Rainy Day Ramblings

The Sunday Post 271st Edition

The Sunday Post is a weekly post hosted by The Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It is a chance to share all the news and highlights on your blog for the past and upcoming weeks. Head over to Kimberly's for details and to link up!

Another week has slipped by. I can’t believe we are only about ten days away from the big day. I spent a lot of time chasing around getting things done this week. It was a huge relief to get the three cross stitches I made for my sister in law and two nieces ironed, stretched and pinned ready to put into a frame. They are going to Idaho, so I had to mail them to my sister, and she will get them into the frames since it would cost me and arm and a leg to mail three framed pictures. I even survived a trip to the post office. I am so glad that is taken care of!  Here are the pictures:

This coming week will be all about the gift wrapping as the kids will be out of school on Friday. I need to have everything wrapped and organized. We won’t be putting any of the gifts under the tree until Christmas Eve as the two monsters would like have a heyday ripping open the presents. I hate to say this, but I will be glad to take the Christmas tree down on December 26th. The kitties won’t leave it alone!

I also finished up the annual Christmas ornaments for my kids, my nieces and nephews. They are a lot of work every year, but it is so fun to see their faces on the tree each year. These are this year’s ornaments:

I am almost to the finish line. My goal is to have everything pretty much wrapped up by next Friday so we can rest and relax before the big day. What about you all, how are you doing with the holiday crunch?

Next week will be my last week of blogging until 2019. My blog goes on break starting on the 22nd. I am going to use the time off to reenergize for next year and plan ahead. Luckily, I have already gotten almost all of my reviews written and posted for January, so I can definitely kick back a bit. 

 

Okay, I hope you are all staying sane and getting through the last of the holiday craze. 

Here is what happened on the blog last week:

Monday: Audiobook Review: The Christmas Train by David Baldacci

Tell Me Something Tuesday: Book Disappointments of 2018

Wednesday: Novella Reviews: Naughty but Nice by Donna Kauffman and Christmas on Cape Cod by Nan Rossister

Thursday: Audiobook Review: Dashing Through the Snow by Debbie MaComber

Friday: Friday Forecast

Received for review:

 

Next week on the blog:

Monday: Review: A Christmas Date by Camilla Isley

 

Tuesday: Best of 2018

Wednesday: Review: Holiday Kisses Anthology

 

Thursday: Audiobook Review: One Day in December by 

 

Friday: Friday Forecast

Two other things to note before I sign off, be sure to enter my Midwinter’s Giveaway Hop, and if you are still looking to buy books for the holidays, you can grab a great promo code on Amazon. Buy $20.00 of books and receive $5.00 off. Click here for details.

 

Have a lovely weekend, be kind to others and yourself and remember to relax and try and enjoy the holiday season. 

And because resistance is futile.... here is my stitching buddy:

Giveaway: MidWinter's Eve Giveaway Hop

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Can you believe 2018 is drawing to a close? It is has been a year of ups and downs. I am excited to be participating in the Midwinter's Eve Giveaway Hop Hosed by Bookhounds. A big thanks to Mary@ Bookhounds for hosting this hop! 

The end of the year brings about all the good and bad lists of the year, so my giveaway is about the good book I read this year. I was lucky enough to read a few terrific books this year. 

These are the books that earned five stars on my blog:

Did you read any of these this year? I hope you tried a few, and if not take a chance, pick one and enjoy. My giveaway is a chance to win a $15.00 Amazon gift card to purchase a book from my list of favs or one of your choice. 

If you are purchasing books from Amazon, you can use this great promo code. Buy $20.00 of books and receive $5.00 off from Amazon. Click here for details.

To enter read the Contest Policies and fill out the Rafflecopter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Be sure to visit the other blogs participating! Good Luck and Happy Holidays!

See full list of participating blogs here.

Friday Forecast December 16th-22nd

We are almost at the midpoint of December. The book world is gearing down until the new year, while the holiday craze is amping up. Sometimes, I wish I could hibernate through the holiday season and skip the chaos and stress. I hate trying to find all those last minute little gifts that you forget about. Argh! How about we all just curl up with a few good books? The new releases are rather slim this time of year, but perhaps we can still find a title or two worth checking out. Here is what will be new next week. Let me know if anything grabs your eye and tell me how your weather is treating you this weekend. (Click on covers for details).

