Month: December 2024

Happy Bloody Christmas by Jo Middleton

by Bookworm&TheatreMouse

I have not read a huge number of festive books this year. I think it is because I am such a mood reader, rather than a planner. And, this has definitely been my year for crime and thriller books, so when you can mix that with a festive read, it sounds like my kind of book.

I read this as a buddy read with a lovely fellow bookworm, and it is a great book to read along with someone else, as you can play armchair detective, but you can also share your own anecdotes about Christmas. I also finished it on Christmas Day, which seemed like perfect timing to me.

‘Happy Bloody Christmas’ starts with the discovery of a dead Father Christmas in the pantry (sounds like something out of Cluedo, which I think may have been a little of the inspiration for this book – especially as it gets a shout out in the book) and, from there, we follow Anna as she tries to not only solve the mystery of who stabbed Santa, while also keeping Christmas on track. But it is already Christmas Eve. This leads to a rather amusing series of events as Anna tries to juggle all that comes with an investigation and Christmas.

This is a cosy crime tale for the festive season with a note of light heartedness as it looks at family relationships and pressures at Christmas time. It makes for a rather easy but well-constructed story, that leads us in all sorts of different directions as to who may have chosen Santa as their victim – there are a few moments of misdirection, and that makes for a page-turner of a read.

As I always say, there are no spoilers here, so that makes for a slightly shorter post; however, I am excited to see that there is a second book out next year which I may well pop on my list of festive reads (which, I agree, sounds like rather a lot of planning for a mood reader).

Have you had any favourite festive reads this year?

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

by Bookworm&TheatreMouse

As I have been lucky enought to visit Alaska, it is always a joy to find a book which is set in this wild and majestic part of the world. And, quite by chance, I have read two books this month set in this very place, and the author of ‘The Snow Child’, Eowyn Ivey, is a proud Alaskan which makes this book even more magical to me.

Now, I have to admit that this beautiful book had passed me by until it was selected as the December read of ‘The Book Taster Book Club’ and, to begin with, I was not entirely sure that this would be a book that I would traditionally choose to read (based on initial impressions – or as most of us call it, the cover). However, I would have missed an absolute treat if I had let that impression overtake me, because this book is an absolute treat.

This is a book that you have to savour; this is not a book that can be rushed. This book is inspired by ‘The Snow Girl’, a Russian folk tale, but is a magnificent story in its own right. We meet Jack and Mabel, as they are begining their new life on an Alaskan homestead; they are haunted by a tragedy from their past, but they are determined to make a success of their new life and the new opportunities that are promised to them in Alaska.

One evening, they meet Faina, the beautiful and mysterious young girl who seems to only appear when it snows and disappear as the new life comes with spring. We follow these characters over a number of years, and see how special Faina becomes to Jack and Mabel, and the magic that she brings to not just their lives but those of their closest friends in their new world. And, when you read the final page, you know that this book and its characters will stay with you for life – and that you will want to share them with as many other readers as possible.

There is also so much in this book that is left to the reader’s imagination, and that always makes for a read that becomes an interesting and fascinating one. There is also the mystery of Faina having no speech marks when she has dialogue with anyone in the book. Now, lack of speech marks is not being commented on, because it is something that bothers me, but it is clearly to serve a purpose in this book, and we had quite the conversation at book club as to what that purpose may be.

If you are looking for a magical winter read, then this is a book that I will forever recommend – in fact, since finishing it, I have realised that I love it even more than I thought I did, as I was reading it because it is so beautifully written, the characters are all lovely, and the atmosphere and sense of place within Alaska in the 1920s is stunningly created for the readers. This is a book that, despite being set somewhere remote and difficult to live in, makes you want to be there and experience it alongside the characters; in fact, you probably want to sit down with the characters and have a chat.

So, again, I have to thank ‘The Book Taster’ for bringing another brilliant author to my attention and more books to my tbr pile. Because I know would love to read anything written by Eowyn Ivey, and I am very excited for her new book inspired by ‘Beauty and the Beast’.

The Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

by Bookworm&TheatreMouse

I have immediately come on here to review ‘The Winter Garden’ by Kristin Hannah, and I am even doing it with some tears still in my eyes. ‘The Winter Garden’ was chosen by the Knowle Book and Pudding Club and I was very excited about it as, about this time last year, I read ‘The Four Winds’ and, when I finished, I knew I wanted to read more books by Kristin Hannah – I just did not think it would be about a year before I did it. And I am determined that I am going to read another one soon, and definitely before another year is out.

I did not know what the premise of this story was, other than the word ‘Leningrad’ on the front cover, but nothing prepared me for what an emotional rollercoaster this read was going to be. I cannot give away what this is about, because I want you all to experience this beautiful book for yourself. Although, my advice is that you should be prepared for some tears as you reach the conclusion of the story.

