Bradley Harper and Papillon du Pere Publishing are back for the second year in a row, with The Bells of Christmas, Vol. 2. This book of Christmas themed short stories is a way to help a wonderful charity, as 100% of the profits from the sales of The Bells of Christmas goes to St. Jude’s Hospital. It also brings recognition to indie authors, because they are the authors Bradley chose to write the stories. I enjoyed reading this book very much, and I hope you enjoy my review!
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The Stories in The Bells of Christmas, Vol. 2
The Bells of Christmas by Bradley Harper
A homeless man is given the gift of family, in this adorable short and sweet story by Bradley Harper. And by short and sweet, I mean it. This story is only a couple pages, but that is enough to make you “AWWW.”
The Last Christmas Gift by Derek McFadden
Travis has been asked to go on one last trip to his childhood home by both his mom AND his therapist. On the ferry, his grandpa comes to visit him, and helps him through some hard emotional times. I loved this story. It is a great reminder of what happens when we let our guard down and remember what Christmas is all about.
A Winter Candle by Bradley Harper
Ben’s wife divorced him, and his child won’t speak to him. He doesn’t feel like he has much left in his life after the military, until a job as Santa falls into his lap. Suddenly, he’s able to add joy to others’ lives, through which he finds out what really matters. Can’t give too many spoilers, but it’s another “awwww” story!
What Santa has Taught Me by Bradley Harper
This story is inspired by a true story. I can’t say too much about it, but I will say you can hear Bradley talk about this story himself on my podcast. Get a tissue, because this has all the feels!
Calling us Home: An Irish Christmas by Maria O’Rourke
Maria gives us a really beautiful insight into Christmas with her family in Ireland. Getting to read about various traditions and her family time is really beautiful. This story gave me some inspiration for traditions in my own family.
The Bear’s Last Word on The Matter by Will Knight
The Bear’s Last Word is adorable! James’ friend Bear has decided he’s old enough that he needs to pass on his story, so James calls a reporter who can listen and pass on his mini-biography. He talks about meeting Santa, and other various adventures that he has with James. This story will likely make you chuckle more than a few times.
The Sugar Plum Redux by Lilla Glass
The Sugar Plum Fairy is awesome in this retelling of the Nutcracker story. Sugar Plum fights nightmares for kids, but she’s only allowed one fight per child. So when she meets a little girl named Clara, she has to get creative on how to help Clara fight her own monsters.
A Tintoretto of the Soul by Erol Engin
Gus’s story wasn’t my favorite in the book, but it still had a good lesson. The lesson I got was “don’t. lie.” I can’t say too much about this story, for fear of spoilers, but please let me know in the comments what you thought of this one, and whether you agree with my assessment. It wasn’t a horrible story, it just wasn’t my favorite in the collection.
I definitely had my favorite stories in The Bells of Christmas Vol. 2. A Tintoretto of the Soul just wasn’t my favorite. I absolutely adored the writing and the styles of the different authors. I thought they all meshed together perfectly, to make a book worthy of its title.
When I found out about the cause these books support, of course I had to purchase! 100% of the profits from sales of The Bells of Christmas, Volumes 1 and 2, go to St. Jude’s Hospital. If you don’t know about St. Jude’s, the hospital is completely non-profit, and they don’t charge patients or families for the care they receive.
So yeah, donating to St. Jude’s is an exceptional cause, and one that is close to my husband’s heart, as well as mine. Anything we can do to help them out is well worth it.
I hope you enjoyed my review, and I hope you’ll share with your friends on your social media! Don’t forget about my giveaway, either, so be sure to subscribe real quick. It only takes a second, and you’ll never get spammed 🙂 Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Until Next Time, Friends!
