Christmas by the Sea, book #21

Just finished this book up today ... sweet little end to our Christmas season!


When Wendy Harper inherits her family's beachside cottage in Seaside, Maine, she sees it as a way to finally pay off the debts that have mounted since her husband died. But before it can be sold, the neglected property must be renovated. She and her 12-year-old son Jackson move in--temporarily, she reminds him--in order to do the work themselves, even though Christmas is coming. The charming town, along with local craftsman Caleb Colton, pulls on both Wendy and Jackson, who even registers himself for school in a bid to get his mom to move them there permanently. Wendy knows that the most responsible thing to do is to sell the cottage and return to Ohio, but the lure of the sea is hard to resist.  (picture and description at Amazon)

Here's a new year to stories to read!

O:)
Melissa

Baby, It's Cold Outside, Book #20

So this book is not at all what I anticipated it being, but what a delightful surprise it was.  I didn't realize until the end how neatly it copies the story of The Mitten, a Ukrainian fairytale,  (Which, for the record, I seriously thought Jan Brett wrote!  :) ) It is a little dark at times, and might take you a bit to get into, but it is 100% worth it!

Five near-strangers. One snowstorm. A Christmas that none of them will ever forget. Dottie Morgan has no desire to share her home or her heart over the Christmas holidays. After all, her Christmas spirit froze over when Dottie lost her son in World War II. Alone and bitter, she’d like nothing more than to hide and let the Christmas season pass her by. After serving as a mechanic the Army’s motor pool, Violet Hart returned home to a community that didn’t quite know what to do with her. She’s not a soldier, but she’s not the girl-next-door, either. She’s resigned herself to being the spinster of Frost, Minnesota.  Former soldier Jake Ramsey is on a mission—return the letters written by Violet to his best friend, lost in battle. But Jake has been in love with Violet for years—about as long as he’s been keeping a secret that just might break her heart.  And then there’s Gordon Lindholm, the farmer from across the field who harbors his own grief—and love—for the woman he can’t forget.  When a blizzard of the decade traps Dottie in her home, along with Violet, Jake, Gordon and a wandering child in need of rescue, the strangers must band together to survive. And in doing so, they just might discover the magic of Christmas and a miracle that will heal all their hearts.  (picture and description from Amazon)  

Trust me, you will want to add this to your Christmas reading list!

O:)
Melissa

Last Christmas in Paris, Book #19

Its pretty sad that I have only read 19 books so far this year, but it has BEEN A YEAR!!!!  At least all of the ones I have read have been good!

This one was no different.  I honestly didn't remember what it was about, but it was on list of Christmas stuff to read it, so I got lucky it was cheap on Amazon for my paperwhite.  It wasn't really about Christmas all that much, and it was much longer than I thought, but once I finished this morning, I was on the floor.  It was just so much, so much love, so much history, so much reality of WW1, so much .... highly recommend!!

August 1914. England is at war. As Evie Elliott watches her brother, Will, and his best friend, Thomas Harding, depart for the front, she believes—as everyone does—that it will be over by Christmas, when the trio plan to celebrate the holiday among the romantic cafes of Paris.But as history tells us, it all happened so differently… Evie and Thomas experience a very different war. Frustrated by life as a privileged young lady, Evie longs to play a greater part in the conflict—but how?—and as Thomas struggles with the unimaginable realities of war he also faces personal battles back home where War Office regulations on press reporting cause trouble at his father’s newspaper business. Through their letters, Evie and Thomas share their greatest hopes and fears—and grow ever fonder from afar. Can love flourish amid the horror of the First World War, or will fate intervene?  Christmas 1968. With failing health, Thomas returns to Paris—a cherished packet of letters in hand—determined to lay to rest the ghosts of his past. But one final letter is waiting for him… (picture and description at Amazon)

Now on to really Christmas books that happen at Christmas!

O:)

Melissa