Play Book Tag discussion

Joy D wrote: "This book starts off in winter, and the descriptions can make you feel the cold seeping right through the book and into your bones:

The Winter King: A Novel of Arthur by [author:Be..."

Great review, Joy! I want to read this. I've read The Archer's Tale by Cornwell, and also his modern maritime mysteries. Great writing.

Rest You Merry by Charlotte MacLeod
3 stars

Peter Shandy (called just Shandy in the book) is a professor at a small college (aka university in some other countries, such as Canada) in Massachusetts back in the late 1970s. Fed up with the elaborate Christmas displays on his street, he decides to have a loud, obnoxious one put up and then heads off for a cruise (winter time cruise in the States, but what can I say?). He heads back early when there is some trouble on the ship only to find his display turned off and a dead body in his living room, and so begins looking for the murderer even though it has been ruled an accident.

The cover art leaves a lot to be desired, particularly in my library network's edition which has the original paperback still in use but it was fairly well written for this ilk. I may well read the next one, despite the skulls that seem to dominate the covers.

Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory - 4 stars

This is a continuation of Jasmine Guillory's series, this time focusing on Vivian, the mid-50s mother of the main character in the last book (which I actually haven't read yet--I jumped to this one for the holiday setting). Her daughter, Maddie, has made a big break and been asked to style a duchess for the royal Christmas events, and Maddie has brought Vivian to England so that they can celebrate together. On her first morning in Sandringham Cottage, Vivian just happens to come across the handsome Malcolm, the Queen's personal secretary, and the two hit off a love-at-first-sight romance in the days leading into the holiday.

This was a cute, cheesy Christmas holiday romance, and I was definitely in the mood for it right now. Was it cheesy? Yes, most definitely. Was it believable? Well, it definitely required some healthy suspension of disbelief. But it was definitely a lot of fun.

A Winter Snow-Mance: A Christmas Novella by Khadijah Grant
1 star

Oof.

First, I acknowledge that it takes a lot of dedication to write something and put it out in the world. And I admire anyone who does that, which is what makes my review a little painful to write...

This novella was bad. There is no way to sugar coat it.

The threads of the story were okay, and I thought the general premise had potential, but there was way too much packed into a novella. But, that is not the reason for the low rating...

The writing was painful. It was just a long narrative with little dialogue about everything that happened. It was too many details about things we didn’t need to know (dealing cards, a bio of every single family member), not enough details about the actual main characters (superficial descriptions that they made dinner and cleaned up then talked for hours. What did they talk about? Who knows?), and weird little side things that didn’t fit in at all (Alana’s uncle got a vasectomy and was fighting with his wife about it, her friend Kleo was a sex therapist and told weird stories).

And then there was a serious storyline about stalking by a woman apparently suffering from serious mental health issues and neglecting her children that was way too flippant. Also, the main guy Jeff was kind of creepy. Part of me expected the story to end with him murdering Alana and wearing her skin. No joke. There were red flags galore.

I have a low bar when it comes to my cheesy Christmas romances, but this one failed to meet even that.

Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur
3 stars

A cute story about Darcy, scared by her last failed relationship that had her fleeing from Philadelphia to Seattle to escape the pain, and Elle, forever optimistic that she will fall head over heels in love one day despite a series of disastrous dating attempts.

After a failed first date, the two decide to fake date (ah, the well-worn trope) in order to get Darcy's brother off her back and Elle's family off hers. But, thrown together over Thanksgiving and Christmas (which of course brings some emotional turmoil they help each other through) has this fake couple feeling real love.

I did like that when these two finally slept together they actually were pretty okay with it! No sneaking out in the middle of the night or saying it was a mistake or vowing never to repeat it again. I thought for sure we were on our way to a fairly drama-free coupling!

But, then the misunderstanding and break up occurred and, honestly, it dragged (drug?) out too long. They were both just SO DEVASTATED after a month of fake dating. Like unable to stop crying or even leave the couch for days on end. Too much for me.

All in all, fairly light and cute, but I could have handled about 50 fewer pages and a bit less angst.

NicoleR - you are killing tbe December Romance Flurries with your cheesy Christmas romances! I am such a slacker this year in comparison! Ah well, I am just not reading so much right now and have a couple challenges to finish.

