My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

She’d taken over some cookies once when she’d thought she caught sight of someone in their dining-room window, but the only welcome she’d gotten had been from a couple of garden gnomes sitting on the front porch. It was like living next door to Boo Radley.

Oh, good grief. Just what every woman dreamed about: a proposal in a parking lot with a dead rose.

Her cousin, who fancied herself a singer, sang Paul Stookey’s “Wedding Song.” She didn’t murder it, only maimed it severely.

No single dads had come across her path, though several rom-coms had convinced her they would.

Getting to know him was like befriending a feral animal. There was a lot of coaxing involved.

My Review:

This was a sweet and delightfully heartfelt holiday women’s fiction story that gently touched the feels while warming the heart and frequently pulled my lips into an amused smile with wry humor and witty observations. This was my first taste of the clever craft of Sheila Roberts and I am kicking myself for not noticing her works sooner. Her engaging storylines were easy to follow, relatable, and enjoyably entertaining.   The characters were original, realistic, knowable, and highly likable people, even the old curmudgeon who was happy being haunted by his late wife. I was pulling for him even when he pushed back.

Author Website

Facebook: @funwithsheila

Twitter: @_Sheila_Roberts

Instagram: @sheilarobertswriter

Goodreads

Sheila Roberts lives on a lake in Washington State, where most of her novels are set. Her books have been published in several languages. On Strike for Christmas, was made into a movie for the Lifetime Movie Network and her novel, The Nine Lives of Christmas, was made into a movie for Hallmark.

Memories and Mistletoe
by Kelly Collins

ABOUT KELLY COLLINS   

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A solo getaway at an English country cottage is a pleasant way to spend the holiday—but it takes two to really make things merry . . .

Antonia prefers a quiet Christmas. She’s happy to spend it on her own, watching Hallmark holiday movies in her pajamas, eating what she wants, when she wants.

Antonia’s friend Jules, on the other hand, loves a big Christmas celebration and plans on traveling to the Yorkshire Dales for a festive break. But when Jules breaks her leg, she persuades Antonia to make the trip on her behalf. Arriving at the little cottage, Antonia meets the handsome property agent Oliver. But she can’t escape the weird locals—or avoid embarrassing situations like mistaking a cow for a burglar.

As Christmas approaches, the attraction between Oliver and Antonia grows. She could choose to return to the bustling city and spend it alone. Or she could choose love and have a not so quiet Christmas . . .

My Rating:

Favorite Quote:

I realised the only place available meant sharing a table with an elderly bearded gentleman. A chap who wore a scowl so serious it could have turned my wine sour.

My Review:

This was a gentle, relaxing, humorous, and sweet holiday read.   As a favor for her only friend, a socially awkward woman arrives in a tiny village full of oddly quirky yet likable and endearing residents and surprises herself when she finds she is enjoying her stay. The engaging storylines were a delight, easy to follow, amusingly entertaining, and realistically drawn. I adored all the characters and enjoyed the main character’s gradual transition and sweet romance. This is one of those rare books from my reading listing that could be recommended to my elderly mother’s church lady book club without reservation.

And score! I also noted two new additions to my Brit Words and Phrases list with pootled – which Mr. Google informed me was British informal meaning to move in a leisurely manner, and Sunday name – which is also British informal for the full version of a first name or Christian name.

About the Author

Suzie Tullett is an author of contemporary humorous fiction and romantic comedy. She has a Master’s Degree in Television & Radio Scriptwriting and worked as a scriptwriter before becoming a full-time novelist. When she’s not busy creating her own literary masterpieces, she usually has her head in someone else’s.

Suzie lives in a little cottage on the Wild Atlantic Way in Ireland, along with her husband and two Greek rescue dogs.

Social Media Links –

Suzie Tullett (Author) | Facebook

https://twitter.com/SuzieTullett

https://www.instagram.com/suzie_tullett/

 

THE CHRISTMAS ESCAPE
  by Sarah Morgan

ISBN: 9781335462817

Publication Date: October 26, 2021

Publisher: HQN Books

BookShop.org / Harlequin  / Barnes & Noble / Amazon / Books-A-Million / Powell’s / Google Books / BookBub

This Christmas, be whisked away by USA Today bestselling author Sarah Morgan in this uplifting novel of friendship, the festive season, and risking everything for the biggest gift of all…

