, it is also very small and we all affect each other in what we do, whether the connection is large or small. This is a novel about faith: Being tested in your faith, losing your faith and getting your faith back. I would love to see a continuation of these stories.
The Book in Room 316 is recommended.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK