One Big Happy Family

Still gorging on Christmas books with Susan Mallery's One Big Happy Family (#1,288)!  Got to admit, though, that this one was a bit overstuffed for my taste.  

With one family and its fringes, there were a few too many subplots going on.  Was the cougar mom who was afraid to admit to her family she was dating a much younger man the main element?  Or was it her son and daughter-in-law dealing with a broken relationship with her mother?  Or was it the daughter who has been dumped time and again by her ex-boyfriend?  And what about cougar mom's boyfriend's kids and pathetic ex?  Dump them all in one enormous "cabin" in the Washington mountains and bring to a boil.  That's the plot in a nutshell, with happy endings guaranteed all the way around.

While I did read it all the way through to the end, I think a bit less would have resulted in a lot more satisfaction on my end.  Cute dog, though!

The Love of My After Life

Delphie Bookham has to choke to death on a beef burger before she finds out from her After Life Therapist that she hasn't really been living at all when she finally meets her soul mate in the Waiting Room of the After Life.  She's only twenty-seven, but she knows it's too soon for her to die.  When sparks fly between Delphie and Jonah, who's only unconscious before he's sent back to Earth, Merritt sees an opportunity to have some fun by giving Delphie ten days to find Jonah in London and have him kiss her to stay among the living.  That's the premise of Kirsty Greenwood's novel The Love of My After Life (#1,287).

All she knows is his first name, so how is she supposed to find him?  Delphie manages to cram a lifetime's worth of experiences into the ten days she has, while learning just how much she's missed along the way.

It's a wonderful life, to coin a phrase, and a wonderful read as well.

Delphie has some powerful lessons to teach the reader about a life well-lived.

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year

I absolutely loved Ally Carter's The Blonde Identity, so when I saw her name on the cover of The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year (#1,286) I knew I would have to read it.  Reader, I loved it!

Maggie Chase and Ethan Wyatt, two of Killhaven Publishers' best-selling authors, are given a mysterious invitation at the annual company Christmas party.  Maggie has no interest in attending whatever this is, but Ethan prods her into reluctantly agreeing when her editor tells her she does not want to miss this opportunity.  

It turns out that the "Duchess of Death", a legendary mystery writer, has invited the two of them to her stately mansion in the wilds of the English countryside for Christmas.  Maggie has been a fan for years, so she is thrilled to meet her idol.  The small house party is interrupted when Eleanor Ashley disappears from her own locked library, and it becomes evident that someone has been trying to kill her.  Can Maggie and Ethan follow the clues to solve the mystery?  Or will the perpetrator prevail?

Well, you know the answer to that one!  Absolutely delicious!

I'll Be Gone For Christmas

 I'll Be Gone For Christmas (#1,285) is a holiday read with something for everyone.  Georgia K. Boone has given us a straight romance and a queer one, a chic city setting and a small town vibe and enough coffee and cocoa to satisfy your holiday appetites.

Bee Tyler and Clover Mills are not where they want to be for Christmas.  Too many memories to bear.  Bee's friend in San Francisco suggests a house-swap app as the solution.  Sure enough, Bee finds a picture of the perfect house nestled in the country.  Clover has put her house on the site because she can't face Christmas there without her mother.  She is anxious to try big-city living, so the two swap homes for the holidays.

Clover and Bee manage to slip almost seamlessly into each other's milieu where new adventures abound, and love finds a way to brighten the holidays.

Sleigh Bells Ring

Could Sleigh Bells Ring (#1,284) be anything other than a Christmas romance?  

Raeanne Thayne's book is set in the snowy Utah mountains near Jackson Hole, where Annie McCade is the caretaker of a ranch which originally belonged to her family.  She has brought her twin niece and nephew to the ranch to watch over them while their father is in jail.  Just before Christmas, she is astonished to see Tate Sheridan show up at Angel's View.  His family is planning one last Christmas at the ranch and a memorial service for his father before they sell the property.

Will they or won't they?  The only question is: how long will it take them to get there?  Just the length of this cozy book.  There's nothing like snow to put you in the mood for holiday celebrations!

Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret

Okay, I haven't read Benjamin Stevenson's best seller Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone, but Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret (#1,283) is a holiday read, and I'm a sucker for them.  Plus, it is set in Australia and that's an extra perk.  All that heat over the holidays!

A famous magician is killed on stage in the middle of his act, and Ernest Cunningham just happens to be at the remote resort where the death took place at the behest of his ex.  She's a prime suspect in the murder investigation.  Of course Ernest passes off the circumstances to his fiancé by telling her he's checking out wedding venues...

It's an entertaining romp with a truly death-defying climax which had me sweating the outcome.  If you're already a fan, you won't take any convincing to add Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret to your reading list.

The Matzah Ball

Jean Meltzer is a former rabbinical student, and it shows in her first novel, The Matzah Ball (#1, 282).  Although the story itself is enjoyable, the author tends to get into the weeds of religious practice, so be prepared.

Rachel Rubenstein-Goldblatt is the daughter of a renowned rabbi in New York City.  She also happens to be a successful author of Christmas Romance novels.  Rachel absolutely loves Christmas with all its trimmings.  She also suffers from chronic fatigue syndrome, a debilitating condition which leaves her often trapped in her apartment with her secret Christmas room.

Until Jacob Greenberg comes to town to throw one of his world-famous parties - The Matzah Ball.  Jacob and Rachel have a history, one that's left an unpleasant taste in her mouth.  So when Jacob goes to her parents to consult the Rabbi to make sure his Matzah Ball is authentic, Rachel is stuck with helping him out at her parents' behest.

Of course, you know the ending, but it's all about how the couple get there.  Chicken soup for the soul.

Miss Lattimore's Letter

Suzanne Allain is a new author to me, and I thoroughly enjoyed her Regency novel, Miss Lattimore's Letter (#1,281).  It reminded me of why I enjoyed Georgette Heyer's novels so much.

Miss Lattimore is one of those poor family members absorbed into a wealthier household and expected to earn her keep in numerous ways.  She is chaperoning her younger cousin through her first season when she notices that a match is about to be made between two individuals she is convinced will make each other miserable.  So she writes a letter to the gentleman involved...

Her matchmaking pulls her out of the shadows and on to a future entirely undreamt of.  Such fun!  If you are looking for a light-hearted, clean romance, Miss Lattimore's Letter would be perfect.  I know I am going to find more of Suzanne Allain's books to enjoy when I need a mental lift.

Women In The Valley Of The Kings

I was trying to decide which of the books on this year's Goodreads Non-fiction list I wanted to vote for when I came across Kathleen Sheppard's Women In The Valley Of The Kings (#1,280) just in time to download before leaving for Egypt.  

It's about the work done by women to preserve the finds of the male archaeologists in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries before the men blasted their finds to smithereens and moved on in search of more treasure in many cases.  The women were the recorders of relics, tomb paintings and scrolls in the days prior to color photography.  They were also the ones to fund the initial collections outside of Egypt for the benefit of the public, rather than allowing them to be lost to private collectors.  It's a fascinating story.

To look at the sites today, and read the tags mounted in various museums, you would never know that women were instrumental in ensuring that you are able to see those very items for yourself.  Their presence has been virtually erased in the pursuit of Egyptian history.

Yet Ms. Sheppard's descriptions are so vivid that I was able to picture Lady Lucie Duff Gordon awaking in French House in 1864 and looking across the Nile at Luxor towards the Valley of the Kings as I stood there myself.  Layer upon layer of awe-inspiring history...

This book really added to our visit to Egypt with a new perspective.  Right book at the Right time in the Right place!