Top Ten Tuesday – 10 Not So Scary Movies & TV Shows I Love to Watch during Spooky Season
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!
This week’s TTT topic is a Halloween Freebie, so since I’ve already shared some spooky season books in a previous TTT post this year, I decided it would be fun to share some of my favorite things to watch during spooky season. Now I’m a big chicken, so please keep that in mind as you peruse my list. You won’t find any Freddy Kreugers or chainsaw-wielding Jasons on there! My Halloween tastes lean toward the fun, silly, fantastical, and only slightly spooky variety. Who knows if the clips will actually play or not by the time this post goes live, but I’ve tried to share the official trailers for each of these in case, by some chance, you haven’t seen them before.
10 Not So Scary Movies & TV Shows
I Love to Watch during Spooky Season
1. E.T. The Extra Terrestrial
2. Hocus Pocus
3. Hocus Pocus 2
4. Beetlejuice
5. The Nightmare Before Christmas
6. Ghostbusters
7. The Addams Family
8. Any of the Harry Potter Films
9. Practical Magic
10. It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
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Question: Do you have any spooky season favorites you like to stream every year?
Holiday Reviews: ONE LAST GIFT & ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS
I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and that your week is off to a good start. My birthday was this weekend so mine was pretty good even if I have reached the age where I’m kind of done with getting older, haha. Anyway, today I’m back with the next round of my 2022 holiday ARCs that are already out in the world. It still feels weird to be reading Christmas books while I’m also still reading spooky season books, but every store I went to this weekend is already starting to put out their Christmas merchandise right alongside the Halloween candy so I guess it tracks that the holiday books would start hitting shelves too. Anyway, on to the books!
One Last Gift Goodreads Author: Emily Stone
Publication Date: October 11, 2022
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
One Last Gift by Emily Stone is a heart-wrenching yet ultimately uplifting story about love, loss, and how to move forward after the death of a loved one. Stone’s last novel Always, in December was one of my favorite reads last year so One Last Gift was a highly anticipated read for me this year.
The story follows Cassie and Sam, who are both mourning the unexpected death of Tom, who was Cassie’s big brother and Sam’s best friend. Cassie and Tom were extremely close because their parents died when they were kids and they basically raised each other. Cassie is absolutely devastated by Tom’s death and doesn’t know how she’ll be able to go on without him in her life. Sam is also devastated and overcome with guilt over his friend’s death, especially since the fatal accident took place on a trip Sam should have been on with him.
What makes their grief even worse is that Cassie and Sam can’t even turn to each other to mourn Tom’s death because their own relationship has been strained to the breaking point. Years ago, Sam was Cassie’s first crush and in recent years, she thought they had come to care for each other as more than friends. This leads her to make a move that Sam then awkwardly rejects, creating tension between them that they’ve never fully moved beyond. Cassie is angry and embarrassed, so when she learns that Sam should have been on the trip with Tom, she holds him responsible and lashes out at him. This part of the story just broke my heart for both of them because it’s pretty clear that they have feelings for one another, so it just hurt to see Cassie freeze Sam out and I longed for them to reunite and for Sam to redeem himself in Cassie’s eyes.
While the loss of Tom makes for a heartbreaking read, his last gift to Cassie is what makes it such an uplifting one. Tom had a long-standing tradition of creating a scavenger hunt for Cassie every Christmas. She would have to solve and follow all his clues in order to find her gift from him. It was great fun and Cassie looked forward to it every year. Even though Tom dies just before Christmas, it turns out he had created this year’s scavenger hunt for Cassie before he left. At first Cassie doesn’t want to do it, but once she finally feels like she’s ready, the hunt offers Cassie a way for her to have Tom in her life one more time and a way to finally process her loss and move forward, and to open her heart to the possibility of love where she least expects to find it.
