Tag Archives: christmas
My New Crush Gave to Me
Young Adult Fiction
Swoon Reads
October 31, 2017
288
Eager for a date to the holiday season "Lover's Ball," school newspaper editor Charlie rigs the school's Secret Santa exchange to woo the boy of her dreams.
Review:
“My New Crush Gave to Me” would have been much better as a short story. As a book, it’s cute and a quick read, but there is a lot of filler in there. Once it finally picked up around the middle I enjoyed it, though I could never spend much time in real life around the main character, Charlie!
This unbiased review is based upon a complimentary copy provided by the publisher.
Content Warning:
Language, Mild Sexual Situations
Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe
Fiction
Wednesday Books
October 17, 2017
240
Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe from New York Times bestselling author, Melissa de la Cruz, is a sweet, sexy and hilarious gender-swapping, genre-satisfying re-telling, set in contemporary America and featuring one snooty Miss Darcy. Darcy Fitzwilliam is 29, beautiful, successful, and brilliant. She dates hedge funders and basketball stars and is never without her three cellphones—one for work, one for play, and one to throw at her assistant (just kidding). Darcy’s never fallen in love, never has time for anyone else’s drama, and never goes home for Christmas if she can help it. But when her mother falls ill, she comes home to Pemberley, Ohio, to spend the season with her family. Her parents throw their annual Christmas bash, where she meets one Luke Bennet, the smart, sardonic slacker son of their neighbor. Luke is 32-years-old and has never left home. He’s a carpenter and makes beautiful furniture, and is content with his simple life. He comes from a family of five brothers, each one less ambitious than the other. When Darcy and Luke fall into bed after too many eggnogs, Darcy thinks it’s just another one night stand. But why can’t she stop thinking of Luke? What is it about him? And can she fall in love, or will her pride and his prejudice against big-city girls stand in their way?
Review:
I’m giving “Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe” a three because it’s cute – for someone on the younger end of the ya reading group. I’m not really sure how it got classified as adult romance, but it does not belong there. It’s a two at best when in that category. There really isn’t anything else for me to say about it. Not recommended.
This unbiased review is based upon a complimentary copy provided by the publisher.
Spending the Holidays with People I Want to Punch in the Throat
Spending the Holidays with People I Want to Punch in the Throat
Ballantine Books
October 13, 2015
Hardcover
224
For fans of Laurie Notaro and Jenny Lawson comes an uproarious and oddly endearing essay collection for anyone trying to survive the holidays in one piece.
When it comes to time-honored holiday traditions, Jen Mann pulls no punches
In this hilariously irreverent collection of essays, Jen Mann, nationally bestselling author of People I Want to Punch in the Throat, turns her mordant wit on the holidays. On Mann’s naughty list: mothers who go way overboard with their Elf on the Shelf, overzealous carolers who can’t take a hint, and people who write their Christmas cards in the third person (“Joyce is enjoying Bunko. Yeah, Joyce, we know you wrote this letter.”). And on her nice list . . . well, she’s working on that one. Here, no celebration is off-limits. The essays include:
• You Can Keep Your Cookies, I’m Just Here for the Booze
• Nice Halloween Costume. Was Skank Sold Out?
• Why You Won’t Be Invited to Our Chinese New Year Party
From hosting an ill-fated Chinese New Year party, to receiving horrible gifts from her husband on Mother’s Day, to reluctantly telling her son the truth about the Easter Bunny, Mann knows the challenge of navigating the holidays while keeping her sanity intact. And even if she can’t get out of attending another Christmas cookie exchange, at least she can try again next year.
Review:
“Spending the Holidays with People I Want to Punch in the Throat” is a memoir in essays about Christmas and other holidays. It will make you laugh, cry, cringe, feel sorry for the author, and ultimately, make you feel nostalgia.
Most of the stories had me actually laughing out loud. Some of them made me snort. Quite a few of them left me wondering if we may be related. The point is: We have all been in her shoes, and we have also all been in the shoes of one of the other poor souls. No holiday is perfect, but it’s the funny stories of things gone that leave us longing for more. It’s this very fact that makes the book much more than a collection of funny stories. It has heart, and it is bound to touch the hearts of everyone with a fondness for holidays and families, in spite of all of the hassle they bring.
“Spending the Holidays with People I Want to Punch in the Throat” is well-written and a quick read. Sitting down with it will be a perfect break from the upcoming holiday rush. Also, it will make a great not-so-subtle gift for all of the “holiday overachievers” in your life. (Watch me get three copies.)
This review is based upon a complimentary copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
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