Review of ‘Comfort and Joy’ by Karin Kallmaker,

Audiobook narrated by the author

Milla is an army soldier back from Afghanistan after several months of service. Back to her hometown to spend Christmas with her mother, she wasn’t expecting to meet the beautiful and intriguing Tyna, a Presbyterian Church Pastor. Milla is an atheist but despite that, both women find common ground and an irresistible attraction…

This is a short Christmas story about two very different women who apparently meet by chance and decide to get to know each other better. In her notes at the end of the audiobook, the author says that this song was inspired by Ed Sheeran’s song ‘The A-team’. The novella is very short and only covers a couple of dates but it’s full of very interesting dialogues about religion, military service, and bereavement. Unfortunately, there isn’t much development in their relationship and the reader can only get to know the characters superficially in just a very brief period of time. It’s a pity because there is so much potential in this story, the characters chemistry is undeniable and there are some big decisions in front of each character that could have been developed much further.

The audiobook is narrated by the author. I’m not a fan of authors reading their own work, mainly because normally you can tell that they aren’t professional narrators. There’s no doubt that they know the story better than anyone else but usually, they cannot match the performance of different emotions or master different voices. This is no exception and I think that, even though Ms. Kallmaker did a good job, this audiobook could have been so much better. However, if you are looking for a short romantic listen during Christmas time, this might be for you. Unfortunately, it is not available on Audible Escape or Scribd but it’s cheaper than a longer audiobook. Duration 1 hr and 27 mins.

Overall, an ok Christmas short story audiobook narrated by the author. 3.5 stars.