Christmas Past (The Chronicles of St Mary’s #8.6)

Ah, St. Mary’s at Christmas. Another fine chapter for the Society. I won’t give away the story, just know that it’s another wonderful Christmas story, one that warms the heart as well as the soul.

I’ve been a fan of St. Mary’s since the first novel was published. By this time, many Stories have been told in novel fashion, many have been short. And there’s the author’s tradition of adding in a Christmas story each year
This one is no different. We go on an adventure, a true Christmas tale of hope and charity. And the result is unexpected in one respect, but totally expected in others. It’s a rousing good story and continues the tale of St. Mary’s in a charming and fashionable way.

Read it. You’ll be glad you did.

Okay I was all set to not like this book but as usual Jodi Taylors words and descriptions made the difference. This was all about one jump back in time to where new born Matthew was left when he was stolen by Rowan. Fortunately, Leon was able to retrieve him but Matthew was older and had trouble adjusting to the present world. Anyway, this story is all about one Christmas Eve when Matthew asks Max to take him back to see his brothers and to give them some Christmas gifts. Max knows that she is not supposed to make unauthorized jumps and not to jump alone but she decides that the reward of Matthew spending time with her alone might make him accept her as his mother, and this would be worth the risk. So….they go back. It is a sweet story with lots of Maxwells usual foot in mouth and all that but it has a happy ending. For $1.99 you cant miss not reading it.

This is a very challenging St. Mary’s tale, involving as it does the efforts to heal and restore the innocent character of the protagonists’ recovered kidnapped child. Having read the series out of order and incompletely, I give kudos for Taylor’s impressive rendering of Dickens’s London and its inhabitants. However, the scene in which -not really a SPOILER- Max plays all three Christmas spirits in the face of feral poverty was seriously problematic for me. I understand it was crucial to the outcome of the story, but my suspension of disbelief was too sorely tried. Otherwise, a warm, touching, and appropriately poignant Christmas rendering.

Well, that sad and awful and sweet and heartwarming all at the same time. As soon as I read this story was going to be about Matthew going back and helping his friends, I knew I was gonna have a hard time with it. Matthew’s story just breaks my heart.

What Matthew and Max did for those boys was so sweet, and I loved this little story. It’s my favorite of all the shorts thus far.

Was it a little cheesy with it’s ‘Christmas Carol-esq’ happy ending? Sure. Did I care? Not at all.

Loved this one. Now it’s on to book 9.

It’s always difficult to wait for the next novel in the excellent Chronicles of St. Mary’s series by Jodi Taylor. However, these seasonal short stories help ease the pain of waiting. Christmas Past, in particular, is an outstanding addition to the series. If you are already an avid reader of the series, you absolutely won’t want to miss this one. If you aren’t already a fan, forgive me, but don’t start with this story. It provides crucial developments in the latest story arc and will be a spoiler for what has happened before. For maximum enjoyment, go to the first book in the series, “Just One Damned Thing After Another”, and start there. I can’t recommend this entire series highly enough!

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