A stunning cover and the promise of a heart-warming story – who wouldn’t want to get their hands on this? That’s precisely how I’ve felt ever since I saw this book on NetGalley back in autumn. Unfortunately for me, the book was already archived when I found it – which meant I couldn’t request the ARC anymore. I was disappointed, but I hoped I’d be able to get it somewhere later.

Fast forward several months. Halloween already forgotten, it’s the wintery goodness of the coming Christmas. And I find the Lantern on Amazon on a promotion – for free!

Gotta say, I was pretty happy. I’d been looking forwardto reading this story for a while. There was just something about it.

After I downloaded it, it still spent a week or two on my Kindle. A book blogger’s reading schedule can be quite messed up, as some of you might be aware! But yesterday I stumbled upon a fun project -the Baby It’s Cold Outside Read-a-thon hosted by Read.Sleep.Repeat and decided to take part. That’s when I decided that it would be enough backlogging and pigeonholing – it was time to read the Lantern. And just as I had expected – it was wonderful!

First of all, I’d recommend this to anyone who craves a warm, innocent story – especially those who love middle grade or children’s stories. YA readers could love this too, although I’d still say it has a calmer tone than YA, although age-wise it’s definitely a fit.

As for the story itself, well – it’s a beautiful modern fairytale. It was meant as a Halloween read, but it works just as well as a Christmas read – it’s the time when we appreciate stories about love, caring and quiet, selfless magic. It’s also perfect for snuggling up with some hot cocoa and marshmallows and reading away a cold evening – with emotions to match your warm cup. Especially because this is a short read as well! For most people, it will be a one-evening read.

I really enjoyed my #BICOthon read and I recommend it to anyone who wants something soothing and warm to read on a cold evening. I’m quite curious about the other stories of Chess Desalls now!

As for my read-a-thon progress, I’ve got two more on my list to meet my goals. But the others are not that short! So wish me luck. When it comes to the bingo, it seems I’ve already ticked off:

✓ Fantasy

✓ Novella

✓ Published in 2016

✓ Romance, unexpectedly!

 

I wish lots of warmth and love to you on this cold winter day, and tell me what you’re reading for the holidays! I’ll be posting my read-a-thon progress in the coming days.

P.S. I wrote, reviewed and posted this whole post on a phone. Aren’t you proud of me 😂