Christy and Alix are forever friends. Not even Alix’s well-meant but badly-timed intervention the night before Christy’s wedding has put a dent in their bond. There’s nothing Alix won’t do for the woman who helped fill the hole in her heart left by her own family’s rejection. But taking Christy’s boisterous little daughter Holly on holiday to Lapland, days before Christmas, is a huge ask. Marketing whizz Alix might know how to turn toys into million-dollar Christmas bestsellers, but the responsibility of parenthood terrifies her. And unfortunately, she’ll have a witness to her ineptitude, in the annoyingly delicious shape of Zac, Holly’s father’s best friend, who will also be there…

Christy had hoped this year would be her dream Christmas, in her dream new family house. Instead, it’s turning into the nightmare before Christmas, with a frightening list of household repairs, no money, and a make-or-break crisis in her marriage. Even worse, it’s a crisis of her own making, and one that is on her shoulders to fix. With best friend Alix coming to the rescue and looking after Holly, Christy will finally have time to focus on rebuilding her relationship.

As Alix confronts her fears and finds unexpected romance under the Northern Lights, and Christy fights to save her marriage, could it be that their Christmas holiday opens their eyes, and their hearts, to what they’ve always wanted?

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

It turned out that you could reinvent yourself if you moved far enough away from everyone who knew you.

Her life was unraveling so fast she expected to find nothing but strands of it at her feet.

“It’s not sentiment, Alix. It’s emotion. And unlike you, I’m not afraid of emotion.” She was pretty sure that if she took the lid off hers right now, he’d be afraid.

No way am I staying in that confined space with you… It’s more of a health and safety issue. My health. Your safety.

 My Review:

This was a hybrid mix of genres of women’s fiction, romance, and family drama with a holiday theme with the added bonus of generous lashings of amusing wry wit and humor. I always enjoy a Sarah Morgan read, as she is a skilled storyteller who can certainly weave a perceptive and entertaining tale with original yet knowable characters while hitting all the feels.

Once upon a time, there was a man who stood aside, imagining he could live someone else’s life and dreaming of something which would never be his; yet he wasn’t ready to give it up.

Once upon a time, there was a man who loved a woman. His only wish was to watch her achieve her dreams – without knowing that the only dream she ever wanted to achieve was him.

Once upon a time, there was a woman afraid that no one would ever be able to love her – without knowing that there was a man who had loved nothing but her for his entire life.

That man is me: Reid Johnson. And that woman is her: my deepest secret. Fine, so I have a few secrets – but it would be best not to reveal them, as they could take everything I have away from me. And without those secrets, I’d have nothing to dream of.

There are two things you should know about me before deciding whether or not to read this story:

I’ve never been the person everyone thinks I am.

I’ve never been the man she believes me to be.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

It’s been eleven years, and she still smells the same. She smells like freshly-cut grass, like the morning sunrise. She smells like the sea, washing up forgotten memories. She smells like wood crackling in a fireplace. Sloan smells like home: the only home I could ever dream of going back to every night.

You have this armour of cynicism, this tough exterior, but then you do or say things that totally go against your personality, and I can’t understand why. You confuse me.

 My Review:

I wasn’t sure I was going to enjoy the character of Reid for several chapters into the book, although his snarky inner musings and rude and snappy banter often had me snorting into my coffee.   I really should know better than to sip while perusing such a wickedly funny author.

The engaging and provocative storylines hit all the feels and were well woven and laced together with teasing tendrils of hidden complications and issues kept just out of reach yet periodically dangled in a taunting manner to keep me tethered to my kindle. My brain was itching with questions and theories. A.S. Kelly is a rather ruthless tease and a sly and crafty mistress of words. I am eager to amass and lose myself in more of her clever tales.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

Back to being stereotypes the public love. I think our days of any substantial roles to get our dentures into are well over.

‘Is it an older woman you’re after?’ She lifted the hem of her skirt to show a soft round kneecap. ‘There’s always myself if you’re seeking a cougar– there’s life in this auld one yet. I’m eighty-one this autumn and I’d be up for a bit of gadding about in the camper van, especially if you throw in some pub meals and a few jars of ale…’

‘I’d like a Buttery Nipple. Three, if you have them. I assume you know how to make a Buttery Nipple?’ The barman stared, amazed, so Vivienne continued. ‘That’s thirty millilitres of Butterscotch Schnapps and fifteen millilitres of Irish Cream liqueur, please.’ ‘I’ll have a Kahlua, Irish Cream and a whisky cocktail,’ Mary piped up. ‘Otherwise known as a Duck’s Fart.’

Gwen felt a little uncomfortable in the red tankini, although Mary assured her that she looked ‘the business’, before turning to Vivienne and commenting, ‘That new swimsuit of yours is very skimpy, Vivienne. You look like you’re wearing orange dental floss.’ Vivienne smiled, adjusted her sunglasses and laid back, her skin gleaming with sun oil; Mary’s words were a compliment.

