Holiday Quick Reviews

A Newport Christmess by Jess Heileman (2022)

Quinn, eager to become an influencer, feels she might have her chance when she is hired by a popular Instagram influencer to make gingerbread houses for her wedding.  When the bride attempts to set her up, Quinn starts a fake relationship with the woman's brother, until they realize they might actually be perfect for each other.  I thought this was a cute premise, and the Newport, Rhode Island setting is fantastic, but this wasn't as a great as I wanted it to be.  Quinn and Landon are both recently divorced, so I appreciate the aspect of them being able to relate to each other at that level.  But, Quinn was just a hard character for me - she's disorganized, absent-minded, scared of everything, and really down on herself.  It was just draining sometimes, and also hard for me to see what Landon saw in her.  His contributions to the relationship were mostly financial, which felt weird to me.  I just didn't feel any chemistry between them, the pacing wasn't great, and the side characters added little to the story.  3 stars

Emergency Contact by Lauren Layne and Anthony Ledonne (2023)

When Katherine is involved in a car accident and diagnosed with a concussion, the hospital calls her emergency contact, which happens to be her ex-husband Tom who was heading out of town to propose to his girlfriend.  He reluctantly agrees to take care of her but only if she'll come to Chicago with him for Christmas.  When their road trip hits every possible snag, it gives them plenty of time to think about what they really want.  Sigh, guys - I loved this book.  Normally I'm not a huge fan of second-chance romances, but there was something about Tom and Katherine that had me hooked from the start.  Their witty banter actually had me laughing out loud; even though they claim to hate each other, things like Tom's unconscious use of a special nickname for Katherine had me thinking otherwise.  It just seemed like they had a lot of unfinished business, and I loved that we got both Tom and Katherine's perspectives.  There was depth to the story without it feeling too heavy, and I especially enjoyed the way Katherine evolved over the story, from a tough, no-nonsense (maybe even a little cold) lawyer to something more.  4.5 stars

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Top Ten Tuesday: Recent Additions to Henry's Bookshelves

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.  This week's topic is recent additions to our bookshelves, such as our holiday haul.  Between his birthday at the end of November, Black Friday sales for mom, and Christmas, Henry has added many new books to his collection!  Let's take a look at what we'll be reading in the coming months!

 

Biscuit Visits the Doctor // Los Angeles: A Book of Time

 

Germany: A Book of Opposites // 3-2-1 Blast Off!

 

Good Night Planes // Noisy Trucks

 

Noisy Dinosaurs // How Many Do I Love You?

 

Penguin and Penelope // I'm Programmed to Love You

What have you added recently to your shelves?

* This post contains affiliate links; I earn a small commission on qualifying purchases, at no cost to you.

Holiday Quick Reviews

Faking Christmas by Cindy Steel (2022)

Olive and Miles are English teachers at the same school.  Olive can't stand Miles but somehow finds herself in a fake relationship with him while visiting his family's lodge during Christmas with her family.  As she spends time with him, she realizes he's actually not so bad.  Finally, the holiday romance I was looking for!  I loved the banter between Olive and Miles and the way she struggled with her feelings, while Miles was clearly smitten from the beginning.  The inclusion of Olive's family and her complicated relationship with her mom's new husband (after losing her father only the year before) added some depth to the story without feeling too heavy.  The lodge setting added so much holiday cheer, and while the story was predictable, I was still very much along for the ride!  4 stars

Through the Snow Globe by Annie Rains (2023)

 

Diana's fiance was involved in a car accident and his prognosis isn't looking good, until Diana shakes a magical snow globe and begins reliving the day of Linus' accident over and over again.  Will she be able to save him?  I'm a sucker for a time loop story, and the holidays always seem to be a good time for someone to go on a journey of self-discovery, but I just couldn't warm up to Diana.  She's prickly and closed off, always seeming to take offense at something.  The way she grows and changes by the end of the story felt out of character, knowing what we do about her.  The story didn't feel super heavy, but there was also no holiday lightness about it, either.  The writing wasn't great, but I did enjoy seeing how each iteration of the day would go.  3 stars

* This post contains affiliate links; I earn a small commission on qualifying purchases, at no cost to you.

