How The Witch Stole Chistmas by Dakota Cassidy

 

Available on Amazon

Rating (1-5) - 📘📘
Genre - Fiction, Christmas, Supernatural Thriller, Women Sleuth Mysteries
Format - Audiobook
Length - 4 Hours 47 Minutes

*Amazon Blurb*

It's Christmas, and I, ex-witch Stevie Cartwright, declare this my favorite time of year. I love the decorations! The food! The Hallmark Channel holiday specials! This year promises to be better than ever because for the first time in a very long time, I'm going to have more than just Cheez Whiz, Triscuits, and the wish to be surrounded by family and friends. My carefully planned holiday bonanza includes all the usual suspects: my bat familiar, Belfry; my dog, Whiskey; my ever-present ghostly spy friends, dashing Brit Winterbottom and stalwart Russian Arkady; and my parents. However, nothing comes easy for this amateur sleuth, not even a neighborhood decorating contest. You know, the one I've been painstakingly prepping for for months? Something goes horribly awry with my Christmas display (think bikini-clad carolers, pink flamingos, and real, live turkeys) to start. But the worst? The dead body of the famous Chef Pascal Le June in my nativity scene! It becomes clear someone's trying to ruin my Christmas, and that someone must pay. But when Belfry goes missing and the danger takes on a paranormal edge, I find I have more to lose than ever before.

 

*My Review* 

I wanted something short to listed to just before Christmas (yes another reminder of how far behind I am with reviews) and this one was just that length. Although I didn't think the book was "amazing" or anything like that, I did think it was cute and enjoyed listening to it. I'll admit there were a lot of characters and I was not able to keep them straight which did cause a bit of confusion here and there, but for the most part it was ok and just what I was looking for to pass the time while doing all those crazy chores just before the holiday.

Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak

 

Available on Amazon

Rating (1-5) - 📘
Genre - Fiction, Sisters Fiction, Christmas
Format - Hardcover
Length - 368 pages

*Amazon Blurb*

It's Christmas, and for the first time in years the entire Birch family will be under one roof. Even Emma and Andrew's elder daughter—who is usually off saving the world—will be joining them at Weyfield Hall. But Olivia, a doctor, is only coming home because she has to. She's just returned from treating an epidemic abroad and has been told she must stay in quarantine for a week...and so too should her family.
For the next seven days, the Birches are locked down, cut off from the rest of humanity, and forced into each other's orbits. Younger, unabashedly frivolous daughter Phoebe is fixated on her upcoming wedding, while Olivia deals with the culture shock of first-world problems.
As Andrew sequesters himself in his study writing scathing restaurant reviews and remembering his glory days as a war correspondent, Emma hides a secret that will turn the whole family upside down.
In close proximity, not much can stay hidden for long, and as revelations and long-held tensions come to light, nothing is more shocking than the unexpected guest who's about to arrive....

 

*My Review* 

 

This was read for my book group for Christmas (yes I realize I'm really far behind in my reviews). We wanted something light to read and thought that it would be perfect since we have all been dealing with an epidemic and having to quarantine for far too long. I mean how lucky are these people compared to what we have dealt with? They knew they were going to be quarantined so they were able to get what they needed in advance or make arrangements for deliveries. They also knew it was only going to be 1 week....how far are we into this?

Now when I think about being stuck with family for a week I picture people having to share rooms, or there not being enough space for everyone to have their own. This is definitely NOT the case for the Birch family.

How many of you know someone who was supposed to be in "quarantine" and they stayed home....for the most part, but really just did their own thing too. Ya, that's how this was. I really thought this book was going to be a lot better than it was. The characters weren't likeable, in my opinion anyways. No one in my book club cared for this book.

Kissing Christmas Goodbye by M.C. Beaton

Kissing Christmas Goodbye

by M.C. Beaton

Availble on Amazon

Rating (1-5) 📘
Genre - Cozy Mystery, Holiday Fiction, Women Sleuth
Format -Paperback
Length - 256 pages

*Amazon Blurb*

Kissing Christmas Goodbye continues the tradition in M. C. Beaton's beloved Agatha Raisin mystery series―now a hit show on Acorn TV and public television.
Unlike quite a number of people, Agatha had not given up on Christmas. To have the perfect Christmas had been a childhood dream whilst surviving a rough upbringing in a Birmingham slum. Holly berries glistened, snow fell gently outside, and inside, all was Dickensian jollity. And in her dreams, James Lacey kissed her under the mistletoe, and, like a middle-aged sleeping beauty, she would awake to passion once more....
Agatha Raisin is bored. Her detective agency in the Cotswolds is thriving, but she'll scream if she has to deal with another missing cat or dog. Only two things seem to offer potential excitement: the upcoming Christmas festivities and her ex, James Lacey. This year she is sure that if she invites James to a really splendid, old-fashioned Christmas dinner, their love will rekindle like a warm Yule log.
When a wealthy widow hires Agatha because she's convinced a member of her family is trying to kill her, Agatha is intrigued---especially when the widow drops dead after high tea at the manor house. Who in this rather sterile house, complete with fake family portraits, could have hated the old lady enough to poison her?
Agatha sets out to find the murderer, all the while managing a pretty, teenage trainee who makes her feel old and planning for a picture-perfect Christmas, with James, all the trimmings, and perhaps even snow.


*My Review* 

This book was read for my local book group. It was chosen because it was December, short and a Christmas story......or so I thought. This book was awful. The only mention of Christmas was Agatha's party she wanted to host at her house. The story was boring, even the characters were boring. The only good thing about this book was that it was very short (though I wish it was even shorter).