Christmastime 1939

Christmastime 1939

Linda Mahkovec

Linda Mahkovec

CHRISTMASTIME 1939: Prequel to the Christmastime Series introduces the reader to the world of Christmastime. Set in Brooklyn, we meet the young widow Lillian Hapsey and her two sons, Tommy and Gabriel. Even though the Christmas season is just around the corner, Lillian has no Christmas spirit. Alone, unhappy with her job, and plagued by financial concerns, Christmas has become a burden to her. Overshadowing everything is the war in Europe. Despite the setbacks, Lillian is determined to give her sons a happy Christmas. Can she rekindle her girlhood love for the holiday season? Rediscovering her touchstone just might be the key to unlocking the excitement and magic of Christmas.
Read online
  • 663
Christmastime 1945

Christmastime 1945

Linda Mahkovec

Linda Mahkovec

In the final book of The Christmastime Series, the war is over. After years of grueling combat, heavy losses, and heartbreak, the first Christmas after the war promises to be a memorable one. Millions of servicemen are hoping to make it home in time for Christmas. Lillian Drooms anxiously awaits the return of Charles, fearing a final disaster. Izzy has opened a line of communication to Red, but what her future holds remains a mystery. On Kate's farm, her eldest son has made it home––but will her other two sons return from the Pacific? Ursula lives in dread of Friedrich's impending departure and wonders if she'll ever see him again. And unexpectedly, Jessica gives her heart to a returning soldier, only to be rejected by him. Can this first Christmas after the war be a happy one?
Read online
  • 398
Christmastime 1943

Christmastime 1943

Linda Mahkovec

Linda Mahkovec

In Christmastime 1943: A Love Story, Book Four, the war intensifies, the Christmas season arrives, and love is kept alive on the home front. In New York City, Lillian Drooms struggles on her own while her husband, Charles, is away at sea. She volunteers with "Artists for Victory" at a hospital for wounded soldiers, but soon begins to doubt her ability. Meanwhile, on a farm in Illinois, the beautiful seventeen-year-old Ursula is torn between her sense of duty and the power of love. The source of her deepest yearning and her deepest hatred lies in Friedrich, one of the German POWs recently hired to work on the family farm. The Christmas season brings its charm and warmth – but can love survive in these turbulent, fragmented times?
Read online
  • 383
Christmastime 1941

Christmastime 1941

Linda Mahkovec

Linda Mahkovec

Christmastime 1941: A Love Story, Book Two, opens two days after Pearl Harbor has been attacked. War has just been declared, and New York City is in a state of chaos and panic as it tries to prepare for possible attacks. Following the same characters established in Book One, and introducing a few new ones, it tells of the power of old loves, new loves, and friendship. It continues the love story of Lillian and Charles, the adventures of Tommy and Gabriel, and depicts two bittersweet romances: that of Izzy and her fiancé Red, and that of the office manager at Drooms Accounting, sixty-year old Mrs. Murphy, and her Brendan.
Read online
  • 265
Christmastime 1942

Christmastime 1942

Linda Mahkovec

Linda Mahkovec

In Christmastime 1942: A Love Story, Book Three, the Axis forces are winning, and America struggles to find its footing in the war. Men leave to fight and women join the workforce. New York City vibrates with energy, romance, tension, and urgency. Yet love burns brighter than ever, bringing people together and giving them hope for the future. The famous Stage Door Canteen in Times Square provides the background for one of these romances – between the proud, but wounded, Edith Mason and the Shakespearean actor, Desmond Burke.
Read online
  • 208
Valentine's Day 1946

Valentine's Day 1946

Linda Mahkovec

Linda Mahkovec

The love continues in this sequel to the beloved Christmastime series. In New York City, the playful antics of Gabriel and his friend Billy bring together an assortment of people to celebrate Valentine's Day at The Red String Curio Store—with unintentional results. In rural Illinois, Jessica attempts her hand at matchmaking, against the advice of her family to leave well enough alone. In both places, love, friendship, and family come together in a heartwarming celebration of 1946 Valentine's Day. With the war over and everyone wanting to get on with their lives, will this Valentine's Day be full of love?
Read online
  • 199


Christmastime 1940

Christmastime 1940

Linda Mahkovec

Linda Mahkovec

Set in New York City against the backdrop of impending war, Christmastime 1940: A Love Story tells the tale of an unlikely romance between a struggling young mother trying to make a fresh start and a man who has lost his connection to humanity. The curmudgeonly Charles Drooms is perfectly content with his life as the owner of a successful accounting firm. However, when the beautiful widow, Lillian Hapsey, and her two young sons move down the hall from him, his narrow world is shaken. Three forces—Lillian, the Christmas season, and a mysterious little boy—converge to stir up powerful memories, pushing Drooms to make some life-altering decisions.
Read online
  • 82
The Garden House

The Garden House

Linda Mahkovec

Linda Mahkovec

Love, longing, and gripping suspense are set among the sensuous flowers and lush summer evenings of Seattle in this atmospheric, page-turning novel. Themes of gardens and forgotten secrets bring to mind the novels of Kate Morton, while the importance of home and family is reminiscent of Maeve Binchy. When Miranda's two children leave home, her sense of loss is intensified by a void in her own life journey. She has set aside her dreams of becoming an artist for far too long. In an attempt to rekindle the beauty and passion of her youth, she fixes up the garden house as a studio—only to discover her husband has rented it out for the summer to a shy, mysterious young man. Soon after his arrival, Miranda begins to have disturbing dreams. Her friends dismiss them. Her husband blames them on the teen shelter Miranda has recently visited. Is she simply experiencing a mid-life crisis? Perhaps empty-nest syndrome? But Miranda is convinced her dreams have meaning,...
Read online
  • 14
183