A Bleu Streak Christmas, book 44

 

Wanted to squeeze in a quick book so I chose this one.  I thought I had read other books by this author, but apparently I haven't.  It was a pretty lame book, so I hope the other books I have by this author are better.

How does the band Bleu Streak celebrate the holidays? By singing, of course. Go on tour with this zany group as they get into all kinds of mischief along the way. Oh…And Maverick King? Oh yeah. This devilishly handsome drummer gets a special gift for Christmas. The trouble is trying to convince Izzy Walker to allow him to have her… (picture and description at Amazon)

Now on to hopefully a better Christmas book ...

Melissa

A Royal Christmas, book #43

 

A quick little Christmas read!  Melody Carlson is one of my favorite authors and this fun book was no different.  However, for the record, this book should not be confused with A Royal Christmas Wedding, by another one of my favorite authors, Rachel Hauck, or the Hallmark Movie, A Royal Christmas.  Three completely different stories 😄

Adelaide Smith is too busy for fairy tales.  She's been working hard to put herself through law school, and she's determined to stay focused on her goals. Then she receives a letter notifying her that she is a direct descendant of King Maximillian Konig V, the ruler of a small European principality called Montovia.  What? No. That's the stuff of cheesy made-for-TV movies, not real life.  Still, curiosity gets the best of her, leading to a Christmas break trip chock-full of surprises, including a charming village, an opulent palace, family mysteries, royal jealousies, a handsome young member of Parliament, and the chance at a real-life fairy tale romance. (picture and description at Amazon)

Even though it is only days away til Christmas and I have many fun things packed in, I hope to read at least 3 or 4 more before I jump into our FHS Book Club book next month! 

Merry Christmas!

Melissa

Amish Christmas at North Star: Four Stories of Love and Family, book #42

 

Always fun to visit the Amish at Christmas!  I didn't really like the way the short stories ended at first, but -- spoiler alert -- they wrap it up well at the end of the book!

One night four lives entered the world by the hands of an Amish midwife, just outside North Star, Pennsylvania.

Rebekah’s Babies, as they are called, are now grown adults and in four heartwarming novellas each young person experiences a journey of discovery, a possibility of love, and the wonder of Christmas.

Guiding Star by Katie Ganshert

Curiosity gets the best of Englischer Chase Wellington when he investigates the twenty-five-year-old disappearance of an Amish baby. When he finds adventurous Elle McAllister in Iowa will his discoveries upend her world?

Mourning Star by Amanda Flower

Eden Hochstetler slips from her parents’ fudge shop to investigate the death of her friend Isaac.  Who is guilty? Isaac’s handsome great nephew Jesse, an angry Englischer, or someone else?

In the Stars by Cindy Woodsmall

Heartbroken Kore Detweiler avoids North Star after Savilla Beiler rejects his love.  But when he is unexpectedly called to return home, he and Savilla must join forces to keep a family together.

Star of Grace by Mindy Starns Clark and Emily Clark

Andy Danner left North Star to join a new Amish settlement in Mississippi. His little brother devises a scheme to bring Andy home for Christmas and unwittingly unleashes the power of forgiveness in a reclusive widower’s life. (picture and description at Amazon)

Found a few more short stories to squeeze in before the end of the year.  And there are new things brewing for 2026! :)

Keep reading CHRISTMAS books!

O:)

Melissa

The Christmas Lodge and A Marriage Carol, books #40-41

 

     

I have loved getting on to good Christmas books finally.  Well, at least one of these was good.  I hate to say anything bad about my good buddies Chris Fabry and Gary Chapman, but ....

Book #40 was a true delight!  And I realized there are several more in the series!  

As the head of a thriving investment firm in St. Louis, Lacy Preston thinks she has it all… until her fast-paced life is disrupted one day by a single phone call. She’s shocked to discover that her estranged grandfather has died and left her his sprawling old house in Snowy Pine Ridge, New Hampshire.  Although it’s the last thing she wants to do, especially with the holidays approaching, Lacy decides to head to Snowy Pine Ridge to oversee the sale of the property. She has no intention of staying in the cozy little town, and no intention of keeping the historic building her grandfather—a man affectionately called St. Nick by the locals—passed on to her.  But as she works on renovating the old house to put it on the market, she gets to know the residents of the town, including local dog-sledder Derek Morse, who almost runs her over with his sled the first time they meet.  Derek has lived in Snowy Pine Ridge all his life, and he has no use for the big city folks who sometimes come through… even if this particular city slicker has the most arresting green eyes he’s ever seen and a laugh that rivals the jingle of Christmas bells. Still, when she comes to him asking for help with an abandoned puppy, he can’t say no.  Lacy certainly isn’t looking for love this holiday season. But as she and Derek navigate the hijinks of the mischievous pup, delve into a mystery from her family’s past, and uncover a buried secret, she starts to realize that sometimes…  Love finds you even when you’re not looking for it. (picture and description at Amazon)

Book #41 was a quick read, only 100ish pages, and it was probably a small book, since I read it in about 2 hours.  It was ok, but nothing to write home about.  Sorry!