Forecast for December 16th-22nd:

Sorry, guys, not much on the horizon for next week. 

Forecast for Portland, Oregon: 

Saturday: H 50 L 46 Cloudy            Sunday: H 51 L 45 Rain

The big storm that was supposed to hit on Friday fizzled out, but a little rain is in the forecast. I will take it! Have a wonderful weekend. 

Audiobook Review: Dashing Through the Snow by Debbie Macomber

 

 

The new romantic Christmas story from international bestseller Debbie Macomber. Ashley Davison is desperate to spend the holidays with her mother in Seattle. Dashiell Sutherland just got assigned a mission in Seattle and must arrive by 23 December. Both frantic to book a last-minute flight out of California, Ashley and Dash collide at the airport to learn that there are no flights and only one rental car available. After a rocky start, the two reluctantly agree to drive to Washington together. But their journey isn't without obstacles, and a misunderstanding with the law threatens to ruin their holiday plans altogether. Will Ashley make it home in time to surprise her mother? Will Dash report to duty as expected? And most importantly, will they both have the opportunity to discover the greatest gift of all? 
Audiobook
Published October 6th 2015 by Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
Source: Library

 

Three and a half stars: A fun, flirty, festive holiday read with mayhem and romance. 

Ashley Davidson is beyond frustrated. What at first appeared to be good fortune when she unexpectedly got time off and a Christmas bonus allowing her to fly home to Seattle for the holidays, turns into a headache when she finds there are no available seats to Seattle. It doesn’t help that there is an annoying man in line rushing her. Instead of giving up, Ashley decides to try and rent a car, she encounters the same problem in the car rental department. All the rental cars are gone but one, and the same irritating guy is again in line behind her. The rental agent encourages her to share the car with the man, but Ashley isn’t about to jump into the car with a complete stranger, until she finds out she can’t rent a car because she isn’t old enough. Graciously, the gentleman, one Dashiell Sutherland, offers to give her a ride. Ashley accepts after she talks to his mom to make sure he isn’t a serial killer. What follows is a holiday road trip that neither will forget. Will Ashley and Dash survive the trip to Seattle?

What I Liked:

• Dashing Through the Snow is a funny little holiday read that will make you laugh. Sure some parts are a bit absurd, but who cares?! It is fun, flirty and full of holiday cheer and it has a cute little romance. Oh, and there might be an adorable puppy on board. 
• Ashley and Dash are quite the duo. Ashley is a bit air headed, but she is cheerful, happy go lucky and incredibly kind. She is quick with a smile and a holiday greeting, and she has an enormous heart, especially when it comes to puppies. Dash is more sophisticated and uptight. He is a retired army intelligence officer, desperate to get to Seattle for a job interview. Underneath is tough guy facade, is a kind, sweet man who can’t resist a whimsical girl. I thought the two opposites were a great match. 
• I loved the mayhem that ensued on the road trip. Unbeknownst to Ashley, the FBI is on the hunt for a terrorist who happens to also be named Ashley Davidson. When Ashley shows up at the airport, she is pegged as the wanted terrorist. While Ashley and Dash drive to Seattle, they are being tailed by one maniacal FBI agent. So many little mishaps happen along the way from a run in with a motorcycle gang, to a case of switched license plates to a strange encounter with a mechanic who talks to cars and claims to be an alien abductee. It was non stop hilarity.
• The romance is all kinds of cute. At first, the two can’t stand each other. There are jibes and banter, and even a left behind party, but soon, the two find they have a great deal in common, and then the sparks start to fly. The romance was funny and sweet. 
• The ending is nice and neat. It draws to a satisfactory close without lingering questions. It seems like all is right in Ashley and Dash’s near future. 
• I listened to the audiobook version narrated by Allyson Ryan. Ms. Ryan did a wonderful job with the characters. She captured Ashley’s ditzy personality perfectly, while also nailing the male voices. I enjoyed her narration. 

And The Not So Much:

• Okay, this one has a few parts where one must suspend rational belief because some of the things that happen are a little far fetched, but it is easy to overlook because the story is fun and bursting with holiday cheer. 
• The FBI agent was a bit over the top, and I found him to be unrealistic. 
• Even though I enjoyed the ending, I found myself wishing for a little Epilogue down the road so I could find out how things settled out. 

