Just for Christmas

Each December, I like to read books with a holiday theme. I happened upon Just For Christmas when I placed my last book order and thought I would give this (new to me) author, Scarlett Bailey, a try.

Alex Munro has left Scotland for Poldore, Cornwall. She is escaping two majors incidents in her life. First, she declared her love for her best friend Marcus at his engagement party which backfired on her. Then she came home only to walk in on her father with his lover who also happened to be the lifelong next door neighbor. She had grown up without a mother so this was a major shock to Alex and she decided it was time to move away and find a new life.

Upon arriving in the little village, she found a dirty, rundown cottage which went along with the job. But worse, it came with a dog who was even dirtier and quite vicious at their first meeting. Bouy came with the job as harbour master. Alex did not want a dog and wanted to simply get settled in and hopefully start to become part of village life.

Alex is a likable character who becomes lovable as the book moves on and she starts to fit in with the village life. She is a young woman who is herself and loves doing her job which happens to be a position normally held by men. I enjoyed watching her bloom into being able to be the tomboy figure needed perhaps to hold such a male oriented job while discovering her female side as she gets to know a number of the humorous villagers. Add a pushy aristocrat who is organizing the annual Christmas pageant and has Alex in her sights and you have a fun, humorous read for the holidays with a little romance thrown in.

Happy reading!
Heidi

Julia's Chocolates

"I left my wedding dress hanging in a tree somewhere in North Dakota."

This is the opening sentence to Cathy Lamb's novel Julia's Chocolates. I loved this sentence and sat back waiting for a new wonderful story to unfold in front of me. Had I know more details about this book I would not have bought it. It deals with female sexuality in a very open and naked way. So as I was reading the first third of the book, I was wondering if I would make it through it.

I am glad I pushed through my doubts as I just loved this story!

Julia is running away from Robert and his abusive behavior. She finally found the courage to walk away on her wedding day. She runs to her Aunt Lydia's farm. She arrives to be thrown into membership of the Psychic Nights. There she meets a few woman, Aunt Lydia's friends, of the small town of Golden, Oregon.

Lara is married to the local minister Jerry. He is kind and caring but Lara feels lost. She grew up a minister's daughter so should be made for the roll but finds she is hiding her true self.

Caroline is living a life on little means and is physic. She sees and hears cries of help from all over the world which is a heavy burden for her to carry.

Katie is a mother who is married to a drunk and abusive husband. She works hard running her own private cleaning business to care for her children. Yet her husband drinks their money away.

Aunt Lydia is an eccentric old lady. She has her own ideas and rules in life. She runs her farm with her pig and many chickens. She loves Julia with all her might and feels guilty for not having been able to take her away from her abusive mother when she was a child.

And Julia...who is very down on herself and trying to find her way to start a new life. She is recovering from spending her life being abused by her mother and fiancee. She has a gift for making chocolates. It helps her to make them to forget.

In the course of the story, Julia will discover she belongs in Golden and she has much to give others. I will not spoil the book for others by saying more as it is a book well worth picking up. This is a book that has you cheering for the women.

Happy reading!
Heidi

A Tangled Summer

A Tangled Summer by Caroline Kington is a book that I saved for reading in the summer months. It is a fun book with humorous moments of the Tucker family just being themselves.

This books is set in the sleepy village of Summerstoke. Marsh Farm has been in the Tucker family for years. Gran (Elsie) set herself up creating a bedroom, kitchenette and sitting room in the attic when her husband suddenly passed away and allowed her son Jim to take over the farm along with his wife Jenny. But when Jim also suddenly passed away, the farm was left to the two grandsons, Charlie and Stephen. Both brothers seems to be at odds about how they want to run the farm. Charlie, a relic of a time gone by is also a schemer as well as a man of agriculture. Stephen who is the quieter brother is a dairy man.

The farm is running down. Elsie sees all that is not being cared for and with those worries combined with the wild oats seeming to be sewn by her granddaughter Alison, she decides she must act to challenge the family to put things to rights. The brothers must find a wife in a year of they will loose their inheritance. But Charlie is determined to save the failing farm in his own way While Stephen likes things the way they are. Ali is told she must go to university to become a vet.

This is a book that not only holds a humorous story line but also endearing characters. At one point in the book, Charlie is described in comparison to Pa Larkin  I loved watching the Darling Buds of May and could see the comparison. You could not help but love him by the end of the book. Stephen is the underdog and I love to root for the underdog. Thankfully my cheers were not in vein. Alison is coming of age. She comes across as a mixed up spoiled little girl but she has come of age by the time the family comes together for another meeting. Jenny is a mother that you just have to take to heart. She struggles with most things in life with the exception of knitting.

The villagers are there too. From Linda and Stan who run the pub to village post office and shop owner Rita to Jeff the local vet to The Merefield sisters and Nanny to Simon and his dog Duchess to Hugh and Veronica "just call me Vee" Lester to Paula and Lenny. With this cocktail of amusing characters, I felt I was reading book that could be easily turned into an itv film. A light fun and entertaining read that is just right for the heat wave we are experiencing right now in Holland.

Happy reading!
Heidi

The Day Job

The Day Job - Adventures of a Jobbing Gardener is a book written by Mark Wallington. A fun compilation of stories about the people Mark worked for while gardening as a means to earn some money in 1980. While Mark's dream is to become a comedy writer and he continues to submit scripts to the BBC, he is getting to know many of the people who are the face of North London. In writing about the various people he works for, you cannot help but feel he has grown to enjoy the faces of his day job.

You cannot help but find the people like Joan and Jamie, Annie Kendal, Mr. Nugent, Major Chesney and Kenneth likable and endearing.

Mark has to do battle with his competitors Powerflowers.

