First sentence: Dear John, I heard you ask daddy what I was like and where I lived. I have drawn me and my house for you. Take care of the picture. I am just off now for Oxford with my bundle of toys--some for you. Hope I shall arrive in time: the snow is very thick at the North Pole tonight. Your loving Father Christmas.

ETA: I listened to this on audio read by Derek Jacobi! It was AWESOME. Cannot overstate it. Absolutely recommend this audio. There are other voice actors for the polar bear and I believe another recurring character.

Premise/plot: The earliest letter from 'Father Christmas' to the Tolkien children is 1920. The latest letter is dated 1943 to his daughter, Priscilla. The letters speak of Father Christmas' affairs--his adventures and misadventures. Little details about the Tolkiens slip through, of course. He refers to their letters in which they mention pets and toys, etc. He speaks of Polar Bear, his greatest assistant. He speaks of red elves--some. But Father Christmas has a war to fight of his own--against the goblins! (Christmas is almost sabotaged several times!)

 My thoughts: How quickly time flies! These letters capture moments. I suppose that's as good a way as any to describe this one. We don't get to see the children's letters to Father Christmas through the years, but, we do get to see Father Christmas's letters to the Tolkien children... But children don't write letters to Father Christmas forever, one by one they grow up and grow out of belief. Still these are moments where we catch glimpses of Tolkien as both loving parent and creative artist.

 

 

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Christmas Box. Richard Paul Evans. 1993. 128 pages. [Source: Bought] [4 stars, family, Christmas, sentimental]

First sentence: It may be that I am growing old in this world and have used up more than my share of allotted words and eager audiences.

Premise/plot: Richard Paul Evans' wrote this book for his daughters. It is a story of a man who realizes--just in time--that love is the most important thing always and forever. A business man realizes he is squandering all of his daughter's childhood in his attempt to be a success. 

My thoughts: It's been years since I've read this book and years since I watched the film adaptation. I do think there are probably some key differences between the two? But again, it's been years. This is a sweet, sentimental holiday story. It isn't so much a romance as it is a family reconciliation story. It is a short, bittersweet novella. 

 

© 2024 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Christmas Eve love Story. Ginny Baird. 2024. 416 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars] [adult romance, mostly clean romance, holiday, Christmas, time loops, fantasy]

First sentence: Annie Jones hurried out of the snow and in through the employee entrance at Lawson's Finest in her red knitted pom-pom hat and peacoat, clocking in on her department store app, and---ahh!--almost mowing down Santa.

Premise/plot: Annie Jones is entering the twilight zone. Mostly. This holiday romance features a time loop [on Christmas Eve] where the heroine has twelve chances to make a good 'first impression' on security guard, Braden Tate. Of course, that isn't the only thing she must get right to make it to Christmas morning. There are twelve cycles of Christmas Eves. Some things change. Some things are inevitable. 

My thoughts: I enjoyed this one. I did. Did it *need* to be 416 pages? Probably not. Honestly I think it would have been better at about 350-ish pages. However, the repetitiveness helped me at times get caught back up of the story. The truth is, I started this one in mid-November, it got moved in the library stack, I forgot about it completely, then picked it up yesterday and read the rest of the book. So I read the first half of the book in one sitting and the last half of the book in one sitting--but three weeks in between. Again, I enjoyed this one. If this was a movie, no doubt, I'd watch it--probably again and again depending on how well it's done.

 

© 2024 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret. Benjamin Stevenson. (Ernest Cunningham #3) 2024. 161 pages. [Source: Library] [adult fiction, adult mystery, series book] [4 stars]

First sentence: There are quite a few differences between an Australian Christmas and the stereotypical Northern Hemisphere fare seen in most books and movies. For one thing, we don't get snow down under. What we do get, in my specific experience, is more murders. But before the killing starts (or the recounting of the killings, to be more precise), allow me to introduce myself. My name's Ernest Cunningham.

Premise/plot: Ernest Cunningham narrates his third misadventure. He is an author-detective of sorts. He's lived a CRAZY life and has had plenty of opportunities to live out golden-age mysteries. The previous books include: Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone and Everyone on This Train is a Suspect. 

In this third adventure, Ernest has gone to help his ex-wife who has been arrested for murdering her boyfriend. He is unofficially-officially-unofficially on the case to find out what really happened. And as it turns out, there's more than one dead body...but is there one killer or more?

It is set during the holidays. Most chapters are an "advent door" to open to reveal clues.

My thoughts: I definitely enjoyed this one. I love the narrative style. I've enjoyed all three books. I would love to reread all three books again--close together--to see if it changes my thoughts. It was a fun Christmas-y read. Definitely think you need to read at least book one before reading this one. (Of course to read all three would be ideal.)

