Tag Archive for: holiday reads

Top Ten Tuesday – 10 Holiday Books I’m Planning to Read This Year

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 Genre Freebie (Pick a genre and build a list around it.).  Since I recently shared my spooky season TBR, I thought it would be fun to go ahead and share my holiday TBR since I have already started looking ahead to see what books I want to read this holiday season.  If you’ve been following me for a while, you know I love a good holiday read, particularly if it gives off Hallmark Christmas movie vibes, so that’s mostly what you can expect here.  There are books from some of my favorites like Kerry Winfrey, Tessa Bailey, and Mary Kay Andrews, as well as some new-to-me authors I’m looking forward to trying like Ginny Baird and Zoe Allison.

You can click on the links below to read synopsis of each of these books.  Some of them also already have giveaways up on Goodreads, so be sure to enter those if any sound good to you. 🙂

 

 

10 Holiday Books I’m Planning to Read This Year

 

FAKING CHRISTMAS by Kerry Winfrey

BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CHRISTMAS by Mary Kay Andrews

LOVE, HOLLY by Emily Stone

THREE HOLIDAYS AND A WEDDING by Uzma Jalaluddin and Marissa Stapley

WRECK THE HALLS by Tessa Bailey

THE BOOK CLUB HOTEL by Sarah Morgan

A WINTER IN NEW YORK by Josie Silver

THE HOLIDAY MIX-UP by Ginny Baird

EMERGENCY CONTACT by Lauren Layne & Anthony Ledonne

THE EX-MAS HOLIDAYS by Zoe Allison

 

* * * * *

 

Are you planning to read any of these?

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!

 

Holiday Reviews: ONE LAST GIFT & ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMASOne 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

 

 

Holiday Reviews: ONE LAST GIFT & ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMASAll 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 Christmas3 STARS

2018 HoHoHo Readathon Sign Up Post & TBR List

 

Even though I’ve been saying I’m going to cut back on the number of challenges and readathons I participate in, the HoHoHo Readathon, which is hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer,  is one that I enjoy too much to give up.  It’s so much fun and it really helps get me into the holiday spirit.  I’m a bit last minute getting this part together but I have finally decided what books I’m going to try to read for the readathon.  Here’s my sign-up post, complete with my Christmas/Winter-themed TBR list as well as the rules for the readathon in case anyone else is interested in signing up.

 

My 2018 HoHoHo Readathon TBR List

 

      
 

2018 HoHoHo Readathon Details and Rules

 

It’s time to sign up for the Sixth Annual HoHoHo Readathon hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer.  Gather up your favorite cocoa, comfort foods, holiday music and books and join in the fun! For this event books and audiobooks with holiday or winter themes count.  You can participate for a day or cozy up by the fire and hang out every day. The more you participate the more entries you will earn for the Participant Giveaway.

The event will be longer this year after feedback from last years Twitter Party. It all begins on Friday November 9th and ends at 11:59pm on Sunday November 18th. We will have a Twitter party on the 18th at 3:30 pm (EST)

 

  • Link-up (it is not necessary to link to goal post, just link to the account/blog you will be using)
  • Before or on November 9th post a goals post to your blog.  If you do not have a blog, declare your intentions on social media and link to this page, then create a shelf on Goodreads with intended books) Be sure and link back to Caffeinated Reviewer. If you do not have a blog or Goodreads account and wish to participate you could use Instagram or Facebook. Contact me if unsure.
  • It might be a good idea to a friend, like or follow me on whatever social media site you use so we can see your progress. Just mention Ho-Ho-Ho so I can follow you back.
  • Grab the image and share! Tell your friends, post the image and link on social media using Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr, Google + or Instagram. Be sure to include a link to this page, so others may join.
  • Participate in at least one challenge to be eligible for grand prize
  • Read/listen to as many Holiday or Winter themed books as you can. (Winter can be new years setting, snowstorm etc. If you are unsure contact me)
  • Tweet your progress using #hohohorat
  • Twitter Party! Sunday, November 18, 2018, at 3:30 pm (EST) #hohohorat Come chat about the books you have read. There will be prizes.
  • Challenge schedule and Grand Prize widget will post on November 9th at/by 8 am (EST)
  • Read-a-thon starts on November 9th 12:01 am (your time zone) and ends on November 18 at 11:59 pm (your time zone)
  • Challenges will be open from 8 am (EST) on the 9th and stay open until Nov 18th at 11:59 pm (EST)
  • Grand Prize Raffle will be open until November 19th at 11:59 pm (EST) to allow you to submit entries.
  • All winners of challenges and the grand prize will be notified by November 20th.