Journey Back to Christmas: Based on a Hallmark Channel Original Movie

by Leigh Duncan

• ISBN10: 194789210X
• ISBN13: 9781947892101
• Publish Date: 17 October 2017
• Publish Status: Transferred
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Hallmark Publishing
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 254
• Language: English

Reviews

[readingwithwrin]

Thank you to NetGalley and Crown Media for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

If you've seen the Hallmark movie than you don't need to read this book. It followed the movie exactly and was a nice reminder for as I wasn't able to watch it this year.

The time travel and seeing a character learn how to deal with modern technology is always interesting to see.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and I hope to be able to watch the movie next year.

[llamareads]

When you think of a Hallmark movie, you think of something heartwarming, sweet, and a bit sappy. Apparently, that also applies to Hallmark books as well! I haven’t seen the movie, so I can’t say how true the book is to the movie (ha, it’s funny saying it that way for a change!).

Hanna was quite sweet and positive, even when dealing with the overwhelming grief of her first Christmas as a war widow. But, as she tells her friend, “Nothing ever gets solved by blubbering” - I’m guessing this sort of attitude was very prominent during the war years. Though she works as a nurse at the local hospital, with her husband dead and her hopes of starting a family gone, she feels lost and without a purpose in life. Of course, as the blurb says, events happen that lead to her waking up in 2016. Even having jumped 71 years in the future, Hanna still manages to be upbeat, and in trying to be kind and helpful to the family of the cop who takes her in, ends up spreading even more cheer than she realizes.

“You know what I do when I’m sad?… I try to help somebody else who’s sad.”

As for cons, it’s very predictable, and the characterizations, besides Hanna, are cardboard cutouts. Loving parents, cute niece, suspicious divorced sister - that’s basically what they are. All the conflict, including the “will Hanna ever get home or not?” plot, is quite tame. But honestly, this is a lovely bit of escapist fluff, so it seems disingenuous to judge it too harshly for not pretending to be anything else.

Overall, heartwarming and sweet, with a lovely reminder that acts of kindness can have more far-reaching consequences than you’d think possible. Perfect for curling up with some hot cocoa and gingerbread on a lazy holiday afternoon.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in return for an honest review.