- The Mistletoe Murder and Other Stories – P.D. James. Not being a big crime reader, this was my first P.D. James read. Although it hasn’t inspired me to pick up any more of her books (I’m just not a fan of violent crime stories), I more or less enjoyed The Mistletoe Murder and Other Stories, with the last two stories being my favourites.
- Christmas Ever After – Sarah Morgan. Although the beginning and end of this story are best described as ‘shaky’, the middle section was a really fun, will-they-won’t-they-even-though-you-know-they-will romantic romp.
- Christmas Days: 12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days – Jeanette Winterson. I love the idea of pairing a short story and a recipe for each of the 12 Days of Christmas, but this was an awkward book for me. I think a knowledge of Jeanette Winterson and her work would definitely be beneficial when reading Christmas Days, as there are many references to her family and friends, some of which read poorly without knowing Winterson’s own story. Although the book looks gorgeous, the shadows of Winterson’s negative life experiences made it difficult for me to fully enjoy what I was reading.
- A Snow Garden and Other Stories – Rachel Joyce. The seven stories in this book are connected by a woman in a red coat, who pops up in various guises in each story. The stories vary in tone and quality and I have to admit that most of them aren’t particularly memorable. The exception, for me, was the title story, ‘A Snow Garden’, which featured a father trying to reconnect with his sons.
- A Boy Called Christmas – Matt Haig. A very cute Christmas read about a boy who sets out to find his lost father, leaving behind his cruel aunt and adopting a reindeer along the way. It packs a punch for a relatively short book, and is gorgeously illustrated throughout.
- Hercule Poirot’s Christmas – Agatha Christie. Ah, Poirot, you are definitely growing on me! On holiday in the English countryside, Poirot is called to solve a murder which took place in a room locked from the inside. Despite the copious amounts of blood involved, this managed to be a nicely festive read.
- Miracle on 5th Avenue – Sarah Morgan. Sarah Morgan’s set-ups are always a bit too unlikely for me, but that never stops me from enjoying the romances at the heart of her books. The chalk and cheese relationship in Miracle on 5th Avenue was as much fun as you’d expect from Morgan (ie lots), and the whole thing was Christmassy to the extreme (which is a good thing, ‘natch).
- Let It Snow – John Green, Maureen Johnson & Lauren Myracle. Three intertwined stories by three different authors. For the most part, I enjoyed Let It Snow – it’s a light(ish), fun, Christmas read – but it hasn’t inspired me to pick up anything else by Maureen Johnson or Lauren Myracle.
- Housekeeper Under the Mistletoe – Cara Colter. Despite the misleading cover and title of this (only the epilogue is set at Christmas), I was pleasantly surprised when reading it. Mills and Boons books have a reputation, shall we say, and we make fun of them a lot at work. And yes, I could see the formula in this, but it was well written and the romance was given time to develop, rather than being being a rushed insta-love like in a lot of novels of this type. I suspect I’ll try another Cara Colter book at some point.
- Christmas Term at Vernley – Margaret Biggs. Almost nothing Christmassy happens in this book, but it was a rippingly good school story, so I forgive it!
- I’ll Be Home For Christmas – Tom Becker et al. A collection of short stories and poems written in support of Crisis, a charity in the UK that supports homeless people. Given the connection with Crisis, quite a few of the stories involve displaced youths, broken families and general hard times, but the Christmas theme means that there’s still hope for everyone. A bit of a tough read, at times, but a rewarding one.
- The Santa Klaus Murder – Mavis Doriel Hay. I’m a bit torn on this, because although I mostly enjoyed it, I did feel like I had to slog through some sections to get to the good bits. When the overbearing head of the Melbury family is murdered, everyone is a suspect. The investigation seems laughably half-hearted at times, but clips along at a decent, fairly engrossing pace. Unfortunately, time and time again we’re forced to read an extensive list of all the suspects and where they were at any given time (a standard part of a crime novel, but there were so many of them and they were all… a bit dull, to be honest). So yeah, decent overall but a bit bogged down in places.
- Snow Angel – Melanie Shawn. Lily has a secret, because this is a romance novel and of course she does. Happily, she doesn’t fall into the ‘damaged’ category of romance heroine. Yeah, she shies away from relationships and yeah, she gets paranoid and jumpy, but she doesn’t need a man to save her from herself which I appreciated. The central romance in this is actually adorable (and hot), though I would appreciate it it if we could stop using dogs as a way to tell if someone is evil or not.
