Written by Alexandra Moody

Gripping
storyline ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Published by	Independently published (23 Nov. 2018)
Genre	YA, Contemporary Fantasy
Pages	230
ASIN	B07KDTBT66
ISBN-10	1790236061
ISBN-13	978-1790236060
For readers aged 13 - 18 years

On 9th December, 2019 I downloaded a free copy of Alexandra Moody's Christmas Magic for Day 9 of the #DecTheShelves 2019 Advent Calendar event. I remember being excited by the blurb at the time, and I thought I'd make an effort to read this title either during the event, or as soon after as possible.

Here we are almost 4 years later... and I have finally read it!

Tick ✔. Another one off my huge TBR list!

The blurb:

Clio is a claus. Yes, kind of like Santa, but she doesn’t have a beer gut or wear a red suit. In fact, she’d rather not have anything to do with Christmas or the magic that comes with it. Hiding out in the sleepy town of Bramblewood, she’s been doing just fine at pretending to be human and avoiding all things Christmas.

But then, a mysterious reindeer shifter with piercing amber eyes comes stampeding into her life, and her whole world is turned upside down.

Dash is investigating a group of murderous dark elves, and Clio appears to be their next target. He wants to protect her. She wants him to take his rather large antlers and fly on back to the North Pole. But when magical creatures are being killed, and no one knows why, she has no choice but to trust him.

This claus is about to be thrown into a world of magic and mayhem—whether she likes it or not.

Teen & YA Contemporary Fantasy

My thoughts:

I would say first of all, ignore that this story is aimed at Teen and Young Adult readers. I am long past being in that category for anything, and I loved this story.

Christmas Magic is written in the first person from the perspective of Clio, a claus who prefers to live in the human realm away from her own kind and other magical beings. As the story begins, Clio is employed as a bar maid, and has been managing on her own since the death of her mother. That is until dark magical beings set upon her one night on her way home. Clio is rescued, although she would prefer to think that she escaped and had had to rescue Dash, the reindeer shifter who came to her aid.

Dash tells Clio that a number of light magical creatures have been killed by a group of dark elves and he and his herd are tracking them down. Clio volunteers to act as bait to lure these creatures into a trap that the reindeer will spring.

So the scene is set and I'm hooked! It is the traditional Good -vs- Evil struggle, albeit a magical one, set as Christmas approaches, with a whiff of romance in the air. The main characters are likeable and memorable and I found the storyline compelling. I really enjoyed that it moves on at a good pace, keeping me engaged and curious at the same time.

Magic and fantasy are not my usual genre of reading, but something about the blurb pulled me in and the story did not disappoint. I would recommend this book whole-heartedly and have added the remainder of this trilogy, Christmas Chaos and Christmas Curse to my reading wish list.

Purchase from:

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Author Bio – Alexandra Moody
Alexandra Moody is an Australian author who writes romance novels for young adults. She lives in Adelaide with her husband, their three kids and naughty dog. When she’s not busy writing, you’ll find her reading or spending time with her family.