Review: Christmas in the Castle Library - In the Castle Library #1

Christmas in the Castle Library book cover on blue background

I am so grateful to have been gifted the In the Castle series based on a dear friend knowing my exact reading tastes. As a result, I'm not surprised that I absolutely fall in love with Christmas in the Castle Library by Ann Swindell.

Christian fiction that has eternal meaning and clearly points to the Gospel through an immersive story centred on following Jesus Christ—what more could I ask for? 😊

Book Synopsis

Ellie Sawyer has always felt more comfortable with books than people, which explains why she’s a PhD history student neck deep in research and trying to complete her doctoral dissertation in time to graduate. But the final books she needs are half a world away in the tiny European kingdom of Lethersby, and the only time she can access the secretive Royal Castle Library is during the Christmas holiday.

Ellie is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery that has eluded Lethersby scholars for more than 100 hundred years by figuring out what happened to their long-lost queen, a young royal who disappeared shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. With the help of Mark, a handsome castle staff member who shares her love of history, she might be able to unravel the queen’s story. But Mark is keeping his own secret from her, and what they discover together could change everything for Ellie—and the entire kingdom.

Source: Amazon

Book Thoughts

I can understand all of the rave reviews for this book after experiencing a Christmas in Lethersby. Getting to meet Ellie and Mark, I can't help but fall in love with their quiet demeanors and faithful devotion to the Lord. Factor in the academic elements of Ellie working to complete her dissertation and it's a researcher's dream to step into these pages. I truly love that Ellie's thoughts reflect so many of my own as she leans on God to work past her inhibitions. Her natural reticence and fear of rejection takes quite the journey, but it is satisfactorily worthwhile to see how everything unfolds.

Incorporating meaningful references from the Bible, this book reads as if moving through a topical study on everything from perfect love casting out fear to abiding in Christ. It's a devotional pilgrimage as Ellie discovers who God has created her to be and how she can fully step into her calling to serve Him. Readers seeking clearly Christian content in their books will find Christmas in the Castle Library to be a story that is wholly inseparable from its ultimate message of hope and new life in the Gospel, making it one of the most wonderous reads of the Christmas season.

Book Summary

Format of book: 📱
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Recommendation: 👍

Comments

Christian Book Review Programs

Over time, I've been on the hunt for Christian book review programs that readers can join. As a result, I've been able to compile the following list which may be of interest if you are seeking review copies of Christian books. This list mostly applies to print and ebooks, although some publishers offer audiobooks as well. If further information is available for any of the publishers below (or any missing publishers), please let me know as I am happy to update this list—thank you! Please note that you can also search for these publishers on NetGalley and other review sites in case there are no review programs available or you don't qualify for one 😊 List last updated: June 4, 2026 Christian Publishers 10ofThose Availability: US, Canada, and UK residents Format: Only books published by 10ofThose qualify for review requests so as to avoid impeding with other Christian book review programs Genre: Christian non-fiction, children's books Email for availability and eligibilit...

Life Up North

I'm going to go against my previous posts about keeping my opinions to myself on things outside of faith and reading by sharing some of my recent experiences instead. I figure that if we read fiction to broaden our understanding of other perspectives that it might be worthwhile for me to share how things have been for me as a non-representative Canadian (I'm not speaking for anyone else here!) 😄 I'll be honest in that it's been tough in the last few weeks and months. I've done my best to keep up my optimism and more importantly, my hope in Christ, Who is unchanging and steadfast. Rulers come and go, nations evolve and change, and politics can swing back and forth, but God is immutable and sovereign over all things. That being said, recent geopolitical factors have resulted in an emotional toll on me and a lot of the people I interact with in my life. While I am grateful that I can place my burdens at the foot of the cross, I recognize that others in my life have va...

Mortality and Reading

This is a topic that has been resonating for me over the past few days, ever since I saw James Trevino's Instagram reel about why you shouldn't finish every book you start. In it, he breaks down the math of how many books we'd be able to read in a lifetime, based on reading a set number of hours per day and the average lifespan. He then compares this number to the number of books that are available worldwide. At first glance, it made me realize that I would have a lot of unread books, no matter whether my life is short or long. There's just too many books to read. Thinking about when my life might end led me to think about the types of books I read and how I'm currently filling my time. I don't think it's a coincidence that right after this crossed my mind, I was listening to The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis where he espouses a simple but profound line that stopped me in my tracks: "If you don't read good books, you will read bad ones." Thi...