“book”, “read”, “book blog”, “easy read”, “don’t miss out”, “fiction”, “entertaining”, “what should I read next”, “what book do you recommend”, “christmas”, “romance”
Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday! Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, this week it is Favourite “Aww” Moments In Books (Share those sweet/cute moments in books that give you warm fuzzies.). I initially worried that I hadn’t read enough books with warm fuzzies, and if I had which ones were they?! I decided to go through my Goodreads list and found that actually I had read quite a few books that would fit the bill and once I had got into the flow of it, it was ok! So here is my list:
NOTE: In the name of not spoiling any books, I have only put the book that includes the moment and not the actual moment itself.
My son brought home yet another bug (we have tested for Covid and we are all negative). It is a bad bug this time as even my partner has caught it and he is never ill! Wednesday my son was at home to recover after struggling through Monday and Tuesday. The rest of the week he was at school and on Friday had his first disco which I think he enjoyed! This weekend will be another quiet one while we all recover!
“book”, “read”, “book review”, “book blog”,”recommended”, “easy read”, “don’t miss out”, “fiction”, “entertaining”, “book meme”, “weekly wrap up”, “sunday salon”, “what books do you recommend”, “what books are popular on social media”, “what book should I read next”, “mystery”, “fantasy”, “romance”, “autumn reading”, “fall reading”
Welcome to my Sunday post hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer. A very busy week this week. Despite being ill yet again, I started to take part in a month long Halloween Challenge and also put up a couple of book reviews in addition to my normal posts.
“book”, “read”, “book review”, “book blog”,”recommended”, “easy read”, “don’t miss out”, “fiction”, “entertaining”, “mystery”, “what should I read next”, “what books do you recommend”, “which books are popular at the moment”, “what is everyone reading”, “autumn reading”, “fall reading”
This Christmas the Miller siblings have one goal—to avoid their well-meaning family’s endless stream of prying questions. Ross, Alice and Clemmie have secrets that they don’t intend to share, and they are relying on each other to deflect attention.
An uninvited guest
Lucy Clarke is facing a Christmas alone and the prospect of losing her job. Unless she can win a major piece of business from Ross Miller, the season promises to be anything but festive. She’ll just deliver her proposal to his family home and then leave. After all, she wouldn’t want to intrude on the Miller family’s perfect Christmas.
A Christmas to remember
When Lucy appears on the Miller family’s snow-covered Highland doorstep, she’s mistaken for Ross’s girlfriend. By the time the confusion is cleared up, they’re snowed in—she can’t leave, even if she wants to! But does she want to? As secrets spill out like presents from an overstuffed stocking and the chemistry between her and Ross ignites, this is going to be either Lucy’s worst Christmas ever or the best mistake of her life.
💭THOUGHTS💭
I was very excited to be approved for this, my first Netgalley EARC! I have read and enjoyed Sarah Morgan’s Christmas books before and so had high hopes for this one. I have to say that it exceeded my expectations. I struggled to put it down!
The writing was clear, engaging and had some emotional moments in it. It was cleverly made up of multiple points of view which were clearly set out and gradually brought the story together. Nothing felt rushed and you felt like you got of each character’s thoughts and feelings before moving on. The correct balance was struck with the chapters being long enough that you got invested, but not too long that you couldn’t wait to get to the end and move on to the next pert of the story.
The chapters were generally fairly long and taken from one character’s point of view. There didn’t seem to be any particular rule as to whose point of view you read about next, but it was well chosen and made the story move along well and come together seamlessly. I loved the different points of view and seeing what those characters were thinking and feeling.
Whilst the chapters were fairly long, my interest didn’t waiver. I got invested in each of the characters’ storylines and was desperate to find out what was going to happen to them next. The story didn’t feel like it was dragging as some stories with long chapters can. It was cleverly done to grab your interest and make you feel for the characters. Not one character let the story down. I could quite happily have read more on every single character.
Moving on to the characters. They were excellent. I loved learning about their lives and who they were from reading the story from their point of view. What they presented to each other was not necessarily who they were and that was interesting. I loved the family dynamic presented to us and enjoyed the fact that it was highlighted further by Lucy who didn’t have any family. The love and support shone through this book and made it a joy to read.
