The Christmas Courier ~ Review

The Christmas Courier

By Roseanna M. White

For Madeleine (Mado) Perrin, Christmas this year will be very different. Her father's death has marked her family, and she wants to be there for her mother, so the time off from teaching will allow them to be there for one another. And it will allow her to pass on information to the French Resistance in the papers she has managed to smuggle home hidden in the essays she needs to grade. 

But when childhood friend Daniel Raymond shows up in her family's apartment seeking help, Madeleine and Daniel have a second chance at a future together. But in occupied France, second chances are hard to come by with betrayal lurking just around the corner. And Daniel's Jewish heritage and ties to the Resistance make him the perfect target for betrayal.

With the future she has long dreamed of about to be stolen away, Madeleine, along with her family, plots the perfect way to rescue Daniel and the future that is slipping away. 

The Christmas Courier is a quick read and one that, if you are like me, will keep you reading. This book is set at Christmas, which gives it an added attraction. The fact that it is based on true events from World War Two added a historical factor that I loved. This book gives a rollercoaster of emotions as Madeleine and Daniel navigate the world in a state of chaos, hate, fear, and hope. Determination drives them to right the wrongs that have come upon them. I loved the faith elements that were present throughout and the importance of waiting on God's timing in all things. 

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations. All thoughts expressed are my own.

About the Book:

1943. 

Lyon, France. 

After bidding her students farewell for the holidays, Madeleine Perrin is looking forward to a quiet, simple Christmas at home with her mother. With the war raging on and rations tight, she knows it will be up to her to make the day festive and find special ways to remember the papa she lost and honor his love for Christmas. But first, Madeleine must smuggle secret messages hidden in her students’ essays to the Resistance network. She never expects the person waiting to receive them is her childhood best friend, the man who broke her heart.

Daniel Raymond has thrown himself into his work as a courier for the Resistance, carefully concealing his Jewish ancestry that, if discovered by the Nazis, could put his life at risk. Haunted by regret about the day Madeleine professed her love, and he turned her away, Daniel longs to make things right. When he sees her again, he dares to hope for reconciliation―and realizes the love he once denied has only grown deeper.

As Christmas nears and Daniel recovers from a wound sustained in a courier run, forgiveness and romance soon blossom between Daniel and Madeleine, and the two begin planning a future together. But when a mission goes wrong, and Daniel is captured by the Gestapo, Madeleine must turn to her Resistance allies―and a centuries-old law―to attempt a dangerous rescue before it’s too late.