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Diva

Can't-Wait Wednesday is hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings and helps us spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating!

 

Diva

Daisy Goodwin

Expected publication date: January 23, 2024

The story of the scandalous love affair between the most celebrated opera singer of all time and one of the richest men in the world

In the glittering and ruthlessly competitive world of opera, Maria Callas was known simply as la divina: the divine one. With her glorious voice, instinctive flair for the dramatic, and striking beauty, she was the toast of the grandest opera houses in the world. But her fame was hard won: Raised in Nazi-occupied Greece by a mother who mercilessly exploited her golden voice, she learned early in life to protect herself from those who would use her for their own ends.

When she met the fabulously rich Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, for the first time in her life, she believed she’d found someone who saw the woman within the legendary soprano. She fell desperately in love. He introduced her to a life of unbelievable luxury, showering her with jewels and sojourns in the most fashionable international watering holes with celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

And then suddenly, it was over. The international press announced that Aristotle Onassis would marry the most famous woman in the world, former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, leaving Maria to pick up the pieces.

In this remarkable novel, Daisy Goodwin brings to life a woman whose extraordinary talent, unremitting drive, and natural chic made her a legend. But it was only in confronting the heartbreak of losing the man she loved that Maria Callas found her true voice and went on to triumph. - from Goodreads
 

Michele's Monday Picks #36

Angela is so generous to let me pop in with my little series, Michele’s Monday Picks! I’m not a blogger or bookstagrammer, but I love getting excited about new releases with the rest of you. Here I’ll be sharing new books I’m really looking forward to!

*******************************************************************

 

Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands

By Heather Fawcett

Expected Publication: January 16, 2024

From Goodreads:

When mysterious faeries from other realms appear at her university, curmudgeonly professor Emily Wilde must uncover their secrets before it’s too late in this heartwarming, enchanting second installment of the Emily Wilde series.
 
Emily Wilde is a genius scholar of faerie folklore—she just wrote the world’s first comprehensive of encylopaedia of faeries. She’s learned many of the secrets of the Hidden Folk on her adventures . . . and also from her fellow scholar and former rival, Wendell Bambleby.
 
Because Bambleby is more than infuriatingly charming. He’s an exiled faerie king on the run from his murderous mother, and in search of a door back to his realm. So despite Emily’s feelings for Bambleby, she’s not ready to accept his proposal of Loving one of the Fair Folk comes with secrets and danger.
 
And she also has a new project to focus a map of the realms of faerie. While she is preparing her research, Bambleby lands her in trouble yet again, when assassins sent by Bambleby’s mother invade Cambridge. Now Bambleby and Emily are on another adventure, this time to the picturesque Austrian Alps, where Emily believes they may find the door to Bambley’s realm, and the key to freeing him from his family’s dark plans.
 
But with new relationships for the prickly Emily to navigate and dangerous Folk lurking in every forest and hollow, Emily must unravel the mysterious workings of faerie doors, and of her own heart.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series - do you think you’ll be picking this one up?

How Did My 2023 Preorders Pan Out?

When my favorite authors announce a new book, I almost immediately run to submit my preorder.  I have quite a few auto-buy authors that I barely need to read blurbs for anymore before I hit that button.  This year, though, I also branched out and preordered some books by debut or new-to-me authors.  So, were these preorders worth the price?

Homecoming by Kate Morton - Morton is one of my favorite authors, and it's been a few years since she released a new book.  The minute she announced this one, I preordered it, and it was so worth the very long wait!  Kate Morton has such a way of writing Gothic mysteries - in this one, in the past, a mother and her children are found dead near a river on Christmas Eve, and in the present day, a struggling journalist takes up the story, finding she has a connection to it.  Morton's writing is lush and rich, and every time you think you've figured it out, Morton surprises you with another twist.  5 stars

The Spectacular by Fiona Davis - Davis is another one of my favorite authors, and I'm always excited to see which iconic NYC building she chooses to set her next story in.  In her newest novel, Radio City Music Hall takes center stage, with main character Marion earning the chance to become a Rockette, despite her father's misgivings.  While Marion is trying to adjust to her new life, the Big Apple bomber strikes Radio City, and Marion is drawn into the police investigation.  This is my favorite Davis book to date - the writing is incredible and the story is a good mix of mystery and women's fiction.  4.5 stars

