Review: It will leave you all warm and smiling!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 2, 2012
I spotted this on Amazon while browsing for some Christmas reads. It's a short story, didn't take long at all to read it.I wish it had been longer, as I fell in love with the characters and the whole story was just so ingenious. A new one on me.Dash works on the old carousel in the South side of Howle. Not the nicer side of the town. He lovingly sands them and removes the graffiti the town kids paint on the animals, restoring them to their former glory for another year.George, the night watchman, stops in for his daily chat, motioning to the harness and bells hanging quietly. He tells Dash, not for the first time, to get rid of them as the bells are broken, but Dash just shrugs. He could never part with them......Dash knew the sound of those bells. The pure, beautiful chimes that stroked down his back with all the caress of a lover. They were silent now, but they hadn't always been.One afternoon, while working on one of the animals the door to his repair barn opens. Turning to see who has entered, he discovers a young woman. She looks down on her luck in her tattered clothes and exposed, reddened hands. It's really cold outside and Dash sees no harm in letting her stay awhile.Not wanting to frighten her, Dash turns back to his sanding. He hears a small voice behind him,"So, what's your name?"and a friendship begins with Merry.When it's time to call it quits for the night, Dash tells Merry she's welcome to stay in the barn. When he arrives the next morning, he discovers Merry gentle sanding a reindeer. She seems very adept at it. They sit quietly, working through the day and this becomes the norm.Noticing that Merry's cough is getting worse, he persuades her to stay at his house, in the spare room.  Their friendship has started to become something else, something more. But Dash has a secret, one he can't tell Merry about.The secret is in the bells. Why are they broken? Why can't he hear their sweet sound anymore? There is only one way to get answers, and he's getting them tonight.Silver Bells is a sweet, romantic Christmas story.There is a great surprise when you finally learn about the harness and its bells. The author came up with something so original and so cool. I loved the whole idea.I gave Silver Bells Four Stars because it left me all warm and smiley inside and I loved the whole idea!