When a rusty old tin box is unearthed at the Covington Homestead, longtime housemates Grace, Amelia, and Hannah discover that it contains letters and diaries written by two Civil War soldiers, one Union and one Confederate.

The friends are captivated by the drama revealed. The soldiers were found dying on a nearby battlefi eld by an old woman. She nursed them back to health, hiding them from bounty hunters seeking deserters. At the end of the war the men chose to stay in Covington, caring for their rescuer as she grew frail. But while their lives were rich, they still felt homesick and guilty for never contacting the families they’d left behind.

Christmas is coming, and the letters inspire Amelia with a generous impulse. What if she and her friends were to find the two soldiers’ descendants and invite them to Covington to meet? What better holiday gift could there be than the truth about these two heroic men and their dramatic shared fate? With little time left, the ladies spring into action to track down the men’s families in Connecticut and the Carolinas, and to make preparations in Covington for their most memorable, most historic Christmas yet.

A sweet read for this time of year.  Joan Medlicott warmed my heart with her story of the amazing women that set out to make an amazing Christmas for perfect strangers.  I really felt that this book captured within its pages the meaning of Christmas – of giving from the heart. The letters were touching and I easily placed myself along side Grace, Amelia, and Hannah as they were read, imagining the two soldiers of 1864 scraping out these words.

I really enjoyed the three women’s characters as they were colorful and likable.  All this inside a darling little hard cover book that is really a gift in itself!

Joan Medlicott was born and raised on St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. She lives with her husband in the mountains of North Carolina.

I received my review copy from Sarah Reidy and Pocket Books/Simon & Schuster