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Linda’s Book Obsession Reviews “Christmastime 1945” “A Love Story” by Linda Mahkovec
WOW! Linda Mahkovec, Author of “Christmastime 1945” has written a memorable, mesmerizing, enthralling, riveting, and captivating novel that is so heartfelt and thought-provoking. The Genres for this novel are Historical Fiction, Fiction, and Romance. There is suspense and some mystery. This is the finale and last book in “The Christmastime Series” and the author goes the extra mile to make all the pieces of the story fit like a completed puzzle. Most of the questions that you want to be answered are, and the surviving characters and some new additions have their stories wrapped just like a Christmas present. The colorful and dramatic cast of characters each has their own sets of problems, hopes, and dreams.
The timeline for this novel is 1945 and goes to the past and a few years into the future when it pertains to the characters or events. The stories take place in New York where Lillian Drooms lives with her family and waits for her husband Charles to come home, and on Kate’s farm, where she waits for her other two sons to come home. Other mentioned places are England, and where the war has taken place. The Prisoners of War from Germany are still coming to work on Kate’s farm, which has one family member thrilled, and another angry.
I love the way Linda Mahkovec vividly describes the character’s interactions, the seasonal landscape, the country and city differences. This is a novel of family, wartime, and Christmas. I appreciate that the author describes the importance of family, friends, neighbors, forgiveness, second chances, love and hope.
The author discusses the difficulty of getting soldiers home for Christmas after the war, and the worries that faced the families. The adjustments of the men and women when the war is over was extremely difficult. Some of the men left as boys and return injured and traumatized. Women who were working are losing their jobs to the men who are coming home. Yet, some people will not see their loved ones again. Others are getting married, and hopefully, there will be new families.
I would highly recommend “Christmastime 1945” to readers who enjoy a thought-provoking novel, and for those who have read the other stories. This can be read alone, but I enjoyed reading all of the books in the Christmastime series. I truly am sad to bid adieu to these wonderful characters, and I hope that Linda Mahkovec will consider writing more about them. Of course, there are some Kleenex moments!!
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