Bookish Christmas Goodies

Santa, (aka my sweet husband) was very good to me this year. He spoiled me with too many gifts.

Since this is mainly a book blog, I'll only share the bookish ones.

I'm excited to start the Cahill Witch Chronicles in the new year. I figured a new series would be a good few books to start off with, rather than digging into them right away. 

Does anyone have any bookish goodies that they want to brag about/share? Let me know!

Books For Christmas?

Hello out there....

Anyone reading this?

If you are, I just wanted to say that I'll be doing a Books for Christmas giveway soon. 

It's been a long time since I posted anything on the blog, and even longer since I've done a giveaway. Books are wonderful any time of year, but why not at Christmas time?

The giveaway will be international. I'm planning to gift a Kindle book to 5 people, on Christmas eve, to follow in a great Icelandic tradition I read about, where people are given a book that night and take it to bed with them to read.

If you don't have a Kindle, that's okay. You will still be able to read the book on your computer, or download a free app to read it on your phone or any type of tablet you have.

I'll put that giveaway together soon and share it sometime in the beginning of December.

ARC Review: An Amish Country Christmas

The blog tour for this book is being hosted by Pump Up Your Book Tours

Title: An Amish Country Christmas

Authors: Charlotte Hubbard and Naomi King

Publisher: Zebra Books

Published: October 2013

Pages:  352

Format: Arc Paperback

Source: Received in exchange for 

an honest review

My Rating: 3 Stars

Synopsis:

“The Christmas Visitors”: For spirited Martha Coblentz and her twin Mary, the snow has delivered the perfect holiday and birthday present to their door—handsome brothers Nate and Bram Kanagy. But when unforeseen trouble interrupts their season’s good cheer, it will take unexpected intervention—and sudden understanding—to give all four the blessing of a lifetime.

“Kissing the Bishop”: As the New Year’s first snow settles, Nazareth Hooley and her sister Jerusalem are given a heaven-sent chance to help newly widowed Tom Hostetler tend his home. But when her hope that she and Tom can build on the caring between them seems a dream forever out of reach, Nazareth discovers that faith and love can make any miracle possible.

Melissa's Musings:

Both these stories are heartwarming. You get to check in on some of the various characters throughout the two series that these books are tied into, which is great. I always love to go back to read more about towns and characters that I've read about before. I recently reviewed Winter of Wishes and really enjoyed it. And while I enjoyed both of these stories as well, I'm not sure if I had the same appreciation for them.

The Christmas visitors has more of the good natured fun that I read about in Winter of Wishes. I really liked how Mary and Martha took to Nate and Bram, and even played a trick on them by switching off to pretend to be each other. Their courtship seemed to move awfully quickly though, and without nearly as much protest as I would have expected. there to be. 

One thing that surprised me in "The Christmas Visitors" was the use of technology in the book. The girls had cell phones, which I thought was a little unusual, given that when I read Winter of Wishes, the technology use was so limited. 

The overall tone of the story is fun and lighthearted, and it's pleasant to read.

I didn't quite take to "Kissing the Bishop in the same way. It features characters that I wasn't too fond of when I read them previously, Jerusalem and Nazareth. They seem so stark and proper, that I just couldn't learn to like them quite as much. But, this story is also a nice read, with them finally getting a chance at finding love, when they thought they might not get the opportunity. 

And of course I have to say that I absolutely love the recipes at the back of the book. I really wish that I had more time, especially in the busy holiday season to try my hand at making some of them.

If you're looking for some pleasant holiday reads, I'd definitely recommend these stories.

Mini Review: Silver Bells

Title: Silver Bells

Author: Sadie Hart

Publisher: Self Published

Published: October 31, 2011

Format: Kindle

Pages: 24

Source: Downloaded when free on Amazon

Read: December 11, 2012

In A Few Words: Sweet

My Rating: 3 Stars

Goodreads:Add to your TBR Shelf

Goodreads Synopsis:

Every year, the Christmas Carousel in South Howle takes a beating, and every year, Dash Bartholomew tenderly brings it back to life. It’s a job he started fifteen years ago, when Dash became Dasher, one of Santa’s reindeer, and accepted the worn leather harness now hanging on the hooks at the back of the carousel barn. The one with its beautiful, silver bells that once made the most wondrous sound in the world, and now lay quiet.

