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christianreader2016-01-01 11:07 pm
birdienl.livejournal.com) wrote in christianreader2016-01-01 11:07 pm
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My December reads
Deliah Parr – The midwife’s tale 3/5
Martha Cade comes from a family of midwifes and hopes her daughter Victoria will take over from her in the future. But then Victoria runs away and a new doctor in town tries to take over Martha's patients.
For me, this was just an oke novel, nothing special. Firstly, there was something strange going on with this novel, it felt like it was the second or third in a series, there was so much background. But it really is the first in a series. Weird.... It was interesting that the novel had an older heroine, you don't see that very often in Christian fiction. The medical/midwife practice of the 19th century was interesting to read about. I didn't really connect with Martha as a heroine, she was a little too perfect/preachy for my liking.
Diane T. Ashley, Sylvia Barnes, Rhonda Gibson, Jeria Odell – A Biltmore Christmas 2,5/5
The four orphaned Bradford sisters each find work at the Biltmore estate: Charity as a laundress, Peggy an assitant cook, Selma a chamber maid and Melissa a stable 'boy'. In the run-up to Christmas, when Biltmore's hospitality is at it's finest, will there also be room for love?
I really can't resist free ebooks, but they don't always turn out so great. This one was really only mediocre or less. The stories had very little substance, there was a large amount of insta-love and waaaay too much preachiness. What I did enjoy was reading about the preparations for Christmas at Biltmore and about the running of such a large house in general, but I think there must be much better books with this for a background.
Clare Dowling – A special delivery 3/5
The Brady family are grimly looking forward to a miserable Christmas, but then, an unexpected gift changes everything. In the week before Christmas, Aisling Brady finds a baby lying in their nativity crib in the garden. They find out it's the baby of her teenage son Anto and reluctantly give it a place in their family.
The idea for this novel is quite good, but I wasn't too fond of the excecution. For one, there was way too much language and general crudeness in this novel for my liking. Then, I really didn't like the big plot twist at the ending and wonder if it was really necessary for the story. Still, I liked the realness and many of the characters in this novel especially Aisling and her 'can-do' attitude. I liked how the novel wasn't afraid to include many touchy subjects, but didn't make a big deal out of it.
Jenny Hale – Christmas wishes and mistletoe kisses 4/5
Single mother Abbey Fuller gets the chance of a lifetime when she gets to decorate the house of millionair Nick Sinclair. Abbey dreams of working in interior decorating and gives the job her very best. Nick just wants to have his house ready to receive his family for Christmas and not be distracted from work. But he can't help but be distracted by happy-go-lucky Abbey and her precious son Max.
A sugary sweet Christmas story, like a Hallmark Christmas movie in the shape of a novel. Perfect reading for December! The build-up of the relationship between Abbey and Nick was sweet and it was just fun to read about all the Christmassy things they did. The descriptions were strong, I really felt like I could picture Nick's mansion and Abbey's cosy flat and all the other places described.
Jenny Colgan – Christmas at Rosie Hopkin’s Sweet Shop 4,5/5
Rosie Hopkins is looking forward to her first Christmas in the small English town of Lipton and is delighted when there is even snow! Then, her family from Australia announces they want to come over for Christmas and a freak accident lands Rosie's boyfriend Stephen in hospital and all the peace of the season is gone for Rosie.
Funny enough, I actually have the first book in this series standing unread on my bookshelf... But I wanted to read something festive and so I picked up this Christmas follow-up. It was a really good read and I'm totally looking forward to reading more by Jenny Colgan! Rosie is just a lovely character and all her friends and neighbours in Lipton feel like they could be your own friends and neighbours. The events in the novel are funny, quirky and warm, but also poignant and not sugar-coated. This book felt very real, but also hopeful, so again, perfect for December.
Books read in December: 5
Books read in 2015: 59
Martha Cade comes from a family of midwifes and hopes her daughter Victoria will take over from her in the future. But then Victoria runs away and a new doctor in town tries to take over Martha's patients.
For me, this was just an oke novel, nothing special. Firstly, there was something strange going on with this novel, it felt like it was the second or third in a series, there was so much background. But it really is the first in a series. Weird.... It was interesting that the novel had an older heroine, you don't see that very often in Christian fiction. The medical/midwife practice of the 19th century was interesting to read about. I didn't really connect with Martha as a heroine, she was a little too perfect/preachy for my liking.
Diane T. Ashley, Sylvia Barnes, Rhonda Gibson, Jeria Odell – A Biltmore Christmas 2,5/5
The four orphaned Bradford sisters each find work at the Biltmore estate: Charity as a laundress, Peggy an assitant cook, Selma a chamber maid and Melissa a stable 'boy'. In the run-up to Christmas, when Biltmore's hospitality is at it's finest, will there also be room for love?
I really can't resist free ebooks, but they don't always turn out so great. This one was really only mediocre or less. The stories had very little substance, there was a large amount of insta-love and waaaay too much preachiness. What I did enjoy was reading about the preparations for Christmas at Biltmore and about the running of such a large house in general, but I think there must be much better books with this for a background.
Clare Dowling – A special delivery 3/5
The Brady family are grimly looking forward to a miserable Christmas, but then, an unexpected gift changes everything. In the week before Christmas, Aisling Brady finds a baby lying in their nativity crib in the garden. They find out it's the baby of her teenage son Anto and reluctantly give it a place in their family.
The idea for this novel is quite good, but I wasn't too fond of the excecution. For one, there was way too much language and general crudeness in this novel for my liking. Then, I really didn't like the big plot twist at the ending and wonder if it was really necessary for the story. Still, I liked the realness and many of the characters in this novel especially Aisling and her 'can-do' attitude. I liked how the novel wasn't afraid to include many touchy subjects, but didn't make a big deal out of it.
Jenny Hale – Christmas wishes and mistletoe kisses 4/5
Single mother Abbey Fuller gets the chance of a lifetime when she gets to decorate the house of millionair Nick Sinclair. Abbey dreams of working in interior decorating and gives the job her very best. Nick just wants to have his house ready to receive his family for Christmas and not be distracted from work. But he can't help but be distracted by happy-go-lucky Abbey and her precious son Max.
A sugary sweet Christmas story, like a Hallmark Christmas movie in the shape of a novel. Perfect reading for December! The build-up of the relationship between Abbey and Nick was sweet and it was just fun to read about all the Christmassy things they did. The descriptions were strong, I really felt like I could picture Nick's mansion and Abbey's cosy flat and all the other places described.
Jenny Colgan – Christmas at Rosie Hopkin’s Sweet Shop 4,5/5
Rosie Hopkins is looking forward to her first Christmas in the small English town of Lipton and is delighted when there is even snow! Then, her family from Australia announces they want to come over for Christmas and a freak accident lands Rosie's boyfriend Stephen in hospital and all the peace of the season is gone for Rosie.
Funny enough, I actually have the first book in this series standing unread on my bookshelf... But I wanted to read something festive and so I picked up this Christmas follow-up. It was a really good read and I'm totally looking forward to reading more by Jenny Colgan! Rosie is just a lovely character and all her friends and neighbours in Lipton feel like they could be your own friends and neighbours. The events in the novel are funny, quirky and warm, but also poignant and not sugar-coated. This book felt very real, but also hopeful, so again, perfect for December.
Books read in December: 5
Books read in 2015: 59