I'm going to give a short review of the 7 books that I read during the annual holiday read-a-thon back in November. I'll be adding the link to Goodreads for each book, please click the link to find out more info. If you are in the mood for a holiday novel, maybe one of these will catch your eye.
Title: Winter Stroll
Author: Elin Hilderbrand
Published: October 13th 2015 by Little, Brown and Company
Pages: 272
Source: Publisher at BEA
Rating: 4/5
Goodreads
This is the second book in a trilogy (Winter Street came out last year, and the final installment is due next fall) about the Quinn family of Nantucket. It is not necessary to read the first novel, since it had been a year I found it took me some time to remember everyone anyway. I enjoyed this one more than the first book. I thought the story lines were more interesting, and I'm connecting more with the various family members. I'll definitely be picking up the conclusion next year. It made me want to visit Nantucket for the annual Winter Stroll weekend (me......who hates cold and snow.......that's saying something!).
Title: Blue Christmas
Author: Mary Kay Andrews
Published: October 24th 2006 by HarperCollins
Pages: 194
Source: Purchased
Rating: 4/5
Goodreads
I'm pretty much going backwards with these books about friends Weezy and BeBe. I read Christmas Bliss last year, this one proceeds it, and I've yet to read the Savannah Blues and Savannah Breeze series where these two are introduced. This one was cute, a typical Mary Kay Andrews read. I enjoy the antique business that Weezy owns, and I loved the characters who run the competing business across town. A bit of a mystery in this one, but not something that takes over the story. A light-hearted, quick read that you can enjoy without putting a lot of effort into.
Title: The Gift
Author: Cecelia Ahern
Published: October 26th 2010 by Harper
Pages: 302
Source: Purchased
Rating: 3/5
Goodreads
Not your typical holiday story, this one is a "Scroogish" tale about an unlikable character that you still find yourself rooting for. Considering that I was reading many holiday stories within a short period of time, I appreciated that this one was not the happily ever after that is the norm for the seasonal offerings, and no romance (also the norm). I wasn't crazy about the magical aspect of the book, but it was necessary in the scheme of the story. Great line from this one: “Time can’t be given. But it can be shared.” Not one of the books that was a favorite, but it was a great statement about appreciating those around you while you still can.
Title: Wishin' and Hopin'
Author: Wally Lamb
Published: November 21st 2009 by HarperCollins
Pages: 268
Source: Purchased
Rating: 5/5
Goodreads
My favorite of the seven books I read this week. If you like the movie A Christmas Story (with Ralphie and the Red Rider beebee gun), I think you will find this highly enjoyable. It is not a holiday story per se, but takes place over the few months that include the holiday season. It's the story of a 10 year old boy, and takes place in the early 60's. Perhaps it was the era that made this so appealing, or the fact that childhood back then was just so vastly different than it is now, but I loved Felix's story! I found many laugh out loud moments, Felix's mother at the Pillsbury bake-off finals is the one that stands out, but there are several others. I'm not sure that this would have as much appeal to those of you in the younger generation, but if you are "old" like me, grab yourself a copy of this one.
Title: A Nantucket Christmas
Author: Nancy Thayer
Published: October 29th 2013 by Ballantine Books
Pages: 209
Source: Purchased
Rating: 3/5
Goodreads
This was an enjoyable read at the time, but I honestly had to go back and read the synopsis to remember anything about it. Therefore, I would put this in the good enough read at the time, but probably not memorable category. I did love the plot line involving the sweet dog, and that carried me through the novel. The snippy step daughter story was pretty predictable, and came to a rather forced ending. Good read, kept my interest, but nothing special.
Title: The Christmas Pearl
Author: Dorothea Benton Frank
Published: October 28th 2008 by William Morrow
Pages: 176
Source: Purchased
Rating: 2/5
Goodreads
I normally like Dorothea Frank's novels. They are not literary masterpieces by any means, but she always interjects some Southern charm and sass into her characters, which I enjoy immensely. This novel had a good message behind it, namely to appreciate the meaning of Christmas with traditions and family, but the angel was just too over the top for me. I rolled my eyes through a lot of it. If you are someone who doesn't mind magical realism in the form of an angel appearing among us, then you may like this, I'm just not a fan.
Title: A Christmas to Remember
Author: Jenny Hale
Published: October 10, 2014 by Bookouture
Pages: 316
Source: Purchased
Rating: 2/5
Goodreads
Such a cute holiday cover on this one, and the premise sounds sweet (a nanny tries to get a single dad to spend more time with his children), but that's pretty much the good things I have to say. I hated the protagonist in this book, if I had to read her whine about what she hadn't accomplished in her life one more time, I was going to throw the book across the room. The ending was so predictable, it was a foregone conclusion from the first few pages. I did enjoy the adorable children in this one, and so gave it a couple stars. If you don't mind Carrie, you will be fine with this one, but she was not my cup of tea. One of the few times that picking a book based on a great cover has let me down.
And there you have it. Hopefully something for everyone in this list. Has anyone read any of these? Thoughts?
This is a great list! I always try to read at least one holiday themed book during this time of year. Now the hard part. . . which one do I choose?!
Hopefully you will find something that will pique your interest among this group. It's fun to immerse myself in a theme for a week every year. Thanks for stopping by my blog.