 

 

 

© 2024 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Zanna's Gift. Orson Scott Card. 2020. [November] Originally published in 2004? 250 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: There are many ways to lose a child, and none of them is merciful. But like all unbearable things it can be borne, and in the weeks before Christmas 1938, the Pullmans were learning how.

Premise/plot: Zanna's Gift is a LOVELY Christmas novel. Zanna, the youngest of the Pullman family, has a special way to memorialize her older brother, Ernest, after his unexpected death at fifteen.

The best way to read Zanna's Gift is without knowing a thing about it. I promise you. I'm doing you a favor by NOT summarizing the plot and sharing what Zanna's GIFT was and how it was a gift that kept giving and giving. 

My thoughts: LOVE. I loved this one absolutely and completely from start to finish. It was one of those perfectly perfect EXPERIENCES. It feels like more than just a book, a story, a fictional work. THESE CHARACTERS ARE REAL. How it hasn't been adapted into a movie if it was truly published originally in 2004 is beyond me. It would make an excellent movie. 

I would recommend this one to people who aren't necessarily readers. Of course I recommend it to readers who read anything and everything. But for those who are reluctant to pick up books, please consider reading this wonderful amazing book. 

If you LOVE Christmas, this is an absolute must. I could easily see it becoming a book that you feel you HAVE to read each and every year.

 ETA: I've read this one three times? four times? I love this book so much.

 

 

© 2023 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Christmas on Deery Street and Other Seasonal Stories. Steven Roberts. 2006. 100 pages. [Source: Review copy] [short story collection]

First sentence: Everyone called him Blondie. Most didn't know why.

Premise/plot: Christmas on Deery Street is a collection of short stories by Steven Roberts. This is the third time I've read it, I believe. It features a handful of short stories: "Christmas on Deery Street," "Nanny's Locket," "Magic Socks," "The Angel of Union Station," "Our Star," and "You've Done Enough."

These are holiday-themed short stories almost always focusing on family and friends. 

My thoughts: The stories? How to describe them? They make me feel good. Warm and fuzzy. But not in a cheesy way. I know if I call them heartfelt or sentimental that someone will say, "that's not for me." And that would be a disservice. The stories cover a lot of emotions. There is love and heartache and loss and sadness. There is anger and guilt. There is hope. There is regret. And there is plenty of humor. But above all there is a feeling of genuineness, authenticity, a realness, knowing that these stories are indeed true-to-life and true to the human spirit.

I think I read the collection too quickly this time around. In previous reviews I said I loved all the stories--each and every one. This time around, perhaps because I was rushing it, perhaps because I've been in a reading slump, I found myself loving the first three to four stories and merely 'liking' the remaining. It could be a me thing.

© 2023 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Twelve Topsy-Turvy, Very Messy Days of Christmas. James Patterson and Tad Safran. 2022. 288 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: What is the worst present you ever received for Christmas? A pair of socks? A pair of scratchy socks? A pair of scratchy socks in a vile color? A pair of scratchy socks in a disgusting color that rub your big toes every step you take? A pair of coarse socks in a foul color that rub your big toes and you're forced to wear them because your grandmother gave them to you and she's coming to stay? That's pretty bad. But for Will and Ella Sullivan, the worst thing they ever got for Christmas was a dead mother.

Premise/plot: Kate Sullivan was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. Since this one is being marketed as "the next Christmas Carol" and an "instant classic" that will become a "must read for every holiday season," I thought it only fitting to introduce it properly. So it's been three--or so--years since she's died. The husband, Henry, has NOT gotten over it. He's been a total and complete wreck ever since. And Will and Ella, well, they've had to mainly raise themselves because of Henry's absent-while-present parenting style. But this Christmas, they are determined to find their dad a new wife. If he is happy then maybe Christmas can be Christmas again. So they write a dating profile for their dad...and begin corresponding with a "Ms. Truelove." The results...well...not quite what anyone expected.

It starts with a partridge in a pear tree. Literally. But it isn't until the FIVE GOLDEN RINGS are delivered to their doorstep that the family realizes with ever-growing DOOM AND GLOOM that things are about to get so much worse.

Essentially the premise is simple: the TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS literally being delivered to one family's house for the twelve days leading up to Christmas. Just take a minute or two to imagine that...

The book is about how the family reacts to these "gifts" from a "true love." Just WHO IS THIS TRUE LOVE????? And what is the motivation behind these "gifts" that feel like a curse.

My thoughts: I liked this one. I loved some chapters. I didn't quite love other chapters. It was definitely entertaining--for the most part. It is 100% premise-driven. Not many characters are fleshed out. There are plenty of comical scenes.

But for me, personally, this was no Christmas Carol.

 

 

 

© 2023 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Miracle on 34th Street. Valentine Davies. 1947. 136 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: If you searched every old folks' home in the country, you couldn't find anyone who looked more like Santa Claus. He was the living, breathing incarnation of the old gent--white beard, pink cheeks, fat tummy and all--and his name was Kris Kringle, too. Whether this was coincidence or design--a sort of stage name he had assumed--his friends at the Maplewood Home for the Aged never knew. Nor did they know exactly how old he was.

