When the Great War is over, will their love be enough?After two years at the mercy of the Canadian Expeditionary force and the German war machine, Harry ran out of metaphors for death, synonyms for brown, and images of darkness. When he encounters color among the floating islands of Amiens and life in the form a widow and her little son, hope ensnares him. Through three more long years of war and … Through three more long years of war and its aftermath, the hope she brings keeps Harry alive.
Rosemarie Legrand’s husband left her a tiny son, no money, and a savaged reputation when he died. She struggles to simply feed the boy and has little to offer a lonely soldier, but Harry’s devotion lifts her up. The war demands all her strength and resilience, will the hope of peace and the promise of Harry’s love keep her going?
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It is official, I’m an idiot. I don’t normally read books past the 1890s and I don’t go out of my way to read Christmas books – so, I almost passed this one by. That would have been a big mistake – because I think it might be the very best book I’ve read all year. This isn’t just a Christmas romance, it is an EPIC love story. It portrays two people facing the hardships and horrors of war, yet finding peace and love with each other.
Corporal Henry William Wheatley was sick of war, the smell of blood and death, losing friends and fellow soldiers, he was tired of the constant damp, darkness, and rain. His soul was weary, yet he knew he had to do his best to train and protect the men in his squad, the men – boys really, some of them – for whom he was responsible. One day as he was heading down the Somme River, he was trying to clean the dirt and grime from the bible his grandmother had sent over with him – and the bible dropped into the river and floated downstream. He saw a woman fish the bible out of the river and continue down a side stream. Since she couldn’t hear him calling to her, he had the boatman follow her.
Rosemarie Legrand lived in les hortillonnages, the floating gardens of Amiens. It is a tangled maze of islands and canals in the river. She had a little cottage there and she could travel into Amiens in her barque if she needed to go there. But she only went if she had to do so. Her husband had accused her of being a Nazi sympathizer just before he was killed – simply because she had saved a young boys life. Now, with her husband dead, her sister-in-law won’t let it rest. She had found that boy floating in the river at about the same place she’d found the bible today – things seemed to get stuck there.
Rosemarie was certainly surprised to see yet another barque dock at her landing – this one with a tall, handsome military man in it. It was his bible she’d found. They spent time talking and since he could never dry the book in the nasty, wet trenches, she kept it to dry it for him. Through all of the battles and horrors of the war, Henry would always manage to find his way back to Rosemarie’s little cottage.
This author’s research and grasp of the facts of whatever period she’s writing about is outstanding. Her descriptions of the battles and conditions surrounding Henry and Rosemarie will tear your heart out and make you hold your breath. You might wonder how in the world that could create a wonderful Christmas story and a wonderful love story – just know that it does. During Henry’s deepest, darkest battles and struggles on the front lines, memories of Rosemarie and her son Marcel give him hope and bring a little light into his darkness.
It is a beautiful tale of love, steadfastness, resilience, and perseverance. I loved getting to know Henry, Rosemarie, and Marcel and I hope you will as well.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I wrote a review I guess it didnt show up.
This book is one of the best books I’ve read I say that about all of Caroline Warfield books. This book brings Harry Wheatley and Rosemarie together in time if war. Their love story is wonderful but it’s hard on them both. I cant imagine the things Harry went thru but his stories he tells Rosemarie are funny at times and heartbreaking at others. War is a sad situation ppl go thru and Mrs.Warfield did her homework and write an exceptional book. Harry deserves the best and he got it in my eyes. This book deserves awards. I highly recommend this book and her orhers
This is a beautiful tale of perseverance and hope through the danger and hardships that constitute life in a war zone. Harry and Rosemarie are attracted, not just by physical beauty or understanding companionship, but by the kindness and steadfast character they observe in each other. Although “love” remains unspoken, their commitment to finding one another when the war is concluded is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit.
I requested and voluntarily read an advanced review copy provided via BookSprout and I offer my honest opinion in response.
Highly recommend it–WW1 with a Canadian soldier and French widow –he manages to leave the trenches and visit her on Christmas.
Eloquently written, this romance of a Canadian soldier and a French woman during the horrors of La Grande Guerre will warm your heart and put a tear in your eye. This novel defies the pervading impression that stories of World War One are depressing, when in fact they can be as inspirational and as informative as those about people enduring World War Two.
I really hesitated reading this book, as even though I love a good historical romance, I tend to lean toward the Regency, Victorian and Highland romances and have never been a huge reader of war-time stories. Secondly, it’s past the holidays and I normally don’t read them so soon after a holiday is over. But passing this book by, no matter what time of year, would have been a huge mistake. This is an epic love story – and the author’s descriptions and characters will pull you into the story and make you feel the emotions and love that Rosemarie and Harry build upon throughout the book. This is as real as it gets – the author makes me believe it’s her story and she lived it as the historical time period is so perfectly done. Highly recommended.
