Thursday, 3 December 2020
Guest Review: Christmas for Beginners by Carole Matthews
IT'S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR . . .
Christmas is fast approaching at the new Hope Farm. Owner Molly Baker has been convinced to organise an open day to raise some much-needed funds ahead of the New Year, but the nativity tableau is proving challenging. With anti-social sheep, awkward alpacas and a seriously sequined Santa Claus to assemble, Molly is feeling overwhelmed, and in desperate need of some Christmas spirit . . .
Despite the chaos of the farm getting in the way of her event planning, Molly is looking forward to spending the holidays with boyfriend Shelby and his son, Lucas, hopeful that a happy family Christmas is exactly what they need to draw them all together. But while she is busy making plans on the farm, Shelby, it seems, has ideas of his own.
As the nativity draws near, the team are working hard to pull off a spectacular festive fete - and make sure the animals and humans remain on their best behaviour.
Will this Christmas be merry and bright... or is there more than one surprise in store for Molly and Hope Farm?
Review: This book is a sequel to Happiness for Beginners by the same author. I really enjoyed that book and was looking forward to reading this one, especially as it is set at Christmas. When reviewing a sequel, it is difficult not to give away spoilers for the previous story, but I’ll do my best. Safe to say that the same characters are present in this book, with a few interesting additions. This book must be a contender for most attractive and most Christmassy cover of the year. It just begs the beholder to pick up the book and read.
Once again, the story revolves around Molly Blake and her farm which is populated by abandoned or donated animals, some of whom have ‘interesting’ personalities. Molly opens her gates to children with problems of their own, sharing their care with a few others, including difficult teenager and budding poet Lucas Dacre. Lucas’s father, Shelby, is Molly’s partner, but, as an actor, is frequently absent from their lives. Christmas is going to be busier than ever for Molly this year, as she has been persuaded to run an open day on the farm with a festive theme to raise some much needed cash. With Shelby away pursuing his acting career, the local mayor, Matt, steps up to help with the event. He is interested in the farm in general and helping in any way he can. Predictably, organising the open day throws up problems along the way, from both humans and animals, and Molly has to cope with some really serious issues. She wonders if the event will ever come together, and, as Christmas approaches, what the future holds for her with father and son Shelby and Lucas.
This is a lovely, cosy Christmas read, with a nice mix of drama, romance, comedy and animal antics. You wouldn’t need to read the previous book in the series to make sense of this one, but I was glad that I had; together they make a lovely set. It was good to see Molly coping a little better with her farm and life outside it. Nice also that Lucas was still on the scene, but he was really difficult to deal with on his off days; I was impressed by Molly’s patience in dealing with him. The reader is treated to a selection of his poems at appropriate times throughout the book. My dislike of Shelby from the last book grew even more here. Poor Molly has a difficult time playing referee when Shelby and Lucas meet up. I was glad to see another, more suitable, man turning up in Molly’s life. I think this heartwarming book would make an ideal Christmas present to another reader (or even to yourself).
Wednesday, 2 December 2020
November 2020 Reading Wrap Up
Well I picked some long nonfiction books to read this month didn't I? If you've already seen my Gilmore Girls readathon wrap up post or video then you will have see quite a few of these books already because that week is basically where the bulk of my reading happened!
As always I will break down my reading by format and leave links to any reviews I have already posted...
eBooks
Physical Books
Audiobooks
My Videos
Tuesday, 1 December 2020
Book Blitz: Unparalleled by Jenna Hebert @jhebertbooks @lovebooksgroup #lovebookstours #bookblitz #fanfare #bookpromo #YA #Fiction
Today I am bringing you the all the information about a brand new book from Jenna Hebert. Unparalleled is 388 pages long, it is a young adult fantasy featuring magical realism and it is out today! Click here to order your copy now.
Here's what it's all about...
Seventeen-year-old Natalya Wells has one mission-to kill the monsters over the graffiti wall and rescue her best friend, Eve, who is held captive by Ascendants, the rulers of the fourth dimension. A dying land where children become victims of starvation and violence. When the Remnants, evil red-eyed demons, invade the fourth dimension, Natalya is transported to the next world.
The fifth dimension is a place where grass shrivels, dies, and regrows all in a matter of seconds. The heat of the sun cannot be felt because the sky is encamped by a mural of glass. Natalya meets Jance, who belongs to a superhuman race called Raidens, warriors who heal with invincible scars. Jance holds a deadly secret about what the scars on his body truly mean, and why his own father is determined to kill him.
Eve returns to the fifth dimension and meets Jance's best friend, Ronan, a boy with no memory of the world he came from before. The three of them bind together to help Natalya become a Raiden. As Natalya endures this grueling transition, she discovers the secrets her friends are hiding, along with the unjust laws and dangerous manipulations that are poisoning this world. After a raging war divides the Raidens against one another, Natalya and her friends must reveal the darkness within themselves and embrace their unique gifts. Natalya's power may not only shatter the glass world but someone she loves.
Author Bio
I grew up in St. Charles, MO. I remember coming up with crazy, unexplainable stories in my head as a child. When I was in first grade, they claimed I was dyslexic, I had trouble reading. Then it was ADD because I had trouble paying attention. Honestly, I was always living in a different reality. When I was 12 years old, I started picking up fantasy books and the rest is history! Some fun facts are that I love coffee and I share a birthday with C.S. Lewis. My personal motto is be humble, be kind, and be brave.
December 2020 TBR
What is it about the last month of the year that makes you want to just wrap things up and get stuff done? I've said a few times this year that I want to attack books on my shelves, both physical and virtual and that is what I would really like to do this month. I have a few books on the shelves that have just been there for too long, especially those on my Netgalley shelves whoops!
I am also doing the Romance Takeover over on my BookTube Channel and this straddles November and December so I will leave the link to that blogpost TBR here, you'll see a few of these books popping up on there.
So as always I will have some December and January releases, some festive books I've been saving and then I'll get to those that I really want to try and get to on my shelves. It's always such a busy month, even THIS year so wish me luck!
December Releases
31st December
January Releases
5th January
12th January
21st January
21st January
21st January
Festive Reads!
Other Books on my TBR Shelves
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)