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Book Review: A Boy Called Christmas by Matt Haig
I’ve read and reviewed plenty of stories so far that were set in Christmas, but only a few that were about Christmas itself – and none for kids. That was a situation that was more than rectified by Matt Haig’s book, A Boy Called Christmas – easily my favorite of this season. This story will delight both kids and adults alike. Title: A Boy Called Christmas Author: Matt Haig Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers Release Date: November 1, 2016 Pages: 224 Synopsis Before there was Santa Claus, there was a young boy who believed in the impossible. Eleven-year-old Nikolas–nicknamed “Christmas”–has received only one toy in his life: a doll carved out of a…
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Book Review: For the Record by Regina Jennings
FOR THE RECORD by Regina Jennings Genre: Historical Romance / Christian Publisher: Bethany House Date of Publication: December 6, 2015 Number of Pages: 336 Scroll down for Giveaway! Rather Than Wait for a Hero, She Decided to Create One Betsy Huckabee has big-city dreams, but nobody outside of tiny Pine Gap, Missouri, seems interested in the articles she writes for her uncle’s newspaper. Her hopes for independence may be crushed, until the best idea she’s ever had comes riding into town. Deputy Joel Puckett didn’t want to leave Texas, but unfair circumstances have made moving to Pine Gap his only shot at keeping a badge. Worse, this…
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Three Christmas Wishes by Sheila Roberts
Genre: Contemporary Fiction Publisher: MIRA Release Date: October 18, 2016 Pages: 384 Synopsis Three friends, three wishes—one Christmas! Riley Erickson, her pregnant sister, Jo, and their friend Noel are all wishing for the same thing: the perfect man. Or at least men who are perfect for them. Riley’s hasn’t turned out to be too impressive, dumping her for her bridesmaid three weeks before the wedding. Jo’s husband is being perfectly stubborn. And Noel has given up completely. When the three women visit a shopping-mall Santa on a lark, the guy is full of predictions. Riley’s going to meet her perfect man in a memorable way. Noel is going to get a good man…
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The Christmas Town by Donna VanLiere
Genre: Fiction Publisher: Macmillan Release Date: October 18, 2016 Pages: 240 Synopsis Donna VanLiere, New York Times bestselling author of the timeless The Christmas Shoes and The Christmas Hope, is back with this moving and uplifting story about finding love, hope, and family in unexpected places. Lauren Gabriel spent many years of her childhood in foster homes, wishing her mother would come back for her and be the family she needs. Now twenty-years-old, she still longs for a place that she can truly call home. Her work as a cashier is unfulfilling, and at Christmas it’s unbearable with the songs and carols and chatter of Christmas that she hears throughout the day. When…
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1492: A Novel of Christopher Columbus
In recent times, Christopher Columbus’ success in discovering the New World has been repainted to reflect some of the horrors that he brought upon its inhabitants, in turn making some question whether he really should be given a national holiday here in the U.S. The child in me who grew up making collages and paintings of the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria each October was definitely disillusioned. There is much more to Christopher Columbus, however, than the outcome of his journey to the Americas. In his book 1492: A Novel of Christopher Columbus, the Spanish Inquisition & a World at the Turning Point, Newton Frohlich paints a fascinating picture of Columbus in the…
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Three Amazing Things About You by Jill Mansell
There’s something about curling up with a Jill Mansell novel that makes me feel I’m back in the UK. If I can find a quiet chair, a cozy blanket and a hot cup of tea, I’m sorted for the afternoon (and evening, I confess.) And with Three Amazing Things About You in hand (along with a few chocolate biscuits to dip in said tea), I was not disappointed. Genre: Fiction Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark Release Date: October 1, 2016 Pages: 448 Rating: 4/5 The Blurb International bestseller Jill Mansell breaks hearts and puts them back together in this sweet and poignant story about life’s choices. Three Amazing Things About You features a young woman with a secret.…
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Favorite Book Picks for Fall Reading
Summer vacation is but a memory as kids are back to school, fall weather is looming and Christmas decorations are popping up in stores. (Believe it or not, my Kindle is quickly filling with Christmas-themed books for holiday season reviews – hard to get in the mood, too, when it’s 94 degrees and I’m sweating on my patio.) But I digress…as we get back into the swing of homework, sport practice, dance lessons and the like, you KNOW you are going to need some downtime, so when you can find it, I have the perfect reads for you. I’ve had my nose in a book all summer, so the following are (a…
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Tuesday’s Read: Seashell Season
What do you do when your one long-held hope is finally realized – and it’s nothing like you expected? What happens when you find out that most of your life has been a lie? Intrigued? Holly Chamberlain’s newest novel, Seashell Season, tackles this and more in a book that will tug on your heartstrings. When Verity Peterson’s baby was two months old, her estranged husband runs off with baby Gemma. For sixteen years, Verity has waited, and hoped, patiently, that she would be found and returned to her. And sixteen years after being abducted, she is. While Verity is overjoyed, Marni Armstrong – the name her father gave her –…
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What I’m Reading Wednesday: Relativity
Generally, I judge the strength of a book by a combination of how difficult it is to put down and how much effort it takes to slow down and let myself sink into the story and the language. It’s a difficult balance, after all, setting a reading pace when you can’t wait to see what happens next but you don’t want the story to end. Antonia Hayes debut novel “Relativity” scores a ten on both specs. Beautiful language, a few twists and turns, it is an emotional, compassionate and carefully crafted look at familial relationships, the lengths we go to protect someone from hurt and disappointment, and forgiveness (the seeking and the…
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Two Christmas Romances
I’ll be honest: I could have (and should have) titled this post “Two Christmas Romances featuring Overly Considerate and Infuriating Men” because the main male characters in each spend a lot of the book fighting against their feelings because they want to protect the main female characters from getting their hearts broken – by them. But that title is hell on SEO so I had to keep it short and simple. I enjoyed both of the books, and since I spent most of each wanting to throttle both characters for their thoughtful (and, yes, let’s call a spade a spade) somewhat self-absorbed justification (because really, they could have gotten their hearts broken just as…