Premise/plot: Movie novelization of the classic holiday film of the same name. Both were released in 1947. I believe the note to the reader admits that the book is based on the film's script. If you've seen the movie, you've essentially read the book. Almost. There isn't much substance and depth added above and beyond the movie. While a few scenes we get a wider scope--greater understanding there are a few scenes that are very abrupt or concise. The climax of the movie are all the dramatic court scenes, this showdown of lawyers. In the book, however, the court stuff is kept to a bare minimum. The book definitely has a blink and you miss it ending. The same attention to detail that was found throughout the novel is a bit rushed for the last bit. For those that have not seen the movie, essentially a little girl puts Santa Claus to the ULTIMATE test. Meanwhile, Kris Kringle is on trial himself. Is he sane? insane? A danger to himself or others?

My thoughts: I am glad I've read this one. I have read it twice now. I want to love this one so much. I adore the movie. I am always glad to revisit these characters. If you are able to read this one, you should. But if you are having a hard time tracking it down, relax knowing that the book isn't "better" than the movie in this instance. It isn't a waste of time, mind you. It's not. It just doesn't go deeper than the movie and the plot is the same.

 

© 2023 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The House Without a Christmas Tree. Gail Rock. 1974. 84 pages. [Source: Bought]

First sentence: Carla Mae and I were sitting in our little kitchen at the old wooden table, with our spoons poised in mid-air. In front of each of us was a hard-boiled egg perched in an egg cup. We both stared intently at the faces we had drawn on our eggs. The longer the stare, the better the hex. "Who's yours today?" she asked. "Billy Wild," I said, making a face. 

The House Without a Christmas Tree is a nice holiday read. Addie Mills is the ten-year-old heroine in the novel. As Christmas approaches, she has one thing on her mind. Will this be the year that her Father gives in her begging--her pleading, her imploring--and buys a Christmas tree? Or will this be another disappointing Christmas season? She can't ever recall having a tree of her very own. She's not sure she completely believes her father's excuse that since they'll be spending Christmas day at her uncle's house--and he has a tree--that there is no need for a tree of their own. Her grandmother is on her side. But both seem a bit timid, and hesitant, to speak their full minds in front of Father.

Here are some other things it's nice to know about Addie:

• She is best, best friends with Carla Mae.
• She is worst friends with Tanya Smithers.
• She definitely does not like-like Billy Wild. (Or does she?)
• She loves her Grandma, and feels fiercely protective of her.
• She loves but does not understand her Father at all.
• She feels very misunderstood by her Father.
• She's curious about the mother she never knew.

The book is set in a small town in 1946.

 I have read this one a handful of times through the years. I do like revisiting the characters and their complex relationships. There are three more books, I believe, in the series. I have not read them all. But I'd be interested in reading them if I can find them.

 

 

© 2023 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

 Can This Be Christmas? Debbie Macomber. 1998. 91 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: A robust version of "Little Drummer Boy" played in the background as Len Dawber glanced at his watch--for at least the tenth time in five minutes.

Premise/plot: Can This Be Christmas is a short holiday-themed novella by Debbie Macomber. A group of [restless] passengers are stranded at a depot [train, I believe] on Christmas Eve. No one is where they want to be. Most--though not all--are separated from family and loved ones. All are in different stages in life. 

Can these strangers find the 'true' meaning of Christmas?

My thoughts: It was short and sweet. It is not a romance. [Though a few passengers are in relationships.] Because Can This Be Christmas is packaged as a bonus story in longer collections that are romances, your expectations might be different. In fact, I believe GoodReads has MIXED all reviews of Can This Be Christmas with the reviews of her new novel A Perfect Christmas which has Can This Be Christmas as a bonus story. This is probably doing neither book any favors. But it is especially unfair to readers who are confused and trying to make up their minds whether to read it! 

This is a general "feel-good" comfy-cozy Christmas novella. There are MANY characters and MANY stories. It is set over the course of one day and night--Christmas Eve/Christmas. It reminded me of a L.M. Montgomery short story I read once.

© 2022 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Christmas Bookshop. Jenny Colgan. 2021. 336 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: "But it's August!" said Carmen into the phone, putting down her book. "August! It's almost sunny outside! I have sandals on! Ice-cream vans patrol the land! I put sunblock on last week and almost needed it! How can I possibly get my head round what you're asking me?"