‘I’m recovering from a heart attack.’ However, she dug into the sausages with gusto. ‘So, when I’m back in London, I’m starting the 80:20 diet– well, it’s not a diet, it’s more of a way of life.’ Vivienne winked in Gwen’s direction. ‘So, you eat and drink everything you want 80 percent of the time, Mary, and for 20 percent of the time you eat more frugally.’ Mary was puzzled. ‘I thought it was the other way round,’

‘Who are you playing?’ ‘A nun.’ Mary brayed with laughter. ‘Are you sure they know what you’re like? What sort of nun will you be? One that wears lipstick and suspenders and drinks like a fish?’

Vivienne, who had protested throughout the meal that she’d look a sight the following day if she drank any more, was clearly not in control of her wrists: she kept reaching for the bottle, pouring more and then drinking continuously while she chattered. Mary kept up with her, declaring that she’d start the 50:50 diet when she returned to London, much to Gwen’s amusement: Mary had no idea that she’d changed the numbers.

My Review:

These storylines alternated between squeezing my heart with the characters’ challenges and poignant regrets, and putting a smirk on my face from the amusingly clever wit and irreverent sass of the three main protagonists as they bond during their adventure. The mature cast of characters was skillfully contrived and their individual story threads were brilliantly plotted and scaffolded into the narrative.

I adored them all, a feisty actress who enjoyed her wine and always had a relevant Shakespearean quote, an uptight former opera singer, and a retired pediatric nurse gifted in the use of profanity and creative expletives.   Of course, the latter was my favorite 😉 I plan to be just like her when I grow up.

And score, it has been a good while since I’ve had an addition to my British Isles Words and Phrases list and I have a dozy this time with pox bottle – which Mr. Google informed me is Irish slang for an irritating, unwanted person with the addition of the word bottle used for extra venom. I plan to put this one into immediate use.

When her husband David announces he’s been offered a job in New York, Saoirse is thrilled. The glamour of the big city, the shopping, the culture, not to mention the free Manhattan apartment and business class airfare – what’s not to like? There’s just the small matter of making it work for their daughter, five-year-old Anna, who isn’t so keen to leave her friends and school behind.

The Big Apple in the middle of summer isn’t quite the holiday Saoirse envisaged, and with David away with work, New York apartment sizes on the minuscule side, and the pace of life faster than the sleepy London suburbs, solo ex-pat parenting pushes Saoirse to her limits.

And as the pressure builds and ‘faking it till she makes it’ isn’t cutting it, there’s only one thing for it – Saoirse and Anna need a new plan, and ‘Winging It’ might be their best option…

Emma Murray returns with this laugh-out-loud funny, compulsively page-turning adventure about parenting, traveling, and finding your tribe – on both sides of the pond. 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

Eventually, I do what I always do when faced with a complex problem: I push it to the back of my mind and pretend it doesn’t exist.

I do everything in my power to stop my face from falling. Just when you think you’ve found a new friend, she turns out to be in the PTA.

‘Well, I don’t mean to generalise but I’m not sure if Americans are into swearing,’ I say, hoping I haven’t offended them… Roars of protest follow. Darcy’s voice is the loudest. ‘Of course I swear!’ she says indignantly. ‘I have five kids and a husband who still hasn’t learned the kids’ soccer timetable, or how to take out the trash.’ … A feeling of pure exhilaration fills my chest. Maybe, just maybe, I have found my American tribe.

This is our first time celebrating Thanksgiving and I really enjoy the festiveness of the occasion. Mind you, I think it’s fair to say that Anna doesn’t quite grasp the concept: her teacher laughingly told me that when she gave a smooth rock to each of the kids and asked them to paint what they were grateful for, Anna wrote ‘iPad’ when everyone else wrote ‘Mom’, ‘Dad’, ‘God’ or ‘Jesus’. At least David and I know where we sit in the pecking order.

‘Come on, Mummy!’ Anna says, pulling at my sleeve impatiently. ‘Jen is having a connip-shit!’ A fit of giggles rises up in my chest. ‘I think you mean “conniption”.’

My Review:

This was my introduction to the cleverly amusing wit of Emma Murray, and I found it good fun as she kept a near-constant smirk on my face during perusal. The storylines were comical, engaging, original, and easy to follow. I enjoyed all the characters as they were generally likable, realistically flawed, and accessible and even the obnoxious ones were humorously entertaining with knowable and recognizable traits. I look forward to reading this author again and again.