The Book Connection...: First Chapter Review: Christmas in Time by Peggy Webb

Monday, December 3, 2012

First Chapter Review: Christmas in Time by Peggy Webb

Christmas in Time is a time travel novella by Peggy Webb. I downloaded it for FREE one day.

BLURB: Everybody in her family and in the Gulf Coast town of Fairhope views Gilly as a woman whose life is plain and simple, one who has been content to spoil her great-niece Ann while living out her days in Windchime House. Only her best friend Margaret knows the heroic story of Gilly Debeau.

When Ann's Christmas gift of wind chimes catapults Gilly back in time, she finds herself seated at the café Parisiene, having tea with her Papa, whom she had accompanied on a business trip abroad, and enjoying her eighteenth birthday gift - return passage to America on the maiden voyage of the Titanic. As the string quintet entertains the passengers, Gilly can't take her eyes off the handsome, talented violinist from West Yorkshire. Under William's spell, she falls for both the music and the musician. But does an over-protected, unsophisticated girl from Alabama dare defy convention in order to become a woman? And how will she ever explain to Papa that she is planning a future with a man she's known only three days?

On April 14, 1912, Gilly is wrenched away from everything and everyone she loves. Can she survive the icy Atlantic? Can William? Can their love survive a lifetime and beyond?

COVER: I love it. The elegant young woman with the wistful look definitely captures your attention. The sparkling jewelry and the sparkly background makes you think of Christmas.

FIRST CHAPTER: Gilly is decorating Windchime House for Christmas when the phone rings. The elderly woman discovers her great-niece Ann on the other line. After a brief conversation, Ann asks if her present has arrived yet. A distracted Gilly hasn't remembered to check the mail, so she tells a little fib. Soon after their phone conversation ends, Gilly's best friend since elementary school, Margaret Finely, arrives. The women make plans to drive to New Orleans on the weekend. Gilly hopes she's able to hide her secret from her best friend.

KEEP READING: Definitely. Gilly is a likable character from the moment you meet her. She's battling old age, lives all alone in Windchime House, and admittedly talks to herself. Her internal dialogue is funny, and you really want to get to know her better. She has a secret that no one else knows, not even her best friend. Though she's never been married, she gives Ann advice about her fiance. She's just a great character all the way around.

While we see Ann's Christmas gift at the end of this chapter, the time travel incident hasn't happened yet, so the author has created an excellent cliffhanger. I would love to make time to finish this one, because it looks like it will be a blast.

I downloaded a FREE copy of this book for my Kindle. This review contains my honest opinions, for which I have not been compensated for in any.