Hmmmm....wonder if there is a cheesy Christmas romance written by a woman or centered on a woman in STEM?

Theresa wrote: "NicoleR - you are killing tbe December Romance Flurries with your cheesy Christmas romances! I am such a slacker this year in comparison! Ah well, I am just not reading so much right now and have a..."

Most of these have been novellas! I have only read 4 full length Christmas novels, and one of those was still November as it was Thanksgiving weekend.

I am starting the new Maisey Yates one next though. Christmas cowboys deserve 300+ pages. LOL! Then I will probably follow it up the Yates novella you read earlier this month!

Light on Snow / Anita Shreve
3.5 stars

Nicky is 12-years old. She and her father moved from New York to rural New Hampshire after Nicky lost her mom and sister. While they are showshoeing one day, they come across an abandoned baby left to die in the snow.

The book alternates between the current situation with the found baby and backing up to time to learn about how Nicky and her Dad came to where they are now.

This was good. It started off with a “bang” and I wanted to keep reading. Part-way through, I wasn’t happy with some of the decisions they made – especially Nicky’s father, being the adult. But I did like the way the book ended.

The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Jenny Bayliss, 3 stars

This is a cute holiday romance, set in a lovely village in England. The descriptions of the locale were colorful, and in my head it was a lot like the town in Gilmore Girls, but British. The main character went on 12 dates, with different men, and different activities. (It was through an organized - and expensive - service.) The activities sounded fun, especially to this old married woman who hasn't been out to a party or event since last Christmas. I liked the main character and her best friend. I think I liked her more for her flaws than her strengths. I have a hard time relating to women who are perfect at arts and crafts and all other traditional feminine pursuits. Some of the dates were quite funny, especially the bad ones. (I really should try to build a gingerbread house with my husband this week.) Out of all the men in the book, I think her gay date was actually the most fun. The 12 dates stretched out the book too much for me, partly because I guessed the ending too early in the book. I only gave this three stars, but I think real romance readers will probably rate it higher.

Lady Osbaldestone's Christmas Goose, 3.5 stars

I enjoyed reading this relaxing mystery with Lady Osbaldestone and her grandchildren. I can see why people like her books. I liked Therese a lot, and I would love to have a grandmother like her, though I'll bet it was harder to be her daughter. I can think of a few people who could really use her matchmaking skills. I also liked how she treated her grandchildren. She could be overbearing with some people but she wasn't autocratic with the children. She let them have a say about what to do, and they lived up to her trust and high expectations. I have two more of her books to read this winter.

NancyJ wrote: "The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Jenny Bayliss, 3 stars

This is a cute holiday romance, set in a lovely village in England. The descriptions of the locale were colorful, and in my ..."

I have this one on my list! I think I saw it on the GoodReads blog suggestions. The cover was super cute and fun.

I have several in line before it that I already own, but the the setting of a "lovely village in England" is really tempting....

I didn't get my Nov pick read in time, but got a December one read!

In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren 4 stars

I loved it! I'm not a huge romance fan and can only take so much. It is also entirely dependent on how the characters are portrayed. I thought the authors that make up the writing team of Christina Lauren did a great job. I have to say that it wasn't super predictable either. (view spoiler)[I 100% thought that Mae was going to end up with Theo and not Andrew. I'm happy that she ended up with Andrew in the end but it is not what I was expecting at the beginning of the book. (hide spoiler)]

Super sweet, but not overly sweet. After reading Autoboyography and now this, I think I'm quickly becoming a fan of Christina Lauren!!

Charlotte wrote: "I didn't get my Nov pick read in time, but got a December one read!

In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren 4 stars

I loved it! I'm not a huge romance fan and can only ..."

Yay! I liked this one too! And, I totally agree with your spoiler. I thought that too! lol

Mangos and Mistletoe by Adriana Herrera - 4 stars

This was a fun read, the romance set against a Great British Baking Show-style Christmas baking competition. Don't let its soft, wholesome inspiration mislead you though--there's definitely heat in this kitchen. Kiskeya is the grump of the pairing, there to win it and make her big break, her feelings about her homeland rather... complicated. Sully is the sunshine-y one, determined to be cheerful but not a push-over. She sees what she wants and goes for it, and she likes what she sees in Kiskeya. She also has pride in her heritage and wants to bring that to the competition, but baking partner Kiskeya would rather play it safer. The chemistry between them is instant and sizzling, and naturally, a booking mistake results in them sharing a room with only one bed. Just fun stuff, with a bit of angst and a lot of steam. I need to read more of her full-length novels, I think.

