Review: The Pirate's Yuletide Treasure by Katherine Bone

   

Print Length: 47 pages

Publisher: Seas the Day Publishing (November 23. 2018)

From Goodreads.com:  Christmas Eve, 1813...

Heavy snowfall blankets Canterbury, forcing travelers to pay homage to Archbishop Thomas Becket indoors on Christmas Eve. Cassia Beaugre Ransome has taken refuge at Klaus Haus to celebrate the season and deliver valuable supplies to Frau Klaus and her staff. While she awaits her husband Ansell's arrival, she tells a yarn about three ships and yuletide miracles while longing for one of her own.

The Pirate's Yuletide Treasure is a short story inspired by The Canterbury Tales and the Great London Fog and Frost of 1813. During the snowiest winter recorded in the last three hundred years, a storm considered by newspapers to be the worst to hit the British Isles since 1795, heavy snow fell on Canterbury, cutting the city off for at least six days, forcing holiday-makers to beg for lodging.

Previously published under the title The Pirate's Yuletide Haven in the anthology, A Christmas Brothel: A Set of Canterbury Christmas Tales

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My Rating: 3 stars out of 5

To be fair, this is not for everyone. I generously rated up because what we did get from this story was well-written and brought back those warm and fuzzy feeling you get when sitting beside a fire with a Christmas Tree in the corner and some good friends. In fact, a couple of times I even caught myself singing along as Cassia sings about the three ships that came sailing in on Christmas Day. 

However, being that this story is only 47 pages long, and was originally part of an anthology, it is easy to feel like you are missing out on the back stories of the other characters. I would have liked for it to be a bit longer so that I didn't feel like I was dropped in a room full of interesting strangers with absolutely no idea what was going on. And just a bit more time with Cassia and Ansell. He no sooner arrives and the story is over making the buildup feel somewhat anti-climatic. 

I will say that this was a perfect read for killing time (took me less than an hour to read it), and it's free on Amazon so I would still recommend it. I look forward to reading more from this author!

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                                        The Pirate's Yuletide Treasure  is available from Amazon.com