A Midwinter's Tail by Lili Hayward

Pages: 224 

Publisher: Sphere 

Released: 12th of October 2023 

It's nearly Christmas and committed Londoner, Mina Kestle, is close to signing a deal that will make her career and give her everything she's ever wanted. And then she receives a mysterious letter in the post along with an ancient key, sent by her long-estranged godfather . . .

Davy Penhallow is an artist who lives on the tiny Cornish island of Morgelyn with only his pet cat, Murr, for company. Mina hasn't seen or heard from him in decades, but now it seems he wants her to look after his cottage - and his cat - while he recovers from a stroke in hospital. Mina doesn't know why Davy has written after all these years, but she intends to do what's sort out the cottage and the cat and then get back to London in time for her career-saving meeting, before everything she's built comes crashing down around her.

But the more time Mina spends in the cottage, looking after Murr and remembering the magic of Cornish folklore, the harder it becomes for her to tear herself away. And when she discovers that a set of ruthless property developers are coming for Morgelyn, she realises she might be the only one who can stand in their way to save the island, Davy's cottage and Murr's home.

As Christmas draws ever closer and echoes of the past - her own and the island's - wash up in her memory, Mina begins to unravel a generation of secrets... and discover what it is she has truly always wanted . . .

What I Have to Say 

This was the perfect little story for Christmas. Steeped in Cornish legend, it had the warm cosy feel to it that you want from a nice Christmas read. It also had absolutely everything you get from a Christmas movie.  I do feel I read it a bit early to really get into the Christmas spirit, but I can't deny that it would be good to read on Christmas eve! 

I loved how much this book centred around the cat, Murr. And how right from the start Murr is set up as a mythical cat of the sea. Though the characters don't believe this, the book led me to believe in Murr's power right from the start and I loved the magical realism feel that it gave to the book. 

It was great for cat lovers and anyone interested in Cornish mythology or even just anyone who loves a good underdog fights against big developers story! 

4 stars 

My thanks go to Sphere and Netgalley for providing me with this gifted copy for review. 

The Kingdom of Sweets by Erika Johansen

Pages: 355

Publisher: Bantam 

Released: 30th of November 2023 

Light and dark - this is the destiny placed upon Natasha and Clara, the birthright bestowed on them by their godfather, the mysterious sorcerer Drosselmeyer. Clara, the favourite, grows into beauty and ease, while Natasha is cursed to live in her sister's shadow.

 But one fateful Christmas Eve, Natasha gets her chance at revenge. For Drosselmeyer has returned and brought with him the Nutcracker, an enchanted present which offers entry to a deceptively beautiful the Kingdom of Sweets.

In this land of snow and sugar, Natasha is presented with a power far greater than the Sugar Plum Fairy, who is also a giver of gifts . . . and a maker of dread-filled bargains. As Natasha uncovers the dark destiny laid before her birth, she must reckon with powers both earthly and magical . . . and decide to which world she truly belongs.

What I Have to Say 

This was so deliciously dark. It was full of murder and betrayal and revenge and the Sugar Plum Faery was the perfect dark fae full of bargains and darkness.

I really liked Natasha's character. I liked how dark she was, how fixated on revenge. She's not exactly a hero but it worked because from the start it made it clear that this wasn't that kind of book. I loved how her actions changed the story of the Nutcracker from being an adventure story to being a dark bitter tale of fae. 

If you're looking for a faithful retelling of the Nutcracker, you will be really disappointed because this book takes the characters and the worlds of the Nutcracker and changes it into something completely different. At least half of the story was just a completely different story. But I really liked that. I liked that it surprised me. I like that it played with the characters of the original story without sticking to it faithful. 

I honestly just really, really loved this story. 

5 stars 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Bantam for providing me with this gifted copy for review. 

A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone

Pages: 418 

Publisher: Harper Collins 

Released: 20th of September 2022 

When Bee Hobbes takes the lead in a squeaky-clean romantic Christmas movie, there are only three rules:

1. Don’t get involved with anyone on set.

2. Don’t tell anyone what you do for a living.

3. Definitely don’t get involved with anyone on set.

3b. Seriously.

Now, she’s filming in Christmas Notch, a small town with Christmas trees and festive tunes all year round.

But Bee’s got a secret identity to hide, and it’s not family-friendly. And her co-star, Nolan Shaw, an ex-boyband member infamous for his own x-rated antics, not only knows it, but is secretly her biggest fan.

When things start to heat up on set, Bee and Nolan must keep this steamy affair under wraps, or risk ruining everything . . .

What I Have to Say 

The chemistry between these characters was phenomenal, I could feel their desire for each other from the moment they met, which I find unusual. I think it helped that there was quite a bit of lust in the beginning. I wasn't so keen on the long  sex scenes, they were a bit too much for this asexual but the rest of the relationship was fantastic. 

I was very happy with the body positivity in this book. I should have expected no less from Dumplin' author, Julie Murphy, but Bee is fat and proud of it. The book was also very gay with the two Bisexual main characters and numerous side characters being LGBTQ+. 

If I could sum up this book in one word, it would be positive. It was sex positive, body positive and diverse. It was a joy to read because it unashamedly championed all of the above and more. It left me feeling like the world could be changed into a more positive place. 

My thanks goes to Netgalley and Harper Collins for providing me with this copy for review. 

Make You Mine This Christmas by Lizzie Huxley-Jones

Pages: 354 

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton 

Released: 13th of October 2022 

It's the golden rule of pretending to be someone's girlfriend: don't fall for their sister.

After a year from hell, Haf is ready to blow off steam at a Christmas party: a kind stranger, a few too many drinks and suddenly she's kissing Christopher under the mistletoe - in front of his ex-girlfriend.

The next day the news is out that they're apparently a couple, madly in love and coming to Oxlea to spend the festive season with Christopher's family. But Haf doesn't have better holiday plans and to save her new friend from embarrassment, she agrees to pretend to be Christopher's girlfriend for Christmas.

It has the makings of a hilarious anecdote they'll be telling for years. Until Haf meets Christopher's sister: the mysterious, magnetic and utterly irresistible Kit. Maybe love was waiting for Haf in this quiet little town all along . . . 

What I Have to Say 

The perfect book to get the chaotic bisexual in your life for the holidays. It is filled with chaos, hijinks and mixed up as well as a good helping of cosy comfort, Christmas cheer and food descriptions which will have you drooling. 

I just have nothing but praise for this book. I loved every second that I spent reading it and though I'm very late reviewing it since it came out in October, I'm really glad I waited until December to read it so that I could really enjoy the seasonal charm. It has taken it's place as my favourite Christmas book and I am already planning a reread for next year! 

If all of that hasn't got you in the mood for this book, I will say that there is a baby reindeer involved and he is very cute and just as chaotic as the rest of the characters, so you have that to look forward to! 

My thanks go to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for providing me with this copy for review. 

 

Christmas at the Palace by Jeevani Charika

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Pages: 368 

Publisher: Bonnier Zaffre 

Released: 18th of October 2018 

Campaigner, feminist, doctor, humanitarian - all words that Kumari would use to describe herself. Potential princess? Not even in the vocabulary.

But when Kumari's charity work catapults her into the limelight and brings her to the attention of Prince Benedict - playboy prince and sixth in line to the British throne - all bets are off.

Royal party boy, charming rogue, England's most eligible bachelor - Prince Benedict is all those things. Or at least he was. These days he's taking life more seriously, following in his dear mother's footsteps and focusing on charitable causes.

When he meets Kumari the attraction between them is instant. But, according to the press, Prince Benedict might just have found the most unsuitable bride.

Will love win the day?

What I Have to Say 

This was a lovely book, but another one that just didn't have enough Christmas in for me. From the cover, I expected a book filled to the seems with Christmas, but it was only the last hundred pages that really was about Christmas at the palace. If it hadn't had Christmas in the name, I wouldn't have minded so much, it was just that my expectations were so different. 

I also think the way that they did the flashback for the main content of the story didn't really work for me. It didn't leave much suspense as to whether they'd end up together or what would happen in their relationship. 

I loved Kumari's character though. I loved how focused on charity she was, how brazen she was. How she wouldn't take no for an answer for a lot of the time, despite the fact that it could get her and the whole royal family in trouble. 

The romance may have fallen a little flat for me, but Kumari made up for everything. I loved her so much. 

My thanks go to Bonnier for providing me with this copy for review. 

The Evacuee Christmas by Katie King

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 320

Publisher: HQ

Released: 19th of October 2017 

Autumn 1939 and London prepares to evacuate its young. In No 5 Jubilee Street, Bermondsey, ten-year-old Connie is determined to show her parents that she’s a brave girl and can look after her twin brother, Jessie. She won’t cry, not while anyone’s watching.

In the crisp Yorkshire Dales, Connie and Jessie are billeted to a rambling vicarage. Kindly but chaotic, Reverend Braithwaite is determined to keep his London charges on the straight and narrow, but the twins soon find adventures of their own. As autumn turns to winter, Connie’s dearest wish is that war will end and they will be home for Christmas. But this Christmas Eve there will be an unexpected arrival…

What I Have to Say 

I must say I expected more Christmas from a book with Christmas in the title. I expected a lot of war time spirit, scraping together a fun and joyous celebration with whatever they can because they don't have much. There was a bit of war time spirit, but there wasn't really that much Christmas. There were preparations for Christmas but Christmas day was a paragraph on the last page and the preparations only started in the last fifteen percent of the book. It left me a bit disappointed, because I was hoping for a cosy holiday read. 

I also didn't get on much with the writing style. The author explained a lot of the character's thoughts in very great detail, often stopping in the middle of a conversation to think things through and work out the best way to respond for paragraph after paragraph. It gave the feeling that the characters were just standing awkwardly staring at each other until they were ready to continue. There was just too much exposition and the characters always seemed to be doing what was best for the situation, when real people aren't like that, because in real life, people don't think things through like that, they just act. 

I liked the characters well enough, but that's really all I can say for this book. I wanted to like it more, but I just didn't get along with it. 

My thanks go to HQ and Netgalley for providing me this copy for review. 

What Light by Jay Asher

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 256

Publisher: Macmillan's Children's Books 

Released: 20th of October 2016 

Sierra's family runs a Christmas tree farm in Oregon—it's a bucolic setting for a girl to grow up in, except that every year, they pack up and move to California to set up their Christmas tree lot for the season. So Sierra lives two lives: her life in Oregon and her life at Christmas. And leaving one always means missing the other. 

Until this particular Christmas, when Sierra meets Caleb, and one life eclipses the other.

By reputation, Caleb is not your perfect guy: years ago, he made an enormous mistake and has been paying for it ever since. But Sierra sees beyond Caleb's past and becomes determined to help him find forgiveness and, maybe, redemption. As disapproval, misconceptions, and suspicions swirl around them, Caleb and Sierra discover the one thing that transcends all else: true love.

What I Have to Say 

I really want to say that this is a beautiful, heart-warming book to get you in the mood for Christmas, but that would be inaccurate. I think what it really is, is a beautiful book that feels heart-warming and will get you in the mood for Christmas but actually has a lot of deep and painful issues involved at the heart of it. 

The so adorable love story, full of Christmas, pine trees and cheap Peppermint Mochas overshadows the sad part of the book effectively without taking away the importance of those issues. It's such a great way of showing the "love conquers all" trope, but showing it in a real way. Because even though love can transcend the issues, the issues are still there and will effect things, whether they come externally or internally. It's about overcoming the issues rather than hiding from them in "true love". 

This book will may make you want to fall in love and go to live on a Christmas Tree farm, but it will also put you really in the Christmas mood. 

My thanks go to Macmillan for providing me with this copy to review. 

Lily and the Christmas Wish by Keris Stainton

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 160 

Publisher: Piccadilly Press
Released: 5th of November 2015

When a town's Christmas wishes get mixed-up, can one little girl and her dog put them right? 

The little town of Pinewood can't wait for Christmas this year. They're going to celebrate by putting up a giant Christmas tree in the town square, and asking all the townspeople to hang a Christmas wish on its branches. Everyone is feeling very festive, including nine-year-old Lily - although she's not sure she believes in wishes. Then a very strange storm blows in, scattering all the wishes...and Lily wakes up the next morning to a bit of a surprise. Bug, her adorable pug puppy, can talk! It's magic - and a wish come true! But it's not Lily's wish...

Lily and her little brother James soon discover that something must have happened during the storm - the town's wishes have been granted, but to all the wrong people! Lily, James and Bug must work out which wish belongs to who, and sort everything out before Christmas Eve - otherwise no one will get what they want for Christmas. 

What I Have to Say 

This was such a cute story and was a really good read for the holiday season. It may be a little late for the Christmas season, but it'll still be great to curl up and read in front of the fire, especially if we get snow. 

Set against the backdrop of a struggling marriage, Lily and her family see a wide range of quirky wishes, from "I wish my dog could talk" to "I wish I didn't have to go to school". It's fun to see what kinds of wishes people have made and who they belong to, as Lily, her brother and her dog reunite the owners with their wishes. 

This book was a little young for me, but I think that's part of the reason I enjoyed it so much. It's nice to kick back and read a story about a girl and her talking dog, full of Christmas spirit. It still covers serious issues, but it does that in a more positive light than in a lot of older books. It was a very relaxing read. 

Even though Christmas is over, I still strongly recommend it for a cosy winter mood.