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Review: Everyone this Christmas has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson
Benjamin Stevenson’s mystery novels about amateur sleuth and lover of Golden Age murder mysteries Ernest Cunningham have been super popular but I just hadn’t managed to pick one up yet. When I spotted Benjamin on the schedule for the ANU’s ‘Meet the Author’ event series – in conversation with lovely local author Jack Heath no less (if you ever get the chance to see Jack speak at an event please go – he’s wonderful and funny and engaging in front of adults and kids alike) – it was the perfect excuse to finally read one. The subject of the discussion was the newest release in the series, Everyone this Christmas…
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Review: Stalking Around the Christmas Tree by Jacqueline Frost
What is Jacqueline Frost’s Stalking Around the Christmas Tree about? For inn keeper Holly White, Christmas time in Mistletoe, Maine, is the ultimate holiday gift. Business at the Reindeer Games Inn is booming, her wedding to Sheriff Evan Gray is nearly here, and the annual parade is about to begin. The town is lucky to have another gift this year with the state’s ballet company staying for several performances of The Nutcracker. But disaster strikes when Tiffany, the lead ballerina, shows up dead on a float during the parade, the Rat King’s mask nearby. Holly will have to spruce up her sleuthing skills if she wants to catch the killer before…
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Review: The Drover’s Brother Comes for Christmas by Darry Fraser
What is Darry Fraser’s The Drover’s Brother Comes for Christmas about? It’s 1890. Lizzie Naylor’s life is working in her grumpy father’s store in Munyup, trying to bring up her six-year-old daughter, Alice, who’s hellbent on finding herself a father. Christmas is nearing, and tempers are fraught, especially when mysterious Mr Nicholas is back with his pesky sidekick, Alf. Or Elf, as Alice calls him. And Elf is just about to make another big mistake. Mack Miller has returned to the district to make peace with his brother, Shep. He’s weary of the life he’s led, the loss he’s experienced. He’s longed for home for a while, but the family…
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Three Books to Help Your Kids Count Down to Christmas this Year.
I’ve talked before about our approach to using books as an Advent countdown – I like to wrap four books (one for each Sunday in Advent), and then keep all our favourite picture books in a basket by the tree, and others on the shelf to pick up all through the season (more on Advent here and our book basket here). Today, though, I want to talk about Advent books – where the book itself is a kind of countdown calendar. I love the idea of creating a quiet December ritual where we sit together and read for a bit every evening and, this year I’ve picked out 3 books…
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Review :: Have Yourself a Deadly Little Christmas by Vicki Delany
I’m a longtime lover of cosy Christmas romance stories, but lately i’ve been finding myself increasingly drawn to festive cosy mysteries too. I spotted Have Yourself a Deadly Little Christmas on NetGalley and was intrigued by the premise of a murder set against an amateur production of A Christmas Carol. Read on for my review! What is Vicki Delany’s Have Yourself a Deadly Little Christmas about? It’s the beginning of December in Rudolph, New York, America’s Christmas Town, and business is brisk at Mrs. Claus’s Treasures, a gift and décor shop owned by Merry Wilkinson. The local amateur dramatic society is intensely preparing a special musical production of A Christmas Carol.…
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Book Advent 2022
It’s the first Sunday in Advent today, and one of the ways we celebrate the countdown to Christmas each year is with a book Advent calendar. I have written a bit about bookish Advent calendars before (check out this post for more info if you’d like). We’ve tried a few different things as my daughter has grown, and my number one ‘rule’ is always to do what works for you. For a few years when she was little and we were reading picture books we tried doing a book each day or every second day, but in the end what we’ve found works best for us is to have four…
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Hallmark Christmas Movies Based on Books (and where to watch them in Australia)
I love cheesy Christmas romance movies. Something about the snow and the sparkling lights, and the over-the-top Christmas decorations. The city girl comes home, the grumpy grinch rediscovers the joy of the season, the small towns with businesses and festivals that need saving from big corporations, the closing scene where they finally kiss as snow starts to fall. It looks absolutely nothing like our summer Christmases in Australia but still feels so right. I feel like these movies have had a real bump in popularity over the past few years, and something that people might not realise is how many of them are adapted from books. Holiday movie watching season…
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Review :: A Holly Jolly Christmas by Katie Montinaro
I always love an Aussie Christmas romance, so I jumped on Katie Montinaro’s new book Holly Jolly Christmas as soon as I spotted it on social media. What is Katie Montinaro’s A Holly Jolly Christmas about? Holly has one thing and one thing only to prove to her family – that she is a capable and organised adult, who can host the perfect Christmas day. The only problem is, Holly is neither of those two things. Disaster seems to follow Holly wherever she goes and this time, it’s in the shape of The Christmas Ruiner; a smug stranger who appears at the worst of times, taking the last of everything…
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Review :: Christmas at Coorah Creek by Janet Gover
It’s September 25 which mean exactly 3 months OR also exactly 13 weeks until Christmas! It feels like the perfect time to share a review of my latest Christmas read, Christmas at Coorah Creek by Janet Gover. What is Janet Gover’s Christmas at Coorah Creek about? English nurse Katie Brooks is here to stay after travelling halfway around the world to outback Queensland. But she hadn’t anticipated being rescued on day one by Scott Collins: Coorah Creek’s prodigal son … who is determined to leave town as soon as possible. Can a small-town Christmas change their minds? My review of Christmas at Coorah Creek by Janet Gover This is a…
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Friday Favourites :: 24 December
There is so much to love about the week before Christmas, and I have had lots of favourites to choose from, but today I want to give a big shout out to everyone who took the time to join me for my Christmassy Q&As here on the blog – they really were so much fun and definitely a favourite all month! Check out the links below to go to each post. Cheyenne from The Little Flame Co. Mel from A Cosy Reader Designs Mel from The Sourdough Club Eva Amores and Matt Cosgrove, authors of Worst Week Ever! Monday Samone Amba, author of The Good Times of Pelican Rise Poppy…
