"What do you want to be?" "Happy," she says with a smile. - Colleen Hoover

Friday, December 21, 2018

The Perfect Christmas by Debbie Macomber

Do you guys like Hallmark Christmas movies? You know the ones that are half funny, half sweet, and a whole lotta cheese? But like the best cheese ever?
Yeah. Me too.
Reading The Perfect Christmas was like watching one of those movies.
I flew through this book because it was so stinkin cute!
Cassie is in her 30s and she's still single. She wants a husband and children to go along with a job she has and loves.
Problem is she can't seem to meet a man.
One day her friend/coworker tells her to try this matchmaker that she'd actually seen once.
While Cassie is hesitant she decides that right now a matchmaker is her best shot at finding love.
$30,000 later she's meeting Simon Dodson matchmaker extraordinaire.
And he's a dick.
Like a really big one.
He doesn't smile, he's critical, he's...abrupt to say the least.
Even with his oh so charming personality Cassie enjoys talking with him.
Before he will set her up with the man of her dreams he gives her three challenges.
1) She has to be a charity bell ringer
2) Be an elf for Santa at the mall
3) Make a Christmas dinner for her and her less than pleasant neighbors
Cassie obviously agrees to everything in her desperation for a husband, however things don't go as simple as she had planned. Through a whole series of comical mishaps Cassie finds herself getting closer to Simon and less interested in meeting the mystery man he's going to set her up with.
I absolutely adored this book. It was everything that I was looking for and more and I would without a doubt recommend it to you all.

Buy The Perfect Christmas Here:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

Thursday, December 20, 2018

1225 Christmas Tree Lane by Debbie Macomber

Last year I pretty much only read Debbie Macomber books the month of December and I loved all of them. Needless to say I was very excited about 1225 Christmas Tree Lane.
Beth is divorced and now lives on a Christmas Tree Farm and living her best life...almost. She loves her farm, she loves her animals, and she loves the people surrounding her. Even with everything she has gained she still finds herself missing her ex husband Kent.
This year for Christmas her two daughters tell her that Kent wants to come to Beth's for the holidays along with his daughters. Instantly Beth is confused.
Does he want to come for his daughters?
Is he coming just to be friendly?
Or, is it possible he still has feelings for her?
What the daughters don't tell her is that they lied.
Big time.
They told their father that their mother invited him.
The girls want their parents back together and they won't let anything get in their way.
However when daddy dearest shows up with a woman the plans get a little muddy.
I really enjoyed reading this story and found myself smiling a lot - which I can't seem to help whenever I read Debbie Macomber.
While this book followed Beth and her family it also follows other members around the town. I'm still kind of undecided about how I felt about that. Someone leaves a basket full of puppies on Beth's porch and she gives them to different people in the community. Once the puppy goes to a family there's a chapter focused more on them. So basically one chapter was Beth and the next was someone else. It got a little confusing because there were SO MANY NAMES. I had trouble remembering who was who and it almost made me put the book down. However once I was finished with the book I realized I didn't dislike it as much I had originally.
All in all I thought this book was really cute and Beth was fabulous. I definitely recommend if you're looking for a feel good Christmas book.


Buy 1225 Christmas Tree Lane Here:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Christmas At Twilight by Lori Wilde

   The other night after my son went to sleep I decided it was time to start reading my Christmas books for the month. Now I did have one sent to me - which I will review maybe next week - but I didn't want to start with that one, even though I'm crazy excited for it. I grabbed up the little collection I've acquired and decided that Christmas At Twilight sounded like the perfect book to kick things off.
   I made it about 4 pages in and reconsidered. I thought now just wait, this is not cute and happy like the books I read last year. You know, the books that are like Hallmark Movies? The ones that are so darn cheesy that they're actually enjoyable?
  This one starts off with Brian "Hutch" Hutchinson basically being booted from the military. He's missing a finger, took shrapnel to the throat - making him unable to speak, and is majorly suffering from PTSD. Switch on over to the other side and we have Meredith who has changed everything about herself including her hair length and color, weight, and her name. Now she goes by Jane the common girl with a cute little boy.
   Meredith "Jane" moves into a house with a woman named Ashley and her little girl Kimmie when six weeks later Ashley meets a man and takes off, leaving Meredith to care for not only her son Ben, but also Kimmie.
   Now here's where it takes on that aww Hallmark factor; Hutch returns home. Which is also the home Meredith is residing in. Yep, Ashley is his sister and he let her live at his home. So now we have hunky military man and beautiful and kind mother. I mean, we know where this is going right?
   I have to tell you guys while the book did throw me off at first I am so happy that I kept reading. The more I read the more I wanted to know what was going to happen. We find out that Meredith is on the run from her psychotic ex husband who also happens to be a police detective. We also get to see Hutch move passed some pretty hard moments and watch their entire relationship evolve.
   There were parts that reminded me a lot of Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks and if you've read it or watched the movie then I'm sure you know why it would. It wasn't anything like the Christmas books I read last year but that's what makes reading fun.
   I really enjoyed the sweet moments, loved watching Meredith and Hutch with the kids, got sucked into the action and gasped at the horror. All in all it was a very good read and I'm happy this is the book I started with.
   My ONLY complaint is that Meredith is supposed to be around my age - if I remember correctly - and both her and Hutch sometimes talk as if they're in their 40s or even 50s. It doesn't make much sense some times and honestly kinda made me roll my eyes on occasion.
   Now that I've finished being a brat I can go back to telling you all that I recommend Christmas At Twilight. :)


Buy Christmas At Twilight Here:

Tuesday, December 11, 2018

Christmas Reads!!

Last December I read and reviewed a few Christmas books and in doing so I had a stinkin blast!

If you've read my post from a few months back where I talked about why I wasn't writing on my blog you know it's been a rough year. I've been trying to get back into reading and even when I do pick up a book it just hasn't sucked me back in yet.

Last month I decided I was for sure going to do a Christmas Theme Book month on A Book Lovers Playlist. Christmas is my absolute favorite holiday and is something I've always enjoyed with my family. As a prep for this month I thought it would be a good idea to read books I am thankful for in the month of November. You know, cause like, Thanksgiving and stuff.

I picked up Twilight with the intention of reading it and then moving on to another book that I'm thankful for. Instead I read the entire series again and boy am I thankful. I had so much fun reading them and rediscovering my love for the series. It put me in the mood to read exactly as I'd hoped.

Tomorrow I'll be posting my first Christmas themed review and I hope you all enjoy it.

Thank you so much for sticking with me. I love you guys <3

xo,
Kayleigh