- Mistletoe Magic – Stacey Joy Netzel. This could have been so good if it got a hold of itself and stopped being ridiculous! A retired military man gets the hots for a mystery girl who just so happens to be running an animal sanctuary on a farm he’s recently purchased. He flirts with a view to something else without realising that he’s about to evict her from her home. All of that was fun, but it kept getting bogged down in drama and sadness, so in the end it was a mixed read.
- My Christmas Fiance – Serenity Woods. I feel like all I do is say ‘this romance would have been really good if it had only…’ and here’s another that had great potential but got ridiculous really quickly. First of all, why is the hero a billionaire? He runs a company that makes games for the blind, which is nifty, but not too likely to turn you into a BILLIONaire. And I have so many questions about the heroine’s background. It’s set up to look like her husband hit her, but when we get the details it’s all tremendously vague. He definitely emotionally abused her, but the impetus for her taking her son, moving across the country and changing her identity is that he hit her which… did he? That aside, why the hell, as a married woman, are we supposed to believe that she was so sexually naive? Okay, I’m rambling, but I liked both of the main characters in this, I liked that it was set in New Zealand, but I felt let down by set-dressing.
- Christmas at Carol’s – Nicola Yeager. This is basically page after page of descriptions of different foods. Yes, there’s a plot, but it’s incidental when compared to the author’s clear love of French food (which got a little tedious, to be honest).
- A Christmas Homecoming – Melissa McClone. Another billionaire. Why are they all billlionaires?? What’s wrong with a nice guy, who floats your boat and has a normal job? And guess what? He’s a curmudgeonly billionaire. Bet you didn’t see that coming! 😉 That said, I actually really enjoyed A Christmas Homecoming, mostly because the heroine was really driven and didn’t let her emotions distract her from what she wanted to achieve in life (which doesn’t sound romantic but is actually awesome).
- A Very Country Christmas – Zara Stoneley. I couldn’t connect with any of the characters in this. Look, I get the the definition of poor for formerly landed gentry is different that poor for pretty much everyone else, but if you’re poor you don’t shop in Waitrose, and you certainly don’t get drunk on booze samples and buy a dozen bottles of something fancy. If you’re poor, there’s no money in your bank account for shenanigans like that.
- Santa Claude – Alex T. Smith. The Claude books are for beginner readers and they are so adorable it almost hurts. In this installment, Claude handcuffs a burglar, only to discover that it’s Santa Claus. With the key to the handcuffs nowhere to be found, Christmas is suddenly in danger! A really witty story paired with gorgeous illustrations.
- Unwrapping Her Perfect Match – Kat Latham. A romance where the hero is a rugby player – yay! Apart from the fact that the heroine had a pretty unlikely reason for her lack of self-confidence, I really enjoyed this. Both characters were strong individuals, but they were both able to learn something from the other, and the romance made them stronger.
- Mistletoe and Murder – Robin Stevens. Hazel and Daisy spend Christmas at Cambridge University, with Daisy’s older brother. Unsurprisingly, for the reader at least, they are confronted with another murder. This is possibly my favourite Murder Most Unladylike book yet. Hazel and Daisy continue to be wonderful,
- What Light – Jay Asher. After 13 Reasons Why, this book was a disappointment. It’s set on a Christmas tree lot over Christmas, so it fulfilled the seasonal quota, but the characters and the central relationship were a let down. When Sierra meets Caleb she’s instantly attracted to him, but Caleb has a shady past. Dun, dun, DUUUNNNN!! And that’s the failing of this book. Caleb did something bad when he was younger, but Sierra doesn’t care, so I think we’re not supposed to care, only it’s hard to follow Sierra’s logic because we’re not in insta-love with Caleb like she is. Yeah… it was alright, but I wouldn’t be in a rush to recommend it to anyone.
- Must Love Mistletoe – Christie Ridgway. Isn’t it odd how many Christmas books are about people who don’t like Christmas? Bailey hates Christmas. For reasons. Those same reasons made her run away from the love of her life when she was 18. But now she’s back in her home town and so is he. You can see where this is going, right? This was actually a really decent read. Bailey charmed me from the start, and Finn’s conversion from bad-boy to wounded Secret Service Agent didn’t stretch my credulity too far ;D
