The Christmas Spirit by Lou Aguilar
It’s not Christmas until someone falls off something. George Bailey falls in the river, or Hans Gruber falls off Nakatomi Plaza
This year Lindsay Lohan falls off a mountain in a festive Overboard pastiche, and in The Christmas Spirit Caroline York falls off a ship. And in love.
But when she goes in search of her savior, she finds that he may be a supernatural specter.
Fortunately, there’s nothing of gravy nor the grave to this ghost.
The Story
Our tale opens on a ship just off the New England coast. Caroline York and her fiancé Peter are at the company Christmas party put on her tight-fisted editor, drinking champagne with the other writers from their trendy magazine. Not feeling very festive, and a little tipsy, Caroline decides to take a bottle of bubbly up to the crew. On her way back, a whale causes a swell that knocks Caroline overboard and into the icy drink.
But before you can say hypothermia, a sailboat with golden sails sweeps in and the ruggedly handsome Tate fishes her out. He takes her back to his lighthouse apartment and chastly revives her. They talk. She takes the bed and he sleeps on the couch (or does he– sleep, that is?). The next morning, he’s nowhere to be found, and the Coast Guard finds Caroline alive, well, and very confused. This lighthouse has been automated for years.
In her search to track down Tate, Caroline finds that she’s not the only person to be rescued by this guy and no one knows anything about him. What is going on? She persuades her boss to make this a research project for a potential article, but Peter isn’t pleased about Caroline’s interested in another man, real, a hallucination, or dead. He hires a private eye to follow her (because that’s not stalkery at all), and Caroline realizes she’s willing to risk everything rescue her rescuer from a curse.
Now, I know I’m not the target audience for a Hallmark Christmas movie in prose. But there’s a long tradition of telling ghost stories at this time of year, and there’s not a stake of holly through my heart. Yet. Author Lou Aguilar brings warmth to the bleak midwinter, penning the classic Christmas movie that old Hollywood never made. Though set in present day, its sentiments are firmly in the 1940s and at this time of year aren’t we all a little sentimental?
The Characters
Caroline York doesn’t really love her job or her fiancé. But she’s got determination and drive. We’re drawn to her and sympathize both with her feeling trapped and her desire to show gratitude regardless.
Peter Fleming is a lawyer, and with a name and career like that how can he not be despicable?
Full of good rum, information, and wisdom, Captain Fowler knows all about Tate’s secret and serves as Caroline’s guide.
And of course there’s Tate, whose time is running out if he’s going to return to the land of the living.
The World
It’s a Christmas movie in paperback, without the budget restrictions of a greeting card cable channel. Caroline moves from high society, to the stormy seas, and back again. Meanwhile, Tate faces an otherworldly judge, and the naughty/nice scales have eternal consequences.
The Politics
Except for a few swipes at woke culture, there’s less of a political agenda here than a Dickens novel.
Content Warning
Things get a little spicy when Tate undresses Caroline and tries to rub some warmth into her limbs. But it stops there. If you want anything hotter, you’re better off putting cayenne in your cocoa.
Who is it for?
Well, I suppose it’s for anyone who wants a tasteful supernatural Christmas romance ala The Flying Dutchman. If you wish they still made movies like they used to, you’ll find some satisfaction here.
Why read it?
Because Christmas calls for magic.