Christmas Review: Christmas House

 

* Book 1 in a series * 

Every Christmas Eve for the past 50 years, Ruby Harris, the owner of the historic B&B, The Christmas House, has opened her doors to strangers in need, showing them the compassion once denied to her. When Ruby invites her family home for the holidays, including her two adult grandchildren, Charlotte and Olivia, she hopes they will be able to put the past behind them. However, her plans for reconciliation implode as the women unravel secrets from the past that force them to confront the impact they've had on their dysfunctional family. - Summary from the publisher

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this book. I loved reading about the different generations from Ruby to Charlotte. They all had tough moments and I wanted to hug each of them. The Christmas House sounds like a magical place. I feel like I could use the organizational help of Charlotte in my house - maybe a resolution for the new year. I loved the moments between Sam and Charlotte - they were sweet. The sister relationship was heart wrenching - but real. A great read while you're sitting by the fire and drinking cocoa.

Cover Thoughts: Charming

Source: My Library

Library Recommendation: A great holiday romance for your collection.

Picture Book Wednesday: Christmas Picture Books

We got a few (dozen) Christmas books in at the library. 

Here are a few new favorites:

Santa likes the cookies at this house so much, he decides to stay. And his family comes along too. 

It's a funny story about Christmas all year around, but also the magic of the holidays - not just the sweets and the presents. And the ending is very funny!

Fox is stealing all the Christmas decor in town - is he up to no good or does he have a plan?

A funny story about friendship and bringing people together - even if Fox goes about it in a strange way.

Holly loves Christmas - but her favorite part might be the Christmas tree. She's devastated to learn that the tree gets thrown out each year. Instead, she and her family come up with a new plan. 

A nice way to mix Christmas with the environment and climate control. 

Hedgehog is making gifts for all her friends - but she can't think of a gift good enough for bear. When she finally thinks of something - disaster strikes. What is she going to do?

A sweet story about friendship, making gifts, and being together with your favorite person. I loved this message.  

The Gingerbread Man escaped from the pages of a book. It's up to the kids to trap him back inside the pages.

I do enjoy this series. And I love the bookish references in this addition. They are quite clever and fun. This one isn't exactly Christmas, but...

Murray doesn't understand Christmas - especially Santa Claus. What happens when they meet on Christmas night?

A funny story about a dog's view of Christmas. 

A young girl says hello to each animal in the forest - making them feel special. When an accident destroys their home, the little girl cries to Beaver. Beaver spreads the word to the animals and they all come together to create a magical Christmas for their friend.

It's a sweet, slightly sad, story about friendship and helping each other when times are tough. 

Top Ten Tuesday: Winter TBR

 This week's topic is all about our Winter TBR piles. I'm sharing books coming out in January, February, and March that I can't wait to read.

Middle Grade:

YA:

Adult:

Any of these on your list too?

Review: Beyond the Wand

 

I heard about this book from TikTok and I knew I had to read it.

And it was entertaining. I'm not usually a nonfiction reader, but this one spoke to me.

If you're a fan of the Harry Potter movies, this book has some great stories about what it was like on set.

Of course it has some personal stories from Tom - and it honestly made me want to give him a big hug.

The only disappointment was - there was no mention of his role on The Flash. I wanted to hear a little more about that...

Vacation Photos

If you saw my post on Friday, you saw some TikTok videos, but I took way more photos of our recent trip.

Tree lighting in Snoqualmie 

Cute decor in a Gingerbread bakery

The bakery treats!

Bookish Librarian Nutcrackers in the museum

Hanging out with Reindeer

Me and Sven

Loving the lights in Leavenworth

View from the Space needle. 

It was a lovely time!

Christmas Movie Reviews (5)

 

Another set of Christmas movies....

From Hallmark:

Royal Corgi Christmas

Misunderstood Prince needs a dog trainer

He is about to ascend to the throne if he can show he's matured.

She turns out to have a positive influence on him

Lots of cute dog moments.

I'm a sucker for Royal movies - this one gave me a little bit of the Prince and Me vibes.

A very fun movie - highly recommended. 

Kismet Christmas

Legendary Cookies

Teenage Crush

Children's Book Author

Returning home

Second Chance Romance

Magic

This was cute one - of course I'm partial to the Children's Book author parts.

Lots of humor in this one. Recommended! 

From Netflix

Noel Diaries

A famous writer deals with his past while helping a stranger.

Road trip

One bed

Adorable dog

I did enjoy the book moments. 

Aside from the cheating, this was cute. Although it did need another 2 minutes at the end - it was too abrupt and SPOILER - the ending didn't feature the usual kiss. I read that they left it "open" for a sequel, but believe me, it's possible to do both. 

Still, it did showcase my favorite bookstore: RJ Julia's in Madison, CT

TikTok: Travel

 I had the good fortune to take a vacation to see my BFFs and also visit a Christmas town I've been wanting to see. We spent a few days in Leavenworth and it was amazing.

Check it out: 

@yabooknerdlibrarian Leavenworth lights look magical in the snow! #christmas #leavenworth #holidaylights #winterwonderland ♬ It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas - Bing Crosby

@yabooknerdlibrarian Chihuly sculpture- amazing pieces. This is just one room in the museum. Impressive! Gorgeous! #glass #glassart #museums #museumsoftiktok #seattle #chihuly ♬ SPRING - Cavendish

More about our adventure on Sunday!