Dashing Through the Snow is a light, fun and flirty holiday read that follows to strangers as the embark on a road trip full of mayhem and coincidence. This is an easy, breezy holiday read with a cute romance that will leave you smiling. If you want a pick me up book for the holiday, this is a fun one to check out. 

I borrowed a copy of this book from the library. All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for this review. 

Novellas Reviews: Naughty but Nice by Donna Kauffman & Christmas on Cape Cod by Nan Rossiter

December is all about the holiday reads on my blog. I grabbed a whole selection of Christmas reads, new and old. Some are ARCs from Netgalley, others are ebooks and audiobooks from the library of older titles. Today, I have two novellas that I read. One was a waste of time, the other captured the magic of the holidays. 

Here are the short and simple reviews:

Naughty but Nice(Hamilton Christmas #3) by Donna Kauffman

 

 

Businessman Griffin’s never believed in luck . . . until sassy-sweet small-town baker Melody turns his world around. Except there’s a catch: There’s no way he’ll be able to build his empire and hold on to her.
This new love could destroy all his dreams—or make this Christmas better than he ever imagined possible . . .
Originally in the The Naughty List anthology 
Kindle Edition, 102 pages
Published October 30th 2018 by Zebra
Source: Publisher

 

I picked this one up expecting a humorous and fun holiday read, but what I got was a big fat disappointment. I am guessing if you are reading this author and whatever series this novella ties into, it might make more sense, but in my opinion this one does not work as a stand alone novella. 

Basically, the story starts with a successful Irishman coming to a small American town after he learns the truth about his lineage. I won’t go into the details, but bottom line, he learns he was adopted and has relatives in the United States. There is a lengthy section about his family and all that which was boring. 

Griffin arrives in town and meets the town baker, Melody. Sparks fly when the meet until she learns who he is and why he is in town. Melody then throws up resistance because she doesn’t want her town changed. 

Later, Griffin visits her bakery after hours to talk to her. They sort of get to know each other while baking and the hostility turns into smexy time, and that is the gist of the novella.

I don’t know why this was billed as a holiday novella because there is only a couple of quick mentions of the holiday season. All the cheer and coziness of the season isn’t present. The romance goes from zero to sizzle in an instant and not much else happens. It wasn’t fun or flirty. It was downright boring. 

I would not recommend this at all if you are looking for a holiday novella. It has no holiday cheer and a ridiculous insta romance. Snooze.

Next up is a much better holiday read:

Christmas in Cape Cod(Coleman and Shepherd families #1.5) by Nan Rossiter

 

 

In this heartwarming holiday tale by New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Nan Rossiter, old friends discover the best gifts are the With Christmas just around the corner, Asa Coleman has his hands full keeping up with his young son Noah’s rambunctious spirit. Whether he’s playing Santa or keeping a furry surprise under wraps, the joy Asa feels in Noah’s delight is all he could ask for as a single father. His best friend Maddie Carlson has been more than helpful throughout the season’s sometimes overwhelming rush of activities, and she can’t help but see how well she fits into their lives. But as always, something holds Asa back from accepting the happiness he deserves. Except this year, when it’s time to open gifts, something special might surprise them all . . From "Making Spirits Bright" anthology
Kindle Edition, 67 pages
Published October 30th 2018 by Zebra 
Source: Publisher

This little novella captures the joy, love and coziness that goes with the holiday season. This one features Asa and his young son, Noah, as they prepare for a Christmas with Asa’s parents. Noah is sweet, cute and he exudes all the joy of a kid at Christmas. Accompanying Noah is Maddie Carson, a young lady who has been crushing on Asa for years. Melody adores Noah and she agrees to spend the holiday with Asa and Noah away from her family. 

I loved the cozy holiday scene at the cabin with Asa’s family, the happiness they shared and the wonderful gift Noah receives melted my heart. 

At the end, there is a touching scene where Isa finally realizes what he has right in front of him, which was the perfect ending.

The only hesitation I had with this one is there are mentions of how Noah came to live with Asa, there was something sticky about the situation, so I looked up the novel that this novella is tied to: The Gin and Chowder Club, how Asa and Noah come to be is mentioned in the synopsis. It is a troubling situation...I didn’t like it at all. 

This is a short, sweet and simple novella packed full of all that you love about the holidays. If you want a quick little read, try this one.

I received a copy of this novella from the publisher in exchange for and honest review. All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for this review. 

 

So a good and a not so good experience with novellas. Do you like holiday novellas?