Three Holidays and a Wedding

Finished January 15

Three Holidays and a Wedding by Uzma Jalaluddin and Marisa Stapley

This holiday novel begins in Denver as, nearing the end of December, people are travelling for the holidays. The year is 2000 and Hanukkah, Christmas, and Ramadan are all happening near the same time. This means more people are travelling, and travelling by air in the winter in North America is always taking the chance that weather will cause delays. 

Maryam Aziz is herding herding her parents and grandfather, and a vast amount of carry-on luggage toward their gate. Her younger sister, a doctor working with Doctors without Borders, has chosen this time to get married, and the group is travelling to Toronto for the wedding. Her sister Saima has just flown in, and is meeting them at the gate. Maryam is the one who is always tasked with organizing things, and, in this case, she has worked with Saima's future in-laws to organize the entire wedding, and the travel plans for her closest family members. She is tired and a little bit annoyed at feeling taken for granted.

Anna Gibson has been dating Nick, a wealthy man she met at a fundraiser for a few months, after bonding over their roots in Toronto. She is travelling to spend the Christmas with his family, but sometimes feels that he doesn't really listen to her or want to hear her thoughts and dreams.

It is the weather that foils all their plans, and they find themselves landing at a small airport outside of Ottawa instead of at their destination. It is near the town of Snow Falls, a very Christmassy, yet surprisingly diverse small town, where they find themselves welcomed. 

As they work to figure out a way to get to their planned destination, they also find things to do, a time outside of their normal busy lives to ponder what they really want, and insight into the shared traditions across all three religions. 

This is a feel-good novel of hope, friendship, and romance. It has second chances for some, a fresh start for others, and newly formed bonds made stronger through shared experiences. 

A great and uplifting read by two skilled Canadian writers.

Snowed In for Christmas

Finished March 27

Snowed In for Christmas by Sarah Morgan

This romance starts off in London, but most of the action takes place in small town Scotland. Lucy Clarke works for a small advertising firm in London. The staff are close and feel like family to each other. They recently lost two of their biggest accounts, one company was downsizing, and the other cutting costs. As the book opens, it is two weeks until Christmas, and the staff are putting together a campaign for a new product, a campaign with a winter theme, but they are also worried about the future. Unless they can get some  new big accounts, layoffs are likely. They've heard that a UK-based athletic apparel company is looking for a new add company and Lucy knows that, as a smaller firm, they will need to be proactive to get the chance to bid. She is a rising star in her industry and that also gives her a potential edge, as does the skills that got her that reputation.

As the holiday approaches, Lucy decides to double up. Going to Scotland for the shots for the winter campaign for one account and hand delivering the plan for the athletic company at the owner's Scottish family home to make an impression.

The Miller family has a long history with their family-based shortbread company, but all three children in the younger generation have careers in other directions. Ross, the eldest has started his own company, that previously mentioned athletic apparel firm, Alice is a busy London-based doctor, and Clemmie is currently working as a nanny, but has a plan for her future that she's kept to herself until now. As all three plan to return home to Scotland for Christmas, they meet up to get their stories in order and know what they should reveal to their parents about their siblings. Their parents, Glenda and Douglas are keen to have them settle into long-term relationships and provide grandchildren. So is their grandmother Jean. 

Of course, a storm is approaching just in time for the big holiday, and they are all three working to get in ahead of it. Lucy is also planning to drop off the carefully crafted campaign plan and get on the train back to the city.

All of the young people have secrets. Most of these are made clear fairly early in the novel, and there is also some fun factors of coincidence that come into the plot to add humour and quirkiness. 

Pretty much all the characters are pleasant people, nice and well-meaning. Some have insecurities and some have experienced loss, but all are well-meaning and care about those close to them, family and friends. As they are thrown together in this small town, they must work through their issues, have their secrets revealed and dealt with, and come to terms with past issues. 

This was a thoroughly enjoyable read, with a feel-good core. 

Kiss Her Once for Me

Finished January 6

Kiss Her Once for Me by Alison Cochrun

This lesbian romance has much more to offer than the satisfying romance it contains. It is a book about dealing with failure, about how we respond to the expectations of others, about being our true selves in all their messy truth, and about how we find those true selves.

It is a book about dealing with the fears we all face, the fears of failure, of rejection, of imperfection, of negative attention, of positive attention, of success, and of being vulnerable. 

Ellie Oliver is a woman who more or less raised herself and is still dealing with a toxic parent in her life. She has used art as a way to make herself feel good, as a way to get positive attention, and now as a way to earn a living, but it has also become something that is no longer something she does for herself in a healing way, but usually something that she does for others. She is broke, unhappy, and trying to hide from everything that she doesn't want to deal with.

Jack Kim-Prescott is a woman who has not lived up to the expectations her wealthy family has had for her. She tried, but she stopped trying a while back. She is slowly finding her path, career wise, but still struggling in her personal life. When they meet, they recognize each other, but it also scares them both to a certain extent because of their pasts. 

The book is set in Portland, Oregon, beginning in December 2021 and ending sometime early in 2023. 

This book makes you feel for the characters, and hope for them, and care about what happens to them. A great read. 

Whiteout

Finished December 23

Whiteout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon. 

This teen novel is set within a short time frame, less than half a day on a winter day in Atlanta. Each character is written by a different author, and we get backstory through the plot. The two characters at the center of the plot are Stevie and Sola, two teens in a romance that has hit a rough spot. Sola had a plan to reveal their relationship to her family at a special dinner. They had been best friends for a while, and then something more, but Sola hadn't revealed her romantic relationship to her traditional family. While Stevie defies a punishment to step outside her comfort zone and make a grand gesture to try to win Sola's forgiveness and mend their relationship, the weather is not cooperating. 

