Month: December 2021

I’ll Be Home For Christmas by Karen Clarke – ARC Review

Joana @ Bookneeders2 Comments

I’ll Be Home for Christmas by Karen Clarke

Series: N/A

Publisher: Bookouture

Published October 14th 2019

Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Holidays

Pages: 268

Format: ARC

Buy: Amazon 

* Received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you very much! This doesn’t affect the review in any way. My opinions are, as always, my own.*

The weather forecasters said the snowstorm would miss the eastern seaboard. They were wrong. When Ally Henderson’s flight from Southern California to New York City for Christmas gets diverted to the tiny Midwestern town of Bethlehem, she’s desperate to get back in the air and back to the Big Apple. But with all the airports closed, she’s forced to rely on Midwestern hospitality to wait out the storm. And she soon le

Last Christmas, Nina gave away her heart – only to have it broken. But this year, at her family’s cosy café, could she find a second chance at love with someone special under the mistletoe?

Nina Bailey loves Christmas. Except this year she doesn’t. Because it turns out that her husband-to-be has been cheating on her – and her beautiful wedding ceremony in the snow is cancelled.

She’s not really in the mood to be jolly, sing carols, or go anywhere near gingerbread men – in fact, what Nina wants is to avoid the whole thing. So she’s come to stay at her Aunt Dolly’s cosy café to nurse her broken heart.

Nina is determined to get through Christmas with no tinsel, no fuss – and definitely no flirting. So when she arrives and meets infuriatingly handsome Ryan Sadler, with his gorgeous forest-green eyes, she is not best pleased. And when Nina overhears him making fun of her, she is furious. (There might have been an incident with a koala onesie and a spilled bottle of milk, but that really wasn’t her fault!) So despite the spark between them, and the fact that he can whip up a fabulous dinner faster than she can say Michelin star, romance and Christmas are off the menu this year.

Unfortunately, Aunt Dolly hasn’t quite got the message, going to great lengths to provide a proper British Christmas for her beloved niece: a true home away from home. With sparkling lights adorning every wall and a tree to equal the Rockefeller Center’s and, yes, mistletoe above every doorway, can Nina resist the magic of Christmas – and stick to her no-romance rule?

This heartwarming romantic comedy will have you reaching for eggnog, roasted chestnuts and gingerbread cookies! The perfect festive book to read curled up in front of the fire, for fans of Sue Moorcroft, Holly Martin and Debbie Johnson.

Nina just had a really bad breakup when she was about to get married. To get away from it, she travels to the charming French village of Chamillon to spend some quality time at her aunt and cousin and focus on her new career as a travel blogger. Romance is far from her plans, but her aunt Dolly is trying to set her up nonetheless with her son’s best friend Ryan. He is also staying at their house and is also going through a tough breakup. As first impressions go, let’s just say they didn’t hit the jackpot, but will Dolly’s skills as matchmaker change that?

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Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune – Review

Joana @ Bookneeders2 Comments

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune
Series: N/A
Publisher: Tor
Published September 21st 2021
Genres: Fantasy, LGBTQ+, Fiction
Pages: 384
Format: Paperback
Buy: Book Depository | Amazon

Under the Whispering Door is a contemporary fantasy with TJ Klune’s signature “quirk and charm” (PW) about a ghost who refuses to cross over and the ferryman he falls in love with.

When a reaper comes to collect Wallace Price from his own funeral, Wallace suspects he really might be dead.

Instead of leading him directly to the afterlife, the reaper takes him to a small village. On the outskirts, off the path through the woods, tucked between mountains, is a particular tea shop, run by a man named Hugo. Hugo is the tea shop’s owner to locals and the ferryman to souls who need to cross over.

But Wallace isn’t ready to abandon the life he barely lived. With Hugo’s help he finally starts to learn about all the things he missed in life.

When the Manager, a curious and powerful being, arrives at the tea shop and gives Wallace one week to cross over, Wallace sets about living a lifetime in seven days.

By turns heartwarming and heartbreaking, this absorbing tale of grief and hope is told with TJ Klune’s signature warmth, humor, and extraordinary empathy. 

This follows Wallace Price, a bit of a scrooge that manages a big law company. He dies shortly after the beginning of the book.

Then he is dead and the story follows his ghost in what could be described as the last station before the afterlife. He meets Hugo the ferryman, who is responsible for helping these souls cross, and the reaper Mei – and then we have Nelson and Apollo, who are souls that haven’t crossed yet.

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Owlcrate Unboxing November 2021

Joana @ Bookneeders1 Comment

Hey guys! Here’s the unboxing for Owlcrate November’s box! Hope you enjoy! The theme of the month is Dreaming in the Dark!

Owlcrate is an amazing YA bookish subscription box that I would highly recommend getting. Plus, if you live in Europe like me, it still arrives incredibly fast and somehow  (for me) it doesn’t get more expensive than any other box coming from Europe – although obviously, it changes from country to country…

If you want to check out what this box included, just keep reading! I will show photos of all the items, information on them and some of my thoughts!

