November Read: The Christmas Guest by Peter Swanson

 

It's been a bit since I last posted, but I swear I've been very busy reading! I'm in the throes of reading a lot of YA novels for a special project. I snuck this one in tonight for a quick read. 

Yes, I usually don't read any holiday books until after Thanksgiving, but I'll confess this is my second holiday book already. This was a great little novella that I read in one sitting this evening. 

The Christmas Guest is a mere 93 pages and because of that, it was a refreshing read. Okay, it's a murdery kind of book, but it was a switch from my usual cozy and romantic holiday books. The perfect palate cleanser before I dive into all the happy holiday reads. 

Peter Swanson packs a lot into this novella about a young American college student spending Christmas week with a new friend. Ashley Smith is all alone in London; a Californian who has no family and has traveled to London to attend college. Befriended by Emma at school, she's pleased to accept Emma's invite to her family home in the countryside. After all, she was prepared to spend Christmas alone in London, and heck, why not have an authentic English Christmas in the countryside?

Ashley travels to Starvewood Hall, and is instantly smitten with Emma's twin brother, Adam. He's gorgeous and brooding--and also a suspect in the recent murder of a local woman, found dead near the family home. Clearly she was murdered. Adam has an alibi, but it's pretty weak. That doesn't stop Ashley from falling hard and crushing on Adam. 

Ashley spends the week leading up to Christmas hanging out at the family home, witnessing the horrible relationship Emma has with her toxic parents, and walking to and from the village pub, drinking and having fun. She writes it all down in her trusty diary. Until Christmas Eve, and whoa the story takes a sharp turn. 

This novella spans thirty years, from 1989 to present day (give or take a few years). It seems pretty straightforward, until it's not. I loved it--even if it's not the usual sweet tale of holiday celebrations and family love that I enjoy so much.

Rating: 5/6 for a novella that sucked me in pretty quickly! A setting that has all the hallmarks of an idyllic Christmas celebration turns dark and what happens echoes down through the years. If you like short stories and thrillers, this is for you. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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November Read: The Christmas Guest by Peter Swanson

May Read: Happy Place by Emily Henry

 

I finished the latest from Emily Henry a few days ago and I've given myself a few days to mull it over. There will definitely be those who absolutely love and adore this novel, and some, like me, who are "meh" about it. 

Happy Place takes place over a week's time in Knott's Harbor, Maine. A group of six friends gather for their yearly vacation at a beach cottage in this tourist-friendly town. The six friends: Sabrina, Cleo, Kimmy, Harriet, Wyn, and Parth have made this a tradition, but this year is a bit different: the cottage is being sold by Sabrina's wealthy father, and this will be their last year to relive their college and post-college memories of summers in Maine. 

The kicker here: Harriet and Wyn. They've been together for seven years, and madly in love. Only problem is they broke up six months ago, and didn't tell anyone. Sabrina surprises Harriet by inviting Wyn for the week, and then surprises the whole group with the news that her and Parth are getting married. That week. In Maine. With only their closest friends. So Harriet and Wyn decide they've got to pretend they're still together. Which may very well destroy both of them before the week's out. 

The novel bounces back and forth between "Real Life" during the week, and the past-starting with Wyn and Harriet meeting, and the evolution of their relationship. Let's be clear here--these two LOVE each other. Passionately. Their chemistry is pretty darn apparent, and well written. Wyn can't keep his hands off Harriet, even after all this time. So why did they break up? You never quite get the answer until well into the novel, and it's kind of a blah reason. I expected something more because these two are clearly devastated they are no longer together, but don't know how to communicate to each other to fix it. Mental health is one of the themes of the novel, and I do appreciate that it is brought up and discussed. 

Harriet explores her memories of their relationship, and her desire to please her parents by continuing her focus on becoming a brain surgeon. But is it really what she wants? Is it keeping her and Wyn apart? And Wyn--he's pretty quiet so it's hard to figure out just why he broke things off with Harriet. He needs to be a bit more open and communicate. UGH! Communication!! 

This novel is also about people growing up. Stepping away from college years and into adulthood and all that it demands. It can find all of us making choices and sometimes growing apart as life takes us in different directions. It can be painful and, yes, sometimes hurtful to friends who aren't quite ready to move on. 