Atlanta is being hit by a wicked snowstorm, causing traffic chaos, delays for those travelling, and logistical problems. But Stevie has a team of friends ready to step in and help, and those other voices have their stories as well. 

There are many romances here, both straight and gay, and love is the overarching theme of the story. Friendship love, family love, and romantic love all show up. 

Other characters voiced here include Kaz, a young immigrant from Somalia with feelings for his best friend Porsha; Evan-Rose coming home from boarding school with her girlfriend Savanna and encountering a friend in a surprising meet-up; Jordyn driving home from college and giving a ride to fellow student Omari; Jimi, who is hoping for a big break in her musical career and runs into a guy from the past; and Ava and Mason, two volunteers at the aquarium who also have a rift in their relationship. Their voices are interspersed with chat exchanges and news bulletins, and I got schooled in some conversational style that was new to me. 

Besides the voiced characters we see many others from family members to friends, and see a curiously reappearing driver that may bring a little magic of his own. 

A feel-good story.

A Kiss for Christmas

Finished September 6

A Kiss for Christmas by Melody Grace

This book is a collection of four novellas: Holiday Kisses, Unwrapped, Unexpectedly Yours, and Meant to Be. All take place during the Christmas season, in various parts of the U.S. They are all part of either the Beachwood Bay series or the Sweetbriar Cove series, but can be read as standalones. 

Holiday Kisses is #5 in the Sweetbriar Cove series. Taking place in Sweetbriar Cove, on Cape Cod this story has British director/screenwriter Dash Everett planning to hole up in one of the cabins at the local inn to try to break through a writing block as he writes a screenplay. The cabin is more rustic than he expected, with no electrical power, and only a fireplace for warmth. But he has access to the main building and Ellie Lucas is a big draw to spend time there. Ellie and her family have been running the inn for a long time, and this Christmas season Ellie is holding down the fort while other family members vacation. Sweetbriar Cove has a Christmas festival that attracts tourists at a traditionally quiet time of the year. The book opens with a meet-cute when Ellie is on a ladder doing some seasonal decorating and Dash opens the door into the ladder and then catches her when she falls. As he gradually gets into the holiday mood, Ellie also dares to look at a world beyond her hometown. She is one of those people who likes to help everyone around her and is often an early volunteer in any community project, so there is a pull for her to stay where she is comfortable and openly appreciated. 

Unwrapped is #2.5 in the Beachwood Bay series. Lacey James is on her way home to Beachwood Bay for her best friend Jules' wedding. But she is cutting it fine when her flight runs into a wicked storm and is diverted. During the flight she sat next to Jules' ex-boyfriend Daniel Sullivan and the two connected more than they had previously, with Daniel really seeing Lacey for herself. When the flight to Atlanta is diverted, she pours out her panic to him, and when they finally find a room available, there is only one and they find themselves sharing it, and so much more. Daniel is determined to get Lacey to the wedding in time, and, as a smart problem solver finds a way to make it happen. 

Unexpectedly Yours is #6 in the Beachwood Bay series. For this one, only a small part of the story is set in Beachwood Bay. Sophie Young has had a desire for a romantic weekend in New York City at Christmas for years, including a list of all the things she wants to do with her boyfriend. He's supposed to meet her there, but when she arrives, he isn't there. And then she gets the call telling her that he isn't coming. She's angry and disappointed, and alone on Christmas Eve. She decides she can't stay in her room, and goes down to the hotel bar for a drink. She overhears the man at the next table, Austin Kelly trying to find someone in his little black book to spend the holiday with after his flight home to Europe was cancelled. So when he tries his line on her, she calls him on it. Austin is in a well-known rock band and used to having women do anything to be with him, so he finds that her not realizing who he is and treating him like a regular guy is refreshing. He is surprised and intrigued by this woman, and offers to make her stay in NYC a fun one, taking her to his favourite places and many on her list. As they spend time together, they find themselves more and more attracted to each other, but an unexpected visitor throws everything off, and Sophie goes to her friend's place in Beachwood Bay for comfort. Maybe New Year's will bring magic to both of them after all.

Meant to Be is #1 in the Sweetbriar Cove series. Poppy Somerville has just cancelled her wedding plans as she realizes that she doesn't want to spend the rest of her life with this man. She runs to her aunt's house in Sweetbriar Cove, a house where she spent many a childhood summer and has fond memories of. Poppy has become a writer of romance novels, but lately she's had a bad case of writer's block and she hopes this time away by herself will provide inspiration. When she finds Cooper Nicholson working on the house next door, she is first bothered by the noise, and then by the realization that this man is the same person as the boy that constantly teased her in those long ago summers. Cooper has been burnt before in a relationship and has a lack of confidence in the idea that any woman would want him, especially one from a big urban city. But as the two spend more time near each other and begin talking, they find they have more in common than they thought, including a definite attraction. 

A great introduction for me to this author and some hot romance too. Very enjoyable. 

Snow Days

Finished November 28 

Snow Days by Deborah Kerbel and Miki Sato

This delightful picture book looks at all the different kinds of snow and the things that one can do with it, in it and because of it. From the first snow of the season that brings its own special delight to a child to the last sad melting snow that brings a close to the days of snowmen, from the sticky snow to make shapes and figures to the powdery snow that floats and moves effortlessly, this book covers it all. We see the snow angels and the snowmen, the skating and the shoveling, the horrid sleet and the way it makes you narrow your eyes as you walk. 

Sato's illustrations, using paper and fabric in collage, add a lovely dimension to the book. 

The book closes with five fun activities you can undertake with your child to further explore the world and wonder of snow.