Christmas in July: Love in a Winter Wonderland

Trey Anderson's family bookstore has been a corner stone in London. But a new bookstore chain down the road is wrecking their bottom line. They're able to offer cheaper books. This holiday season might just be their last. 

Trey hasn't always loved working at his family bookstore. But he can't imagine his life without it. They're behind on their rent and if they can't make the payments, the store will have to be sold.  When this father has an accident and falls, Trey feels like it's his responsibility to save the shop.

Artist, Ariel needs money for tuition to art school. She thinks to bookstore might be able to help her - and she might be able to help them.

Can they save the bookstore?

My Thoughts: I'm always here for more holiday romances - but this one was different for a couple reasons. 1) It was not set in the US but in London and 2) the leads were both Black. It was refreshing and then of course, there's the story about saving the bookstore. All add up to one lovely read - I loved the moments in the bookstore. I enjoyed the social media attention and chatting about authors. I wasn't crazy about the storyline with Trey's girlfriend. She wasn't a likeable character (not that she was supposed to be). I loved the art bits - the mural sounds amazing. And the two brothers were cute. All in all, a great choice for a holiday romance.

Cover Thoughts: Charming

Source: My Library

Library Recommendation: A must have holiday romance for your YA collection.

Christmas Book Review: So This is Christmas

 

Finley's spent the last half of the year at boarding school in Connecticut - but she's floundering at school and she's unsure if she wants to stay. Her small town Ohio is not how she left it - including her best friend and her ex-boyfriend, her parents, and how she feels being at home.  

Plus there's the problem where she changed the town's website to impress the snooty people at her boarding school. That backfires when one of her classmates arrives at her Grandmother's inn expecting a quaint hometown Christmas to discover that the town of Christmas isn't exactly what is advertised. 

Finley's not sure where she's going - and where she fits in. Things are hard everywhere. Could Christmas magic show her the right path?

My Thoughts: I love Christmas Romances and I'm happy they are coming back to the YA world. I was really excited to read this one and it was cute. It did take me a little bit to get into it. I loved the Christmas adventures Finley cooked up for Arthur and his aunt - from the reindeer adventure to the parade. I loved the banter between Arthur and Finley. Finely and her family kept a lot of secrets from each other that all came spilling out. Lots of talk about food - I loved the kitchen chef. I really enjoyed Finley's relationship with Ayisha. I loved Grandma Jo. I'm so curious to see how everything turns out in the sequel.

Cover Thoughts: Cute

Source: Book sent for review

Library Recommendation: A fun YA Christmas romance for your collection!

Holiday Thursday Review: My True Love Gave to Me

I usually don't read short story collections but I make an exception for Christmas ones. I loved these. With so many great author contributors - how could I not?

My favorites (and it is hard to pick) were from Ally Carter and Stephanie Perkins. I want a book from their stories. I also really loved Rainbow Rowell's story too. 

There's something for everyone here: fun, friendship, family, romance, and of course holiday spirit. 

If you haven't read it, snatch this one up.