Yule Log Murder 3 stars

Yule Log Murder consists of three novellas by three different authors. They are short murder mysteries and what they have in common is the making of Yule Logs. Each story is more or less 100 pages or so. Each author has included recipes used in the story. For me this was an ok book. At around 100 pages there isn't a lot of detail or suspense. Of the three the last story was my favorite and raised the rating from two to three stars for me.

Winter - Ali Smith
Audio performance by Melody Grove
5 stars

I know that many people who loved Smith’s Autumn were disappointed with this one. Not wanting to be disappointed, I put off reading Winter for quite a while. I started and stopped reading it at least twice, thinking that I would like it less as I read deeper into the book. As it turned out, the opposite was true. For me, the book just kept getting better.

This is a family Christmas celebration story. It is clear from the strange beginning that at least one family member is having some serious mental health issues. Sophia is obviously struggling and she’s also the curmudgeon of the story. I could sympathize with the difficulties she had at the bank and the optometrist. I love Smith’s satiric humor with real world frustrations.

There’s endless satire in Sophia’s son, Art(hur). There’s the fact that he gets paid to surf the internet looking for copyright infringement; that alone is a playground of irony for an author like Smith. He is also the author of a pretentious nature blog, Art in Nature, providing an opening for much derision at Art’s expense. Even better, Smith plays with that well worn romance trope; Art has to find a stranger to bring home with him because his girlfriend just dumped him.

The family gathering is completed with the arrival of Sophia's radical older sister, Iris. A series of back flashes provides insight into why this small family is unusual. Iris also gives Smith the opportunity for political comment on everything from the cold war and nuclear proliferation to the current refugee crisis, Brexit, and the American president, And now for our entertainment when we want humiliation we’ve got reality TV instead, Iris says. And soon instead of reality TV we’ll have the President of the United States.” I loved Iris and I loved the rocky but loving relationship between the two very different sisters. I could relate.

What else did I like? I enjoyed the word play and the literary references. We all owe so much to Dickens. Absolutely best of all was the bus load of avid bird watchers trekking to the fraudulently reported sighting of a rare bird. I laughed aloud. Been there. Done that.

A Holiday by Gaslight - Matthews
3 stars

Simplistic, Victorian Christmas romance. An impoverished aristocrat must marry his eldest daughter to a rich commoner. Sadly, he has spent her dowry on expensive modern improvements to his estate. It’s a bit of a Cinderella story. Lot’s of traditional Christmas atmosphere and a predictable HEA. Easy reading to pass time in a doctor’s waiting room.

Jgrace wrote: "A Holiday by Gaslight - Matthews
3 stars

Simplistic, Victorian Christmas romance. An impoverished aristocrat must marry his eldest daughter to a rich commoner. Sadly, he has spent her dowry on e..."

I too gave it 3 stars. I had mixed reaction to this one, and details have not stuck with me at all.

The Winter Crown by Elizabeth Chadwick - 4 stars



This is the second in a trilogy of Eleanor of Aquitaine, and I admit its been awhile since I read the first, (The Summer Queen). And the third I am saving for Fall Flurries November 2021 (The Autumn Throne).

I think its really interesting to read about her. Like many before her, she was a powerful queen in her own right, and yet totally at the mercy of first King Louis of France (Book One) and Henry II, in this book. This Henry is much like other kings that follow him, and he carouses, spends money, cares for his ego, throws away the articulate/learned and raised to be queen wife, for younger playthings. Vacillates on whether to share power with his queen, as it threatens his masculinity. He might as well be Henry the 8th. Another situation where daughters are commodities, and sons and daughters are peeled from their parents too early to separate and to rule. Fathers do not easily give over their reigns to their sons, and in this case there is all out war between Henry II and his sons young Henry and Richard, who eventually becomes Richard I. I loved looking at the map of succession, and the dates and lines of succession. I never knew this part of history. Apparently after Richard, eventually youngest brother John becomes king, and he is father to Henry III. It was well written and a great story, and the plot moved. Most fascinating character being Isabel, dear friend and sister in law to our heroine queen. But for myself, I felt the pressure of finishing, as I have two more books to get to, ten days before the new year. Glad December Fall Flurries 2020 gave me the chance to pick it up. I enjoyed it.