Premise/plot: Carmen, our protagonist, is whiny and wearisome. She has recently lost her job at a department store. She shudders at the idea of living with her mom (again). She dreads the idea of living with her (older) sister too. For whatever reason, Carmen hates Sofia. Because she is married? Because she has kids? Because Carmen hates just about everybody? Sofia isn't thrilled that Carmen is coming to stay--at their mother's request--either. [And after having met Carmen, I can understand why.] Sofia knows a client who owns a bookshop that is failing. It needs to show profits by the end of the year--Christmas time--if it's to stand even a small chance. Carmen doesn't really want this job. But she doesn't like the alternative either. If she's around the house, then she might--shudder--have to watch her two nieces and a nephew. She only has a small amount of time to turn this messy, chaotic bookshop into a profitable bookshop. Having no experience in this particular area...you might think it would take some effort. [But, nope. Easy as one, two, three.] 

Since running a new-to-you bookshop in a new-to-you city doesn't take all that much energy and effort, we've got a love triangle too. Blair is a "celebrity" author who visits the bookshop. Oke is a customer who really loves trees. 

My thoughts: This book was so incredibly DULL. The characters were anything but complex, interesting, likeable. The relationships were blah. Carmen was just such an unlikable protagonist. I don't know so much if she changes a little here and there by the end of the novel, or if all the other characters have just adapted to her and made a place for her in their lives.

 

© 2022 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Call Me Mrs. Miracle. Debbie Macomber. 2010. 253 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Jake Finley waited impatiently to be ushered into his father's executive office--the office that would one day be his.

Premise/plot: Call Me Mrs. Miracle is a holiday romance novel by Debbie Macomber. Jake Finley is managing the toy department. He's gone with his instinct and ordered an [insane] number of a particular robot toy. [His father is NOT at all happy.] It will take a miracle to sell them all by Christmas. Holly Larson is raising her nephew, Gabe, while his father is in Afghanistan. The two aren't quite bonded yet. She's struggling. He's struggling. Everything seems messy and chaotic. It would take a miracle for them to have a truly magically great Christmas. The toy he wants [you guessed it THE ROBOT] is way out of her budget. Enter Mrs. Miracle....

My thoughts: I liked this holiday-themed romance. I liked the characters. I did not see the big surprise coming. It was lovely.

 

© 2022 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

A Town Divided by Christmas. Orson Scott Card. 2017. 134 pages. [Source: Library] 

First sentence: When Spunky was invited to a meeting in The Professor's office, she didn't know what to expect. She had taken two classes from him, but she didn't major in genetics or even in a biological field--she was an economics post-doc, shopping for a tenured faculty position somewhere on plane Earth, preferably a place with flush toilets, clean water, and a good internet connection.  It didn't ease her confusion when she arrived at The Professor's office at the same time as Elyon Dewey.

Premise/plot: Spunky and Elyon--a reluctant pair--head to Good Shepherd, North Carolina, to do research. Can they find a gene [or genome???] to "prove" that some people are homebodies? This small town has a good track record. While plenty have left over the decades, almost all seem to come back home and settle down again. This "science" will involve getting genetic samples, data input, and interviews. [Elyon is not trusted with interviews.] Both will have to "settle" down in this super small town while they are working for The Professor. Both are a bit surprised with how things unfold...

Elyon who has very little social skills find himself falling in love with a young woman....and Spunky likewise is finding herself falling head over heels in love with someone as well. Everyone teases about how this is so similar to a Hallmark movie.

My thoughts: This one was an almost for me. Perhaps it would be more of a sell if it was actually a Hallmark movie. I didn't quite "get" the science-y grant side of this one. Elyon reminded me of Sheldon Cooper. Spunky and her love interest, Eggie, are Hallmark material.

I wish more had been about the two battling churches/battling nativities. We learn a little. But at least to my reckoning, this situation was never resolved--or resolved satisfactorily. Spunky and Elyon seem to learn a "secret" that no one else knows, but this doesn't lead anywhere. It's more of an afterthougt/aftertaste. There isn't any "love" or "forgiveness." Unless I fell asleep and missed it completely.

 

© 2022 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

A Darcy Christmas: A Holiday Tribute to Jane Austen. Amanda Grange, Sharon Lathan, Carolyn Eberhart. 2010. 290 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence(s):

From Mr. Darcy's Christmas Carol by Carolyn Eberhart: Old Mr. Darcy was dead to begin with. There is no doubt whatsoever about that. The clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner had all signed the register of his burial. His son signed it. And Fitzwilliam Darcy's name was as good as his father's before him. Old Mr. Darcy was as dead as a doornail.

From Christmas Present by Amanda Grange: It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a married man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of an heir, and Mr. Darcy of Pemberley was just such a man. Moreover, he was soon to have that want satisfied, for his wife, Elizabeth, was expecting their first child.

From A Darcy Christmas by Sharon Lathan: He set the painting onto the sofa, assuring it was well supported before stepping away. He gazed at the canvas, a smile spreading as he looked upon his family. His family. The family created by him and his wife, just as he had dreamt for so many lonely years. They stood on the portico of Pemberley flanked by their precious children on the steps. All of them were smiling at the artist. A sentimental man by nature, he silently examined the newest portrait of his family and lost himself in happy memories.

