Once Upon a Christmas

Author: Lauraine Snelling / Lenora Worth

Genre: Fiction / Christmas
Publisher: Steeple Hill Books, 2010
Pages: 256
Rating: Do Not Recommend

Synopsis: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year - Romance blooms between Blythe Stensrude and Thane Davidson after their dogs tangle leashes in the park - until Thane becomes guardian to his three-year-old niece. Blythe doesn't think she's mother material, but how can she refuse Thane's request to give a neglected little girl the best Christmas ever?

"Twas the Week Before Christmas - Upon arrival at her grandmother's Louisiana plantation for the holidays socialite Elise Melancon is confronted with a shocking request - her grandmother wants her to "reform" a handsome young man so he can date another woman! Perhaps Elise will discover that life's greatest gifts don't always come in a box.

Review: This is two novellas in one - The Most Wonderful Time of the Year and 'Twas the Week Before Christmas. I don't know that I really loved either. I know my own life experiences play into my feelings about the relationship of the couple in The Most Wonderful Time of the Year. I was willing Blythe to walk away. 'Twas the Night Before Christmas was just too. . .something, improbable maybe. Furthermore, it felt really dated with undertones of societal class. It's also worth noting that I struggle with novellas and short stories because there isn't time for character or plot development. I should avoid these since I tend to judge them for what they actually are.

Home Sweet Christmas

Author: Susan Mallery
Genre: Fiction / Christmas
Publisher: Harlequin
Pages: 400
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Until Camryn Neff can return to her "real" life in Chicago, she's in Wishing Tree to care for her twin sisters. She's not looking for forever love, not here. But handsome hotelier Jake Crane is temptation she can't resist, so she suggests they pair up for the season. No golden rings, no broken hearts. At his side, she sees her hometown through Christmas-colored eyes. The cheer is cheerier, the joy more joyful. She thought she had put her future on hold. . .maybe her real life was here all along, waiting for her to come home.

New in town, River Best is charmed by Wishing Tree's homespun traditions and warmhearted people. When she's crowned Snow Queen, she's honored by wary. Dylan Tucker, her king, seems like the stuff of sugarplum dreams, but she can't shake the feeling that he's hiding something. As they perform "royal" duties - tasting cookies, lighting trees - Dylan's good humor and melty kisses draw her to the brink of love. But she can't let herself fall until she uncovers his secret, even if her lack of faith means losing him forever.

Review: This is the follow-up to The Christmas Wedding Guest, and I think I liked it even more than that one. I wish Dena and Reggie played bigger roles in this novel, but the new cast of characters make for fun reading on their own. Perfect seasonal choice.

Other Susan Mallery Novels
One Big Happy Family
The Christmas Wedding Ring
The Friendship List
The Sister Effect
The Vineyard at Painted Moon

Wishing Tree Series
The Christmas Wedding Guest
Home Sweet Christmas

Mischief Bay Novels
The Girls of Mischief Bay
The Friends We Keep
A Million Little Things

The Christmas Wedding Guest

Author: Susan Mallery
Genre: Fiction / Christmas
Publisher: Harlequin, 2021
Pages: 432
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: The Somerville Sisters believe in love, but they've lost their faith in will happen for them. Reggie hasn't been home since the end of the world's shortest engagement. When her parents decide to renew their vows, she buffs up her twinkle to help with the Christmas wedding. Unexpectedly, Toby, her first love is back too, and the spark between them shines as brightly as ever. In the spirit of the season, will they let go of past hurts and greet the new year together?

Done waiting for the one, Dena is pregnant and on her own - on purpose. But then a gorgeous, sad-eyed songwriter checks in to a room at her inn. Micah, unable to write since he lost his wife, finds inspiration in Dena's determination to be a mom. One snowflake-speckled kiss and he's a goner. But Dena is afraid to believe that a rockstar could fall for a cookie-cutter small-town girl like her.

As the Christmas wedding draws closer, these two sisters just might unwrap the most treasured gift of all - love.

Review: It's been a long time since I read a Susan Mallery book, but I enjoy this author. Super cute Christmastime novel despite some repetition. I'd love to see this novel as a Hallmark movie.

Other Susan Mallery Novels
One Big Happy Family
The Christmas Wedding Ring
The Friendship List
The Sister Effect
The Vineyard at Painted Moon

Wishing Tree Series
The Christmas Wedding Guest
Home Sweet Christmas

Mischief Bay Novels
The Girls of Mischief Bay
The Friends We Keep
A Million Little Things

Hester

Author: Laurie Lico Albanese
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group, 2022
Pages: 336
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: Isobel Gamble is a young seamstress carrying generations of secrets when she sets sail from Scotland in the early 1800s with her husband, Edward. An apothecary who has fallen under the spell of opium, his pile of debts have forced them to flee Glasgow for a fresh start in the New World. But only days after they've arrived in Salem, Edward abruptly joins a departing ship as a medic - leaving Isobel penniless and alone in a strange country, forced to make her own way by any means possible.