That is, until Merry, a young, homeless woman wanders in looking for a place out of the cold. Unlike Dash, she can hear the sweet chimes of the bells, proving to him that it’s not the harness that’s broken. As Christmas draws near, Dash finds himself drawn to Merry and her quiet, stubborn pride. However, unable to hear the sleigh bells Dash isn’t sure what Christmas this year will bring, only that the magic in that harness is far less important than the woman he’s come to love.

Melissa's Musings:

This story is very short and sweet. We meet Dash, a seemingly lonely park caretaker who lovingly restores carousel animals by night. One night, Merry, stumbles in to the barn where he's working looking for somewhere out of the cold to stay. Dash lets her stay and tries to help her, but she's too proud, and demands to work. So they each work together on the animals, and over time a bond develops between them and they begin to care for each other.

Since the story is so short, we don't really get to see the full development of this, but what we do get to see is nicely done. There's also a bit of magic as Dash and Merry both meet "Nicholas" and he grants them each one wish. There's a cute little twist in this that Dash is one of Santa's reindeer, and Merry's father used to be before that. I'd never really thought of a twist like this before, the reindeer being normal people, and only having a limited time to be the reindeer, not hearing the call of their harness bells after they don't need them anymore. I suppose it's the same way with the tradition of Santa. After a certain point in our childhood, we're let in on the secret that he isn't real, so this runs along similar lines.

A short, sweet, holiday read.

Review: Broken Christmas by David S. Henderson

Title: Broken Christmas:  Three Stories of Christmas

Author: David S. Henderson

Publisher: Pope, Harrington. & Castro Press

Published: October 7 2012

Format: E-book

Pages: 52

Source: Received from the author

in exchange for an honest review

Read: December 4, 2012

In A Few Words:  Short, Heartwarming

My Rating: 4 stars

Goodreads:Add This Book To Your TBR Pile

Goodreads Synopsis:

Broken Christmas is a compilation of three short stories about Christmas.

In the first, “Fourth Wish,” a skid row resident finds himself leading a trio of privileged but neglected youths on Christmas Eve. Through their journey the homeless man fulfills their Christmas wishes, showing that sometimes those who need help the most are the ones who help others the greatest.

The second; “Best Christmas Ever,” is an eight year old's “glass half full” remembrance of a Christmas Eve his parents would rather forget.

The third story, “Broken Christmas” tells of a soldier who leaves the frozen battlefield behind and goes home for Christmas via his dreams.

Melissa's Musings:

All of these stories are sweet and to the point. The first story, the Fourth wish shows the power of helping out, when three boys help out a man down on his luck and in return he gives them things and adventures that all the money they are surrounded with can't buy.

"Best Christmas Ever" is the funniest of all the stories by far being that it has the most odd things going on in it. The 8 year old's uncle comes back to visit...after having escaped lockup. The rest of the family has told the boy that his Uncle has been away working in Australia, so there are all these references to a job in Australia. Then the familys' lost dog comes home pregnant and proceeds to have ten puppies in a box in the garage. The boy's sister  also comes home pregnant. And then, there's a fireworks explosion. An eventful Christmas story, to say the least.

All I'll say about "Broken Christmas" is that the ending will tug at your heartstrings just a little.

Overall, this is a nice collection of stories. The overall message goes well with the title in that even though holidays and families may sometimes be dysfunctional or "broken" you can always try to make the best of what you've got.

The only negative about the collection of stories is that they felt just a bit wordy.  A bit of paring down of some repeated phrases and tightening up language in other spots would make this perfect.

Have any of you ever had any "broken" Christmases where things didn't go quite as planned but you made the best of it anyway?

Last Chance Christmas by Hope Ramsay

Title: Last Chance Christmas

Author: Hope Ramsay

Publisher: Forever

Published: September 25 2012

Format: Paperback

Pages: 352 

Source: Won from a Facebook contest

Read: November 28-30 2012

In A  Few Words: Sweet, a comfort read

My Rating: 4 Stars

Goodreads: Add This to Your TBR Shelf

Goodreads Synopsis:
I've been wishing for a miracle for my oldest boy, Stone, and this Christmas my prayers might just be answered!

Her name is Lark, and she's here in Last Chance, looking into her father's past-and stirring up a whole mess of trouble without meaning to. As the chief of police, Stone sure has his hands full trying to keep up with her. Ever since his wife died, Stone's put everything into raising his daughters and dodging the Christ Church Ladies' Auxiliary matchmakers. And it's clear Lark has been through some trouble and could use a place to finally call home. I only hope Stone can let go of the past soon enough to keep her . . .Goodness, I need to stop talking and finish up Jane's highlights so we can make the town tree-lighting. You come back by because the Cut 'n' Curl's got hot rollers, free coffee, fresh-baked Christmas cookies-and the best gossip in town.