 Premise/plot: A Darcy Christmas is a collection of three novellas. Each novella is a holiday-themed retelling/adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. 

My thoughts: "Mr. Darcy's Christmas Carol" was surprisingly fun. I had my doubts--as you might have your doubts about weaving these two stories together--but I thought it worked. It does a slight variation on the original. What if Jane and Charles Bingley got their happily ever after--after Lydia was "rescued" by Mr. Darcy's intervention--but Mr. Darcy's pride was still in the way of his declaring his love (the second time). This is what that first Christmas might have been like. If he'd been visited by the spirits of Christmas past, present, future.

"Christmas Present" was a great novella by Amanda Grange. I've enjoyed many of her Austen adaptations in the past. This one did not disappoint. She got the characters just right. It felt authentic like what a Darcy Christmas might have *really* been like. Elizabeth and Darcy are expecting their first child, and Charles and Jane just had their first child. So the families are coming together--the extended families--to celebrate. I really enjoyed this one!

"A Darcy Christmas" is a collection of holiday short stories following the Darcy family through twenty or so years of marriage. (I believe we see their twenty-third Christmas as a couple? Although I might have lost track of the last few stories.) Since we only catch glimpses of the family--on Christmas Eve/Christmas--it's hard to precisely follow these stories. We do know that (almost) every Christmas sees Elizabeth either with a new baby or pregnant. (Perhaps these stories do connect to Lathan's previous novels about Elizabeth and Darcy. If that is the case, then the stories might make more sense when it comes to keeping up with their family, friends, etc. Especially in the case of her children's love interests.)

© 2022 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Talk Santa to Me. Linda Urban. 2022. 280 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: I was born in a stable. A deluxe model, indoor-outdoor stable, with a light-up roof star and grass-mat flooring (discontinued item). My mom had been carrying a three-foot shepherd from the stockroom when the first serious labor pain hit. I've always been impulsive, Mom says, and once I got the notion that I had outgrown my current quarters, boom. She knew I was moving out.

Premise/plot: Our heroine Francie (full name Frankincense) works at her family's Christmas-themed shop. Her grandfather was a GREAT Santa. Absolutely all kinds of amazing. He even started a Santa school to train others how to be Santa. But since he died, well, things aren't quite the same in the family or the family business. Francie's dad is doing his best to continue the legacy, but, his sister has her own ideas of how to maintain the business (and being loyal to tradition and the argument that's the way we've always done it fall on deaf ears). Francie impulsively jumps in during an emergency and finds herself taking on the job as Santa's Intern on a local cable broadcast. The video goes viral--at least locally--and soon Francie finds herself answering thousands of letters to Santa. It's all SO MUCH. But the family's business/reputation may just depend on her PR work as Santa's Intern. 

Meanwhile, Francie is falling head over heels in love with Hector a classmate who just happens to work at the neighboring tree lot. As these two [relatively] shy teens get to know one another, a little Christmas magic happens. 

My thoughts: I thought this one was the perfect blend of super-sweet and funny. I loved seeing all the letters to Santa. We get plenty of those letters and her responses. I enjoyed seeing all the Christmas-y elements included in this one. Plenty of scenes take place during the weeks leading up to Christmas. It felt--to me at least--properly Christmas-y. I loved that Francie deep down cared about her family and was processing her grief. It added a level of depth. All of them were experiencing grief differently and they weren't always incredibly kind and thoughtful with each other. But you do get the sense that they do care about one another. Even "mean" Aunt Carol wasn't a one-dimensional villain (like she'd likely be in a holiday movie). The romance wasn't perfectly perfect--but it was so sweet and light and good. I could see how someone wanting something steamier might find this one to be too "young." But to me, it was perfect.

The back story of Francie trying to redeem her "first kiss" experience was definitely a back story. I'm glad it wasn't the sole plot point. This one so easily could have gone down a couple super-predictable paths. a) She could have had a fake boyfriend whom she would end up actually falling in love with. b) She could have had an enemies-to-friends-to-lovers romance with the boy that gossiped about her way back when. I'm so glad we didn't get either of those stories. 

I do think this would make a fun movie.

Quote:

Dear Santa’s Intern:

I hear you know Santa really well. Could you tell him not to bring me any pants this year? Two times already this year I asked for a paintball gun and two times I didn’t get one, but I did get pants. Pants are not a good gift. Except for one time during recess, I have been pretty good this year and I already said sorry and Henry said okay.

Your friend,

Logan

© 2022 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

A Holiday by Gaslight by Mimi Matthews. 2018. 175 pages. [Source: Bought]

First sentence: An icy late November breeze rustled the bare branches of the trees along the Serpentine.