My hold at the library came in in time!

In a Holidaze - 4 stars

Maelyn's family and their family friends have always spent Christmas at their cabin in Park City, Utah. For over a decade, she's had a crush on Andrew, the family friends' elder son, but this time, she drunkenly kisses the younger brother Theo. The holidays are generally underwhelming, and as she leaves, she makes a wish to the universe that she can find what makes her happy. On the drive home, her family gets into a car crash, and she wakes up on the plane to relive the Christmas week over again, still with little idea of what happiness might be for her.

I thought that this was cute and seasonal! It definitely took me a bit to warm up to the story--I generally really like Groundhog-Day-like tropes, so that was fun for me; at first I found Maelyn a little annoying, but that got better later in the book. Cute and seasonal!

Snowball's Christmas by Kristen McKanagh

4.5 stars

I am a total sucker for sweet Christmas romances with adorable fluffy kittens playing cupid for a young misguided couple. Mischievous Snowball permanently grabbed my heart when she snuck into Emily's purse and hitched a ride on baked good deliveries!

Emily is chief cook/baker/handyman/manager of a Weber Haus, a Victorian inn owned by the aging Miss Tilly. Visiting this Christmas is Lukas, Tilly's nephew and a world famous photographer who is too busy globe trotting to visit regularly and see that all is not well at Weber Haus and Miss Tilly. Plus Emily is working on her dream of opening a bakery, although many obstacles stand in her way.

Or so Emily thinks. Never fear, cut fluffy, blue-eyed Snowball is on the job, sorting it all out as only a kitten can, giving everyone a HEA before settling for a long winter's nap.

Utterly charming, with the viewpoint and voice of Snowball coming often enough to bring a smile to your face, I can't wait for Snowball's next Christmas adventure, slated for 2021.

Theresa wrote: " Snowball's Christmas by Kristen McKanagh

4.5 stars

I am a total sucker for sweet Christmas romances with adorable fluff..."

This one sounds a little too sweet for my tastes, but that cover is darling.

In Island Christmas – Nancy Thayer – 3***
‘Tis the season for improbable holiday romances with ice skating, decorating a Christmas tree, hot cocoa, snow, at least one person who is “not into Christmas and/or kids,” and one or more missteps on the road to that happy-ever-after ending. If it isn’t already a Hallmark Christmas movie, it would make a good one. Fun, fast, holiday read.
My full review HERE

Christmas On the Island – Jenny Colgan – 3***
A charming, story set against a holiday season that raises expectations and sometimes sees our dreams come true. There’s quite a lot going on in this book, #3 in the Mure series. I think I might have had an easier time of it had I read the first two books before tackling this one, as Colgan generally builds relationships over the course her series.
My full review HERE

Coming Home For Christmas – Fern Michaels – 2**
This is a collection of three novellas all set during the Christmas season. If you’ve seen even one Hallmark Christmas movie you know the basic plot line here. I found the scenarios pretty unbelievable and the chosen novella length left some significant holes in the plots. Still, they’re fast reads, and moderately enjoyable.
My full review HERE

Reindeer Runes by Danielle Garrett - 3 stars

My second visit to Holiday Haven, the Christmas themed suburb/ village outside of the North Pole. Each book has a different author loosely connected to the same world. In this one, Rudolph and Jack Frost are missing and their disappearances seem to be unconnected although it is unclear if they are missing as part of a prank or something more sinister. Lumi is a reindeer guardian at her family's reindeer sanctuary where Santa gets new reindeer and they take back the retired reindeer. Corbin Frost is the second son of the Frost royalty. Both loners, they work together to find the missing reindeer and prince and sweetly decide that maybe there is room for companionship in their lives.

Who know that paranormal holiday romance mystery was a thing? I'm here it. This was short and sweet but still a nice story. I enjoy the world of Holiday Haven.

Winter Street by Elin Hilderbrand
3 stars

This was a pleasant holiday read, although it ends with almost nothing resolved and everything waiting for the other books (so it's not like one thing is resolved every book). Overall I like the characters, but this isn't a deep or introspective sort of read. I am going to try the next one if it comes before the holiday season ends. There are multiple POVs--Kelley, his ex-wife, each of his three children.