I did feel like an intrusive guest sometimes reading this novel-like the extra body that doesn't quite fit in with the close group of friends. I was frustrated with Wyn and Harriet. A couple of good conversations would have cleared up their mess pretty quickly, but instead they mooned over each other and made each other miserable. The other friends all have their own dynamics and issues, too. I was pleased with the ending, though, so I'm glad I stuck it out. 

Rating: 3/6 for a summer read about a painful breakup and how to get back to each other. Harriet's a strong character, but heck woman, speak up! And Wyn? you're a gorgeous man, but dang it all, make an effort for the woman you love! Sheesh. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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May Read: Happy Place by Emily Henry

The Ex-Hex by Erin Sterling

 

First off, a big thanks to HarperCollins and Avon for a copy of this book. I entered a giveaway and won! This was a fast read and I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially just a few days before Halloween. 

Vivienne Jones lives in the small Georgia town of Graves Glen with her Aunt Elaine and cousin Gwyn. They are all witches. Elaine and Gwyn even own and operate a "witchy" store that keeps them busy with tourists. They are all good witches, of course, and the most Vivienne has done with her magical ability is reheat her tea and set a spell on her student's papers to alert her to any that are plagiarized. She's a professor of history at Penhallow College, a unique place where magic is taught as well as normal college subjects. 

It's the anniversary of the founding of Graves Glen, and Rhys Penhallow of Wales has been ordered by his father to return to Graves Glen to recharge the ley lines that keep the magic flowing peacefully around town. It's also the place where, nine years before, Rhys met and has an intense summer of love with Vivienne. Upon returning to Wales, a broken hearted (and a little tipsy) Vivienne placed a curse on Rhys. 

As her Aunt always says, never mix witchcraft with vodka. 

Rhys returns, and it's one thing after another; near misses, close calls, you name it. For someone like Rhys who is a warlock and never has any issues, it's a bit strange. And when he takes Vivienne to help him recharge the ley lines, disaster strikes-the curse is let lose in the ley lines, traveling all the way to Graves Glen and starting up some crazy, weird off-kilter magic. 

Now it's up to Rhys and Vivienne to figure out how to reverse the curse before Halloween, or the town and possibly Rhys are doomed. 

Of course, through all of this, Rhys and Vivienne can't keep their hands off each other. If Rhys survives the curse reversal, will he return to Wales, breaking Vivienne's heart again?

This was a fun read, with characters I absolutely enjoyed. I'd love to return to Graves Glen for more stories. I kind of hate to say goodbye to this novel, because it just hit me at the right moment and I gobbled it up. I really, really hope Rhys' brothers have their own stories to tell, along with Gwyn and Elaine. 

4/6 for a delightful romance filled with magic, a curse gone very wrong, and a second chance at love. 

Available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audio. 

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The Ex-Hex by Erin Sterling

How Lucky by Will Leitch

 

Click here to purchase from Amazon

I saw this last month in my BOTM selections and decided to take a chance. After finishing it, I think this is a novel that is a "word of mouth" kind of novel. It's touching, funny, suspenseful, and has an incredible main character. 

Daniel is twenty-six and lives by himself in Athens, Georgia. He is wheelchair bound with SMA (spinal muscular atrophy); a degenerative neuromuscular disorder. It will kill him at a young age. The fact that he's made it to twenty-six is a testament to his strength, support, and just good luck. 

Daniels spends his days as an online customer service rep for a regional airline. He's limited to just using his left hand to work his iPad, but he makes it work and has adapted as he has slowly lost his ability to speak and the use of his right hand and arms. He's got his friend Travis who visits weekly and helps take care of him and treats him as a normal person; Marjani is his caregiver who comes every morning to get him dressed, fed, and in his chair. He has two helpers who come in the middle of the night to turn him in his bed so he doesn't choke. 

I know. It sounds horrible. But Daniel is not a pity party at all. He's always looking on the bright side, and grateful for everyday he wakes up. 

One morning, Daniel is sitting on his front porch, and observes a young Chinese college student walking along the street. She's been regularly doing this, and Daniel knows her schedule. This one day, a car approaches and stops. She bends down, smiles, then gets in the car. Strange, thought Daniel. 