Premise/plot: Sophie Appersett has been following her parents' lead when it comes to "romance". They are hoping the [semi-arranged] match between Sophie and Mr. Edward Sharpe, London merchant will be just the thing. To be fair, they see Mr. Sharpe and see moneybags. Sophie, well, she is hoping to see more than that. But seeing the real deal, getting to know the real person, takes a bit of effort. Both Sophie and Edward, well, they're not the best at letting down their guards with one another and being real, true, genuine. 

Sophie's father has spent all her dowry on getting their country home fitted for gaslight. And his plans may just extend beyond that...

He has been invited [along with his parents and a friend] to spend Christmas with them in the country...

My thoughts: It was playful and fun. It was sweet. It was clean--nothing to my recollection beyond a kiss or two. If holiday romances are your thing, then this one may just be all delight.

I definitely enjoyed this one. I have read Mimi Matthews in the past. This one didn't quite live up to my full-length-novel expectations. I think if my expectations had been lowered to begin with--it is more of a novella--it would have satisfied.

 

© 2022 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Twelve Topsy-Turvy, Very Messy Days of Christmas. James Patterson and Tad Safran. 2022. 288 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: What is the worst present you ever received for Christmas? A pair of socks? A pair of scratchy socks? A pair of scratchy socks in a vile color? A pair of scratchy socks in a disgusting color that rub your big toes every step you take? A pair of coarse socks in a foul color that rub your big toes and you're forced to wear them because your grandmother gave them to you and she's coming to stay? That's pretty bad. But for Will and Ella Sullivan, the worst thing they ever got for Christmas was a dead mother.

Premise/plot: Kate Sullivan was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. Since this one is being marketed as "the next Christmas Carol" and an "instant classic" that will become a "must read for every holiday season," I thought it only fitting to introduce it properly. So it's been three--or so--years since she's died. The husband, Henry, has NOT gotten over it. He's been a total and complete wreck ever since. And Will and Ella, well, they've had to mainly raise themselves because of Henry's absent-while-present parenting style. But this Christmas, they are determined to find their dad a new wife. If he is happy then maybe Christmas can be Christmas again. So they write a dating profile for their dad...and begin corresponding with a "Ms. Truelove." The results...well...not quite what anyone expected.

It starts with a partridge in a pear tree. Literally. But it isn't until the FIVE GOLDEN RINGS are delivered to their doorstep that the family realizes with ever-growing DOOM AND GLOOM that things are about to get so much worse.

Essentially the premise is simple: the TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS literally being delivered to one family's house for the twelve days leading up to Christmas. Just take a minute or two to imagine that...

The book is about how the family reacts to these "gifts" from a "true love." Just WHO IS THIS TRUE LOVE????? And what is the motivation behind these "gifts" that feel like a curse.

My thoughts: I liked this one. I loved some chapters. I didn't quite love other chapters. It was definitely entertaining--for the most part. It is 100% premise-driven. Not many characters are fleshed out. There are plenty of comical scenes.

But for me, personally, this was no Christmas Carol.

 

© 2022 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

A Christmas Carol. Charles Dickens. 1843. 96 pages. [Source: Bought]

First sentence: MARLEY WAS DEAD, to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that.

Premise/plot:  Who isn't familiar with the story of Scrooge?! Still, I suppose *something* must be said. Scrooge HATES Christmas. Hate is too soft a word really for the rage he feels when he thinks about the holiday. For Scrooge hating comes as naturally as breathing. He loves no one or no thing--nothing except money and making a profit. But what is driving his obsession with money? what is driving him to live as he does--to make the choices he does? Could there be a secret or two in his past that holds the answers to these questions? Can Scrooge be saved from his own worst enemy--himself?

If Scrooge is to be saved--can he be saved?!--it will take some supernatural intervention. For Scrooge won't be saving himself. For one thing, Scrooge does not see his own need to be saved. Saved from what exactly?!?! Saved from success?! As far as Scrooge is concerned, everything in his life is just as it should be. He in need of help? he in need of saving? Don't be ridiculous.

He will be visited by four ghosts--the first ghost being Marley, his dead business partner of old. The other three ghosts being Christmas spirits past, present, and future. Can these spirits open Scrooge's eyes? Will he start to see--will he start to judge--life differently?

My thoughts: A Christmas Carol is a familiar story--much like the gospels. Is it too familiar a story to pack a punch or two? It doesn't have to be. The truth is--like it or not--we are more like Scrooge than we want to admit. We may not hate Christmas. We may not be super-obsessed with money. We may even consider ourselves good, charitable people. But the truth is that we are all sinners; perhaps I should amend that to we are sinners one and all. At best we can say our pet sins differ from his. All of us need a ghostly encounter to reconcile us with ourselves, the world, and God. I would point out, however, that we need a Holy Ghost encounter, and not one from Marley and the three ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future.

