Journey Back to Christmas

This story is based on a movie that aired on the Hallmark Channel (one I did not see). Nurse Hanna is grieving the loss of her husband, who didn’t come home from the fighting in World War II. She pours all her pent up emotion into her work at the hospital. A rare celestial event and a snowstorm lead to an accident where Hanna gets knocked out, only to wake up in the present day. Think “It’s a Wonderful Life”, no surprises, but sweet and warm

What a sweet book! I stayed up late and lost half a night of sleep reading the whole thing in one sitting. I absolutely adored everything about it, so much so that I'm going to have to go and dig up the Hallmark movie version for us to watch this Christmas!

This book is just like a Hallmark movie – it is sweet and clean with absolutely no cursing and no sex, so if those things are off-putting to you, there is no worry here.

If you have watched Journey Back To Christmas on Hallmark, this book follows that movie perfectly. Other than there being a deeper look into the thoughts and emotions of the characters, there is no glaring differences between the two right up until the very end. There is an epilogue in this book that I *wish* had been a part of the movie because it is absolutely beautiful. I have seen the movie more times than I will ever admit and I still got all kinds of warm-fuzzies reading this because it is such a great story and that epilogue made me sigh happily.

For those who haven't seen the movie, this is a story about a young war widow who gets transported from the 1940's to 2016 via strange circumstances when a “Christmas comet” passes over her town. I know that sounds like a premise that really should not work, but it definitely does. Hanna's life in 1945 is far more imperfect than she would ever admit, but the young nurse is making the best of her tough breaks, but when she winds up stranded in a snow storm because of her need to do a good deed, the last thing she expects is to wake up to find herself in a completely different world. With the help of Police Officer Jake Sutton, his family, and the “exceedingly” eccentric Tobias Cook, Hanna slowly unravels the miraculous circumstances behind her time-traveling and is given hope that returning to her real life might just be possible.

Anyone who has seen the movie will enjoy this companion book (and that epilogue!), but even if you haven't seen it and you just want to read a Christmas-based book that will make you feel and just might make you believe in Christmas miracles, you should read this book.

As a huge Hallmark fan, I hope that these “companion books” will become a regular thing because that little extra emotion we get from being in a character's head rather than just watching it play out on screen is something that I really enjoyed.

I requested and was very generously granted an ARC of this book via NetGalley and the publisher. I was under no obligation to write this review, I did so because I loved the book.

“Journey Back to Christmas” by Leigh Duncan is a book based on the Hallmark Channel Original Movie. I am usually not one for paranormal stories, but this one was right up my alley. It brought a WW II widow from the 1940’s to contemporary time. You can imagine the awe with which all the electronic, medical, and cultural changes were viewed by Hanna Morse as she finds herself in her hometown, but in the future. Not only was she out of step in her manner, her clothes, her speech, but those around her were suspicious and fearful of her.

I thought that the story evolved quite understandably for a paranormal presentation. I also thought that this is a good Christmas story to share. It brings together all the things that make Christmas what it is and makes one long for the Christmases of long ago, where there was not so much commercialism and more time spent with family. Loved the book!

I received a complimentary Kindle copy of this book from NetGalley.com in return for posting a review.