I am huge fan of Christmas. On Nov. 1, Halloween decorations come down and it's all about Christmas – Christmas music, Christmas movies and Christmas books.
Here are 10 books I read each year and highly recommend you to do the same.
Together by Christmas
OK, I don't read Together by Christmas each year – as this one just came out in November – but I do read a book set around this most wonderful time of year by Karen Swan. This U.K. author impresses me. She writes one book a year, although in her Author's Note we are informed this one almost didn't get written as she was three weeks out from her deadline and had only had half a story written.
This book begins at the Turkish-Syrian border in 2014, but fast forwards five years later when former war photographer Lee is raising her son, Jasper, in Amsterdam. This book felt more Christmasy to me then her other books, although this one is mainly set around St. Nicholas' Day, a holiday more significant than Christmas to to the Dutch. I have read significant amount of Swan's book, but this one falls in my Top 3 of all-time favourites. It touches on some pretty significant and serious issues, but you still get the magic of the holiday and a love story. I highly recommend this one.
I interviewed Swan. Read it here: https://booktime584.wordpress.
The Christmas Cookie Club
On the first Monday of December, Marnie and her 12 closest friends who make up the Christmas Cookie Club get together to catch up on what is happening in their lives, eat, drink and celebrate the holidays. The story is told through Marnie, the founder of the club, who knows each of the women's secrets. While gathering and sharing cookies is important, more important is the story shared about the significance of the cookie made.
As each woman stands up to share her cookie story, we get a recipe for a cookie and learn a bit more about the person making it.
I like how this book is written and how we learn more about these women throughout the story.
The Christmas Cookie Club is by Ann Pearlman.
The Christmas Clock
Eight-year-old Teddy is being raised by his elderly grandmother, who has a secret – she lives with Alzheimer's disease. Teddy doesn't understand that his grandmother is sick, he just knows he wants to buy his grandmother the Victorian clock she admires in the window of an antique shop. To earn money to buy the clock, Teddy begins to work with Joe Dixon and local mechanic who has a story of his own. The Christmas Clock by Kat Martin is a beautiful story of love, magic and happy endings.
A Christmas Miracle
I am not a romance book fan. While I like a good love story within the pages of my book, I wouldn't be looking in the romance section of my favourite book store. Yet, this book – four stories by Virginia Henley, Katherine Kingsley, Rebecca Paisley and Stephanie Mittman, would definitely fall into that category: all are romance writers.
Each story is different, yet all are set in the past and most involve one party having a significant amount of wealth. I love all the stories: a governess and her desire to have a choice in her life; a blind woman who teaches an artist about what it's like to see; a magical tale of innocence and love; and a young woman who teaches a rich family what's important in life.
Six books by Richard Paul Evans
I first discovered Evans when I read the beautiful Christmas tale called The Christmas Box, which I read over the course of a couple of hours and sobbed at the sadness, but also the beauty of the story. The Christmas Box tells the story of Richard, Keri and their daughter Jenna, who move into a Victoria mansion, the home of Mary Anne Parkin, who lives alone. Richard is starting his own business and as such is away a lot. Mary Anne becomes increasingly persistent in Richard understanding the true meaning of Christmas.
A couple years later, my mom received The Christmas Box trilogy, which includes the back story of Mary Anne Parkin and her husband, David. The other two books are equally beautifully written, but I often don't re-read them. Set during the depression, there is a lot of hate and horrific things that happens. There are also some beautiful things and while I love the stories and how they tie into the Christmas Box, sometimes I just don't the strength.
Other books:
The Christmas List
James Kier is a ruthless businessman who will do whatever it takes to get what he wants. One day, a newspaper prints his obituary, mistaking another James Kier for him. He goes to sue the paper when he reads the online comments, all of which tell the world how happy he is dead. James decides to change his legacy by making things right with some of the people he has hurt.
In his introduction, Evans talks about how every year he watches Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, and wanted to write a story of redemption. It is a great book.
The Mistletoe Secret
In this book, a blogger who signs her work LBH talks about her overwhelming loneliness and wishes one person would care about her. Across the country, Alex Bartlett reads her posts and begins to fall for the vulnerable, honest woman. Through some great detective work, he discovers what town LBH lives in and flies across the country to search for her, meeting a host of other interesting people along the way.
Another great book. It's interesting to read a love story from the male point of view. I love Alex's group of friends.
The Mistletoe Promise
I love this book about Elise Dutton who dreads the return of the holidays. One day, a man approaches her in the food court with an interesting proposition. For the next eight weeks, they will pretend to be a couple, but with three rules: No personal questions, no drama, no telling the truth about the contract. The contract is void Christmas Day.
There is something pretty fantastic about this arrangement, particularly as the story unfolds. Both Elise and the stranger have their stories.
The Noel Diary
This is a fairly new one to my collection. I have read it twice. Romance author Jacob Churcher returns home for the first time in 20 years after learning that his mentally ill mother, who kicked him out when he was 16, weeks before Christmas, passed away, leaving him the house. Jacob returns to settle her estate and try to reconcile the abuse he faced as a child. Jacob discovers his mother was a hoarder and within the house he finds a journal from a woman named Noel. When Rachel shows up at his door looking for the mother who gave her up for adoption, the pair search for Noel together.
I look forward to reading this book a third time.
Promise Me
Promise Me is another favourite. It's 1989 and Beth's world is falling apart – her daughter, Charlotte, is sick, but no one can figure out why, and her marriage had become one of betrayal. On Christmas Day, she runs into a stranger named Matthew, who changes her life.
I love the idea of this story and how it was written. It's so interesting.
One could argue Evans' books are all about love and redemption and while that is true, I like that the telling of the stories are different from one book to another. I also like how quick you can read them, finishing a book in afternoon.
Bring on Christmas.