See you real soon,
Ruby Rhodes

Melissa's Musings:

About 6 months ago, I read and reviewed Last Chance Beauty Queen by Hope Ramsay. You can check out that review Here.

Last Chance Christmas picks up in a similar place. Only this time, the focus is on Stone Rhodes. He is the sheriff in Last Chance. He's also a widow, with two young daughters, one of whom sees angels. This story follows his unexpected journey to loving again, it promotes acceptance on many levels. 

The really great thing about these books is that although they are all part of a series, they work extremely well as stand alone books so you can just jump right in and not feel like you're missing something. It's easy to get to know the characters, and they're so well developed that you immediately feel like you know them. It's very easy to put yourself right into Last Chance, because you can see all the events so clearly through the characters' eyes.

I have to say that I love the names that this author has given to the main family that the books focus on. In Last Chance Beauty Queen, the book focused on "Rocky" Rhodes, the matriarch of the family is Ruby Rhodes, and then in this book we have Stonewall "Stone" Rhodes. The little play on words is nice. Also Stones' love interest is named Lark. I love when authors change things up with names that are a little more unique.

This just goes to show how much the characters have grown on me in this book, as when I read Last Chance Beauty Queen, I thought the names were too much of a pun to be realistic. After reading Last Chance Christmas, the names have grown on me, and pun like or not, they really do fit the characters.

There are two current romances in this book, the one between Stone and Lark, and the one between Stones' daughter Lizzy and David. Lizzy and Davids' romance is sweet and easy, as they are young. Stone and Larks' romance is a bit more complicated as they both have a lot of personal baggage that they have to work through to finally figure out that they want to be together. Lark is a war correspondent who has seen horrible things in all the trips she's made and she's dealing with the after effects of the events of her last assignment. Stone is a Marine who's also had some bad experiences, who also has lost his wife and is reluctant to love again. The romance between them is tentative at times, but it's also electric and easy to see that they both want to be with each other.

I'd recommend this to anyone who's looking for a quick, easy, comfort read. 

Have any of you read this? Or any of the other books in this series?

The Christmas Creche Collection

The Christmas Creche 

As I'm sure you've all heard, some of your favourite writers including Scarlett Bailey, Abby Clements, Victoria Connelly, Miranda Dickinson, Michele Gorman, Belinda Jones, Carole Matthews, Talli Roland and Julia Williams have all given birth to festive little bundles of joy. It's wonderful when so many friends have book babies around the same time, because that means they can grow up together and be best friends too.

         


To help the tots cement their friendships (and to get a bit of peace and quiet - those deadlines aren't getting any easier!), the authors have enrolled them in the Christmas Creche*, where the ultra-capable Miss Dewey will look after them for a few hours a day until the Christmas holidays. And to keep the mothers from pestering her, she has kindly agreed to document what her charges get up to.


Poor Miss Dewey! She doesn't know what she's in for - these little ones already know their minds, that's for sure.

Readers can follow the Christmas Creche short stories over the next six weeks by popping over to the creche now, where Miss Dewey has posted the first story, or by following any of the writers on twitter or Facebook. 

Follow the writers to keep up with all the fun...

Scarlett Bailey Twitter: @ScarlettBailey / Facebook: ScarlettBailey

Abby Clements Twitter: @AbbyCBooks / Facebook: Abby ClementsBooks

Victoria Connelly Twitter: @VictoriaDarcy / Facebook: VictoriaConnelly

Miranda Dickinson Twitter: @wurdsmyth / Facebook: Miranda Dickinson Author

Michele Gorman Twitter: @expatdiaries / Michele Gorman Books

Belinda Jones Twitter: @vidabelinda / Facebook: BelindaJones Travel Club

Carole Matthews Twitter: @carolematthews / Facebook: CaroleMatthews

Talli Roland Twitter: @TalliRoland / Facebook: Author TalliRoland

Julia Williams Twitter: @JCCWilliams / Facebook: JuliaWilliams

*That's nursery in North American!

ARC Review: Twelve Days to Christmas by Michele Gorman is a Sweet Story

Title: The Twelve Days to Christmas

Author: Michele  Gorman

Publisher: Self Published

Published: October 11, 2012

Format: E-book (ARC) 

Pages: 120

Source:  Provided to me by the author

in exchange for an honest review

Read:  October 2, 2012

In A Few Words:  Short and Sweet

My Rating: 4 Stars

Goodreads: Add this to your TBR Shelf

Goodreads Synopsis:

"What if his proposal had an expiration date?"

