Christmas in March? Hollywood in hearts?
Christmas brought lots of gift books, cheap books, ebooks and books, books, books. I ended up reading Christmas stories in February sunshine and March hail, but December's snow and sweet romances were maybe just what I needed. A touch of Christmas cheer as winter drags on... So here are some reviews of books you might want to read next Christmas, or you might choose now instead. And some romances. And maybe one quite seriously enjoyable memoir with just the right touch of romantic reality.
First is Sincerely Dina Lamont by Christopher McPherson, a book I really intended to read before Christmas. The name felt vaguely familiar--Dina Lamont. But the story is so much more than anything familiar; a real girl whose house floats away; a real mother whose husband doesn't understand; a real star who fights to be seen for who she is; and a real historical background of Hollywood and beyond. Names aren't "dropped" in this book. They belong, as all the characters do, to a well-researched and beautifully presented biography, best enjoyed with some seriously well-blended rich elegant four-star coffee.
Far Away Bird by Douglas Burton will feature on my blog tomorrow--another wonderful historical and beautifully told biography of another amazing woman; this time the child who will grow up to be an Empress in Byzantium. Watch this space, and drink more elegantly blended four-star coffee.
And then there are all those contemporary Christmas stories - with their pleasingly Hollywood endings:
A Model Bride by Autumn McArthur offers Christmas romance with believable characters, evocative scenery and emotional depth - not a fluffly romance, but a novel with light and dark, both on the photograph and on the heart. Faith-filled, uplifting, and more like a meal than dessert, it's one to finish with some well-balanced, smooth and complex three-star coffee.
With a very different approach to the season and romance, Frozen Flawless by Rachel Woods offers an introduction to the author's Spencer and Sione series with Spencer trying to wrap her mind around the presence of a handsome husband and two beautiful children. But someone's following her around the mall... If you can find this short story, enjoy it with some dark intense five-star coffee.
Mimi Barbour's Holiday Heartwarmers Trilogy brings dogs into the Christmas picture, with three thoroughly enjoyable romances, each completely different, and each including a dog. Enjoy with some easy-drinking three-star coffee.
Then there's Christmas Anthology by Tayla Alexandra, Dyanne Green, Sharon Thorn, Remi Carrington, Bree Livingston and Lara Wynter, an enjoyable collection of easy-reading stories that offer the joy of giving, gentlemen who always open doors for ladies, and women evicted from their homes, desperate to find a job (and offered so much more). Sweet, fun, with lots of happy endings. Enjoy with some light crisp two-star coffee.
The Christmas Cookie House by Jennifer Griffith, a tale of cookies, teen excitement, neighborhood mystery, romance, Christmas and... well, more romance. It's fast, breathless, fun... best enjoyed with some light crisp two-star coffee.
But now it's not Christmas anymore. What should I read next? Perhaps I should just continue to tackle that long-overdue to-read list - I'm enjoying it, whatever the season.
First is Sincerely Dina Lamont by Christopher McPherson, a book I really intended to read before Christmas. The name felt vaguely familiar--Dina Lamont. But the story is so much more than anything familiar; a real girl whose house floats away; a real mother whose husband doesn't understand; a real star who fights to be seen for who she is; and a real historical background of Hollywood and beyond. Names aren't "dropped" in this book. They belong, as all the characters do, to a well-researched and beautifully presented biography, best enjoyed with some seriously well-blended rich elegant four-star coffee.
Far Away Bird by Douglas Burton will feature on my blog tomorrow--another wonderful historical and beautifully told biography of another amazing woman; this time the child who will grow up to be an Empress in Byzantium. Watch this space, and drink more elegantly blended four-star coffee.
And then there are all those contemporary Christmas stories - with their pleasingly Hollywood endings:
A Model Bride by Autumn McArthur offers Christmas romance with believable characters, evocative scenery and emotional depth - not a fluffly romance, but a novel with light and dark, both on the photograph and on the heart. Faith-filled, uplifting, and more like a meal than dessert, it's one to finish with some well-balanced, smooth and complex three-star coffee.
With a very different approach to the season and romance, Frozen Flawless by Rachel Woods offers an introduction to the author's Spencer and Sione series with Spencer trying to wrap her mind around the presence of a handsome husband and two beautiful children. But someone's following her around the mall... If you can find this short story, enjoy it with some dark intense five-star coffee.
Mimi Barbour's Holiday Heartwarmers Trilogy brings dogs into the Christmas picture, with three thoroughly enjoyable romances, each completely different, and each including a dog. Enjoy with some easy-drinking three-star coffee.
Then there's Christmas Anthology by Tayla Alexandra, Dyanne Green, Sharon Thorn, Remi Carrington, Bree Livingston and Lara Wynter, an enjoyable collection of easy-reading stories that offer the joy of giving, gentlemen who always open doors for ladies, and women evicted from their homes, desperate to find a job (and offered so much more). Sweet, fun, with lots of happy endings. Enjoy with some light crisp two-star coffee.
The Christmas Cookie House by Jennifer Griffith, a tale of cookies, teen excitement, neighborhood mystery, romance, Christmas and... well, more romance. It's fast, breathless, fun... best enjoyed with some light crisp two-star coffee.
But now it's not Christmas anymore. What should I read next? Perhaps I should just continue to tackle that long-overdue to-read list - I'm enjoying it, whatever the season.
Comments