Lastly the settings. I loved being snowed in in a big old family home set in a picturesque area, and having it all described to me. There was just enough description to make you ‘see’ what was there without detracting from the characters’ thoughts, feelings and actions. It was what I would describe as a proper Christmas book.
Overall I loved it. It exceeded my expectations and exuded all things Christmas. I highly recommend it.
I have had a good chunk of reading time this evening and I have managed to stay awake – just! I have finished my Netgalley EARC Snowed in for Christmas by Sarah Morgan. I highly recommend it. It definitely exceeded my expectations! I have drafted a review and will be finalising it tomorrow ready for posting.
I then spent the rest of the evening reading Good Taste by Caroline Scott. I am enjoying it but at the same time panicking that it needs to be read by 21 October (which it will be, it’s just that time is speeding by at the moment!).
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters will have to wait until tomorrow, however I really do need to have it read by the end of the month as it is my Gothic Fiction choice!
I hope that you have had a good Thursday. Tomorrow on the Blog it’s Friday 56, Book Blogger Hop, Friday Musings and my Halloween Challenge post.
Tonight I have had a wonderfully long reading evening, however I am about to cut it short by going to sleep. It does annoy me that when I finally get a good long evening I am so tired that I waste it sleeping.
Anyway, this evening I have finished The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling. I wasn’t expecting to finish it quite this early, but I was enjoying it and in addition to this evening, I also devoted my day time reading slot to it. I have drafted a review for it so that is ready to be finalised tomorrow. I am not sure when I will actually post it though.
I spent the rest of the evening reading my Netgalley EARC Snowed in for Christmas by Sarah Morgan and a chapter of Good Taste by Caroline Scott. I am enjoying both and look forward to picking them both up again tomorrow.
I hope that you have had a good Monday. Tomorrow on the Blog it’s Top Ten Tuesday and First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday. This week’s Top Ten Tuesday was a tough one so I’ve had to think outside the box a little bit…
Welcome to my Stacking The Shelves post hosted by Reading Reality. I got accepted for my first Netgalley book and a Blog Tour this and my son had a fair few books for his birthday this week (of which I have only picked a couple!):
Netgalley Book:
Snowed In For Christmas by Sarah Morgan
Book Description From Netgalley:
“She’s snowed in with the family. The only problem? They’re not her family.
A family gathering This Christmas the Miller siblings have one goal – to avoid their family’s well-meaning questions. Ross, Alice and Clemmie have secrets that they don’t intend to share, and they are relying on each other to deflect attention.
An uninvited guest Lucy Clarke is facing a Christmas alone, and the prospect of losing her job – unless she can win a major piece of business from Ross Miller. She’ll deliver her proposal to his family home in the Scottish Highlands and then leave. After all, she wouldn’t want to intrude on the Miller’s perfect family Christmas.
A Christmas to remember When Lucy appears on the Miller’s snow-covered doorstep, she is mistaken for Ross’s girlfriend. But by the time the confusion is cleared up, a storm has hit and Lucy is stuck. As everyone settles in for a snowed-in Christmas, tensions bubble to the surface and suddenly Lucy finds herself facing a big family fallout with a family that isn’t hers…”
My review is due on 27 October so keep your eyes peeled for it on here, Amazon, Goodreads, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!
Blog Tour Book:
Keeping a Christmas Promise by Jo Thomas
Book Description:
“A Christmas to remember for a friend they’ll never forget…
Four friends While on holiday twenty-five years ago, Freya and her three best friends created a bucket list. As they talked about families, careers and travelling, the future seemed bright, full of hope and most importantly guaranteed…
One promise Now, Freya and two friends are travelling to Iceland in memory of the friend they’ve lost, determined to fulfil her dream of seeing the Northern lights. Nothing – not even a snowstorm – is going to stop them.
A life-changing adventure When an avalanche leaves them stranded, a handsome local, Petur, comes to the rescue and shows them how the community come together to survive. With Christmas fast approaching, the women throw themselves into village life preparing for the festive celebrations.
As Freya’s love for the village and feelings for Petur grow, could this be her chance to find true happiness?
Keeping a Christmas Promise is an uplifting and heart-warming story about friendship, adventure and learning to love again set in a picturesque Icelandic village.”
I am on the Blog Tour for this book on 22 September so keep your eyes peeled for my review on here, Amazon, Goodreads, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!
*Budget Tales Book Blog* 