Category: Christmas reads
My review:⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Christmas Holiday by Phillipa Ashley is a seasonal romance set in the Lake District.
I really enjoyed this story. I found it to be cosy, sweet and evocative! The descriptions of the Lake District and the community this is set in was great!
All in all, this is a great Christmas read, and one I recommend!
I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Avon Books.
My review:⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Naughty or Nice Clause by Kate Callaghan is a fun Christmas romance, with a bit of fantasy thrown in.
I really enjoyed this and found it to be a fun story. It has enemies to lovers, misunderstandings, misdirection and altogether a great Christmas read!
I was given this in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and CallaghanWriter.
My review:🌟🌟🌟🌟
Flora’s Travelling Christmas Shop by Rebecca Raisin has Flora, a Christmas addict, who gets fired from her job in a Christmas shop, and hits on the idea of going to a Christmas fayre in Lapland with a travelling Christmas shop!
There she meets Connor, someone who definitely does not like Chirsmtas, and so she decides to make it her aim to make him enjoy Christmas. And of course we have things going wrong, people getting the wrong idea about things, and moments of joy.
I enjoyed this story a lot, and found it to be very Christmasy. It’s an enjoyable read, with a lovely setting on Lapland.
Flora’s Travelling Christmas Shop was published on 28th October 2021, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.
I’ve read and reviewed another book in this same series, Aria’s Travelling Book shop.
You can follow Rebecca Raisin on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and her website.
I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to HQ.
My review:🌟🌟🌟🌟
Twas The Nightshift Before Christmas by Adam Kay are the experiences that Adam Kay had a Christmas, as by the luck of the draw, he worked most of the Christmas’s he was an NHS doctor!
This is no less shocking, gory, amazing and funny than This is Going to Hurt was. But, it is shorter. I enjoyed Adam Kay’s writing again, and was engaged with what happened. This book did, again, make me cry, and more trigger warnings as there is a graphic chapter, but he does give you a warning in the book.
Twas The Nightshift Before Christmas was published on 17th October 2019 and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.
My review:🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Hercule Poirot’s Christmas by Agatha Christie is set in a country house at Christmas, with a family gathering together to celebrate. Simeon Lee has demanded attendance by all of his sons, and their families, and some others, so he can throw barbed insults, and tell them how life is about to change for all of them. Then there’s a murder, and Hercule Poirot is asked to investigate!
This is classic Golden Age cosy crime, set at Christmas, and so is a wonderfully warm and cosy read! I really enjoyed the story!
Hercule Poirot’s Christmas was published on 19th December 1938 and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.
My review:????
Christmas; A short history from solstice to santa by Andy Thomas looks at history through the ages, along with beautiful pictures. It starts in ancient times and goes up to modern Christmas.
This is a lovely book to read through at Christmas time, to have a read about how Christmas has been celebrated throughout history.
Christmas was published on 1 October 2019 and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.
I’m afraid I couldn’t find a link for you to follow for Andy Thomas.
I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Quarto.
My review:🌟🌟🌟🌟
The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding by Agatha Christie (Hercule Poirot story 35) is a short story set at Christmas, in an English country house, where Hercule Poirot has been sent by the government in order to find a ring that has been stolen from an Eastern prince.
Hercule Poirot likes his comfort, and so being in a draughty English country house at Christmas isn’t his idea of fun, but he is there to work a case.
This is a lovely cosy, festive story, which I enjoyed, and was especially evocative at Christmas time.
The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding was published on 12th December 1923, and is available as a short story collection from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.
My review:????
Christmas in 100 words by words&pictures is a picture book with lovely illustrations, which are child friendly, and is a fun way to get into the spirit of Christmas!
It’s available as a board book, a normal book and also as a kindle book. It’s brightly coloured, and a lovely way to learn new words.
Christmas in 100 words was published on 15th October 2019 and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.
I was given this book in exchange of an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Quarto Publishing Group.
My review:🌟🌟🌟🌟
A Special Cornish Christmas by Phillipa Ashley has Bo, the cafe owner in Falford, who dresses in 1950s style dresses, loves the music, and is a member of Falford Flingers, who dance to rock and roll music, as the main character, who along with two friends, gets a predication at a summer fete that she’ll meet the love of her life by Christmas!
There is a lot of Christmas rock and roll music, and other Christmas songs, mentioned, and it really made me feel like Christmas was soon, and that I needed to listen to all of these songs!
The story is also very Christmas based, and there are characters from the previous book who pop up! I really enjoyed the music references, and all of the food and drink that was being mentioned! The characters are enjoyable, and the story was good!
This is the second book sent in Falford, so if you’ve enjoyed this community, then read An Endless Cornish Summer.
A Special Cornish Christmas was published on 11th November 2021, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.
You can follow Phillipa Ashley on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and her website.
I’ve read some other books by Phillipa Ashley, other than An Endless Cornish Summer above:
I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Avon Books UK.
My review:🌟🌟🌟🌟
19th Christmas by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro (Women’s Murder Club 19) is set at Christmas, as if you couldn’t tell! Claire is off to San Diego to teach a class for the holiday break, Cindy is looking into the true meaning of Christmas, which leads her into investigating someone who is an illegal immigrant being wrongfully jailed, which means Yuki is going to be dragged into it!
And Lindsay? She’s looking into a heist that’s meant to happen on Christmas day!
This is another action packed book, with a strong Christmas feel, and was a fast paced read that kept me guessing! If you’re looking for a thrill ride that will put you in the Christmas mood, then this is a very good option!
19th Christmas was published on 7th October 2019, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.
You can follow James Patterson on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and his website.
I’m afraid I couldn’t find any links for Maxine Paetro for you to follow.
Women’s Murder Club books:
1st to Die – book 1
2nd Chance – book 2
3rd Degree – book 3
4th of July – book 4
The 5th Horseman – book 5
The 6th Target – book 6
7th Heaven – book 7
The 8th Confession – book 8;
The 9th Judgement – book 9
10th Anniversary – book 10
11th Hour – book 11
12th of Never – book 12
Unlucky 13 – book 13
14th Deadly Sin – book 14
15th Affair – book 15
16th Seduction – book 16
17th Suspect – book 17
18th Abduction – book 18