An Irish Christmas

Author: Melody Carlson
Genre: Fiction / Christmas
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group, 2007
Pages: 192
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: For Colleen, life is spinning out of control. She just lost her husband, and her relationship with her young adult son Jamie is crumbling. Should she confess to him the secret that has been haunting her for twenty years? Jamie has a few secrets of his own. When he announces his plans to join the military, Colleen decides it's time for the two of them to take a trip together - to Ireland. The truth they discover there could fulfill both their dreams in a way neither ever thought possible.

Review: I loved this slightly predictable and maybe not entirely period correct novel. Colleen was a woman ahead of her time.

Sisters Under the Rising Sun

Author: Heather Morris
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group, 2023
Pages: 400
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: In the midst of World War II, an English musician, Norah Chambers, places her eight-year-old daughter Sally on a ship leaving Singapore, desperate to keep her safe from the Japanese army as they move down through the Pacific. Norah remains to care for her husband and elderly parents, knowing she may never see her child again.

Sister Nesta James, a Welsh Australian nurse, has enlisted to tend to Allied troops. But as Singapore falls to the Japanese she joins the terrified cargo of people, including the heartbroken Norah, crammed aboard the Vyner Brooks merchant ship. Only two days later, they are bombarded from the air off the coast of Indonesia, and in a matter of hours, the Vyner Brooks lies broken on the seabed. 

After surviving a brutal 24 hours in the sea, Nesta and Norah reach the beaches of a remote island, only to be captured by the Japanese and held in one of their notorious POW camps. The camps are places of starvation and brutality, where disease runs rampant. Sisters in arms, Norah and Nesta fight side-by-side every day, helping whoever they can, and discovering in themselves and each other extraordinary reserves of courage, resourcefulness, and determination.

Review: This is heavier subject matter than I would typically choose at this time of year, but I liked the cover 😀 

I had a difficult time initially, getting into Sisters Under the Rising Sun. There's a big cast of characters, and the writing was choppy until the author found her groove. However, I rather quickly found myself enthralled.

Based on real people and actual events, this novel dives a side of World War II that I didn't know anything about it. I also appreciated that the author included information about her search, notes from the internees' families, and some information about the main characters post-internment / post-WWII.

A Quilt for Christmas

Author: Melody Carlson
Genre: Fiction / Christmas
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group, 2022
Pages: 176
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Christmas should be celebrated with family. But for Vera Swanson, that's not an option this year. Widowed and recently relocated, she is lonely in her condo-for-one - until little Fiona Albright knocks on her door needing help. With her mother seriously ill and her father out of town, Fiona enlists Vera's help, and when she finds out her new neighbor is a quilter, she has a special request - a Christmas quilt for Mama.

Vera will have to get a ragtag group of women together
in order to fulfill the request. Between free-spirited Tasha, chatty empty nester Beverly, retired therapist Eleanor, and herself, Vera has hopes that Christmas for the Albright family will be merry, after all - and she may find herself a new family of friends along the way.

Review: This novel is what fans of Christmas novels and Melody Carlson have come to expect. A sweet, not-surprising Christmas story where everyone gets a happy ending.

Skipping Christmas

Author: John Grisham
Genre: Fiction / Christmas
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing, 2010
Pages: 208
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Imagine a year without Christmas. No crowded malls, no corny office parties, no fruitcake, no unwanted presents. That's just what Luther and Nora Krank have in mind when they decide that, just this once, they'll skip the holiday altogether. Theirs will be the only house on Hemlock Street without a rooftop Frosty; they won't be hosting their annual Christmas Eve bash; they aren't even going to have a tree. They won't need one, because come December 25 they're setting sail on a Caribbean cruise. But, as this weary couple is about to discover, skipping Christmas brings enormous consequences - and isn't half as
easy as they'd imagined.

Review: Tis the season to bust out the Christmas reading. I'm feeling the spirit. The kids have decorated their bedrooms already, and we've been listening to Christmas music. Over the years, I've learned to edit Christmas to be what we treasure the most. For my two youngest, it isn't Christmas if they don't have a gingerbread house to decorate. Done. My husband insists we wait until after Thanksgiving to put up the trees. Yes, trees. Done. I like sitting alone, drinking coffee, with only the lights on tree lighting the room. That time is coming soon. There's a lot we have eliminated that caused stress and not joy, and we're all happier for it.

Luther and Nora's approach to Christmas seemed over-the-top - to forgo it all together is extreme, but then again this is a work of fiction. Fun read.

The Secrets of Emberwild

Author: Stephenia McGee
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group, 2022
Pages: 320
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: A gifted trainer in a time women were not allowed to race, Nora Fenton prefers horses to men. They're easier to handle, they're more reliable, and they never tell her what to do. After her father's passing, Nora is determined to save her struggling horse farm, starting with entering her prize cold into the harness races at the 1905 Mississippi Fair. If she wins, she may have a chance at independence. But when a stranger arrives and starts asking disconcerting questions, she suspects he may have other motives than unseating her in her training job that is rightfully hers.

Silas Cavallero will do whatever it takes to solve the mystery of his father's death - even if it means training an unwieldy colt for Nora, who wants nothing more than to see him gone. But when mysterious accidents threaten their safety and circumstances shrouded in secrets begin unlocking clues to his past, Silas will have to decide if the truth is worth risking ruining everything for the feisty woman he's come to admire.

Review: In the 1980s, horse books were popular with pre-teens and teens. Guess who read a lot (!!) of horse books in the 80s? That's right. This took me back to that time in my life, but the story also captured my imagination. A good plot and a little nostalgia? Yes, please!

I'm looking for more books by this author for future reading.

A Royal Christmas

Author: Melody Carlson
Genre: Fiction / Christmas
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group, 2023
Pages: 176
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Adelaide Smith is too busy for fairy tales. She's been working hard to put herself through law school and now that the end is in sight, she's determined to stay focused on her goals. Then she receives a letter notifying her that she has been found through a DNA registry to be a direct descendant of King Maximilian V, the ruler of a small Eastern European principality called Montovia. She's understandably skeptical. This is the stuff of cheesy made-for-TV movies, not real life.

Although the pieces of this surprising family puzzle seem too good to be true, curiosity gets the best of her. At the king's invitation, Adelaide embarks on a Christmas break trip that is chock-full of surprises, including a charming village, an opulent palace, family mysteries, royal jealousies, a handsome young member of Parliament—and the chance at a real fairy tale romance with a happily-ever-after ending.

Review: I swear I saw this Hallmark movie. Not really, but it's a typical feel-good Christmastime novel. Fun read.