He was right. Ai-Chin has disappeared, and across the college campus, alarms are raised and search parties are formed. A hotline is set up with the police. No one knows what happened. Except Daniel. 

He enlists Travis' help, but the police are slow to respond, and just being in Daniel's company makes them very uncomfortable. What could Daniel possibly know to help them? 

Daniel persists and posts online--and he gets a response that sends this tale off in another direction. Is he playing with fire? Is he in danger?

The kidnapping is just part of the story. Daniel's life and how he lives it is another. He always says he is lucky. Lucky to have lived. He also says he is lucky because he knows he'll die before he will have to experience losing loved ones, and he won't have to grieve. He'll go first.  Oh, that got me in the heart. He's a funny, thoughtful, smart character. 

I'd recommend this novel for anyone who is looking for disability focused characters and plot. It's also just a good story; one that will keep you engaged as Daniel races to help find Ai-Chin, and puts himself in danger doing so. He's no scaredy cat! 

Rating: 5/6 for a strong central character who sees no limits in his life; a twist at the end, and a loveable cast of characters. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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How Lucky by Will Leitch

Dial A for Aunties by Jesse G. Sutanto

 

Click here to buy from Amazon

Well, i spent some time this weekend creating an impromptu video where I talked about a whole lot (no shelf control, folks) of books I wanted to read for the summer. However, it was too darn long to load into a post and I finally gave up posting it on Facebook after what felt like a zillion tries. 

So, I'm a bit late posting and I'm going to try another, shorter video and get that up Friday. 

Meanwhile, I have been reading a few books, and I finally finished this novel that's a bit romance, a bit screwball comedy, and well, a slight murder mystery. 

Meddelin Chan has three aunts and a mom who run a successful wedding company. They do it all: flowers, cake, makeup & hair, and Meddy is the photographer. Their biggest wedding is coming up: two wealthy families joining together on a posh island hotel resort. It's huge for Meddy and her family, and they can't screw it up. 

Meddy's mother sets her up on a blind date, and things go terribly, terribly wrong. As in dead body wrong the morning they are to leave for the wedding. What's a girl to do? Call her aunts! And what's wonderful about Meddy's aunts and her mom is that they believe her without question, and throw themselves into solving the pickle Meddy has created (accidentally). 

At the hotel resort, Meddy runs into Nathan, now part-owner of the luxury hotel. He is Meddy's true love, and she broke up with him in college because she couldn't leave her family in California. The heat is still there between the two, and Nathan makes it clear he's missed Meddy and still has feelings for her. Now, to just explain about the dead body in the cooler...

It really is a screwball comedy in that we have a group of women preparing for a major wedding, dragging a cooler around with a body in it-trying to hide it but constantly being interrupted and having to change course. Toss in a developing second plot involving the maid of honor, theft, and a whole fleet of really, really hungover groomsmen, and this wedding will take a miracle to pull off! 

I wasn't sure what to expect and actually enjoyed this novel very much. I wouldn't say it's a mystery, nor a straight romance, either. Kind of a little bit of both, with plenty of Chinese-Indonesian culture and family dynamics. Will Meddy have a happy ending? Happy news! This novel has been optioned for a Netflix movie!

Rating: 3/6 for a fun read about a wedding where everything that can go wrong, goes wrong-and how having a meddling ma in your romantic life can lead to a really, really bad blind date. Enjoyable, full of loveable characters and a demonstration of what families will do for each other in times of crisis. 

Available in hardcover, trade paperback, audio, and ebook. 

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Dial A for Aunties by Jesse G. Sutanto

Libertie by Kaitlyn Greenidge

 

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I've got mixed feelings about Libertie. I was excited to read it and was looking for a good historical novel. It delivered in some ways, and fell flat in others. 

Libertie is about a young woman who is the daughter of a light skinned female doctor living near New York City in the mid-late 19th century. Libertie's mother often passes for white, but Libertie, on the other hand, is very dark-so much so that people comment on her skin often. Her mother's deepest wish is to have Libertie become a doctor and join in her practice. Libertie, for a long time, also believes in this dream, but as she grows older, her enthusiasm fades. 

Libertie witnesses her mother bring a man back to life after he's escape slavery by being drugged and put in a coffin. That episode leaves Ben Daisy mentally fragile, as does his inability to come to peace with his escape from slavery. 