You watch the friendship develop with Helen while you hear about his flatmate Neil and neighbor Mandy or his co-comedy writer Dick.

In short this is a book about people and that is what makes the world go around.

Happy reading!Heidi

Meet Me at the Cupcake Café

Meet Me at the Cupcake Café by Jenny Colgan was a book I kept debating about getting. When my blogging friend over at Cornish Cream recommended I read it, it went right into my Kindle in the form of the Audible version. Thank you so much Barbara for recommending I do get it as I enjoyed it so much that I will be listening to the following book very soon too.

Issy bakes! When she is made redundant from her job, she decides to just go for it and create a cupcake café. She has the perfect little shop in mind to house this new adventure. Her first hurdle is to get a rental agreement for the shop while another woman is also trying for it. She wins out and sets up an adorable little place. Her second hurdle is to get people through the door. In the course of time, she starts getting to know more and more people in the neighborhood. These are characters you will enjoy meeting as they come through her door. It almost makes you feel like you are sitting at a corner table enjoying people watching as you sip on a latte and nibble on one of the cupcakes.

This is a fun book that is full of endearing people. It is a book that makes you cheer in the end. It was a perfect companion to quilting or crocheting while I listened.

Happy reading!
Heidi

Curiosity Thrilled the Cat

Curiosity Thrilled the Cat is the first in the new (to me) Magical Cats Mysteries by  Sofie Kelly. And what a start she makes with this one!

Kathleen Paulson has moved from Boston to small town Mayville Heights in Minnesota to oversee the renovations of the library. While orientating herself in her new temporary hometown, she stumbles onto a big old abadoned house called Wisteria Hill. Cats galore are wondering around there and two follow her home. She adopts these two cats naming them Hercules and Owen. Or is it as cat rules go...they adopted her. But she feels like her mind is playing tricks on her when she seems to see Owen literally disappear into thin air. But when Hercules goes through a solid wooden door right in front of her eyes, she begins to think she might be becoming the 'crazy cat lady' she doesn't want to become.

But the restoration of the library seems to hit one snag after another with as many mishaps to boot. The biggest mishap seems to her to be finding not only a dead body at the local theater but finding the dead man in question also had spilled some blood in the library before he died. When a note supposedly from her shows up in his pocket, she decides she needs to find some proof of her innocence before it is too late. Sofie is helped along by several new friends and her cats making her feel like Mayville Heights is starting to feel like home.

This book has all the right ingredients with its cozy mystery set in a characterful small town and cats.

Happy reading!
Heidi

Chocolate Wishes

I just closed the book Chocolate Wishes by Trisha Ashley with a sad heart. This book brought me back to the village of Sticklepond after my first visit in her book A Winter's Tale.

Chloe has spent her life raising her little brother Jake. One Easter, she makes him chocolate Easter eggs bringing an idea to her mind of creating chocolate wishes. They are winged hearts with a message inside much like a fortune cookie. She has thrown herself into a thriving online chocolate business and left love behind her when her grandfather informs her that they will be moving to the village of Sticklepond where she will have her own cottage, walled garden and chocolate shop. Her grandfather and aunt will live in the house connected to the shop which is also a museum. Her grandfather is the famous author Gregory Warlock who is setting up a museum on witchcraft and pagan traditions. But what will the new vicar have to say?

Chloe's best friends Felix and Poppy live in the village so she falls into life there easily. Felix seems to see Chloe in a different light but, when ex-fiancee David shows up wanting to move to the area as well as an ex-pop star vicar who is a ghost of the past, Chloe might have a hard time keeping to her desire to live life as a single woman with a thriving business.

This story is a fun story about life, love and families. But in Trisha Ashley's style, the characters are brought to life in the pages of her books. You cannot help but be pulled in with characters such as Chloe, Felix, Raffy and Poppy or the Gothic loving brother Jake, eccentric grandfather Grumps or colorful aunt Zillah or imposing Hebe Winter. The villagers come to like in this wonderful story. I would recommend you first read A  Winter's Tale as many of the characters are mentioned again in this book. But that being said, it could easily be read without the first book too.

Happy reading!
Heidi

A Merry Little Christmas

Perhaps it seems strange to review a Christmas book mid-January but don't let this title fool you. It does start and end with Christmas but with a whole year in the life of Cat, Pippa and Marianne in between. Welcome to Hope Christmas...a little village in England. Cat, Pippa and Marianne all have families and lives which give them challenges but also love.

Cat is a cooking writer and host of her own show. She juggles it all with her caring husband Noel raising her four children.

Pippa is a farmer's wife to Dan with a special needs child Lucy to care for along with her two loving sons.

And last but not least, Marianne has twin babies to care for along with her beloved step son and farmer husband Gabriel. She works part time as a teacher.

But when life starts to throw many challenges and tests in their way, these three friends really pull together in ways that carry them through. By the end of the year, all they want is A Merry Little Christmas.

This is my second book by author Julia Williams. I really enjoy how she pulls you into the villages she writes about. You are there with the families sharing in their ups and downs. I found myself a little bothered by some of the language in this book but I know that is life now. But regardless, I will be looking for more books by this author as I enjoyed this one as much as The Summer Season.

Happy reading!
Heidi

Note: I have put word verification back on this blog. Someone with no life and too much time on their hands has put almost 200 spam comments on a previous book review. I hope this will not stop anyone from commenting on my blog as I love reading your comments. 

The Importance of Being Earnest

I just loved listening to this performance of The Importance of Being Earnest. It is a recorded live performance and, just as the wit of Oscar Wilde, is perfection of the English language with a humorous view of English society in the Victorian era! This is an Audible book that I will be listening to over and over...

Happy reading!
Heidi