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Not my cup of egg nog

Revisado: 12-19-24

How My Neighbor Stole Christmas by Meghan Quinn has one of my favorite new book covers of the season but unfortunately it was not one of my favorite reads. Our book club read this as one of two books for December, and this was not the favorite.

Cole Black (how clever is that name for a Christmas book?) doesn’t really celebrate Christmas but lives in a town that celebrates it all year long. Storee, who he hasn’t seen for ten years, comes to care for her Aunt Cindy Louis (how clever is that name for a Christmas book?) and her broken hip.

This book is delightfully Christmassy, and the Christmas Kringle contest put on by Bob Krampus (how clever is that name for a Christmas book?) brings about a lot of competition. In chapter five there are wonderful quotes about experiencing life that I will keep forever. Aunt Cindy gives me the spirited elder I always crave as a side character.

To me, this book was a little too long, and the love scenes that come at us gangbusters did not fit in with the rest of the book or the characters. It’s like we had this book until about 60%, and then someone cut out every Tessa Bailey dirty-talking man “love” scene and put them all back-to-back for the remaining 40%. I’m exaggerating but that’s how it felt to me. The OB GYN in our book club DOES NOT recommend doing one of their more memorable and unique bedroom acts. Somehow we never hear about the yeast infections and other problems we know are on their way for these characters.

Narrator does Grinch- like poetry and breaks the fourth wall which I thought was GREAT. It was performed induet by JF Harding and Vanessa Edwin with full cast including Shane East, Robert Hatchet and Emma Wilder. It wasn’t the most natural-sounding duet, but I still prefer duet over any other audio option!

My friend gave me her paperbook to put in my LFL, and it is fun to see that there are a few drawings within. I LOVE THIS.

The Highland Fling remains my absolute favorite, 5/5 star Meghan Quinn read.

3/5 stars
13 hours 26 minutes at 1x on audio
Open door
Location: Kringle Town, Colorado

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Hannukah & Christmas represented!

Revisado: 12-19-24

Booked for the Holidays by Liz Maverick is an Audible original that is Hanukkah and Christmas-based. Abi is going to visit her publishing team’s famous cozy mystery author after she is late to hand in a manuscript for the first time. Someone other than the author answers the door and snowstorms, baking and banter ensue.

Narrators Eva Kaminsky and Andrew Eiden were great and this was a quick listen at 2 hours 28 minutes at 1x speed.

Location: Manhattan, New York

4/5 stars

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Not my favorite on audio

Revisado: 12-12-24

Tis the Season for Revenge is the first book in Morgan Elizabeth’s Seasons of Revenge series. There are three other books (the seasons being summer, fall and I’m not sure what the fourth is) plus one Christmas novella that has an unforgettable name, Big Nick Energy. I haven’t read any of the other books in the series… yet.

In Tis the Season, Abbie seeks revenge on her ex. Why is revenge so cute in romance novels but so ugly amongst my children?? I could have taken even more funny revenge. Her love interest (who I won’t mention by name) is a great guy who turns into a bossy Tessa Bailey-style lover in the open door scenes. Some of you will see this as a plus, some will view it as a minus. (I am the latter; I just want their personality in the sack to fit the personality of the character, that is all.) This isn’t super Christmassy, and it was good but not my absolute fave.

Narrator Julio Maxwell and Samantha Summers did a fine job but the latter does some weird pauses. I feel bad saying that as I couldn’t get hired for one narrating job, so who am I to judge? But as I am their audience, and after 11 hours and 30 minutes of continually noticing it, I figure I can mention it. The voice difference between her male voice and the male narrator’s actual voice bothered me too. I mean, they should get a sample to go off of, I would think?! Because of these reasons I personally would make this an eyeball read if I were to do it all over again.

A quote I am keeping is “Your own experience is not less because mine was more.”

4/5 stars
11 hours 30 minutes at 1x on audio
Open door
Location: New York City

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A low energy listen

Revisado: 12-02-24

I thought the narrator was excellent, but I would have preferred a woman to do the female parts. There’s just something about a man making his voice higher that bothers me. The story was unique but it felt so relaxing and so low energy of a read- I guess I like them a little spunkier. I think this will be loved by many people but to me it was more liked than loved.

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I love everything Penny Reid

Revisado: 11-25-24

I love this book. I learned so much and adore the characters. The inter connectedness with her other books is such a treat, but this is completely standalone. The narrators were extraordinary.