Libertie sees first hand her mother's attempts to cure Ben--and they all fail. It sets in motion Libertie's growing awareness of her mother as a human capable of failure. Once her mother accepts white female patients, Libertie's views take another blow. These patients refuse to have Libertie touch them, and her mother doesn't stand up for her. Libertie is sent away to college to become a doctor, and there is where she finally realizes she does not want to follow in her mother's footsteps. 

This is where the book takes a shift. Libertie's college experience involves meeting The Graces, two young women who sing. Libertie befriends them, and decides music is her love, not medicine. Yet she's afraid to confess to her mother, and this leads to a big break between mother and daughter, and a life changing course for Libertie. 

This is a novel that is about relationships and the drive for freedom: freedom from slavery, freedom from society, freedom to be who you want to be. Libertie struggles to figure out not only who she wants to be, but where she wants to be. How much does the color of her skin define her choices? Will she ever be free from her mother's expectations and disappointments?

I found the first half of the novel very interesting and I dove right in; however the second half slowed considerably and took kind of a strange turn into Haiti. I got a little lost and it kind of dragged for me. But, I was still invested in Libertie's story, and while the ending may not be satisfactory for some readers, I thought it left  readers with the opportunity to finish Libertie's story for themselves. 

If you're looking for a novel big on self-reflection, relationships, and the black experience in post-Civil War America, this is for you. It is a coming of age story that will resonate with readers. 

Rating: 3/6 for a novel that examines the many ways women choose to be free. Mother-daughter relationships, marital relationships, expectations gone awry, and living with choices. 

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Libertie by Kaitlyn Greenidge

Dating Makes Perfect by Pintip Dunn

I haven't read a YA novel for a very long time. Quite honestly, I'm afraid if I start diving into YA, I'll go down a rabbit hole and never come out again! Same goes for children's fiction, too. Sometimes thinking about everything I want to read overwhelms me and I panic and hyperventilate. I kid you not. 

Sometimes, however, the book universe magic happens, and I'm given the opportunity to read a novel that ends up being so utterly charming and lovable it actually changes the course of my reading plans for the rest of the year. In a bizarre, whirly-gig 2020, what's another shift in my universe? So yes, I'll be incorporating YA into the remainder of my 2020 reading choices. 

Dating Makes Perfect had me from the first few pages. I can't say that about a lot of books. Most of the time I have to read about 50 or so pages before I get invested in a story-but Winnie and her family are so engaging I was sucked in immediately. Winnie's older twin sisters are off in their first year of college-and dating a lot. It's a bit of a backfire on Winnie's parents, who forbid their daughters from dating in high school. They wanted to spare their daughters some heartache and also respect their Thai culture. Now Mom wants her daughters to get married and have grandbabies STAT but they've announced since they couldn't date in high school, they're going to spend YEARS dating. Oops. So Mom and Dad have decided Winnie can practice date in high school, so she's ahead of the game when she goes to college.

This is great, only they've picked the young man Winnie has to practice date: Mat. Ugh. Mat and Winnie had been friends all their lives, until about four years before, when suddenly, they went from friends to enemies. And there's a new cute boy who just moved to town that Winnie has her eye on...this could spoil things. 

Mat and Winnie have such great chemistry and they sizzle on the pages. Of course their past friendship break up is based on lack of communication and hurt feelings. Mat's willing to go along with the fake dating so he can take a trip after graduation--a trip that rests on his cooperation. Dates are pretty simple: driving Winnie home from school, meeting her at a local festival, accompanying Winnie clothes shopping. However, as they spend more time together, it's apparent both have deep feelings for each other. Can they untangle those feelings and repair their broken friendship? How can Winnie reconcile her feelings for Mat with her desire to obey her parents and be a good Thai girl? 

I absolutely loved the incorporation of Thai culture into the story. I appreciated reading about a first generation Thai-American and the difficulty in navigating honored traditions and modern life. Winnie grows by leaps and bounds in this novel, from a young woman who is afraid to go against her parent's wishes, to a young woman who owns her voice and shows her family and Mat just what she wants. Heck yes, I even got a little sniffly a few times. 

This novel will be published in August in the U.S. I've already talked to a few co-workers about how much I loved it, and I will certainly be recommending it to friends and family. 