One Last Gift is a beautiful and poignant story about love, loss and family that will have you reaching for the tissues along the way but that will ultimately leave you with a smile on your face. 4 STARS
All I Want for Christmas Goodreads
Author: Maggie Knox
Publication Date: October 4, 2022
Publisher: Penguin Group – G.P. Putnam’s Sons
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
All I Want for Christmas by Maggie Knox follows Sadie Hunter, an up and coming country music singer who has come to Nashville to participate in the popular Starmaker singing competition and hopefully finally get her big break. This is her second time coming to Nashville and Sadie has decided that if she doesn’t get her break with this contest, then it’s time to give up on her dream of singing professionally. I really enjoyed Sadie’s character. She’s a dreamer but she’s also a realist about her chances of winning. I especially loved her relationship with her grandmother, who is Sadie’s biggest fan and cheerleader. It was sweet to watch their interactions, and Gran’s unconditional support of Sadie’s dream.
I’m also always up for a good underdog story so I was immediately invested in having Sadie be successful in this endeavor, especially when it becomes clear that her primary competition comes in the form of Max Brody, who is nothing short of Nashville royalty and thus has contractually been guaranteed to make it through to the final round. I found Max a little tougher to love at first, just because of his entitled status, but he grew on me pretty quickly, especially when we finally get to see him behind the scenes interacting with his adorable little dog, Patsy Canine.
There was a lot to love in this book, especially when Sadie and Max are forced to work together as a duet and it becomes clear that the two of them have pretty amazing chemistry, both on and off stage, so much so that the show’s producers decide it would be fabulous for ratings to have the two of them pretend to date. I love a good fake dating story so I was totally on board for this ruse since I was hoping it would lead to more. I really enjoyed watching Max and Sadie get to know each other better. Most of my favorite scenes between them actually take place outside of Nashville. When Nashville gets to be too much for Max, he retreats to Banff, a snowy small town in Alberta, Canada. Sadie follows him because they have to write a Christmas song together and are on a tight deadline, and it’s here in this magical little town that the sparks really fly between them.
While I enjoyed the story overall, there were some things that somewhat hampered my enjoyment, the number one thing being miscommunication. It seemed like almost every scene between Max and Sadie ended up with some miscommunication that could have easily been avoided. There’s a huge moment in particular where Sadie decides to keep a secret from Max about her grandmother. It made no sense to me for her to keep the secret and it ended up sending her relationship with Max into a downward spiral because he assumed the worst. And speaking of assuming the worst, Max is the king of seeing something, jumping to incorrect conclusions based on no evidence whatsoever and making an ass out of himself. He does this on numerous occasions and it made me want to just slap him silly. I’m all for creating a bit of drama and tension and a “will they or won’t they be able to get through this?” vibe, but I got pretty tired of it here.
Even with my frustration with the miscommunication, however, I still enjoyed this story overall. If the premise of a reality singing competition being a catalyst for romance appeals to you, definitely check out All I Want for Christmas. 3 STARS
Holiday Reviews: ONCE UPON A DECEMBER & MEET ME UNDER THE MISTLETOE
Happy Friday everyone! I know it’s still spooky season, but for some reason, all of my holiday ARCs also published this month so today I’m sharing my thoughts on my first holiday reads of 2022.
Once Upon a December Goodreads Author: Amy E. Reichert
Publication Date: October 4, 2022
Publisher: Berkley Books
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
Once Upon a December by Amy E. Reichert follows Astra Noel Snow, a young woman who is heartbroken after a nasty divorce and looking to make a fresh start. As you can imagine from her name, Astra is all about holiday spirit and what she’s most looking forward to is her annual trip to the Milwaukee Christmas Market with her best friends. She’s there to eat, drink and be merry with her squad and to flirt with Jack, the super cute baker who insists on saving her his best homemade kringle. What Astra doesn’t know at the time is that she has met Jack before, and on more than one occasion…
Jack Clausen works at the Julemarked, a one-of-a-kind Christmas market. It’s one of a kind because it’s always Christmas there, even once Christmas has come and gone everywhere else. The market exists in its own time and space, magically jumping from one December to the next every four weeks. Once the market leaves a city, the city’s residents immediately forget that it existed and it’s a joyous surprise for them whenever it returns. Jack has always loved living this magical existence, that is, until he develops feelings for Astra and becomes frustrated that he can only see her each time the Julemarked returns to Milwaukee and even then, she just doesn’t remember who he is. When the magical market arrives this holiday season, Jack decides it’s time to figure out if there’s any way he and Astra can truly have any kind of future together. If she knew the truth about the Julemarked, would she consider leaving her life and joining him there? Or could he bring himself to leave behind the only life he has ever known to be with her?