What I will say about this book is that Kristin Hannah is incredibly skilled at not only putting women at the centre of her stories, but placing them at the centre of history. A place that, sometimes, women miss out on, despite all the important parts they have played throughout our world history – often a little more behind the scenes, but still being essential as the story of the world unfolds.

Alongside this, Kristin writes beautifully about relationships. And, in both of the books that I have read, she has written excellent relationships between mothers and daughters: how these can be some of the most incredible bonds, but also some of the most challenging relationships that women can face. In ‘The Winter Garden’, this relationship is represented in so many different ways but, essentially, love is at the centre of them all, even if it is not always obvious to those who are there until the past is fully understood.

I am not sure if I am doing this book justice, because there is just so much wonderful storytelling throughout this story, and it will have you researching more about the historical events that are described in its pages. But the epilogue is one of the most beautiful I have read, and brought the story to an almost perfect conclusion – although I hoped that there was a further reunion as the book came to a close.

If you are a fan of Kristin Hannah’s books – which is your favourite? As I need to work out the best way to tackle her extensive backlist of titles – and I definitely need to do it sooner than in a year’s time.

All I Want for Christmas by Karen Swan

by Bookworm&TheatreMouse

I have finally done it, I have finally read a Karen Swan book. I am not sure what has taken me so long. However, a big thank you to one of my bookstagram buddies for agreeing to a buddy read with me, and encouraging me to pick this book up.

I think, if I judged this book by its cover, which is a bad habit I admit I have, I would have assumed that this was a cheesy romance story with a bit of a Christmas theme. (And I may have worked out that it was set in Copenhagen, haha). This book is so much more than its cover suggests – and, dare I say it, I may try to read some more books by Karen Swan.

I loved that this book had a wonderful mystery story woven into it, too, that, to me, made the romance element secondary, rather than the being the focus of the story. I absolutely loved that Darcy had to use her art historian skills to be a detective to find out the identity of the woman in the portrait that had been hidden behind another famous painting. This really sucked me in, as I wanted to know who it was just as much as Darcy did – and what it had to do with Max. I did work out a little of the connection, but not the full picture (pardon the pun), and I really enjoyed following Darcy as she worked it out.

I do not want to give too much of the plot away, as I like my posts to be spoiler-free. But there are some of the elements that you would expect from a classic romance novel: the apparently unavailable man and the series of unfortunate events (or fortunate events, depending on your point of view) that seem to keep throwing our central characters together.

It is also a book that makes a good buddy read, as you have so many moments where you want to share what you think, gossip about the secrets that have been revealed, and share your predictions about what is going to happen next. And they are definitely the best kind of buddy-read books.

If you have read a Karen Swan book, please let me know – as I would love to know which other ones are worth a read to spark that Christmas spirit this year.

All the Colours of the Dark by Chris Whitaker

by Bookworm&TheatreMouse

I recently discovered the books of Chris Whitaker earlier this year when I read ‘We Begin at the End’. And, from finishing that book, I knew I had to pick up ‘All the Colours of the Dark’.

I am not sure I can do ‘All the Colours of the Dark’ the justice that it deserves, especially as I am not willing to give spoilers, as each of you need to read the book yourself and really enjoy the reading experience. This (just like ‘We Begin at the End’) is a book full of emotion and atmosphere. You feel all the emotions that each and every character is feeling and you are immersed in each event and each place – you are really there with the characters as the story unfolds.

Patch and Saint are possibly two of my most favourite characters of all time. This is a coming of age story; we follow the characters from their childhood to adulthood – dealing with the traumatic events that had happened to Patch as a child. Patch deals with his trauma through art – and possibly some less sensible life choices, it appears, although it does begin to make sense as our tale unfolds. Saint deals with it by becoming a Police Officer, in the hope she can find her best friend Patch the resolution he needs and bring him back to her – emotionally, even if he has been present physically.

This is a fantastic study of character too. It really makes us consider why people do what they do, what their motivation is – both good and bad – to be the people they are, and to make the decisions that they do. And it is about the important relationships we have, and the love and support that can be offered by some of the most unusual friendships that are formed in our lives.

It is also about secrets – and when a secret is something that is kept to protect someone you love.

This is a beautiful slow burn of a book – a book that you can not put down because you have to know what is going to happen to each and every one of the characters on the page. It is also a book with a twist or two that will hit you like a bolt of lightning – and possibly break your heart.

I realise that this review probably says a lot but, at the same time, says nothing at all. What I hope this review does do is make you want to pick this book up, because – just like ‘We Begin at the End’ – I want everyone to read and fall in love with this story, the writing and the characters.