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Will read the others!

Revisado: 10-13-24

I love a cute seasonal series where the books are interconnected but standalone, and written by different authors. That’s what we have with the Falling for Summer Series. They all take place on a fictional island called Sunset Harbor off the west coast of Florida. There are no cars there and the books have a MAP, which you can see in my photo. I started with Beauty and the Beach by Gracie Ruth Mitchell. If they go on the order of publication date, this is the fifth out of seven. Some names are mentioned that I bet are in the other books, but they don’t spoil, and if anything, made me curious to read the other books.

Phoenix Park’s grandmother is newly requiring that the inheritor of her business be legally and lawfully wed. He has PLANS for this business and is the best one for the job, so he sets out to find a wife, until his grandmother’s death do they part.

Holland (who he has nicknamed Amsterdam) is his late best friend’s little sister and his prank partner. They DO NOT get along. Unfortunately, she may be his only option.

This is a cute book and I will definitely check the other ones out. I know everyone is getting into fall reads but it is still 70-80s and sunny where I live so this works just fine!

I wasn’t super into narrator Rylee Kuberra’s voice. It sounded fake and unnatural which is weird of me to say since it probably is her actual voice. I don’t know anyone with John Rogers’ sound either, but I really liked it. It works well with this book, he is SO funny when talking about how much he hates Holland, and his grandma voice is excellent. I hope to hear more from him.

4/5 stars
9 hours 8 minutes at 1x on audio
Kissing only
Location: Sunset Harbor (a fictional island)

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Cute

Revisado: 10-05-24

The Quit List by Katie Bailey...
In this book we have Jax, a bartender turned wilderness guide and serial first-dater Holly whom he nicknames “Hollywood”. Why do I think it’s so funny when the nickname is longer than the actual name?
These two have fun banter, not a one bed but a one TENT situation, and they read each other’s feeling correctly which I LOVE. It’s not like “he just said or did this wonderful thing for me but he can’t LIKE me”… you know that drill. She wears the outfit on the cover in the book; I love it when it’s obvious that the artist has read the book or at least has necessary info about it. It was fun to hear some familiar names from Season’s Schemings, but this book is absolutely standalone.
A cute quote from Holly that she didn’t make up but I hadn’t heard before: “Find a man who wrecks your lipstick not your mascara”.
I can’t remember narrator Abigail Reno (which is only an insult to my memory, not her) but I recall David Bendena sometimes sounding ANCIENT and sometimes not.
4/5 stars
6 hours 46 minutes at 1.5x on audio
Closed door
Location: Atlanta, Georgia

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A surfing Elizabeth Bennett!

Revisado: 09-19-24

If you like Jane Austen retellings- here you go: Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding’s For the Love of Austen Series!

I’m sure you can guess what Emma of 83rd Street is paying homage to, and the second in the series, Elizabeth of East Hampton is a Pride and Prejudice retelling, with a surfing Elizabeth Bennett! I enjoy Austen retellings, because I like to see where other writers take it- what they change, what stays the same, etc. For example, these are open door, very unlike the originals!

Emma’s book was delightful and, as we know, there’s a comfort in reading a romance novel because we are guaranteed a happily ever after. I realized there’s even more comfort in knowing details and plot points before they happen!

One of my favorite parts of Elizabeth’s book is the creative idea of mixed cover bands, like the Beatles and Metallica cover band singing “Here Comes the Sandman”. It was a very small part of the book, but so clever!

Both books are dual POV read by Teddy Hamilton and Brittany Pressley, who are often-used narrators for a reason.

Emma of 83rd Street
4/5 stars
10 hours 30 minutes at 1x on audio
Open door
Location: Manhattan, NY

Elizabeth of East Hampton
4/5 stars
9 hours 54 minutes at 1x on audio
Open door
Location: East Hampton Village, Montauk, “The Hamptons”/ Long Island

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Loved this!

Revisado: 10-29-23

Great story, great narrator. I devoured this and was up waaaay too late, needing to finish it. It had such humor, such heart, and I loved the characters and the location. I recommend this!

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Love

Revisado: 04-08-21

This book is just my style. So funny, so clever, great characters, such heart and creativity. I loved “You Deserve Each Other” and listened to it in a record (for me) 2 days. Well this book did not disappoint & I listened to it in... 2 days! Sarah Hogle is gifted, the narrator was perfection (sometimes sounded like a young Sally Field?) and I will certainly be reading this book again.

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