Christmas Child - Tarot: Lovers

Susan is almost nineteen years old and ready to take on the world. The only child of older parents, Susan has had a strict upbringing. She hasn't been allowed to experience any of the fun things that others her age are doing. Not that her small town has much of a social life to offer. Cedarville is a small farming town, full of hard working people who rise and sleep with the sun.

A birthday party at her best friend’s house and a seemingly miraculous make-over is the start of a perfect evening for Susan. She is finally welcomed into the 'in crowd' and she's loving it. She's quickly snapped up by Scott, someone that she's been enamored of for a long time. After a perfect evening, Susie realizes that she is late for curfew, and decides to take a shortcut.

An unwise decision to accept a ride with a stranger changes her life forever. As the fates would have it, this traumatic incident becomes impossible to ignore when Susie finds that she is pregnant. She confesses her dark secret to her mother, and while attempting to explain to her father he listens only partially and tosses her out. Now, at nineteen, she is thrust out into the big, bad world to sink or swim.

It seems as if the fates weren't quite done with Susie. Susie comes off as a strong character who doesn't realize that she has the strength to take control of her destiny. After a series of twisted events, the outcome of this book will leave the reader flabbergasted. Christmas Child is a very well written, engaging book. I didn't agree with a few of the turns that Ms. Bradley took. I found it impossible to warm up to the man whom we first meet in a rape scene. His actions following the rape and pregnancy did not raise him in my esteem either. While the plot is believable, and perhaps even probable, this book is definitely not for the faint of heart. I don't agree with how Susie handles the situation she finds her children in. I do want to point out that it is only the subject matter that I object to. Ms. Bradley's Christmas Child is not to my taste, however I find no fault whatsoever with her effort. This book was definitely impossible to put down, I had to know how it ended.

Reviewed by: Joletta