Tag Archive | Cala Publishing

Finding Forever In Pelican Crossing by Maggie Christensen

Aug6

Dipping A Toe In New Waters

Finding Forever In Pelican Crossing by Maggie Christensen is the charming tenth book in the wonderful Pelican Crossing series but can be read as a stand-alone.

Once more the reader is delighted to return to the tranquil Pelican Crossing where the welcome is warm as the locals offer hospitality and friendship to all.

Catching up with familiar faces and locations, and meeting new ones is always a pure delight.

The reason for a character rushing to Pelican Crossing is an accident has befallen her beloved Mimi. Fifty-year-old Paige finds herself at a crossroads in life. Pelican Crossing offers peace and care whilst her heart heals from grief. We ‘feel’ the pain of sudden loss – for me, it was all too raw, as my ninety-five-year-old Dad died suddenly and unexpectedly recently, very similar to the character in the book. I could easily empathise, grief is not linear, it comes in waves.

Pelican Crossing is a community that offers care where it can. Lives are supported – and everyone knows your business which is far preferable to the anonymity of a big city.

Grown up children are quick to consign their mother to the pipe and slippers brigade. This was reminiscent of the grown-up children in the movie with Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson, All That Heaven Allows buying their mother a television for company. Life is for living whatever your age. Grown up children show that they can be very selfish – taking and taking from a mother, without any thought to her needs.

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Coming Home To Bellbird Bay by Maggie Christensen

Jul26

Very Charming

Coming Home To Bellbird Bay by Maggie Christensen is the most charming second book in the Bellbird Bay series which is heartwarming and welcoming.

The book can be read as a stand-alone. I am always delighted to meet up with familiar characters and locations.

The story is about second chances and new beginnings. Both lead characters have lost their partners. One has coped for years as a single parent. The other has nursed her husband through dementia. The man he was, died piece by piece. The memory of him remains. “Russ will always be with me, wherever I am.”

A well-meaning sister tries her hand at match-making. The attempt is obvious but the couple prove to be perfectly capable of making their own alliances.

The leading characters are in their sixties, still with plenty of life to live. Some of the grown-up children cannot believe that their mother could actually have a life outside of their needs. “Don’t let our kids stand in your way. It’s your decision, not theirs.” We will always want to help our children but we do not want them to dictate our pathways.

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Summer In Bellbird Bay by Maggie Christensen

Jul15

Coming Home

Summer In Bellbird Bay by Maggie Christensen is a most delightful contemporary novel that I adored. It is the first book in the fantastic Bellbird Bay series.

Maggie Christensen writes with warmth and an understanding of her characters lives. Her leading characters are in their fifties. They prove that even though they are older, their personalities remain the same as thirty years ago. We age on the outside but not on the inside. They are wiser and have their priorities in place – but their insecurities and fears remain the same.

Both leading characters have had the foundations of their lives shaken. They need to learn to live and to trust again.

Bellbird Bay is a very charming coastal town in Australia. It is a place where hearts come home and lives heal. “Bellbird Bay… was a place a person could come to heal, to discover there was more to life than fame and fortune.”

Life is about love – who we love, and who loves us. Love is what is most precious. It is the greatest treasure.

A character returns to Bellbird Bay when life has hit hard. He believes “home is the place you return to when you have nowhere else to go” – but home is not always a place. Sometimes it is a person.

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A New Dawn In Pelican Crossing by Maggie Christensen

Sep26

A Hug In A Book

A New Dawn In Pelican Crossing by Maggie Christensen is a most charming contemporary novel that I thoroughly enjoyed. It is the third book in the Pelican Crossing series but can be read as a stand-alone. I recommend reading the previous books first for character development and progression.

Fans of Maggie Christensen will recognize the fictional town of Bellbird Bay and its’ residents who are just up the coast from Pelican Crossing. The interactions and crossovers between the two series, help the reader to feel at home.

Maggie Christensen writes in a very warm fashion as she draws the reader into her world. With each new tale we feel as if we are returning home to receive a hug in a book.

All the characters are well drawn and believable. The majority, including the lead characters, are over fifty. This makes them very relatable and easy to empathise with. Each new book has its’ focus on a different main character who will then interact with familiar faces.

The focus of this book is a pair of fifty something singles. One is single through the death of a partner. The other is single due to an unfaithful partner and is awaiting divorce to be finalized but there are financial stumbling blocks. Both are similar but different. Both have locked hearts away in order to preserve them.

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