Mini Review: Silver Bells

Title: Silver Bells

Author: Sadie Hart

Publisher: Self Published

Published: October 31, 2011

Format: Kindle

Pages: 24

Source: Downloaded when free on Amazon

Read: December 11, 2012

In A Few Words: Sweet

My Rating: 3 Stars

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Every year, the Christmas Carousel in South Howle takes a beating, and every year, Dash Bartholomew tenderly brings it back to life. It’s a job he started fifteen years ago, when Dash became Dasher, one of Santa’s reindeer, and accepted the worn leather harness now hanging on the hooks at the back of the carousel barn. The one with its beautiful, silver bells that once made the most wondrous sound in the world, and now lay quiet.

That is, until Merry, a young, homeless woman wanders in looking for a place out of the cold. Unlike Dash, she can hear the sweet chimes of the bells, proving to him that it’s not the harness that’s broken. As Christmas draws near, Dash finds himself drawn to Merry and her quiet, stubborn pride. However, unable to hear the sleigh bells Dash isn’t sure what Christmas this year will bring, only that the magic in that harness is far less important than the woman he’s come to love.

Melissa's Musings:

This story is very short and sweet. We meet Dash, a seemingly lonely park caretaker who lovingly restores carousel animals by night. One night, Merry, stumbles in to the barn where he's working looking for somewhere out of the cold to stay. Dash lets her stay and tries to help her, but she's too proud, and demands to work. So they each work together on the animals, and over time a bond develops between them and they begin to care for each other.

Since the story is so short, we don't really get to see the full development of this, but what we do get to see is nicely done. There's also a bit of magic as Dash and Merry both meet "Nicholas" and he grants them each one wish. There's a cute little twist in this that Dash is one of Santa's reindeer, and Merry's father used to be before that. I'd never really thought of a twist like this before, the reindeer being normal people, and only having a limited time to be the reindeer, not hearing the call of their harness bells after they don't need them anymore. I suppose it's the same way with the tradition of Santa. After a certain point in our childhood, we're let in on the secret that he isn't real, so this runs along similar lines.

A short, sweet, holiday read.