A big thank you to Entangled and NetGalley for an advanced reader's copy. 

Rating: 5/6 for a completely delightful novel full of characters you will fall in love with very quickly. The weaving of Thai culture with modern American life was so good! I will definitely read more of Pintip Dunn. The chemistry between Winnie and Mat was palpable, and their romance was realistic and full of humor, tears, and great conversations. 

Available in August in paperback, audio, and ebook. 

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Dating Makes Perfect by Pintip Dunn

Beach Read by Emily Henry

I finished a book! I'm still trying to find my pandemic comfort reading. I think it's trending towards lighter reads. If I can't focus on a book right away, I put it aside. Sunnier days ahead will send those books back to me and I'll happily read them then. 

So, Beach Read. Emily Henry is an author I haven't read before. She writes YA novels and I think this is her first adult novel. I was excited to read it because it looked like a rom-com and I was all in! This is, however, one of those novels where the cover does not match what's inside. For one thing, the two main characters (Gus and January) only actually sit on the beach near the very end of the novel. They aren't beach people, especially when the beach in on Lake Michigan and the water is cold. 

For another, I found this novel to be less rom-com and more a tale of two damaged people who are really struggling to come to terms with their pasts in order to move on. January is 29 and it's been a year since her father suddenly passed away. She's published three romances, and is on a deadline for her fourth. She's broke, and suffering from writer's block. She's traveled to North Bear Shores in Michigan to get her father's second home ready to sell (she needs the money!). She's also come to face the second home her father secretly had with another woman. January's unable to face the fact that her father was unfaithful to her mother for most of her life, and her happy childhood memories are crushed under her father's secret life. Happily ever after doesn't exist. 

Gus lives in the house next door to January. He's also a published author, and oh boy, January and Gus went to college together. January and Gus didn't get along at all. So of course sparks will fly, but the path to happiness is very rocky. They make a pact that January will write her idea of the great American novel, and Gus will write a novel that has a happy ending. Whomever gets published first wins. 

As their friendship grows, January's writing fire is lit! She's finally writing again. And she finds herself falling for Gus and preparing herself for heartbreak. For most of the novel you never quite know what Gus is thinking; he's pretty hard to read. But finally, you get a peek inside Gus and he's quite charming. But you're still not sure if happily ever after is in the cards for these two. You have to read to the end to find that out. 

This story wasn't what I expected when I picked this book up and began to read. I'm still trying to decide if I am disappointed or not. There was a lot of emotional baggage between Gus and January, and I felt it weighed the book down a bit. What I did take away was that we should be happy with now, and be satisfied with that--we aren't guaranteed happy all the time, and that's okay. Happy is also in the small moments that we think are just everyday, and that I can agree with and recognize. Those small, quiet moments are what we string together to make one big happy life. 

Rating: 3/6 for a novel that has me on the fence. There were parts of it I enjoyed very much, and other parts that felt really heavy. Gus will steal your heart and you'll find yourself cheering for him and January in their complicated path towards love. 

Available in the United States on May 19, 2020 in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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Beach Read by Emily Henry

Light Changes Everything by Nancy E. Turner

To say I was a little excited to read this book would be an understatement. I read Nancy Turner's first novel, These is My Words, waaaay back in the late 1990's, and absolutely fell in love with it. To this day, it remains one of my favorite novels. 

Most people re-read favorite novels over and over, but I don't. I like to preserve that experience of discovering a story that sticks with me the first time I read it, and I think that if I read it again, it will somehow change for me, and I don't want that. So I will continue to tell people about These is My Words, all based on my first and only read. 

However, Nancy Turner kept writing, and wrote Sarah's Quilt and The Star Garden, and My Name is Resolute, which continue the story of Sarah Prine, and then jump back to Sarah's ancestor, Resolute. Light Changes Everything tells the story of Mary Pearl Prine, Sarah's niece.  It's 1907, and Arizona is still a territory of the United States, and still a dangerous place to live. Mary Pearl is seventeen and wants to go to college. She's been accepted into Wheaton College in Illinois to study art and is excited to go. However, just as she's making preparations, in walks Aubrey Hanna, a rising lawyer who sees Mary Pearl and decides he must marry her. 

Mary Pearl is torn between marriage to an up and coming young man, and following her dream to attend college. She decides to leave for college quickly, sending Aubrey a letter stating that she does want to marry him, just not quite yet. 

Mary Pearl's life changes at Wheaton College. She's the young lady from the Wild West, and is at odds with the sophisticated students who attend her school. But, she finds the one thing that will change her life: photography. Slowly making friends and finding her way through school, she begins to settle into life away from Arizona and her parent's ranch. 

Alright. I'm not going to tell you any more. I'll give too much away. 

I zipped through this novel faster than I expected to; the story of Mary Pearl and her family is so skillfully written that I gulped it all down like a good cup of coffee. Sarah, one of my top female characters EVER, is featured here as wise counsel to her niece, still tough as nails and running her own ranch. The Prine family come to life, and through all their trials and troubles, you keep rooting for them. Life is still harsh and unforgiving in Arizona Territory. The matter of fact attitude of early settlers may seem cold sometimes, but only the tough survive and thrive. 

You don't have to read the previous novels by Nancy Turner to enjoy this one, however, if you haven't read These is My Words, I would suggest you do so because it is such a wonderful story. I did read Sarah's Quilt and The Star Garden, and while I did want to know more of Sarah's journey, I would have been happy to just stick with These is My Words. You decide. They are all wonderful books about a strong family, and the incredibly tough women who kept it all together and persevered no matter what. 

Rating: 5/6 for a much anticipated return to the Prine family. Mary Pearl follows in the footsteps of her courageous aunt Sarah as she navigates college, family expectations, and her own heart. 

Available in hardcover ebook, and audio. 

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Light Changes Everything by Nancy E. Turner

Christmas in Vermont by Anita Hughes

The Christmas tree is up at my house, and I was either too lazy or just not feeling the vibes to put out all my Christmas decorations. I went minimal and I'm happy with it. Just a few wreaths (battery operated timed lights rock!), stockings for Bud and I (I told him that meant he had to fill mine this year), a few candles to make it smell like a pine forest. I have a few items my Dad made that I absolutely have to put out each year; I'll confess I had a few tears putting them out and thinking about my Dad. Christmas sure does make you think about holidays past, and all those people who aren't here to celebrate with us. 

I've managed to avoid holiday cookies and treats so far, but I'm sure I'll cave and devour something a bit closer to December 24th! Reading this novel--some of the food made me have a few pangs, but I stayed strong. 

So, if you've followed my blog for a while, you know I have a love/hate relationship with Anita Hughes novels. I've read a few, and they are a bit too far out for me to really enjoy them. The characters live lifestyles that don't evoke any empathy for them, and they seem a bit shallow. But I keep coming back to try another one of her novels. I haven't given up just yet. 

Christmas in Vermont wasn't bad, but I did have a few issues. I did like the setting: the town of Snowberry, Vermont, and the homey Smuggler's Inn, run by Betty. Betty is a recently widowed woman who is struggling to keep the Inn open due to big medical bills from her husband's illness. Snowberry is reminiscent of a Hallmark holiday movie town--perfect shops, decorations, and people. Emma has arrived for a week's stay at the inn between Christmas and New Year's Day. Her friend Bronwyn gifted her the trip because Emma just broke up with her latest boyfriend, and a series of happenings in New York led  Bronwyn to believe that fate was at work for Emma, and she just had to go to Snowberry. Staying at the inn was Emma's true love, Fletcher, and his daughter Lola. It's been eleven years since they broke up and graduated from college, and maybe, just maybe, it's time for them to reconnect and try again. 

Synchronicity is a major theme in this tale of two people who connected once long ago, and through misunderstandings and miscommunication, lost their chance to remain together. Of course Fletcher has no idea Emma is purposely staying at the inn, and he's astonished to find his college girlfriend back in his life, all these years later. 

Oh, and guess what? Fletcher's engaged, and his fiancé is staying at the inn, too. Whoops. 

I didn't really feel a big connection between Fletcher and Emma, and the flashbacks to their time together in college weren't super interesting. It just felt like a college romance that ended as they do, when people graduate and go their separate ways in life. Emma's inability to remain committed to a relationship has convinced her she's never going to settle down and have the family she wants. Fletcher is engaged to a woman who doesn't seem well suited to him, and isn't fond of his very precocious daughter Lola. The plot was fairly thin, and easy to see how it would end. Yes, it did remind me of a Hallmark Christmas movie; it was pretty tame all around. I am happy the ending wasn't tied up in a tight little bow; it made sense that happily ever after doesn't happen automatically. Growing a relationship is part of the path to that happily ever after we all hope for. 

So-a bland kind of story, but it should put you in the holiday spirit. No surprises here, just an easy read holiday romance about second chances and synchronicity. 

Rating: 2/6 for a tale of two people rediscovering each other again, and the chance to get it right the second time around. I didn't feel much chemistry between the two main characters, and the supporting characters all seemed fairly standard and unremarkable. Enjoyable but not a Wow! story. 

Available in paperback and ebook. 

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Christmas in Vermont by Anita Hughes

Hardscrabble by Sandra Dallas

After reading In Cold Blood and The Hazel Wood, I needed something a little lighter! Enter Sandra Dallas' Hardscrabble, a children's novel about homesteading in 1910 Colorado.  Sandra is one of my favorite authors, and her new adult novel, The Patchwork Bride, is due out in early June.  I simply can't wait!

Here's what I love about Sandra Dallas.  She writes about pioneers, homesteaders, and folks who lived hard lives in the settling of the West and Mid-West. Her main characters are always women, and they're women you would love to know. Strong, loyal, hardworking women who just want the best life they can manage--often times, at the end of a long, rough road.  

Hardscrabble is no different, but it's softened for a younger audience. It centers on the Martin family, who travel to Mingo, Colorado after their farm fails in Iowa.  Belle, her mother and six siblings meet her father at the train station, and soon approach their new home: a sod house.  It's a long way from the beautiful farmhouse they left in Iowa, but they're starting over on a homestead. Neighbors include Lizzie, a single woman living on her own claim, determined to prove up and have her own farm. Two characters from Dallas' adult novel The Diary of Mattie Spencer also live nearby, and I was happy to see them all these years later, thriving and enjoying the rewards of their hard work.  

The novel moves through nearly a year on the homestead, and of course life is not easy, and filled with bad weather, threats to crops, and tragedy. It's nothing we haven't read about in other novels set in the homesteading years of the United States, but Dallas writes from Belle's viewpoint, and that makes it all simply told, with a bit of sass and humor thrown in-just as a young girl would be today.  Certainly fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder will eat this one up.  

This was a quick read, but a lovely, quiet one. It helped reset my internal reading clock a bit.  If I read too many dark themed novels in a row, I get bummed out.  While not everything is smooth sailing for the Martin family, the obvious love in the family, the cheerful attitudes, and the strong presence of Beck Martin, their father, help keep things moving along and light even in sad times. Lizzie's presence as a strong woman on her own, fixing wagons, planting crops, baking, and raising chickens is a bright spot, and a glimpse at the changing world in 1910.  She doesn't want to get married and have to give up her homestead before it's proven to be hers, and she can own it free and clear. 

All in all, a delightful, quick read on one of my favorite subjects: pioneering.  

Rating:  4/6 for a sweet story about the Martin family starting all over again in Mingo, Colorado in 1910. Good times and bad make this a novel about sticking together, working through problems, and loving each other. 

Available in hardcover and ebook. 

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Hardscrabble by Sandra Dallas

Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay: A Review and Winner of Giveaway Announced

As I said in my previous post about Picnic at Hanging Rock, this novel came out of nowhere for me, and after a quick search on the internet, I was intrigued not only by the novel, but by the author, Joan Lindsay. 

Joan Lindsay wrote this book in 1967, when she was 70 years old.  Her first novel.  It became an instant hit.  The tale is simple, but as any simple tales go, there's a lot going on underneath the surface.  It's February 14, 1900.  The young ladies at Appleyard College for Young Ladies in Australia are eager to take a day trip to Hanging Rock, a place ideal for picnics and taking in some fresh air and nature.  The group, with Miss McGraw, the mathematics teacher, and Mademoiselle De Poitiers, the popular French teacher as chaperones, take the three hour carriage ride out to Hanging Rock.  The plan is to eat lunch, rest, explore a bit (as much as you can in gloves and corsets), and return to Appleyard at 4 PM.  Other folks are also there picnicking: Michael Fitzhubert, visiting from England; Albert Crundall, the coachman for Michael's Aunt and Uncle; and Mr. Ben Hussey, the carriage driver.  

Miranda is a senior, and the most popular girl at Appleyard.  She decides to climb Hanging Rock, and takes along Irma, Marion, and Edith.  The girls are seen crossing a creek by Michael and Albert, and then simply disappear.  Edith appears later, screaming, hysterical.  She can't tell anyone what happened, and no one can find the three missing girls.  Oddly enough, Miss McGraw is missing, too.  Searches, questions, theories abound.  Michael is haunted, and decides to travel back to Hanging Rock to try and find something, anything to answer his questions.  Miraculously, he finds Irma weeks after the incident, but in mysterious circumstances and unconscious. The other two girls and Miss McGraw are never seen again; nor is any trace of them ever found.  They have simply disappeared into thin air. 

From this dark day, the story moves on to how the disappearances change everyone who is touched by them: the students at Appleyard, the Headmistress of Appleyard, the teachers, Michael and Albert.  It's a pretty interesting ending; a bit of a shock to me.  According to the foreword, Joan Lindsay had written an ending that explained exactly what happened to the girls, but it was so "out there" (my words) that the publisher had her cut it.  There are hints of strangeness, and it's left up to readers to decide for themselves what may have happened to the girls on that lovely summer day.  Joan Lindsay herself claimed that the story may or may not be true, and plenty of folks have searched for information over the decades, but have found nothing.  

I'm intrigued enough to have placed  a hold on the movie at my local library. I can't wait to watch it.  

A huge thank you to Penguin/Random House for providing a copy not only for my review, but a copy to give away to a lucky reader.  And the winner of the giveaway is...

Thank you to all who entered the contest.  I am very glad I had the opportunity to read this classic novel, and I think it would make a very good book club discussion--or even better, a classroom discussion.  Just goes to show, any book you haven't read (even one 50 years old!) is new if you haven't read it yet.

Rating:  4/6 for a novel that has  a lot to offer towards discussion.  What is it about this tale that has stood the test of time?  Fascinating!

Available in paperback and ebook. 

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Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay: A Review and Winner of Giveaway Announced

Asylum by Madeleine Roux

Aw heck.  I really wanted to like this teen novel, but it fell short of my expectations.

Asylum by Madeleine Roux is similar in look to Miss Peregrine's School for Peculiar Children (which if you haven't read, please do now!).  But unfortunately, the story was a bit jumbled and not compelling enough for me to be super excited over this novel.

Asylum takes place at a college in New Hampshire that just happens to have an old asylum on the premises.  The New Hampshire College is tucked away in a small town and hosts a summer program for high school students to participate in classes and potentially become future students at the college.  It's a beautiful place, but it is surrounded by the evil that took place at Brookline, the asylum, over fifty years before.

Enter Dan Crawford.  He's sixteen, adopted, and is eager to have a fun summer exploring his interests at the summer program.  He soon meets Abby and Jordan, two other students who click with Dan.  Dan's roommate, Felix, shows Dan a few pictures he found in the basement of Brookline:  photos of a man with his eyes scratched out, and pictures of patients.  They are disturbing, and soon Dan is drawn into investigating the basement of Brookline--which is strictly off limits to the students.  Because the regular dorms are undergoing a renovation, the summer school students are housed in Brookline on the upper floors.  It's a bit of a creepy idea, and I'm not sure an actual college would ever do that.  But it keeps Dan, Abby, and Jordan in close proximity to danger.  

Strange notes, texts on Dan's phone, and nightmares begin plaguing all three kids.  What is going on at Brookline?  And is Dan simply crazy, or is the warden haunting him?  

It's all there to be a good novel.  Unfortunately, the action doesn't really move much at all until the last 50 pages.  The photos in the books are interesting, but don't really add too much to the storyline.  And so many questions are left unanswered that it's obvious a sequel is required to answer them.  Which leaves me dissatisfied.  Lots of strings left untied that just left me losing interest.  

Rating:  4/10 for a great idea, but a weak story.  

Available in hardcover and e-book.

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Asylum by Madeleine Roux