In the first stave, readers are introduced to Scrooge's world. We see him at work and at home. We are witnesses to Scrooge's interactions. Dickens does plenty of telling, but he also does plenty of showing. At the close of Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his business partner, Marley. Scrooge is warned of his future fate and promised three spiritual visitors. In the second stave, Scrooge is visited by the first spirit, that of Christmas past. In the third stave, Scrooge is visited by the second spirit, that of Christmas present. In the fourth stave, Scrooge is visited by the third spirit, that of Christmas future. In the fifth stave, it is Christmas morning. Readers are reintroduced to Scrooge; once again, we see him going about his business. Has his outlook on life changed? Is Scrooge a new man?

When I first read A Christmas Carol, I was less than impressed with this "Christ-less" Christmas story. I still loved the Muppet Christmas Carol; I still loved the idea of loving this one. But I found grace to be missing; here was Scrooge a brand new man with a brand new outlook, but no profession or confession of belief or trust in the one true God. The message was not Jesus paid it all; all to him I owe. The emphasis was not that Christ was sufficient--that Scrooge's only hope in life or death was Christ alone. The emphasis seemed to be on outward change, on works. On reflection this time around, I see A Christmas Carol more like the letter of James than any of the four gospels. In spiritual terms, what we're dealing with is not justification--how to be made right with God, how to be saved--but sanctification--how to live life rightly.

My tip for reading A Christmas Carol: try to read it as if for the first time.

 Favorite quotes:

• Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail. Mind! I don’t mean to say that I know, of my own knowledge, what there is particularly dead about a door-nail. I might have been inclined, myself, to regard a coffin-nail as the deadest piece of ironmongery in the trade. But the wisdom of our ancestors is in the simile; and my unhallowed hands shall not disturb it, or the Country’s done for.
• There is no doubt that Marley was dead. This must be distinctly understood, or nothing wonderful can come of the story I am going to relate. If we were not perfectly convinced that Hamlet’s father died before the play began, there would be nothing more remarkable in his taking a stroll at night, in an easterly wind, upon his own ramparts, than there would be in any other middle-aged gentleman rashly turning out after dark in a breezy spot—say Saint Paul’s Churchyard for instance—literally to astonish his son’s weak mind.
• Oh! but he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire, secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster.
• He carried his own low temperature always about with him; he iced his office in the dog-days; and didn’t thaw it one degree at Christmas.
• No wind that blew was bitterer than he, no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less open to entreaty. Foul weather didn’t know where to have him. The heaviest rain, and snow, and hail, and sleet, could boast of the advantage over him in only one respect. They often “came down” handsomely, and Scrooge never did.
• Even the blind men’s dogs appeared to know him; and, when they saw him coming on, would tug their owners into doorways, and up courts, and then would wag their tails as though they said, “No eye at all is better than an evil eye, dark master!”
• Once upon a time—of all the good days in the year, on Christmas Eve—old Scrooge sat busy in his counting-house.
• Scrooge had a very small fire, but the clerk’s fire was so very much smaller that it looked like one coal. But he couldn’t replenish it, for Scrooge kept the coal-box in his own room; and so surely as the clerk came in with the shovel, the master predicted that it would be necessary for them to part.
• “I do,” said Scrooge. “Merry Christmas! What right have you to be merry? What reason have you to be merry? You’re poor enough.” “Come, then,” returned the nephew gaily. “What right have you to be dismal? What reason have you to be morose? You’re rich enough.”
• “Nephew!” returned the uncle sternly, “keep Christmas in your own way, and let me keep it in mine.” “Keep it!” repeated Scrooge’s nephew. “But you don’t keep it.” “Let me leave it alone, then,” said Scrooge. “Much good may it do you! Much good it has ever done you!”
• “It’s enough for a man to understand his own business, and not to interfere with other people’s. Mine occupies me constantly. Good afternoon, gentlemen!”
• Darkness is cheap, and Scrooge liked it.
• “At this time of the rolling year,” the specter said, “I suffer most. Why did I walk through crowds of fellow-beings with my eyes turned down, and never raise them to that blessed Star which led the Wise Men to a poor abode? Were there no poor homes to which its light would have conducted me?”
• The more he thought, the more perplexed he was; and the more he endeavored not to think, the more he thought.
• The curtains of his bed were drawn aside, I tell you, by a hand. Not the curtains at his feet, nor the curtains at his back, but those to which his face was addressed. The curtains of his bed were drawn aside; and Scrooge, starting up into a half-recumbent attitude, found himself face to face with the unearthly visitor who drew them: as close to it as I am now to you, and I am standing in the spirit at your elbow.
• “I am the Ghost of Christmas Past.” “Long Past?” inquired Scrooge, observant of its dwarfish stature. “No. Your past.”
• “The school is not quite deserted,” said the Ghost. “A solitary child, neglected by his friends, is left there still.” Scrooge said he knew it. And he sobbed.
• Now, being prepared for almost anything, he was not by any means prepared for nothing;
• it is always the person not in the predicament who knows what ought to have been done in it, and would unquestionably have done it too.
• “Forgive me if I am wrong. It has been done in your name, or at least in that of your family,” said Scrooge. “There are some upon this earth of yours,” returned the Spirit, “who claim to know us, and who do their deeds of passion, pride, ill will, hatred, envy, bigotry, and selfishness in our name, who are as strange to us, and all our kith and kin, as if they had never lived. Remember that, and charge their doings on themselves, not us.”
• It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things, that, while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.
• “Ghost of the Future!” he exclaimed. “I fear you more than any specter I have seen. But as I know your purpose is to do me good, and as I hope to live to be another man from what I was, I am prepared to bear you company, and do it with a thankful heart. Will you not speak to me?”
• “I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, Present, and the Future.
• YES! AND THE bedpost was his own. The bed was his own, the room was his own. Best and happiest of all, the Time before him was his own, to make amends in! “I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future!” Scrooge repeated, as he scrambled out of bed. “The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. O Jacob Marley! Heaven and the Christmas-time be praised for this! I say it on my knees, old Jacob, on my knees!”
• Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did NOT die, he was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man as the good old City knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough in the good old world. 
• May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One! THE END                       