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The Christmas Layover by Robert Tate Miller – Review

Joana @ Bookneeders1 Comment

The Christmas Layover by Robert Tate Miller

Series: N/A

Publisher: Entangled Publishing

Published 12 November 2018

Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Holidays

Pages: 270

Format: ARC

Buy: Amazon 

* Received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you very much! This doesn’t affect the review in any way. My opinions are, as always, my own.*

The weather forecasters said the snowstorm would miss the eastern seaboard. They were wrong. When Ally Henderson’s flight from Southern California to New York City for Christmas gets diverted to the tiny Midwestern town of Bethlehem, she’s desperate to get back in the air and back to the Big Apple. But with all the airports closed, she’s forced to rely on Midwestern hospitality to wait out the storm. And she soon learns that she has a storm of her own to weather. One that could shatter her life.

Living with a kind stranger is one way to spend a snowed-in Christmas, but when she meets the local diner owner, Jake, sparks fly. Only, Ally’s a big-city girl with big-city dreams, and Jake will always be a Bethlehem boy. 

Ally Henderson is flying to New York where she is to marry her business partner fiancé in just a few days. Unluckily the weather chnages and makes it impossible to fly and the plane has to be redirected elsewhere. She gets stranded in the small town of Bethlehem, Colorado. The people in this small town try to provide accommodations to their new guests. Ally ends up with her fellow passenger Noel, a very pregnant and talkative lady – and staying with Peggy, an older lady that opens her house to them. Peggy’s son Jake Nelson takes the newcomers to his mother’s house. There’s instant chemistry between Ally and Jake, although both know it can’t become anything. For one Ally is to be married and Jake has problems of his own. But maybe… just maybe this unexpected turn of events that fate provided might lead somewhere?

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Christmas for Beginners by Carole Mathews – Review

Joana @ Bookneeders2 Comments

Christmas for Beginners by Carole Mathews
Series: Happiness for Beginners #2
Publisher: Sphere
First published October 29th 2020
Genres: Fiction, Christmas, Romance
Pages: 416
Format: Paperback
Buy: Book Depository | Amazon

The gloriously festive sequel to readers’ favourite and Sunday Times bestselling novel Happiness for Beginners

SPEND THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR AT HOPE FARM . . .

Christmas is fast approaching at the new Hope Farm. Owner Molly Baker has been convinced to organise an open day to raise some much-needed funds ahead of the New Year, but the nativity tableau is proving challenging. With anti-social sheep, awkward alpacas and a seriously sequined Santa Claus to assemble, Molly is feeling overwhelmed, and in desperate need of some Christmas spirit . . .

Despite the chaos of the farm getting in the way of her event planning, Molly is looking forward to spending the holidays with Shelby and Lucas, hopeful that a happy family Christmas is exactly what they need to draw them all together. But while she is busy making plans on the farm, Shelby, it seems, has ideas of his own.

As the nativity draws near, the team are working hard to pull off a spectacular festive fete – and make sure the animals and humans remain on their best behaviour. Will this Christmas be merry and bright, or is there more than one surprise in store for Hope Farm?

A must-read festive tale from the queen of fun-filled and life-affirming fiction, Christmas for Beginners is the PERFECT winter treat!

This book is set at Hope Farm, a farm that is meant to help animals and kids with all the therapeutic glory of animals and nature. Christmas is approaching and Molly, our mc is convinced to organise an open day to raise money to help keep the farm going! But everything is not going according to plan, especially when naughty alpacas decide to take a bite on baby Jesus!

Molly lives in a caravan on the farm with Lucas, her boyfriend Shelby’s kid. Shelby is an important soap star allergic to animals and definitely doesn’t enjoy passing time on the farm and far prefers to live in his house 10min away. Molly is wishing for a beautiful family Christmas but that is also not going according to plan.

How exactly is this Christmas going to be? Will everything she hopes for magically happen?

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A Bookshop Christmas by Rachel Burton – ARC Review

Joana @ Bookneeders2 Comments

A Bookshop Christmas by Rachel Burton

Series: N/A

Publisher: Aria

Published September 2nd 2021

Genres: Contemporary, Romance

Pages: 416

Format: ARC

Buy: Amazon

* Received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you very much! This doesn’t affect the review in any way. My opinions are, as always, my own.*

A snowstorm. A stranger. A spark. And it’s Christmas!
It should be the perfect start to the perfect love story.

But real life is far messier and more complicated than in the pages of the books in Megan Taylor’s family bookshop – the last few years have left this young widow in no doubt of that. Moving back home to York should have been a fresh start, but all it did was allow her to retreat from the world.

When prize-winning author Xander Stone rams his supermarket trolley into her ankles and then trashes her taste in books, Megan is abruptly awoken from her self-imposed hibernation. It’s time to start living again, and she’s going to start by putting this arrogant, superior – admittedly sexy – stranger in his place.

Just as she is beginning to enjoy life again, the worst happens and Megan begins to wonder if she should have stayed hidden away. Because it turns out that falling in love again is about more than just meeting under the mistletoe…

Megan lost her husband 3 years ago to leukemia. After her husband’s death she felt guilty if she enjoyed anything. Her friends and mom are trying to break her out of the cycle that is grief.

Her family owns a bookstore and after his death she decided to go back home and run the shop. It’s now Christmas time and she is desperately trying to increase the sales by having authors and other events there. In comes Xander Stone. The next author to be there and a big one at that.

But Xander himself is far from just a star. Megan realises she has a lot more to him than the rude front he puts up. Can they help each other to overcome their difficult pasts?

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