Caroline Warfield moves out of her Regency comfort zone and into the Great War. What started as a novella in the Bluestocking Belles Christmas Anthology has been expanded over the years into a beautiful story of growing love in an uncertain time. Christmas Hope reminds me of my grandmother’s stories about waiting to hear word from my grandfather-to-be while he fought in Europe. Henry and Rosemarie are a couple of lost souls fighting for their own humanity during a terrible time in history. The secondary characters are developed with just enough detail to make them real and not gratuitous extras. Going forward I will reread Christmas Hope every holiday season as a reminder that love is the miracle that sustains us all.
This is a story that will make you believe that with a lot of trust and belief, that everything will turn out okay. A beautiful story that once I start reading I was not putting down until I had finished. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Harry’s grandmother’s Bible was his touchstone. It brought wonderful memories of a long ago time at his grandparent’s farm and he could see the flowers and smell the scents of the wheat and an apple pie baking. Having it land in the mud had him going to the river to clean it up and that ended up leading him on a journey that would change his life.
Caroline Warfield has created a unique time and surroundings for this story to take place. The amount of research she had to do in itself is amazing and for her to bring it to life where I could see it unfolding is a special gift that benefits her readers. Oh yes, this reader included!
Harry has so many burdens that the war brings. Seeing his fellow soldiers dying and trying to survive takes it tole. So when he, in a moment of fate, meets Rosemarie who has rescued his beloved Bible that slipped into the water, he sees a glimmer of light.
Hope. Hope that can bring about miracles and finding love is the best miracle of all. A story of the heart as only this author can write that will not soon be forgotten.
In the Great War, Harry is a Canadian soldier fighting in France. His Grandmother insisted he take her Bible to the Front with him. Rosemarie is a widow with a young child fighting her own private war. She finds the Bible, which leads them both on a heartwarming, sometimes despairing journey. Caroline Warfield has taken memories and history to weave an inspirational story of perseverance and hope. I definitely recommend this novel.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Warfield invariably engages our hearts, and Christmas Hope is no exception. Harry has the heart of a poet; a heart that is sickened by life with the Canadian Forces in the trenches of WWI. Rosemarie is a widow struggling to feed herself and her son, Marcel, while withering under the contempt of small-minded locals. Harry’s hunt for his lost bible brings them together. For Harry, Rosemarie and Marcel come to represent all that is good and peaceful. For Rosemarie, Harry is a light in the darkness.
The book follows them through four years, each ending in a Christmas, as their relationship deepens in brief encounters stolen out of the ruinous war. Even the end of the war does not bring peace for this small would-be family — Rosemarie has been evacuated out of the path of the battles, and she and Harry have lost touch with one another.
Part 4 of the book is set in 2019, beginning as Harry faces repatriation from Wales to Canada, his father’s well-meant interference in his future, and the influenza that devastated the post-war world. Rosemarie leaves her son with his uncle to search for her beloved. Nothing is easy.
I love Warfield’s decent men and courageous women. Harry might just be one of my favourites. I particularly loved his scenes with Marcel. As for Rosemarie, watching her overcome obstacle after obstacle, including her own self doubt, broke my heart — but I trusted Warfield to mend it again, and she did. Right at the eleventh hour, which is the best time, in a novel.
I strongly recommend Christmas Hope.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review. I have also ordered my own published copy.
After fighting for two years Henry William Wheatley has run out of metaphors for death, synonyms for brown, and images of darkness. When he encounters colour among the floating islands of Amiens and life in the form a widow and her little son, hope ensnares him. Through three more long years of war and its aftermath, the hope she brings keeps Harry alive. Rosemarie Legrand’s husband left her a tiny son, no money, and a savaged reputation when he died. She struggles to simply feed the boy and has little to offer a lonely soldier, but Harry’s devotion lifts her up.
This book combines two previously published novellas with two entirely new sections, resulting in an outstanding story. I don’t usually read WWI stories but I love the authors books so it doesn’t matter what genre she writes I’ll read it. Once again I was blown away by the book, I’d read parts of the book before & was thrilled when they were combined & new material added. The attention to detail is second to none. Characters that almost burst off the page & the descriptions of places & events just WOW. A wonderful emotional read.
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read
I will admit I’m not big on romances past the Victorian Era but I can NEVER pass up a book written by the talented Caroline Warfield. And Christmas Hope did NOT disappoint. Harry Wheatly, tired of all the fighting during WWI finds a ray of sunshine in the form of Rosemarie Legrand and her son. Will that ray of sunshine continue during the long, lonely, bloody years of war? Or will hope die in the desolate, heart hardening time of war? A definite 5++++ star read!