Sometime magical realism doesn’t work for me, but Reichert always gets it exactly right. I fell in love with the whole concept of the Julemarked and just loved the way Reichert brought it to life. I could practically taste the delicious kringle and the hot cocoa. The atmosphere reminded me of a Hallmark movie, as did all of the adorable dates between Astra and Jack, and as a huge Hallmark fan, that makes for a winning read for me. I also adored all of the fun and quirky characters, from Astra and her best friends all the way through to Jack and all of the residents of the Julemarked, who were rooting just as hard as I was for Jack to find a way to be with Astra.
Once Upon a December is truly a magical and heartwarming holiday read. I knew it would be after falling in love with Reichert’s last novel, The Kindred Spirits Supper Club, but she definitely exceeded my expectations with this new book. If you’re looking for a read that captures the magic of the holidays and that is sure to leave you with a smile on your face, look no further than Once Upon a December. 4 STARS
Meet Me Under the Mistletoe Goodreads
Author: Jenny Bayliss
Publication Date: September 27, 2022
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
Jenny Bayliss’ new holiday novel, Meet Me Under the Mistletoe, follows Elinor Novel, a bookshop owner, who heads to a castle in the English countryside for a wedding and a holiday reunion with her friends from boarding school. Elinor is reluctant to attend because there’s someone she doesn’t want to see – a certain someone she had a one-night stand with who turned out to be married. Elinor did not know he was married, and he of course didn’t offer up that bit of information. Her desire to see the rest of her friends wins out though and so she’s off to the country.
I really liked Elinor. Even though she went to boarding school and has a squad of rich friends that can afford to spend their holidays at fancy castles, Elinor feels that she has never really fit in with them because she only attended the school on scholarship. Her parents are working class and even with her boarding school education, Elinor doesn’t have a fancy flashy career like the rest of her schoolmates do. She has that underdog vibe that I always love so much. I found it very interesting to follow Elinor’s journey because reuniting with these friends takes her back to a place in her memory where she felt like she never quite fit in and was an imposter. Bayliss does a wonderful job of taking us through the full range of emotions Elinor experiences as she works out how she fits in with this group and what she wants out of life. I also adored the scenes where Elinor reconnects with Isaac, her childhood nemesis, who has grown up and is clearly no longer interested in being Elinor’s enemy. It was really sweet watching the two of them reconnect and reevaluate their relationship.
The story was sometimes hilarious, sometimes dramatic, but always entertaining. I particularly enjoyed the wedding preparation scenes, the random shenanigans surrounding the friends reuniting, as well as the more tension filled moments between Elinor and the married one-night stand. Most of my favorite scenes though actually took place between Elinor and Andrew, who she employs at her secondhand bookshop. He lovingly mocks Elinor because she loves books so much that she never actually wants to sell any of the books she acquires. They were just the most adorable book nerds!
The only downside to Meet Me Under the Mistletoe was that even though it’s meant to be a holiday read, there really isn’t that much holiday spirit in it. Nearly two-thirds of the book doesn’t mention Christmas at all, which surprised and disappointed me a bit. I honestly think I would have enjoyed the story so much more without the promise of a holiday element since that promise set up an expectation that wasn’t really met for me. It’s still a good solid read though. 3 STARS