 

 

© 2021 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Scrooge #worstgiftever. Adapted by Brett Wright. 2016. 112 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Jacob Marley is dead.

Premise/plot: The Christmas Carol adapted and told through text messages with plenty of emojis to spare. 

My thoughts: The book's biggest strength is that it is an absolute breeze to get through. It won't take much of your time as a reader. Of course, that could be because there isn't much substance. To be fair, there are plenty of adaptations of A Christmas Carol--on film especially. The shortest I've seen is under ten minutes. The story lends itself well to adaptation.

The book is essentially a hundred plus pages of gimmick. It is a novelty book cover to cover. If you find the idea of Scrooge and the four visiting ghosts texting hilarious to amusing, then this one might amuse you for most of the book. I personally was over the gimmick relatively early.

Because it has been adapted so many times in so many different ways, people might assume that there isn't all that much there to Dickens' characters. Some adaptations are amazing at depth of character--in particular Scrooge. But some are not--some are barely caricature. For the story to have the ability to MOVE the reader--to resonate with the reader--Scrooge must be fully fleshed out or made human. This "book" lacks ALL characterization. 

Also it is marketed as a children's book--published by Random House's children's division--yet it contains adult-ish abbreviations that aren't quite kid-appropriate (in my opinion). So I wouldn't personally recommend it for kids.

 

© 2021 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

A Christmas Waltz. Josi S. Kilpack. 2020. [November] 130 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: The dark-haired man with the red satin waistcoat began walking toward her from the other side of the ballroom.

Premise/plot: Marta, our heroine, comes to look forward to waltzing with David every year at her family's Yuletide Ball. Their first waltz occurs when she's newly 'out' and just sixteen. She's yet to experience the season in London, and this first dance fills her with all the feels. The two seem to have a connection. Emphasis on seem. For while the dance is oh-so-wonderful, that's all it remains--a memory of a dance. When given opportunities through the years to take the relationship further, deeper, he passes. Content, at least temporarily, to keep it just a nice, cozy memory to pull out now and then. Every single Christmas, these two waltzes. Years pass. Circumstances change. Yet one thing never changes. No matter where they find themselves in their lives, they make their way to each other on the dance floor every Christmas.

My thoughts: A Christmas Waltz is a bittersweet historical novella. On the one hand, it is sweet how these two find joy and comfort in each other's company year after year. A few minutes together each year to share one's private thoughts and dreams. 

On the other hand, because Marta is almost romanticizing and idealizing this relationship with David, she's making her life more bitter the rest of the year. Because her husband doesn't stand a chance against this perfect, idealized, dreamy, swoony connection. Granted, from what Marta tells David about her husband, he doesn't care...at all. He doesn't care if his wife is happy or unhappy. He is not physically present--all that often--and emotionally there's no connection at all. Still there are plenty of romance novels out there where wives and husbands fall in love with each other after the fact, putting aside previous loves and daydreams, working through misunderstandings, finding common ground and building a future together despite not having all the feels when they say I do.  

The book definitely reminded me of Storybook Love:

We've got a storybook love and that's all and that's all
A fantasy world where we love one another
A storybook love and that's all and that's all
A boy and a girl who hardly know each other
But I feel you lookin at me
And in your eyes it's plain to see
One day soon we both will be much more than friends
But until then
It's a storybook love
And that's all and that's all
A fantasy world where we love one another
A storybook love and that's all and that's all
A boy and a girl who hardly know each other
But I already know
How much I'm gonna love you so
I feel it inside me even though it hasn't happened yet
So all we get
Is a storybook love and that's all and that's all
A fantasy world where we love one another
A storybook world and that's all and that's all
A boy and a girl who hardly know each other

© 2021 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews