December Book Review

Four books for the busy month of December - not bad if I do say so myself! 

Winter Stroll by Elin Hilderbrand - Another Christmas on Nantucket finds Winter Street Inn owner Kelley Quinn reflecting on the past year as he writes a holiday letter to friends & family. Though the year has had its share of misfortune & worry, the Quinns have much to celebrate. Kelley, now single, at least is on better terms with his first wife Margaret, who is using her celebrity to lure customers to the inn in record numbers. Their son Kevin has a beautiful new baby, Genevieve, with the Inn's French housekeeper, Isabelle; and their daughter, Ava, is finally dating a nice guy - her devoted colleague, Scott.

Now the Quinns are looking forward to celebrating Genevieve's baptism, welcoming Isabelle to the family & enjoying the cheer of Nantucket's traditional Christmas Stroll. But just when a peaceful family gathering seems within reach, Kelley's estranged second wife, Mitzi, shows up on the island after souring on her relationship with the Inn's former Santa Claus. Soon Kelley isn't the only Quinn entertaining a surprise guest from Christmases past as loved old & new gather beneath the mistletoe. With jealousy, passion, & eggnog consumption at an all-time high, it's going to take a whole lot more than a Christmas miracle to get the Quinns - & the Inn - through the holidays intact.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐of five - I really enjoyed this second book in the series (there are four) - and while it was a lovely, fluffy holiday read - it was just that, a light little holiday read. I read it in about 72 hours and enjoyed it; I'll definitely finish the series. It was good and sweet - just not outstanding!

Three Holidays & A Wedding by Uzma Jalaluddin & Marissa Stapley - As strangers & seatmates Maryam Aziz & Anna Gibson fly to Toronto over the holidays - Maryam to her sister's impromptu wedding, & Anna to meet her boyfriend's wealthy family for the first time - neither expect that severe turbulence will scare them into confessing their deepest hopes & fears to one another. At least they'll never see each other again. And the love of Maryam's life, Saif, wasn't sitting two rows behind them hearing it all. Oops. 

An emergency landing finds Anna, Saif, Maryam, & her sister's entire bridal party snowbound at the quirky Snow Falls Inn in a picture-perfect town, where fate has Anna's actor-crush filming a holiday romance. As Maryam finds the courage to open her heart to Saif, & Anna feels the magic of being snowbound with an unexpected new love - both women soon realize there's no place they'd rather be for the holidays.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐of five - I will be the first person to tell you that I don't like Hallmark movies but this was almost like a Hallmark movie on the page, but with a better plot than most Hallmark movies have! The characters were delightful and I loved the way they incorporated three winter holidays into one book and tied all the characters together. Such a fun holiday read!

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney -  Author Grady Green is having the worst best day of his life. Grady calls his wife to share some exciting news as she is driving home. He hears Abby slam on the brakes, get out of the car, then nothing. When he eventually finds her car by the cliff edge the headlights are on, the driver door is open, her phone is still there... but his wife has disappeared. 

A year later, Grady is still overcome with grief and desperate to know what happened to Abby. He can't sleep, and he can't write, so he travels to a tiny Scottish island to try to get his life back on track. Then he sees the impossible - a woman who looks exactly like his missing wife. Wives think their husbands will change but they don't... husbands think their wives won't change but they do. 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐of five - This was a great read! It had some twists and turns I didn't expect, it was thrilling and a bit spooky... and it seems this author loves to use Scotland as the backdrop to her books, which I love! Definitely a great read if you like the thriller/suspense genre! 

Counting Miracles by Nicholas Sparks - Tanner Hughes was raised by his grandparents, following in his grandfather's military footsteps to become an Army Ranger. His whole life has been spent abroad, and he is the proverbial rolling stone ... happiest when off on his next adventure, zero desire to settle down. But when his grandmother passes away, her last words to him are: find where you belong. She also drops a bombshell, telling him the name of the father he never knew - and where he might be found.

Tanner is due at his next posting soon, but his curiosity is piqued, and he sets out for Asheboro, North Carolina to ask around. He's been in town less than twenty-four hours when he meets Kaitlyn Cooper, a doctor and single mom. They both feel an immediate connection; Tanner knows Kaitlyn has a story to tell and he wants to hear it. For Kaitlyn, Tanner is mysterious, exciting - and possibly leaving in just a few weeks. 

Meanwhile, nearby, eighty-three-year-old Jasper lives along in a cabin bordering on a national forest. With only his old dog Arlo for company, he lives quietly, haunted by a tragic accident that took place decades before. When he hears rumors that a white deer has been spotted in the forest - a creature of legend that inspired his father and grandfather - he becomes obsessed with protecting the deer from poachers. As these characters' fates orbit closer together, none of them is expecting a miracle ... but that may be exactly what is about to alter their futures forever. 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐of five - Another great read by Nicholas Sparks! I wasn't sure how everything would tie together but in the end, it all did... and in a way that tugged at the heart strings, of course! Would it be Sparks if it didn't? I really enjoyed reading this and I'm so glad I squeezed it in at the end of the year!

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I can't believe another year of reading has come and gone! When all is said and done - I read sixty-three books this year, which smashed the goal I'd set for myself of reading fifty books! I'll have to come back here at some point and share favorites - but it's on to a new year and a new list of books to be read!