Basically, Kelley's current wife walks out on him on December 23 with the man who has played Santa for the past 12 years, his youngest (and only one with her) has been deployed and isn't answering texts, etc, his daughter is upset because her boyfriend has gone off for Christmas at the last minute (but there is another man who is crazy about her--has to be at least one love triangle thing, right? Not that I like those), one son's wife has just left him and he may be in trouble for insider trading and the other, who was severely burned in his first marriage, finds out his lovely girlfriend is pregnant. Plus, of course, there's the POV of Margaret, Kelley's ex-wife, who is a nationally famous new anchor on a major network.

Plot? You can get an idea by what I said, but there is a book blurb, of course.

In a Holidaze - Christina Lauren - 4 stars

In a Holidaze is great light reading perfect for Winter Holiday reading.

Maelyn Jones is leaving after her families annual trip to Park City, Utah and is upset with choices she made during her visit and her life in general, when in a flash, she finds herself back in the plane ready to start the holiday yet again.

This is a fun, light romantic tale to read during the Winter Holidays.

Several more:

A Ghost for Christmas (Destiny Bay Cozy, #1) – (4 stars) 12/17/20

Mele has driven up the coast to visit her Aunt Bebe after breaking up with her boyfriend and losing her job. Upon arrival she spots a male ghost (whom she's seen before in her teens) in the window of her Aunt's house and then trips over a man's body on the sidewalk. Great introduction to the mystery. Interesting Hawaiian references and secondary characters. Looking for more of this series.

Merry Chris Witch – C.K. Dawn (3 stars) 12/19/20

Witch, Chris, gets expelled from his private coven school for using underage magic in the human world. At the public magic school he meets Nichole, both being outsiders there. Then he finds out Nichole's secret and is drawn into showing her his world and learning about hers. When tragedy strikes on Christmas Eve, they need to work together to save Christmas. This started out well but several things needed more explanation to make all the pieces fit together at the end. Good potential.

The Snowman Killer (Alaska, #1) – Wendy Meadows (2 stars) 12/22/20

Sarah Garland retired from her homicide detective position in LA to write mystery novels in Alaska. Her series features a killer who leaves a grotesque snowman in his future victim's front yard. When she finds one in her yard and realizes someone has uncovered her real name, she is worried. The new homicide detective is a transplant for NYC who knows a lot about her and Sarah is suspicious. The new detective, Conrad, and Sarah's friend Amanda are helping her look for her stalker. Since this is such a short story things are happening quickly. This is falling together too easily. The twists are resolved too quickly. This really needs to be built out. One pet peeve was the number of times Conrad looked at Sarah and thought about how beautiful she was; not a comment on her expression or a description or her position, just she's so beautiful. Didn't add anything to the story or our understanding of him except to show how shallow he was for being a great, perceptive detective.

Convenient Christmas Brides – Carla Kelly, Louise Allen, & Laurie Benson (4 stars) 12/28/20

Three stories - The Captain’s Christmas Journey (Carla Kelly) is a typical Kelly plot with a Naval officer and a practical miss who recognize the quality of the other and the comfort they find together leading to a HEA (5 stars). The Viscount’s Yuletide Betrothal (Louise Allen) has a returned Captain waiting to get his inheritance, accepting a position as pretend fiance to help a woman save her brother from being sent to sea. She hates fortune hunters and he has limited funds, the main issue. Good plot. (4 stars). One Night Under the Mistletoe reunites a couple who fell in love too young and she felt betrayed when he backed out of the relationship. OK (3 stars).

Lady Osbaldestone and the Missing Christmas Carols, 2.5 stars

The Lady Osbaldestone books are shelved as romances, but I think this book would be great for young readers with an interest in mysteries. It might require a creative sales pitch to get them to give it a chance though. As an older woman, I liked Lady Osbaldestone, but the stars in this book were really the children. The romance is secondary. The mystery is solved by a step by step logical process, that is often missing from other mystery books. I found that part a little tedious but I would have liked it when I was young. The solution to the mystery was so far fetched, I had to lower my rating. Still it was a pleasant story to listen to when I was tired.

