Reviews

I am slowly making my way through the back catalog of Amy E. Reichert books after I read #TheCoincidenceofCoconutCake. She’s a born and raised Wisconsinite who still makes her home in the state and usually sets her books here, too. I decided that because of the upcoming holidays, the next book I would tackle would be Once Upon a December.

There’s always something special about a second chance-at-love book, and given that this book surrounds Milwaukee, Kringle, and a little magic, I was hooked. Astra is a recently divorced librarian; Jack is a baker who lives in this parallel dimension Christmas market that only interacts with the real world in December. Suspend your disbelief because this is a contemporary fantasy, and you just need to go with it.

It turns out that Astra and Jack have encountered each other several times over the years, but because of the magic of the Christmas market, Astra does not remember Jack. She remembers the market, but images are vague; she just knows she can’t wait to go if it shows up again this year. But Jack does remember Astra, and this is the year he learns her name and takes a chance on finding true love.

When Astra interacts with Jack, she realizes that she’s falling in love, and Jack invites her into the magical world to see what’s behind the wizard’s curtain, so-to-speak. The two have a big decision to make: can Astra give up her close friends to live a life of eternity with Jack in this magical Julemarket? Or does Jack do the unthinkable and give up immortality to live in Milwaukee with Astra? I mean, I think Milwaukee is kind of a magical place

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3.0

Digital audiobook narrated by Sharon Freedman.

This is a delightful holiday rom-com set in a magical Julemarked in Milwaukee (my home town). The Julemarked appears in different cities, within that city’s Christmas Market. Time is different in the Julemarked. The only clock has 25 numbers and chimes only a minute before midnight on Christmas Eve, to let the residents of the magical place know that they are about to shut down for the next year. But it’s not really a year in their land. So, they don’t age as we regular humans do. And the Julemarked doesn’t necessarily come back to the same city every year.

Anyway … Jack Clausen and his family run Kringle All the Way, baking and selling the delicious yuletide pastry. Astra and her girlfriends stumble upon the shop one year and they marvel at the delicious treats. And Jack falls – HARD – for Astra. But she’s of the real world and he can’t have a relationship with her until (and if) she remembers him.

Is there a way for these two to be together? Can either of them leave all their friends and family behind to be with the one they love?

Besides the wonderful fairytale at the heart of this story, I really enjoyed all the references to my city. Reichert is something of a foodie and an unabashed Milwaukee booster, so it’s no surprise that she takes her readers on a little culinary tour of Milwaukee. I was listening to the audiobook while I was in Texas for a family event, and I kept wanting to “run out to XXX to get some YYY” but, of course, I couldn’t because I wasn’t at home. Well, that was better for my waistline, albeit frustrating!

Oh, and for those who search for that kind of thing, there’s a wonderful dog, Bernie, in the story, too.

Sharon Freedman does a fine job of narrating the audiobook. There are a lot of characters, and it can be challenging to keep Astra and her three girlfriends straight when they are together, but Freedman was up for the task.