Home stretch of allll those reviews I’ve had piling up – let’s go!
–Marissa
Good Spirits by BK Borison has brought me to back to Christmas novels, which I typically don’t really get into and enjoy, but this was a good one. Nolan is a grumpy Ghost of Christmas past who has been tasked to haunt sweet and innocent Harriet, appearing in her antique shop and they eventually fall for each other, but can a ghost and a girl really be together? This was sweet and tender and filled with sexy times and tension, and a charming Christmas premise. I surprised myself by how much I liked this novel!
Canadian Boyfriend by Jenny Holiday was just… *squees then heart explodes*. Okay, I really only checked out this audiobook because Joshua Jackson narrates one of the voices, but this story just grabbed me and didn’t let go. We have a professional hockey player (and widower) raising his daughter alone, a former ballet dancer turned teacher who eventually starts babysitting a few afternoons a week for him during the season. Sparks fly, families are built, hockey is played, secrets are revealed, there’s a breakup and a makeup and this novel just GAVE ME ALL THE FEELINGS. This feels like a grown-up-ass romance with real issues, mental health struggles, grief, and is totally character-driven and the swooniest slow burn. All the stars – and man, listen to the audiobook!
Where He Left Me by Nicole Baart features Sadie, who has been left on the isolated homestead she shares with her husband Felix when he goes on a work trip. After he’s gone, Sadie has to contend with a winter storm, isolation, and then two strangers who stumble onto their land. This suspense novel tries to unpack why Felix didn’t return when he said he would, the connection the two strangers have to the land, and how Sadie is going to get out of this crisis. This was… fine, but didn’t blow my skirt up, as it were.
Frostlines by Neil Shea sounded up my alley – about his work studying nature and anthropology while traveling through the Arctic, but I think it was just wrong book, wrong time and it didn’t keep my interest, though I battled to the end.
Before I Forget by Tory Henwood Hoen centers around Cricket, who is returning home to upstate New York to care for her ailing father, who has Alzheimer’s, replacing her sister who has been caretaker for the the last few years. Even as Cricket doesn’t want to return home, she begins to cherish her time with her father, who seems to have a weird clairvoyance with his illness, making him popular with those near and far. This is a book about grieving those we are losing slowly, familial relationships, finding your path back to yourself, and ultimate, hope and comfort. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this one, but I loved it’s tender tone and beautiful setting.
One Death at a Time by Abbi Waxman was very on-brand for Waxman (who I love)… quirky characters for days, action and drama, a murder, and lots of funny dialogue. This time, aging famous actress Julia teams up with her new sobriety sponsor to try and solve the murder of the man found floating in Julia’s pool a few days ago. I loved all the eccentric characters, funny comments, the LA setting, and the lighthearted tone throughout. I listened to this one, and it was just… fun!
Ralph’s Party by Lisa Jewell was written in… 1999. And I had no idea, since a new version is debuting this coming January (I did think it was a bit of a turn from her usual novels!). Anyhoo, this Jewell’s debut novel, taking place in a flat in London with romantic entanglements, affairs, drama, and then the titular party where everything goes down. This was… fine, but not that memorable after the fact.
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