Lady Osbaldestone’s Christmas Goose – Stephanie Laurens – 3***
Set in 1810 England, just on the cusp of the Regency period, this delightful Christmas mystery focuses on the recently widowed Lady Therese Osbaldestone, her three young grandchildren, a flock of missing geese, a “spinster” forgoing her own happiness to look after her younger brother, and a wounded war veteran. Lady O is a marvelous character; bright, opinionated, kind, inquisitive (some might say nosy), and confident in her right – nay, duty – to oversee everyone’s business. From the marvelous characters to the charming scenes of Regency village holiday life I found it entertaining and engaging.
My full review HERE

Book Concierge wrote: "

Lady Osbaldestone’s Christmas Goose
– Stephanie Laurens – 3***
Set in 1810 England, just on the cusp of the Regency period, this deligh..."
The audiobook came, so if I pick it up tomorrow and can manage to listen in time, I'll post it; too bad I didn't make it to the library today.

Well, my cheesy Christmas romance reads was a bit of a bust this year. I read several novellas, but only a couple of full length novels, and I didn't get to two of my go-to authors--Maisey Yates and RaeAnne Thayne!

But, I read less because I was at home with my family for three weeks, and I will take hanging out with them, playing cards, and watching movies any day over reading!

While I have a couple of days until the new year, I think I am calling an end to my holiday reading and wrapping up my international reads instead.

Nicole R wrote: "Well, my cheesy Christmas romance reads was a bit of a bust this year. I read several novellas, but only a couple of full length novels, and I didn't get to two of my go-to authors--Maisey Yates an..."

How lovely that you have had three whole weeks with your family!

Karin wrote: "How lovely that you have had three whole weeks with your family!"

I was wonderful! Thankfully, my judge let me work remotely so I could make it work. I hadn't seen them in an entire year because of COVID, which is just way way too long.

Hi all, just a heads up that you will have quite a bit of time to post any lingering reviews! I am moving (again) this weekend and won't have WiFi until January 5th. I also (finally) start my new job on the 6th and my mom is helping me get settled the weekend of the 9th, so don't look for me to get scoring done until early the week of the 11th.

Just a head's up!

Half Spent Was the Night: A Witches' Yuletide - 3 stars

It was fun to visit again with Eleanor, Adelaide, and Beatrice, but calling this a sequel is a bit generous. This was more like Witches of New York 1.5, like the short stories authors release to websites or ebook. It was fun reading this right at the time of year the story takes place, though, spanning December 29th to New Year's Eve. It had a lovely dose of atmosphere with the fortune telling and the masquerade, and just a hint of mystery resolved in brief order. This very much felt like a book that relied on you knowing the previous books, both Witches of New York and the book that details Adelaide's youth, and I've only read the former, and that over a year ago (or decade, given how 2020 felt), so some of the cameos didn't have the impact they would have if I remembered or knew who they were.

Still glad I read it, and thank you, Amy, for passing it along to me!

In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren - 4 fun stars

Super fun, antidote to 2020, holiday read. Maelyn's family has been meeting up with her parent's college friends at a cabin near Park City for Christmas for decades. Unfortunately this year seems to be the last as cabin is getting in too much disrepair to be able to afford to keep. Even more unfortunate is that Mae ruined this last holiday while slightly drunk and leaves with regret and remorse and makes a wish into the universe to be shown what makes her happy. Bam and she is back again with the chance to do the holiday over just like Groundhog's Day and again and again as Mae reflects on her life and trusts herself to choose what makes her happy. I enjoyed the light hearted reflection on the important things in life.

Christmas Cozy Mystery

The Oxygen Murder by Camille Minichino - 3.5 stars

Retired physicist Gloria is in NYC at Christmas time, and manages to become embroiled, of course, with a murder that has a science connection. Gloria's niece-in-law Lori is making a documentary about exposing welding companies and their practices that cause dangerous ozone to escape into the environment, harming workers and depleting the ozone layer ofthe atmosphere. Gloria finds the body of Amber, the woman who conducts and films the various interviews, resulting in her assisting the NYPD in solving the murder. Along the way, various other inter-related crimes and misdemeanors are explored and Lori gets the final evidence to make her documentary a success.

