Thanksgiving has come and gone {unless you’re like us and still celebrating!}, and we are officially one month from Christmas. Wow! This year has absolutely flown by, but I am determined to savor what’s left – the holiday season is one of my favorites, and I don’t want to miss a moment. It’s also time for another check-in to see how I’m progressing with my Christmas TBR … Catch up on previous posts here, and keep reading for mini reviews of the latest additions.
A Winter in New York | Josie Silver | Dell | 2023 | 🎄🎄🎄
The cover is deceptively cute – this one has some very heavy content. There are positive, light elements as well: particularly the found-family aspect, and Iris slowly growing back into her own. But oof. A lot of emotional turmoil in the lives of both Iris and Gio, lots of ghosts and baggage. Heavy stuff. Also: most of the story doesn’t even take place at Christmas. Sigh.
A December to Remember | Jenny Bayliss | G.P. Putnam’s Sons | 2023 | 🎄🎄🎄🎄
Took a few chapters to get into, but then you can’t rush your way into small town life. The town of Rowan Thorp is such a quirky, charming place, filled with colorful inhabitants. It’s the perfect setting for wintry Christmas magic to change the North sisters’ lives. As much as I enjoyed seeing the North sisters grow and reconnect, I loved the setting even more. Jenny Bayliss is master of small towns, and I hope she brings us more in Christmases to come.
Love in Winter Wonderland | Abiola Bello | Soho Teen | 2023 |🎄🎄🎄🎄
The story is something straight out of a feel-good Hallmark-y film: a pair of teens set out to save a generations-old family bookstore, and the community rallies behind them in a major way. It’s fun, it’s festive. Winterland, the bookstore, sounds amazing – and it’s salvation {not a spoiler, because how could it not be} is pure Christmas magic. The only distraction for me is that Ariel and Trey, our main characters, and their friends are all 17/18, but their language and actions are far more “mature” {shall we say}. It kept pulling me out of the story, especially when at other times they came across younger. Maybe that’s on me/not being around teenagers as much anymore, but … something worth noting.
My count so far is 5/14 {although it’s really more like 5 3/4, because I almost got one more finished before the family fun days started}. At this rate, it’s safe to say I probably won’t check all 14 titles off, but I’m okay with that. I’ve been mixing in non-festive reads as palate-cleansers/my reading mood indicated, and it’s been lovely. I’ve also been eyeballing a few that didn’t make it to the official list, so we may see some “bonus books” appearing in the next update. Speaking of – still debating whether I wait and do a final wrap-up (probably after Christmas), or do one last mid-month check-in before an end of December conclusion… We will find out!
Have you started reading festively yet? What’s on your radar? Anything that I/we should definitely add to the pile before the season ends?
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