During the holiday season, the reviews I post on The Self-Rescue Princess will have a different focus as my reading habits change. From Thanksgiving until the New Year, I only read novels set during the holiday season or have a seasonal theme. The Holiday Edition reviews will focus on the holiday spirit in the stories, and I plan to review more than one book in each post. I decided to go with more than one because I find I read more at this time and I want to share as many holiday short stories, novellas and books that I can during this time frame.
This last week or so has been busy with holiday preparations between crafting gifts and our annual ornament exchange party we had on Saturday. I’m trying to catch up on my reading and reviewing. For this week, I have three wonderful short stories that will get you in the Christmas mood, and are perfect to read when your time is short.
A Christmas Mourning by Laura Bradford
This is an unusual Christmas story in that the story actually takes place during the summer but is about an event that happened at Christmas time twenty-six years ago. I thought a Christmas themed story that wasn’t taking during the holiday season was a nice twist. Jakkob lost a treasured item of his mother’s when he was a child and carries that disappointment even as an adult. It was a tangible link to her past and he fills as if he took it away from her. Claire is heartbroken for Jakkob and decides to search for the missing treasure to return it to Jakkob in hopes it will heal him and the rift between his family.
I don’t want to give too many details and give the story away. This story had so much Christmas spirit and heart even though it takes place in the summer. The search for the missing Christmas heirloom was the center of the story and also connected to the relationships of the characters. The ending was pure Christmas love that could love one a little teary. This is one of my favorite reads this year.
Miss Kane’s Christmas by Caroline Mickelson
Three days before Christmas, Carol, Santa’s daughter, is being sent on a mission to change the mind of Ben who is planning on ruining Christmas for all children–by having his next writing project about how Santa is a lie published. Carol is certain she can sway Ben from not only ruining the Christmases of millions of children in the future, but also the current one for his children. Her immediate goal is to ensure that Ben’s two children have a Merry Christmas even though their dad is doing everything he can to avoid it by eliminating anything Christmas related from their house…no decorations, Christmas cookies, music.
But what happens when a crazy for Christmas woman and a Christmas avoider start to have tender feelings for each other? Who will win out in the battle of how to celebrate or not celebrate the holiday season? And what will happen when Ben finds out Carol’s love for Christmas and Santa isn’t because she’s a little crazy, but the daughter of Santa? This was a sweet Christmas story (a little fast paced at times) that shows how children’s joy at the season can give an adult a different perspective on the holidays. Not to mention how people’s hearts can be a little more open to love–and Christmas magic.
Montana Secret Santa by Debra Salonen
Krista finds herself in quite the quandary when her partner, on doctor’s advice, needs to take it easy during the holiday. One of the ways for her partner to lose some of her stress is to hand it over to Krista–being a member of the Montana Secret Santa program. While Krista believes in the program, she’s not that interested in being on the board and being responsible for other’s Christmas as she isn’t quite that fond of the holiday herself–thanks to her dysfunctional family. But, in order to help out her friend and business partner, she agrees…and it doesn’t hurt that a hunky newcomer is also joining the board.
Jonah returned to his hometown after selling his company to relax and figure out what he wanted to do next with his life. He finds himself not only roped into dog sitting for his parents, but also taking over as the president for the Secret Santa, a task he’s not too interested in until he discovers the sexy woman his dog nearly trampled was also on the committee. Maybe helping out the non-profit wasn’t such a terrible idea after all. He did have plenty of time on his hands.
I really enjoyed Montana Secret Santa. It contained both a holiday theme and setting as it’s set during a very cold Christmas season in Montana. I loved that the story revolved around a group who has set out to make Christmas better for members in the town. The romance between Krista and Jonah blossomed from their volunteering with the non-profit and in the process of getting to know each other. There was some Christmas angst at times, a little over the top reactions from Krista, but the to-dos on the list during the holiday season (added onto the normal everyday tasks) can make anyone lose it. Especially when the added stress of complicated family relationships. I can definitely see this as Hallmark Countdown to Christmas movies. This is one of the list of one of my favorite holiday reads for this year.
With Love, Christmas (Countdown to Christmas Hallmark Movie)
Better Off Thread by Amanda Lee
Nurturing That Spark by Sandra Sookoo
Trouble Under the Mistletoe by Rebecca Barrett
The first book to finish up the list for this (last) year’s holiday reading is The Perfect Gift by Serenity Woods. In this story, Brock has been grieving for his deceased wife for two years and wants to explore getting into a new relationship; he still loves and misses his wife but yearns to have love in his life again. Erin had met Brock online through a chat group for parents who have children that have chronic illnesses and while hesitant at first, agrees to see if their online friendship can blossom into anything more. This book has a holiday setting and I enjoyed seeing Christmastime taking place in another country. And reading about Christmas in a warmer weather fit this year as where I live we had record highs. I liked how the Christmas season blended into the story without it overshadowing the growing romance or having Christmas being the sole reason for the couple being together. Note: This book does have steamy scenes.
The next book was Snowed In by Danielle Lee Zwissler that had a Christmas theme and setting to the story. The heroine Lacy is on her way to visit her family for Christmas when her car breaks down on a snowy road. Grayson happens to be driving and stops to help the damsel in distress. Lacy isn’t so thrilled with being rescued but agrees to accompany the stranger when he mentions he’s heading to the inn where she was planning on staying. When she arrives, Lacy is greeted with warmth and love, something she has longed for all her life. Even though she was heading to her family, she never felt a sense of belonging and she does with Grayson and his family. This was a sweet story with a lovely message about finding and accepting love from where it’s offered. I felt that the holiday theme was so strong that the story was a little rushed at times.
The last book for this holiday reading binge was A Very Country Christmas by Zara Stoneley. Christmastime. Couple in love. Horses. Wonderful setting. What more could a girl want in a holiday story? Lottie is looking forward to having a lovely, romantic Christmas dinner (cooked by her) with her fiance…before she knows it, the romantic meal has turned into a large gathering of friends and family. I loved the antics of the secondary characters and wish I could say more, but I don’t want to give away the ending. This was an enjoyable, feel-good read and was the perfect book as this year’s last holiday read.
The last book for this edition is Home for Christmas by Melissa McClone. This was my favorite holiday read (so far) this year. It had the perfect balance of Christmas spirit/heart and Christmas setting. I loved Rachel and Nate. Rachel was a heroine who was equal parts spunky and vulnerable which made me connect to her immediately and wanted me to see her happily-each-after happen. Nate was strong and protective, and yet had a soft side to him that was endearing. The couple played perfectly off each other and I loved how their romance played out.
My house is decked out in its holiday attire, and the books I’m featuring in this edition of my holiday reads all feature great Christmas settings. The Carpenter’s Gift by David Rubel is a children’s tale that tells the story about the Rockefeller Center Tree. Every year I’m including a children’s Christmas/holiday story to read. I find that children stories usually have a sweet holiday spirit message in them that aren’t heavy-handed. What drew me to this book was the lovely illustrations that reflected the time period and Christmas setting beautifully. The pictures are gorgeous and complement the story. I had a real sense of the time and place. I loved learning about the Rockefeller Tree and seeing the act of kindness that started so much good and happiness in a lot of people’s lives.
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