Jake and Marlee, a tired married couple, are about to call it quits. Over time they have drifted apart; the sparks are dead. Marlee is convinced she married the wrong man, and Jake feels tied down to the wrong woman. Jake is distant and tired of being controlled, while Marlee is tired of being the only one trying to the save their marriage. They go to bed Christmas Eve, in separate rooms, each rationalizing... life is too short to be miserable... love shouldn't hurt like this... their marriage must end for happiness to return.  But then something peculiar happens: The ghosts of Marriage Past, Marriage Present, and Marriage Future reveal to them their past choices and present realities, and how their future might look if they do not change their stories.  Jake and Marlee experience a Christmas gift that will radically change their thinking and cause them to look at marriage not for what they can get out of it, but for what God can do in and through their marriage. (PIcture and description at Amazon)

Now I have to find a new one to read quick before I see what Deanie chooses for us for Book Club on Thursday!

Don't you love Christmas books?!?

Melissa

The World's Greatest Detective and Her Just Okay Assistant, book #39

 

So, funny story about this book.  It caught my eye this summer and I added it to my list of possible books for our FHS Book Club, since it is not a "Christian" book.  Amazingly, everyone chose it to read for our second book!  I was thrilled, until .... I realized it is a new book so it was very pricey.  But no one seemed to mind so on I went.  

Then I started reading it and really, really loved it!  It was the type of book I thoroughly enjoyed, written in a funny, lighthearted style.  But the -- Yikes!  I realized all the other books we have read for that Book Club are NOT written in funny, lighthearted style!  And then I got afraid no one would like it and they would say mean stuff about it!  So, fingers crossed, maybe some people liked it! :)

Olivia Blunt is thrilled to be hired as assistant to the nationally renowned investigator Aubrey Merritt. She longs to become a valued contributor to the great detective’s work, but Merritt is a difficult, exacting boss, and the learning curve is steeper than she expected. After weeks of boring computer work, Olivia is finally invited to join Merritt on an important case. On the night of her sixty-fifth birthday party, Victoria Summersworth somehow fell over her balcony railing to her death on the rocky shore of Vermont’s Lake Champlain. She was a happy woman—rich, beloved, in love, and matriarch of the preeminent Summersworth family. The police ruled her death a suicide, but Victoria’s daughter Haley thinks it was murder. Merritt and Olivia soon discover that the Summersworth family is complicated web of lies, ambitions, and resentments. As the list of suspects grows, Olivia makes one apparent mistake after another. When she blunders into a truly dangerous situation, she realizes Merritt might be right: she might be in over her head with this whole detective thing…or she might be unravelling a mystery even bigger than the one they started with.  (picture and description at Amazon)

So now, finally, I get to start reading Christmas books!

O:)

Melissa

I'll Be Home for Christmas, book #38

 

So, finally a Christmas book ...

Back story ~ If you remember I like to read Christmas books in November and December, because there are so many good ones I want to read!  However, November started with me reading our Book Club book and then I learned that our Faculty Book Club would meet after Thanksgiving, and that book is not a Christmas book either!  So, I decided to sneak in a Christmas book in between the two.

I started reading one book I had gotten from the stash at my MILs house, however it was not only NOT a Christian book, I didn't get too far into it to realize this was NOT the type of book I wanted to read!  So for the first time in recorded history, I actually stopped reading the book and picked up another one.  

Ugh but this book was just a drag to read.  It is set in the mid-1940s during WWII and I don't know if it was the style or the long drawn out plot or what, but I feel like if this had been a shorter book there is a chance I would have liked it more.  Blech!  

With Bing Crosby's "I'll Be Home for Christmas" playing in the background, Maggie Culpepper and William Byrd proclaim their undying love to one another. But with the U.S. at war and Maggie's personal home front under attack, the Southern belle impetuously joins the WAVES (Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service).  When Christmas draws near and Maggie finds herself miles and miles away from her Georgia hometown...and her beloved William...will she realize that, no matter where she spends Christmas, home is where her heart is? (picture and description at Amazon)

I have started the one for our other Book Club to finish it and then jump all in to Christmas books!

Have you read any good Christmas books lately?

Melissa

Candle in the Darkness, book #37

 

This book threw me for a doozy.  I've read SO MANY books on the Civil War ~ men/boys gone off to fight, women/slaves/children left at home, etc etc and they never really bothered me.  (Well, except for this one)  But for some reason this one really bothered me.  Poor Caroline was really caught in the middle of her passion and true love.  I wonder how many other women were in her shoes back then?

The daughter of a wealthy slave-holding family from Richmond, Virginia, Caroline Fletcher is raised to believe slavery is God-ordained and acceptable. But on awakening to its cruelty and injustice, her eyes are opened to the men and women who have cared tirelessly for her. At the same time, her father and her fiance, Charles St. John, are fighting for the Confederacy and their beloved way of life and traditions.  Where does Caroline's loyalty lie? Emboldened by her passion to make a difference and her growing faith, will she risk everything she holds dear? (picture and description at Amazon)

I am supposed to be jumping into my next book for the FHS Book Club, but I think I need to sneak a Christmas book in first :)  

Keep Reading

Melissa