Released On: 25/09/2025
Rebecca L. Marsh’s collection of short stories will bring the joy of the Christmas season alive.
The Santa Hat: Paige is skipping Christmas. Refusing to relinquish the unrealistic hope of returning to a life shared with her husband, she can’t face the holiday festivities. The only exception is a gift exchange with her best friend who gives her a Santa hat said to have a touch of magic.
Family Tree: Ada and Hayden had a happy marriage until a tragedy tore them apart just days before Christmas. A year later, just as they are about to make their split final and go their separate ways, a mysterious phone call stops them in their tracks and offers them a newfound hope.
Better Than Diamonds: Fourteen-year-old Ruby is having a hard time finding the joy in the Christmas season now that her beloved grandmother is no longer with them. When her school break comes, her mother suggests she spend some time trying to solve the mystery of where her cat recently began disappearing to each and every day. Ruby begins an investigation. But she never expected the answer to mend her broken heart.
*****
Thanks to Rebecca for sending me a copy of her latest book in return for an honest review.
I love Rebecca’s and have read all bar one, I think, so I was always going to jump at the chance to read this. And I’m a 24/7/365 Christmas girl, so this was a winner instantly.
The Santa Hat: This has a Christmas Carol vibe to it, which, if you know me, knows it’s my favourite book (I own 50 copies of it so far), and I enjoyed that. It was beautiful, sad and painful, but full of hope and Christmas spirit.
Family Tree: This is less a Christmas story and more a story that happens at Christmas, it could have been set in any time. But that doesn’t take anything positive away from the beautiful story. Again it’s sad and painful but warming.
The Gift in Red Wrapping: It’s hard to comment on this one. I liked it, but it was only 3-4 pages and so there wasn’t as much as I’d have liked to get into. I would like to see what happened next.
Better Than Diamonds: I would have loved this one to be longer. It touched on some difficult but universal themes – particularly death and grief at Christmas, and as someone who lost my Dad 10 days before one Christmas, I can completely relate to it. I loved everything about it and really want to continue it and see what happens next. Here’s hoping Rebecca might follow this up with something longer…
Bah Humbug Leo’s Miracle Day: Again, another short one I’d have liked a bit longer, but what is there is lovely, and it really shows the impotence of helping others. It also gave another Christmas Carol vibe, but maybe not in as much of an obvious way.
Where the Heart Lies: This is less about Christmas, in my review, and more about what you prioritise in life, what you think is more important. Is it your job, money, or family?
Twelve Christmases Later: This was so sad and so intense but so joyful and hopeful and cosy.
Normally with short story collections, I like some more or less than others, but overall with this collection, I liked them all. There wasn’t a dud one among them which is impressive. There were one or two I wanted to be more Christmassy but that’s because I’m Mrs Claus.
Rebecca is one of the best writers when it comes to depicting the human spirit and difficult emotions, and this is no different.
I was surprised to find some of them linked. I thought they would all be individual stories, but there is a common thread and a regular character, which showed this collection as a collection, rather than just separate stories. None of them are easy going, they all contain some serious or upsetting topic, but it’s all wrapped up inn a festive bow of hope and joy.
I may have read this on a day where it was over 30 degrees in the middle of August, but this is the perfect pre-Christmas read.
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