Tag: christmas

Review: Let It Glow

Title: Let It Glow
Author: Marissa Meyer, Joanne Levy
Genre: Middle Grade, Contemporary
Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: October 1, 2024
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

When Aviva Davis and Holly Martin meet at the holiday pageant tryouts for their local senior’s center, they think they must be seeing double. While they both knew they were adopted, they had no idea they had a biological sibling, let alone an identical twin! The similarities are only skin deep, though, because while Aviva has a big personality and even bigger Broadway plans, Holly is more the quiet dreamer type who longs to become a famous author like her grandfather.

One thing the girls do have in common is their curiosity about how the other celebrates the holidays. What better way to discover the magic of the holidays than to experience them firsthand? The girls secretly trade lives, planning to stage a dramatic reveal to their families at the pageant. Two virtual strangers swapping homes, holidays, and age-old traditions–what could possibly go wrong?

Review:

When Holly Martin and Aviva Davis sign up to perform at a holiday pageant at a senior’s residence, they discover that they are identical twins. Both the girls know they’re adopted but they didn’t know that they had a twin. Holly’s family celebrates Christmas and Aviva’s family celebrates Hanukkah. They are both curious about each other’s holidays, so they decide to switch places for a few days until they can reveal their identities at the pageant. However, the girls don’t know much about each other, so they have to work hard to hide their identity in their new families.

This was such a fun holiday story! The Parent Trap is one of my favourite movies, and this story was like a holiday version of it. My family celebrates Christmas so I knew the Christmas traditions that Holly’s family did. I liked learning about Hanukkah in this story. Aviva was also learning about her family’s traditions, so her and Holly were both being taught throughout the story.

Let It Glow is a fun middle grade holiday story!

Thank you Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for providing a digital copy of this book!

Have you read Let It Glow? What did you think of it?

Review: Merry Ever After (Under the Mistletoe Collection #2)

Title: Merry Ever After (Under the Mistletoe Collection #2)
Author: Tessa Bailey
Genre: Romance, Novella
Publisher: Amazon Original Stories
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Format: Ebook
Release Date: November 12, 2024
Rating: ★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

A single mother working in a thrift store. A gentle giant farmer who can’t find jeans that fit. When opposites attract, they find themselves making alterations in more ways than one in this smoking-hot short story by #1 New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey.

Evie Crowe is starting over in a strange town with her newborn, and men are the furthest thing from her mind. If only the quiet, hulking farmer, Luke Ward, would stop coming into the thrift shop and piquing her reluctant interest. Evie wants to stay single all the way—she can’t trust anything more than friends-with-holiday-benefits. But Luke is in it for the long haul. He’s fixed on making this a Christmas Evie will remember forever. If she gives him a chance.

Tessa Bailey’s Merry Ever After is part of Under the Mistletoe, a stirring collection of December romances that thrill and tingle all the way. They can be read or listened to in one swoony sitting.

Review:

Evie Crowe is starting over in a small town with her newborn baby. She works in a thrift shop, where farmer Luke Ward comes in to look for pants, but he can never find a pair that fits his large frame. Evie decides to make a pair for him, which touches his heart, and starts their whirlwind romance. 

This was a short novella. Luke’s large size was emphasized a lot throughout the story. It almost started to feel like a joke because of how big he seemed to be. I really liked the ending though!

Merry Ever After is a short, fast paced romance.

Other books in the series:

Have you read Merry Ever After? What did you think of it?

Review: The Christmas Countdown

Title: The Christmas Countdown
Author: Holly Cassidy
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: Penguin Random House Canada
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: October 22, 2024
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

From the author of The Christmas Wager comes a charming holiday rom-com about a young, recently heartbroken woman who is tasked by her sister to complete Advent calendar challenges in the lead up to Christmas to reignite her belief in herself, the holidays, and love again.

She’s given up on love and Christmas…but fate has other plans.

All Callie wants for Christmas is to hibernate. She’s still reeling from being dumped by her childhood sweetheart, and under no circumstances will she go home for the holidays considering her ex will be right next door with his new, perfect partner. Callie is officially in grinch mode, but her meddling sister, Anita, won’t let her give up on life, love, and Christmas quite so easily.

Anita stages a Christmas intervention for Callie with a homemade Advent calendar challenge—cheerful tasks to push Callie out of her comfort zone and into the holiday spirit, inspired by a childhood tradition. Callie reluctantly plays along, but when she comes face-to-face with a charming baker who just might be the spoonful of sugar she needs, her strict rules on love and the holidays are tested. 

As they strike a deal to do the activities together, could the twenty four little doors on Callie’s Advent calendar not only open up one, but two closed-off hearts?

Review:

Callie was recently dumped by her childhood sweetheart, and she still has to see him at work everyday. She doesn’t want to go home for the holidays because she’ll have to see him and his family. To cheer her up and remind her how much she loves Christmas, her sister, Anita, creates an advent calendar for Callie filled with childhood memories and activities to get her out of her shell. Callie decides to follow the calendar. She meets a charming baker who eagerly participates in the activities with Callie and makes her believe in love again.

This was such a cute holiday romance. I loved the way Callie’s sister incorporated so many of their childhood memories into the advent calendar to remind her of the joy of Christmas. Callie and Marco, the baker, had a natural romance that developed throughout their Christmas adventures.

The Christmas Countdown is a fun holiday romance!

Thank you Penguin Random House Canada for providing a digital copy of this book!

Have you read The Christmas Countdown? What did you think of it?

Review: Cruel Winter With You

Title: Cruel Winter With You (Under the Mistletoe Collection #1)
Author: Ali Hazelwood
Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Novella
Publisher: Amazon
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Format: Ebook
Release Date: November 12, 2024
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

For two former childhood friends, a blustery winter storm stirs some frosty—and scorching—memories in a delightful short story by #1 New York Times bestselling author Ali Hazelwood.

All newly minted pediatrician Jamie Malek wants is to borrow a roasting pan for Christmas dinner. Unfortunately, that requires her to interact with Marc—her best friend’s troublemaking brother, who’s now a tech billionaire. He’s the one who got away. She’s the one who broke his heart. Outside, a howling blizzard. Inside, a crackling fire. Suddenly, being snowbound with the man she never expected to see again might not be such a bad way to spend a winter’s night.

Ali Hazelwood’s Cruel Winter with You is part of Under the Mistletoe, a stirring collection of December romances that thrill and tingle all the way. They can be read or listened to in one swoony sitting.

Review:

On Christmas Eve, Jamie Malek’s father sends her to her childhood best friend’s house to borrow a roasting pan. When she gets there, her best friend’s younger brother Marc is the only person there. Since it’s a bad storm and too dangerous for Jamie to walk all the way home, she ends up staying the night, allowing them to confess all the romantic feelings they’ve been holding onto all of their lives. 

This was a friends to enemies to friends to lovers romance, and also a bit of a second chance romance. These kinds of romances always feel so emotional to me. The characters and their backstory was well developed in this short novella.

Cruel Winter With You is a perfect holiday novella!

Other books in the series:

  • Merry Ever After (Under the Mistletoe Collection #2)
  • All by My Elf (Under the Mistletoe Collection #3)
  • Merriment and Mayhem (Under the Mistletoe Collection #4)
  • Only Santas in the Building (Under the Mistletoe Collection #5)

Have you read Cruel Winter With You? What did you think of it?