SYNOPSIS:
A satisfying holiday-set tale of love and loss, healing and redemption.
A Celtic Yuletide Carol by Jennifer Ivy Walker is an excellent addition to the ongoing Christmas in the Castle collection and even features characters from some of the author’s previous works. I enjoyed seeing familiar faces and learning how their lives had progressed since their stories were first told, and I loved getting to know the new personalities. However, the book is absolutely a standalone novel.
Laudine, the matriarch of the de Landuc clan, is a renowned healer and knows that some members of her own family are in desperate need of her more subtle skills. Her middle son, Cardin, suffered an emotional crisis when his beloved wife died giving birth to their son, and in his anguish, he blames his own lust for Charlotte and, consequently, the child Lukaz for her death. Refusing to even look at the baby, he tries to outrun his grief by posting to far off Aquitaine in the service of his king, leaving his son to be raised by his older brother and his wife. Although in excellent and loving hands, as Lukaz grows, he’s subjected to the scorn and bullying of the older boys serving as squires in his uncle’s household, who taunt him with accusations of being a bastard or abandoned or unwanted. After six long years, Laudine knows that if she can just get father and son reunited, love will heal them both.
With the help of her most skilled student, Ulla, she plans to fake a fatal illness and sends for Cardin and his older brother, Gaultier, to return home to Brittany, claiming it is her dying wish to see them for her final Yuletide season. Ulla, although an accomplished healer, is also suffering emotionally from the loss of her husband and young sons a couple of years earlier. Formerly a talented singer, the horror of their deaths left her mute, and she had returned to Laudine and the one place she knew she could find safety and, hopefully, solace. She spends her days preparing herbal medicines and hunting with her wolf, Vill, and falcon, Finn. However, she avoids the presence of babies and children because of the intense pain and sorrow seeing them now causes her. Still, when young Lukaz needs someone to teach him archery, Laudine asks her to take on the task in hopes their close contact will help repair the damage in Ulla’s heart.
The author does an amazing job developing these characters’ histories and establishing their states of mind, and I was completely invested in their journeys toward healing, love, and redemption. The women are strong and capable characters despite the tragedies they’ve endured in their lives, and the sons de Landuc are the strong, responsible, yet caring products of their decent, loving parents. Cardin has a rough start initially, trying to assuage his grief with drink, dicing, and brawling. He’s become irresponsible and selfish in his pain, and Gaultier has carried him for six long years. His weak starting point makes his redemption that much more of an emotional journey for us all.
The author employs multiple points of view to tell the story,
and her writing style is compelling yet easy to read. She doesn’t waste a
single sentence, though, as each one is full of atmosphere, vivid description,
and action: almost full stories themselves. The settings of Aquitaine and
Brittany are interesting and well-developed, and they include a subplot dealing
with the political events of the time with historical figures mentioned throughout.
This storyline is where much of the conflict and suspense of the book resides,
as Cardin is targeted as a patsy for an evil man’s ambitious plans for his own
gains. The political machinations are a fascinating part of the story and beckoned
me to read more about the history involved.
I recommend A CELTIC YULETIDE CAROL to readers of historical
romance, especially those who like a holiday setting in their stories.