It's a complex mystery and I literally did not identify the murderer until about 3 pages before the big reveal. I completely missed the clues. Gloria and the other characters were entertaining. The book is also an absolute Valentine to the NY of those who live here with recognizable streets, local landmarks like the Angelika Theater, descriptions of blocks and street vendors those who live here know well. Even the couple of 'made up' locations were surrounded by descriptions of neighborhoods that made me stop and think a minute about how I did not know that was there (it isn't of course - it doesn't really exist). The author even includes a lovely description of the Baroque Christmas Tree at the MET!

I found this hard to become absorbed in and I really cannot blame the writing or the story. I have found it very hard to read at all this pandemic holiday season.

I do want to mention that this is the only one in the series I believe that take place other than in Revere, MA. Given it's publication and the touching mentions of WTC and Ground Zero, I suspect this book is the author's homage to NYC post-9/11. How wonderful that she chose to set it at Christmas, when NYC is at its best!

And with this, I have finished 2020 Popsugar Reading Challenge - this fills the prompt of a book about or by a woman in STEM - it hits both as the author is herself a physicist. This is also my final Flurries. I read far fewer holiday themed mysteries and romances this year, as much a function of reading less in general this month than being distracted by other reading. Not a problem as I read Christmas themed stories year round. And there is always Christmas in July!

A Nantucket Christmas – Nancy Thayer – 3***
Thayer writes charming Christmas-themed stories where the reader knows in advance that things will all work out in the end. In addition to the blended family tension, this one also has a charming subplot involving a stray dog.
My full review HERE

Congrats on the move, the new job and getting to spend some quality time with your family, Nicole.

I think next year's challenges will be less time-consuming for you (or whoever is scoring / keeping track). I'm sure that's by design!

December- Christmas/New Year
Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding
2 Stars

Sorry guys- I DON'T GET IT.
Maybe this was revelatory when it came out, but honestly- I just saw an insufferable main character (reminded me of the Shopaholic series) who has an unhealthy relationship with food, doesn't know what solid relationships look like or how to find them, and hides in her issues (and her parents) instead of dealing with them.

It did feel quintessentially British, and I did like that. I like the diary format in theory, although the headers of calories, cigarettes, whatnot got old pretty quickly. Bridget was shallow and wallowing in self-hatred, her "romance" with Daniel was cringe, unhealthy and honestly super inappropriate for the workplace. Her parents were terrible, her friends were terrible. Our romantic lead was fine- but boring.

I probably sound like someone who is terrible and no fun (spoiler- I'm not), but perhaps this book just hasn't aged well. With that all being said, I'm going to give the movie a chance, and probably watch it this weekend.

Joi wrote: "December- Christmas/New Year
Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding
2 Stars

Sorry guys- I DON'T GET IT.
Maybe this was revelatory when it came out, but honestly- I jus..."

No, this one didn't do it for me either when I read it for a class in library school.

Winter Stroll by Elin Hilderbrand

2.5 stars but not good enough to round up.

While I enjoyed the first book in this series, this one was not as good. It reminded me more of a Lifetime Movie than a Halllmark movie and moving into daytime soap opera territory. I started the third but am giving up on it because it definitely reads like a daytime soap, and those have never been my type of show.

In short, the book ends on a cliff-hanger with almost nothing resolved because it was planned as a trilogy. Ava has dropped in my estimation, and I am not keen on some of the new POVs. While this type of book is not one to develop deep characters (not the genre or style for that), some of them are really superficial. I have dropped the third book, which means all I'll do is read the last chapter or two of the fourth (these must have sold very well because apparently the publisher asked for a fourth). All I can say is I am happy I borrowed these.

Oops - I forgot this review.

Christmas Days: 12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days, 4 stars


This is an amazing book overall and I can see why so many people recommended it. I loved the intro summary about all the different religious and cultural influences on how Christmas traditions evolved over the last 2000 years! I really disliked some of the stories, but I accept that in any short story collection. I didn't feel moved to try any of the recipes, but the personal reflections that went along with them were wonderful. The last story and her reflections about her mother - she calls her Mrs Winterson - were really moving.

Amy wrote: "My very last year reading these children's books that I usually read in the elementary school each year. We read them for the last time, and now they are going to the attic for grandchildren.

Chan..."

Because these are children's books, I gave you one point for the lot.

I finally did the scoring! You can see your points here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

I am also adding them to the master participation points list and you can use them as early as the February voting.