When she meets a young Nathaniel Hawthorne, the two are instantly drawn to each other: he is a man haunted by his ancestors who sent innocent women to the gallows - while she is an unusually gifted needleworker, troubled by her own strange talents. As the weeks pass and Edward's safe return grows increasingly unlikely, Nathaniel and Isobel grow closer and closer. Together, they are a muse and a dark storyteller; the enchanter and the enchanted. But which is which.

Review: I remember The Scarlet Letter being one of my favorite required reading books in high school, and this imagined back story was not only fun, but also not implausible.

First, let's talk about the cover. The cover artwork is stunning. The colors and detail are eyecatching, and illustrate the heart (core) of the novel beautifully.

Normally I am not a fan of including sex scenes in books set during this time period. It was a hidden side of the times, and including sex seems like a money grab, ie sex sells. However, how would one write a book about Hawthorne's inspiration for The Scarlet Letter, and his possible relationship to (with) her without sex? That is the entire basis for The Scarlet Letter. 

Underlying themes/events also drew me in - readers get a real sense of what New England was like when every aspect of daily lives and livelihoods revolved around ships and shipping industry. The atrocities of slavery and the early days of the Underground Railroad are also mentioned. 

This is a complex and encompassing novel. The author certainly packs a punch in 336 pages.

Weaving Sundown in a Scarlet Light

Author: Joy Harjo
Genre: Poetry
Publisher: Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc., 2022
Pages: 160
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Harjo selected her best poems from across fifty years, beginning with her early discoveries of her own voice and ending with moving reflections on our contemporary moment. Her poems are musical, intimate, political, and wise, intertwining ancestral memory and tribal histories with resilience and love.

Review: I haven't read poetry since college, but I was looking for books to celebrate Native American Heritage Month, and this seemed like a good option. It was the week of Thanksgiving and we had out-of-town guests visiting. I knew I wouldn't have a ton of time for reading so I decided to give poetry a try.

Since I don't read poetry, I feel underqualified to rate this, but I did like the notes the author included at the end for each poem. I didn't realize this information was available until I was almost finished with the collection. I would have preferred these notes either before or after each poem throughout the book, rather than at the end.

The Husband Hour

Author: Jamie Brenner
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Little, Brown, and Company, 2019
Pages: 384
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Lauren Adelman and her high school sweetheart, Rory Kincaid, are a golden couple. They marry just out of college as Rory, a star hockey player, earns a spot in the NHL. Their future could not look bright when Rory shocks everyone-Lauren most of all-by enlisting in the US Army. When Rory dies in combat, Lauren is left devastated, alone, and under unbearable public scrutiny.

Seeking peace and solitude, Lauren retreats to her family's old beach house on the Jersey Shore. But this summer she's forced to share the house with her overbearing mother and competitive sister. Worse, a stranger making a documentary about Rory tracks her down and persuades her to give him just an hour to talk about her husband. . .

One hour with filmmaker Matt Brio turns into a summer of revelations, surprises, and upheaval. As the days grow shorter and her grief changes shape, Lauren begins to understand the past-and to welcome the future.

Review: I hadn't planned on it being so long before I read another Jamie Brenner novel (I read Forever Summer in 2017). I like this author. Interesting story lines and relatable characters.

Other Jamie Brenner Novels
A Novel Summer
Blush
Drawing Home
Gilt
Summer Longing
The Forever Summer
The Gin Lovers
The Husband Hour

Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor

Author: Lisa Kleypas
Genre: Fictions
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group, 2012
Pages: 224
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: One rain-slicked night, six year old Holly lost the only parent she knew, her beloved mother Victoria. And since that night, she has never spoken a word. 

The last thing Mark Nolan needs is a six-year-old girl in his life. But he soon realizes that he will do everything he can to make her life whole again. His sister's will give him the instructions: There's no other choice but you. Just start by loving her. The rest will follow.

Maggie Collins doesn't believe in love again, after losing her husband of one year. But she does believe in the magic of imagination. As the owner of a toy shop, she lives what she loves. And when she meets Holly Nolan, she sees a little girl in desperate need of a little magic.

Three lonely people. Three lives at the crossroads. Three people who are about to discover that Christmas is the time of year when anything is possible, and when wishes have a way of finding the path home. . . 

Review: Tis the Season. Who are we kidding? I read Christmas books all year long. This was cute. It's a movie on Hallmark, Christmas with Holly, but since I don't have that channel, I won't be able to watch it. 

I did look it up on youtube, and with the exception of Holly, the characters looked nothing like I had imagined so that's the end of that.