Listen, publishers do publish Christmas romances a bit early (read, way too early if they want you to read it upon release), but as we all know, I’m generally not the one to read an ARC early so why does it matter? Well, for once, my friends, I have three timely (even one very early!) ARC reviews because for unknown reasons, my brain said, “Whee! Let’s read about Christmas!” And sometimes it’s best to just not ask questions. So anyway, the three books I have to review for you today are The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter (yes, if you like fun like Knives Out or the old Mary Kate and Ashley movies where they have to solve a mystery, but want it aged up), The Christmas You Found Me by Sarah Morgenthaler (yes, if you want something sad but still soft), and Christmas is All Around by Martha Waters (yes, if you want a Hallmark movie with some spice). Thank you as usual to Netgalley and the publishers for these e-ARCs. Also thank you to my brain and my kindle for cooperating to let me read these early.
The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter
The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year was a delightful blend of romance and mystery that actually did kind of give Knives Out vibes as advertised. At least in terms of an eclectic mix of characters. I read the first quarter of this book in one go and was absolutely obsessed with it and in the end, I did still really enjoy it! Let me tell you a bit more about it.
Maggie is recently (a year) divorced and her ex-husband left her for her (ex) best friend. Absolutely wretched. Anyway, she is persuaded to go on this trip to England at the behest of her “biggest fan” (Maggie is a mystery author) and who should also be invited along? Her arch-nemesis, Ethan. The dynamic between the two of them is utterly delightful and I enjoyed the book so very much. Ultimately, for me, the hijinks in the book both worked well for me and at the same time, took me out of the story a bit. I think this is a book to reread when I can devour it again in one sitting.
That said, Ally Carter’s writing and plotting is pretty much always a win for me so it was nice to return to her style of writing and engage with it. I look forward to more from Carter in the future!
The Christmas You Found Me
by Sarah Morgenthaler
The Christmas You Found Me made me cry on a plane and while waiting for my ride to pick me up from the airport. I picked it up after reading no further than single dad because that’s the thing I’ve been wanting to read constantly lately. Turns out I maybe should have read on a bit to mentally prepare myself. However, I will say that Morgenthaler provides a list of content warnings at the front of this book and is pretty careful with her readers and this book overall has a lot of softness wrapped around the tragic situation facing our main characters. So let me tell you a bit about the book.
On the day Sienna Maple’s divorce is final, her best friend, Jess (they/them), has an advertisement drawn up advertising for Sienna’s husband for hire. Guy respond to the ad, because he is quite desperate to have some stability for his daughter who is in Stage 5 renal failure. He needs to show that his life is stable so that his daughter can remain on the transplant list. Initially Sienna is like, “this is bananas, I cannot marry a stranger.” And then, she obviously marries the stranger for Emma’s sake. From there, the three of them slowly become a family, but also not too slowly because this book is paced fairly quick. In addition to Emma’s health issues, Sienna is also dealing with the fact that her dad is in a long term care facility because of his dementia. So there’s a lot of heaviness. Also, her ex-husband wasn’t violent, exactly, but they did not have a good or safe feeling relationship.
Despite all of those circumstances, the relationship between Guy and Sienna is incredibly soft. The two of them care for one another deeply and do their best to make the other’s life better. From making Sienna making Guy sandwiches to Guy helping feed the animals without being asked, the two of them truly do their best to improve the other’s life and it’s gorgeous. I also like the emphasis on loneliness and how physical affection can be so healing–specifically hugs.
This book is deeply emotional and also it had moments of feeling like being wrapped in a blanket. I’m sure this book is not for everyone, but all in all, I’m very glad I read it and I hope to read more from Morgenthaler in the future set in this town. The side characters were all intriguing and I really enjoyed getting to know them as well.
Christmas is All Around
by Martha Waters
Christmas is All Around was like reading a Hallmark movie (with the addition of kissing and more) paired with Book Lovers in that the characters make reference to the idea of tropes and things that they’re experiencing at the same time. Set in London, Christmas is All Around follows Christmas grump, Charlotte, who starred in a Christmas movie when she was 9 and has genuinely hated it ever since. Now an artist, Charlotte would very much like to put her past acting career very far behind her, but the public’s desire for a follow up movie has gotten very loud and out of control. So Charlotte moves from NYC to London to stay with her sister for six weeks before Christmas. Her sister’s in-laws are staying in the apartment above them and Alice, the baby, is very loud and Charlotte is not necessarily much of a baby person. Pretty quickly, we wind up meeting our love interest at one of the various Christmas shenanigans Charlotte gets dragged along to and he is a stressed out boy. Graham is the oldest son and is now responsible for his crumbling estate and feels so much pressure. He also has two sisters and a best friend we get to know throughout the book. The two of them have a pretty immediate connection that neither of them quite know what to make of, but slowly, they let themselves explore whatever it is between them. Overall, I really enjoyed the book!
Closing Thoughts
Great books all around depending on what exactly you’re in the mood for or, if you happen to be in the mood to let the book take you where it wants to go, I suppose. If you think you may pick up any of these books, let me know!
xx
firewhiskeyreader 