Home for Christmas by Holly Chamberlin wasn't my favorite Christmas book ever, but it definitely wasn’t the worst.
You know how some holiday stories can get overly saccharine? Home for Christmas is like that. Just a little. The two daughters are just a little too perfect, the main relationships in the book are just a little too on the nose, and everything gets tied up a little too neatly in the end.
But, hey. It’s Christmas, right? WE...
Christmas Charms came into my life right when I needed it the most.
I was sifting through the library stacks for a holiday book that would make me feel “Christmassy.” A book where, like, the biggest problems are getting all the children’s toys wrapped in time, or making sure the Christmas cookies aren’t pulled from the oven too early.
My search for the perfect Christmas read taught me that a lot of holiday books are mysteries. And,...
I had mixed feelings as I was reading Aunt Dimity’s Christmas, and I wasn't quite sure I was going to post a book review for this one. By the end of the book, though, I decided that this well-meaning story is one I wanted to share with you all for the holiday season.
Aunt Dimity's Christmas isn't my first book in this Cotswolds crime-solving series, so I knew a little bit of what I was getting myself into with this story: a bit of a...
Christmas Joy is the perfect book to sink into over the holiday season. Last year, I basically swiped right on a bunch of Christmas books available from my local library, and I spent the six weeks leading up to Christmas reading about nothing but candy canes, cookies, holiday décor, and small-town romance. There were some hits and some misses, but Christmas Joy is definitely one of the highlights from that book stack. It doesn't hurt that this...
N0S4A2 is a Christmas book in the way that Die Hard is a Christmas movie. It's a horror novel that just so happens to be centered around Christmas. There are all the entrancing, alluring elements of the holidays that we love – carols, trees decorated with oranaments, the smell of gingerbread in the air – but author Joe Hill doles out each charming tidbit with a sinister twist that morphs the innocent into something incredibly dark and...
Christmas Shopaholic may be the best Christmas book I've read in a long time. It might also be the best book in Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic series I've read in a long time. On both counts, nothing could have surprised me more. Every December, I take a break from my more "serious reads" to indulge in a little Christmas reading -- light, fluffy stories filled with messages of seasonal hope and love, a glowing tree and festive decorations, the...
Even though The Merriest Magnolia sounds like a Christmas book, and the beautiful cover makes it look like a Christmas book… it’s not what I would call a true Christmas book. And, I really liked that about it. Hear me out, Countdown to Christmas fans: I love me a good seasonal read when December rolls around, but sometimes my beloved Debbie Macombers are a little too simple, too predictable, and too syrupy sweet for my taste. Author Michelle...
Clear your weekend, Tartlets. In fact, clear your week. Because Winter Solstice is a book you want to read slooooowly, savoring every word and turn of the page. I discovered this 2011 novel by Rosamunde Pilcher on a list of holiday reads from Modern Mrs Darcy. It was the most recommended book by her readers, and it didn’t take me long to figure out why. Winter Solstice starts off in a sleepy little English village of Bilby, then moves to a...
I know it's a little soon after the last QLB to be posting another one, but I'm bringing you December's Quick Look Books a little early so you can get your jolly on. Even though I'm mostly reading Christmas books this month, I don't want to only post reviews of Christmas books because, despite what American commercialism would have you believe, not everyone celebrates Christmas. However, I do love me some Yuletide cheer, so I couldn't let the...
