Review: The Holly Groweth Green by Amy Rae Durreson

Title: The Holly Groweth Green

Author: Amy Rae Durreson

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Length: 55 Pages

Category: High Fantasy, Holiday

At a Glance: With gentle and endearing characters, a simple, sweet story, and a lovely ending, this story will be just the ticket for those who allow their imaginations to soar.

Reviewed By: Sammy

Blurb: When wounded doctor Laurence Payne is stranded in the snowy English countryside on Christmas Eve, 1946, he is surprised to stumble upon Mistle Cottage and its mysterious inhabitant. Avery claims to be an Elizabethan wizard, and Laurence struggles to explain away the atmosphere of the cottage as mere coincidence and trickery. He spends a magical twelve days of Christmas celebrating with Avery, but then wakes to find his lover has vanished and the cottage has fallen to ruin overnight.

Laurence’s investigations lead him to the story of an ancient fairy curse—Avery is doomed to spend only Christmas Eve to Twelfth Night in human form until he finds true love. Laurence sets out to give Avery the greatest gift of all—his heart and with it the chance to live for more than the fleeting winter weeks he’s been sentenced to.

A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2017 Advent Calendar “Stocking Stuffers.”

Review: Imagine you return from war half the person you once were, a traumatic brain injury leaving you unable to rely on any sense of direction, an inability to focus long enough to do calculations as simple as counting, and yet still a whole man, physically. On your journey home, your train is stopped due to snowy conditions, and you decide to take a walk—after all, the small village is just a few steps up the road. Before long you are hopelessly lost and stumble upon a cozy cottage and are invited inside, where you meet the strangest man who claims to be a wizard, a magician. While you know you aren’t yet back to full mental capacity, the man is kind, quaint and, yes, a bit strange, but it’s a nice home, good companionship, and the fellow provokes something inside you that you have hidden for so very long. This is a man that gets under your skin, and the feeling is mutual. Before long an easy camaraderie settles in, and then something more. If the man is to be believed, his days are limited and you can’t get enough of him. But is it love you’re feeling or just a bit of holiday magic?

The Holly Groweth Green by Amy Rae Durreson explores an old folk tale set to a beautiful Christmas story. Laurence is depressed and adrift. A physician who can no longer trust his judgment or count efficiently enough to give out a prescription, he has no idea what his future holds for him. When he gets lost walking into town from the station, he is found in the most strange and wondrous way. Avery is trapped as well, but in a much different way. Cursed to spend only the twelve days of Christmas in the present, and then banished to the ether for the remainder of the year, his is a lonely existence. When the two men come together, they allow their forbidden feelings to rise to the surface, and magic does indeed happen. However, their time is limited, and Laurence is reluctant to profess the love that will set Avery free from his curse.

Amy Rae Durreson offers up a sentimental and sweet historical romance that will most definitely pluck at your heartstrings. Remember this is a mysterious and magical tale, so if you are looking for realism, this is not the story for you. If, though, you want to escape to a distant snowy land where dreams can come true and love can conquer even the darkest of curses, then The Holly Groweth Green is the novella for you. With gentle and endearing characters, a simple, sweet story, and a lovely ending, this story will be just the ticket for those who allow their imaginations to soar.

You can buy The Holly Groweth Green here:
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