Book: Christmas on Breakers Point
Author: Chautona Havig
Genre: Christian Contemporary Fiction, Christian Romantic Fiction, Christmas
NOTE: I WAS GIVEN A COPY OF THIS BOOK BY THE AUTHOR. ALL OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE MY OWN. LINKS IN THIS POST MAY BE AFFILIATE LINKS.
One man’s last Christmas wish might change two lives forever.
Mallory Barrows has one last Christmas with her uncle. She’s determined to make it the best one he’s ever had.
She knows when she asks what he wants as his final gift, it won’t be a tie or a new mug. He won’t need those where he’s going, and he’s quite happy about that.
Mallory just didn’t think he wanted a miracle wrapped in paper and tied with a shiny red bow!
Christmas on Breakers Point is the introductory book to the Independence Islands Series.
My Thoughts:
Sometimes a book surprises me with the depth of thought that is contained inside it. When I think of Christmas fiction, I usually think of a light, fluffy romance. Christmas on Breakers Point does not quite fit into that description. Yes, there is a romance included, but it is certainly not the main point of this story.
Mallory received the call just before Thanksgiving: Uncle Bud was nearing the end of his battle with cancer, and he needed her to be with him during his final weeks. She unhesitatingly dropped her job and took off for the Islands to care for him. Her next question: What could she do for a Christmas gift for him? He wouldn’t need a tie or a mug, that was sure. When he asked her for a miracle, though, what could she possibly do?
Mallory did her best, speaking God’s words into the life of her friend who needed the miracle. What had turned Joanie away from Jesus, anyway? Or, was Uncle Bud right, that she had “lost faith in her faith”? How could Mallory tell her the truth she needed to hear, in such a way that she could hear it? Would the miracle happen in time, before Uncle Bud’s expiration date arrived?
In this book, Chautona has tackled some pretty tough topics. Is social justice incompatible with being a Christian? What about environmentalism? Can someone passionate about these issues live for Jesus, as well? Or is it one or the other? When church people don’t seem to care about underprivileged people, does that mean Jesus means nothing? Lots of toes will get stepped on in this book!
This story is the introduction to a new series (I think I saw that there will be 30 books in the series eventually, by a number of different authors!), all set in the Islands, which are off the coast of the Southeastern states, I believe. It will be interesting to see how the books all fit together!
One last little detail I enjoyed: My husband and I spent our honeymoon in the Outer Banks, and one thing I remember noticing there was the sea oats that grew along the dunes. They are mentioned in chapter 4—just a fun little thing for me!
WARNING: Uncle Bud uses the word blasted several times.
About the Author:
Chautona Havig lives in an oxymoron, escapes into imaginary worlds that look startlingly similar to ours and writes the stories that emerge. An irrepressible optimist, Chautona sees everything through a kaleidoscope of It’s a Wonderful Life sprinkled with fairy tales. Find her on the web and say howdy—if you can remember how to spell her name.
More From Chautona:
The book opens with a phone call that goes like this:
Her phone buzzed. Without taking her eyes from the page, Mallory Barrows fumbled about until her hand closed around it. The book held her bound in ropes of suspense as the villain slipped into the party unannounced—unseen. While she followed him around the edge of the imaginary room, her thumb swiped, tapped, and answered the call as if on autopilot.
Even as Mallory said, “Hello?” her breath caught. The guy had found his prey.
“Mallory, honey?”
Without a second look, she dropped the book and sat up, feet planted firmly on the floor and all attention on the call. “Is it time?”
“’Fraid so, darlin’. Doc says it’s a matter of weeks or a month or two. And I promised.”
“I’ll be there Friday afternoon.”
Just days after I wrote those lines, I woke up to a message from my sister. “Call Mom.”
I called. Mom said, “I need you to come.” That was Thursday. I walked into Mom’s house on Saturday evening and our lives changed forever.
I don’t know if God prepared me for this change by having me write that scene just days before, but I have to say it felt like it! Everything went crazy for over a month as I tried to wrap up my mother’s affairs in Missouri, I had to try to finish three books in a time of upheaval and turmoil. No, it’s not the same as trying to help a young woman reclaim her True First Love so she could reclaim her first earthy love. It isn’t the same as starting a whole new life and a new business. But… oh, how it felt like it.
Another parallel in the story and my life was how Mallory struggles to try to get Uncle Bud to eat. I did the same thing for most of my time in Missouri. Mom struggled and hard just to swallow and just wanted to eat. So, while I was writing, I worked hard to come up with a recipe that Mallory might use to convince Uncle Bud to eat something. The result were these Coconut Lime Cookies. I hope you love them as much as Uncle Bud did.
Coconut Lime Cookies
Ingredients:
2 ¼ cups white flour
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup sugar
3 oz room temp cream cheese—cubed
½ tsp vanilla
Zest of 1 lime (key limes may be preferred)
½ cup (1 stick) melted butter (warm)
1 egg
1 TBS milk (whole is the most delicious… and half & half is even better)
1 TBS lime juice (again, some may prefer key limes)
½ cup powdered sugar (reserved for rolling cookies in)
Directions: (oven preheats to 350)
Stir together the first five ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Set aside
Stir together sugar, cream cheese, and lime zest in a large mixing bowl. Cream butter in. Repeat with egg, milk, and lime juice, one at a time. Make sure your ingredients are thoroughly mixed.
Add dry ingredients slowly. Mix well.
Roll dough into approximately 1” balls. Roll each ball into powdered sugar and place on parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.
Bake for approximately 11-12 minutes until lightly golden.
Before you eat, close your eyes and imagine yourself beneath swaying palm trees with warm sand between your toes. Merry Christmas!
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