Hannah’s in a bit of a pickle. In twelve days she flies from Hong Kong to the US with Sam, where he’s finally going to meet her parents… and ask to marry her.
Since overcoming a rather rocky patch in their relationship (which was totally his fault), he really is a new man, and they’re completely in love. The problem is, she feels panicky every time she contemplates matrimony. Which is perfectly normal, isn’t it? Isn’t it?! She has no idea but she’s got to find out before he pops the question... because she’s not 100% sure she’s going to say yes. Which will make for a very uncomfortable family holiday. He’s got to ask her before they go. So Operation Proposal begins.
As time ticks down to their flight, Hannah realizes that her own secrets are threatening their future. Before she can be happy with Sam, she’s got a lot to learn about herself in the twelve days to Christmas.

This is a novella of 120 pages.

Melissa's Musings:

A few months ago, Michele contacted me to review the previous novel in this series, Misfortune Cookie.  (You can read that review here) So when she contacted me about The Twelve Days to Christmas I was happy to say yes because I wondered what had happened to them.

I have to admit that I wasn't all that thrilled by the ending of Misfortune Cookie only because I had hoped that Hannah would stick to her guns and not get back together with Sam because it seemed like he didn't care about her enough. But at the end of the book you could already tell that she was considering letting him back in. In this book. it's very obvious that he cares for her a lot. It seems as if they've flipped roles a little in that regard because Hannah doesn't seem quite as needy as she was before (this is a very good thing).

But, as she starts to suspect (and worry) that Sam is going to propose to her, she starts to plan Operation Proposal to ensure that he does, even though it's clear that she's having second thoughts about the whole idea. I was a bit disappointed about this, more on a personal level than one with the book itself. Hannah knowing that Sam is going to propose just takes all the fun out of it. In terms of the story though, it's perfect because it's reason to throw Hannah into a frenzy and get her all worked up which is typical of her character.

It's a bit fun to watch her go to the length to ensure that Sam proposes, but I did feel kind of bad about the fact that she had her own secrets to keep from him in this book. It's almost like payback for the secret he kept from her in Misfortune Cookie. 

One thing that I want to note that was really fun about the structure is that at the beginning of each chapter there's a set of  lines that's repeated and grows with each chapter, that's very similar to The Twelve Days of Christmas song. That was a cute touch to the story.

If you're worried about the fact that this is a series, don't be. Each of these work well as standalone books too. I didn't get a chance to read Single in the City before I read Misfortune Cookie and I didn't really feel like anything major was missing. I don't think anyone who reads just this story will feel that way either.

I do have to say that I was slightly disappointed by the ending. To me, it just felt a tiny bit cliche, I was hoping for something more. There was also an issue with the names of characters at the end (I won't say what this is because I don't want to spoil it) but I felt it was slightly unoriginal.

Those are really personal issues though, nothing to do with the book itself, which was excellent. This is a wonderfully sweet story that's perfect for the Christmas season.

I'm just curious, for those of you that are engaged, did you know beforehand, or were you completely surprised? Also, do you have any 'take the significant other home to meet the parents stories (that involve Christmas or otherwise) that you'd like to share?

Special Note:

If you're looking for a Christmas gift to give this season to someone who likes to read this book would be a  great option. And you can even have it signed or Kindlegraphed by Michele Gorman! Here's what she had to say about that process:

If anyone is looking for stocking stuffer ideas, eBooks can be given as gifts through Amazon and Barnes and Noble, and readers can make a request for a free personalized eBook inscription throughwww.kindlegraph.com (adding their friend’s kindle or regular email and a note so that I know who it’s from/for and the occasion). The inscription works for any eReader, not just Kindles. They can also request a paperback inscription here (http://michelegorman.co.uk/Bookplates.html) and I’ll send them a bookplate with the inscription to paste inside the front cover.

Isn't that a neat gift idea?

Upcoming Reviews, etc.

My boyfriend and I returned from our holiday trip and had Christmas 2 (we didn't exchange our gifts before we left) so we've just been enjoying those and relaxing for the day. I seem to have lost some of my ideas for my Distant Hours review, (I didn't use my booknotes journal while reading darnit!) But I will try to piece that together. I also managed to read The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo on our trip, so there will be a review for that soon as well.

I'll also do a non book related Christmas post, just for myself really, and I have a new meme coming up next week that should be fun as well. I may also do a resolutions post in the next couple of days too.