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Part of a series of children’s books, this particular story follows Princess Taryn and Prince Kevin from the kingdom of Athanasia. They visit Jabalia in the tropics to attend the wedding of their friend Princess Jameela to Zuberi, the son of a prime minister. While commemorating the sweet occasion, they enjoy the special ways the inhabitants of Jabalia celebrate their Christmas festivities as compared to those in Athanasia. Meanwhile, they also strengthen their ties with their friends from the far more secretive country of New Atlantis. Princess Taryn’s younger brother, James, even forms a bond with Tabitha, who comes from New Atlantis and uses their advanced technology to fight against pirates. When James and Tabitha spend time together at a waterfall, things take a tragic turn when Tabitha falls and hurts herself. It takes James and their friends to rescue her. Meanwhile, Princess Taryn has been experiencing dizzy spells, which are alarming but lead to a sweet reveal.
It can be difficult to step into a world already developed over the course of several books. However, this specific tale is easy to follow even for those meeting these characters for the first time, with short but elegantly given explanations that tie everything together. There is a lot of decent worldbuilding, especially when it comes to New Atlantis, enticing readers to check out the previous books, while the events tempt them to move on to the next book in the series. Helping to flesh out the world are the comparisons made between the different climates and countries when it comes to some of their holiday festivities, which are reflective of similar traditions observed in certain real-world places. What remains the same between the fantasy setting and the real world is Christmas and what it represents, adding an interesting element to the narrative.