Bear With Me Now by Katie Shepard - I was drawn in by the title and cover of this one (Shepard is a debut author).  On a wilderness therapy retreat, Teagan is saved from a bear by Darcy, who then returns with him to NYC to be his sober companion (although he's not an alcoholic).  Fun premise, but the execution didn't work for me.  The way Darcy pursued a relationship with Teagan felt immoral and unethical, and she's also completely unqualified to be a therapist in any form.  Just questionable on a lot of levels.  3 stars

The Boyfriend Candidate by Ashley Winstead - Another one where I was completely hooked by the cover, and also the blurb sounded really cute (new-to-me author).  What happens when a shy librarian decides to have a one-night stand with a handsome stranger?  Well, in this case, a freak lightning strike causes a fire at their hotel before any of the good stuff happens, and when they are photographed fleeing for safety, she finds out he's actually a gubernatorial candidate and they start a fake relationship to keep the press from gossiping.  This was so fun, so sweet, and I loved Alexis' journey through the story.  5 stars

The Last Lifeboat by Hazel Gaynor - Gaynor is an author I've read before but not extensively (although I've highly enjoyed her collaborations with Heather Webb!).  My sister preordered this for me, because the premise was hard to resist for me.  I love WWII historical fiction and this book introduced me to an aspect that I was unaware of - I knew British children were evacuated from London to the countryside, but I didn't know they were also sent to other countries.  The tragedy in this book (the torpedoing of a ship carrying British children to Canada) is based on a real life event, which Gaynor brings to life in the most heartwrenching of ways.  Reading about Alice, the children, and other passengers clinging to life in the Atlantic while Lily desperately tries to find out what happened to her children was riveting.  Definitely a must-read for WWII historical fiction fans.  4.5 stars

The Beach at Summerly by Beatriz Williams - Beatriz is an author I've loved for years and she is quite prolific.  If you want to get completely immersed in a setting and time period, you read Beatriz.  Her newest book is about Emilia, a young woman whose father works for a rich family summering on their island.  This summer, the first after WWII, brings a new, but mysterious, woman to the island, who ends up causing chaos in Emilia's life.  Emilia was a tough character for me to like, but it's hard to deny that she hasn't had the easiest of lives.  Although I enjoyed the story, I thought it took too long to get the main event that was hinted at throughout the book and then it rushed through it.  4 stars

The Good Part by Sophie Cousens - Sophie Cousens is an author I've been following for a couple years now, and I've enjoyed her novels so much that they've become auto-buy for me.  In her most recent novel, Lucy is tired of her mediocre life, and when she comes across a wishing machine, she takes a chance and wishes to be taken to "the good part," where she's gotten everything figured out.  The next day, she wakes up 16 years older, married with children and a great job.  But, she doesn't remember anything of how she got there.  Watching Lucy navigate a life she literally woke up in was fun - getting to know her husband and children and figure out how to do her job.  I think it got a little overly long and repetitive at times, but the premise is so captivating - who hasn't wished for something like that?  4 stars

A Winter in New York by Josie Silver - Josie Silver has become a go-to author for me since One Day in December.  I've really enjoyed her books, but this one was a bit of a miss for me.  In this book, a woman trying to reinvent herself in NYC finds herself connecting with an old memory of her mother's, in the form of a family-run gelato shop.  Iris, though, is keeping a lot of secrets.  It was so uncomfortable for me, especially watching Iris make one strange decision after another because of her secrets.  Silver's writing is beautiful, but the plot suffers, especially the ending.  So many things just glossed over, and because we only got small glimpses of her life before NYC, certain elements didn't have the impact they could have.  3.5 stars

 

Overall, I had great success with my preorders this year!  My auto-buy authors mostly delivered, and I took a chance on some new-to-me authors, which worked out, and many of these will end up on my best of 2023 list! 

 

How many books did you preorder this year?

 

Top Ten Tuesday: My Winter TBR

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.  This week's topic is our winter TBR.  I was going to try to pick a theme, but ultimately I just picked 6 books that looked good!

What will you be reading this winter?