Short Look at the “Science” of Love

This, to me, seems a little short for the story that it wanted to tell. I am new to this author, and I believe this is a series. I haven’t, obviously, read any of the other books in it, and I wonder if the heroine, Avery, would have made more sense to me if I had read previous books. I don’t know, though. I’m definitely a fan of an intelligent heroine, but Avery seemed to the extreme, and therefore, not quite believable. Is it actually possible to earn two PhDs by such an early age? I did like that the hero and the heroine were both brainiacs, though. In that way, they seemed well suited. Hiding beneath the brainy exterior, the heroine was actually a kind and considerate person, as shown by the way she treated the goat and her good friend, Chey. I found her scientific approach to love to be amusing, especially contrasting with the way it actually played out for her. As I said above, I thought this felt too short, so both character and plot couldn’t really be explored as much as the characters and the story warranted. All in all, I still found it a charming romance.

All About the Trees and Romance in Scotland

What a charming and sweet little Christmas romance! The heroine, Leah, after seeing and hearing the evidence of her boyfriend boss’s betrayal, drunkenly buys a Christmas tree farm in Scotland sight unseen. In the cold light of day, she determines that she probably did so because her father always wished to return to his Scottish roots, and her mom loved Christmas. So even though it leaves her with just two thousand pounds in her bank account, she does in fact buy the farm and heads to Scotland. Unfortunately, it is not what she thinks. It is quite run down and in need of much repair, and of course, she has no idea how to run a Christmas tree farm. Luckily, helpful neighbor Noel, who is a pumpkin farmer, is willing to help her out.

I appreciated that this was not one of those instalove or instalust kind of books. When the couple first meets, he is not sure of her true intentions, and he truly loves the farm and wants it to prosper. When he realizes they are on the same page, things start to get more interesting as he helps her out. Their chemistry is slow burn but palpable. As contemporary British romantic and mystery literature often happens to be, this story has a meandering pace and is very character-driven, not plot-driven so much. There’s no heavy action going on here, just realistic interactions between characters. If you know and accept all, the story is fine. But if you are used to faster-paced stories, you might be disappointed. However, I did find it to be a sweet and charming romance. As a bonus, you get to learn a little about Christmas trees and tree farming as well!

Normally, I Love Wounded Hero Stories…

This book had all of the elements of a holiday tale that I would typically like: quirky small town, a busybody group of well-meaning older ladies, a wounded hero, and plenty of Christmas spirit. However, the book never really gelled for me. I didn’t get any sense of chemistry between the hero and the heroine, which is crucial for a romance of course. The heroine is a sweetheart, giving so much to her community at Christmas time because it truly matters to her. She’s also in the midst of opening up her aunt’s old home as a bed-and-breakfast. The hero is just passing through, though he came specifically to this small town because he wanted to thank the woman who made his Quilt of Valor (which is an actual organization) that did help him as he went through recovery after being injured in the military. But he ends up getting caught up in the heroine’s world because of a misunderstanding, but he decides to stay and pay back the woman who’d helped him through difficult times.

I am normally a sucker for wounded hero romance, but it just didn’t ring right for me in this particular book. Theoretically, the couple was fighting their attraction during the bulk of the book, but that didn’t seem realistic to me at all because I couldn’t really sense that attraction. Their interactions felt pretty low key because of all the other stuff that was going on in the book, like the renovations, trying to get Bodie in the Christmas spirit, and dealing with the Butterflies (that group of older women mentioned above). I liked the characters, but it just didn’t come together. On the plus side, it does have a quilting pattern from the Quilts of Valor Foundation and a yummy-sounding cinnamon swirl bread recipe.

Enchanting Christmas Story of Three Women at Major Crossroads in Their Lives

What a fantastic read! I read a lot, and I’ve rarely been so engaged with a book. I tend to read fast, but I do to choose some books to sip and savor. This is one of those.

The author has done an excellent job setting up a very complex story. It is told from the viewpoints of the three main women in the book: mother Maggie, older daughter Katie, and younger daughter Rosie. The whole book is kicked off when Rosie calls her mum in England from the United States, stating that she is now engaged and will be married at Christmas in Aspen. While her mother doesn’t mention her disappointment, the older woman had been planning for their big family Christmas that she does every year. We find out a little later why this is even more important to her this particular year. When older sister Katie finds out, she is determined to stop the wedding because she believes her sister is too impulsive and is making a mistake. The doubts Katie expresses in that first phone call shatter Rosie’s happiness, and now the bride-to-be is beginning to doubt herself, her relationship, and her actions. The women’s parents, Maggie and Nick, have been separated for a few months though their daughters don’t know about it. They decide, at Maggie’s insistence, that they will not let on about this development during the wedding preparation and the wedding. She doesn’t want anything to ruin her daughter’s big moment.

This setup is all done rather slowly, and we don’t learn all the details about everything for a while. Katie has her own secrets as well. It isn’t easy to see right away what has caused a rift between the parents as they seem to get along well for a couple who is divorcing.

I feel like I may have already given away too much. This is a complex tale of three women who are each at a crossroads in life, so each has her own story arc and lessons she needs to learn as the story moves forward. There are some wildly funny moments, like when the parents get off the plane in Denver, and Mum is very drunk when she meets the fiancé. She hates plane rides and drank a LOT of champagne during the flight. There are actually some emotionally gripping moments that will have you reaching for a tissue. The book kind of feels like a combination of chick lit and romance.

Now about some characters. I like Dan, the fiancé, because he just seems to be able to roll with anything that happens with his fiancée’s crazy English family. The older sister was harder to like. She is a very intense character, and even though she tries to be protective, she ends up being hurtful more often than not. I enjoyed seeing the way the relationship between Maggie and Nick—the girls’ parents—evolved during the course of the book. (I also love it when an older couple gets “screen time” in a book.) The author made what happened between them seem completely natural and fitting for their characters. I also liked watching the new relationship developing between the mothers of the couple. Both women have some trepidation on several fronts, but they soon become allies.

The story was in parts predictable, but the author made the characters so unique and individual that even if what happened was predictable, you still felt for the characters and saw it to be natural for their story. The setting of Aspen is well integrated into the story. It almost felt like another character. The author’s description painted a very vivid picture of what this city is like in the winter; I could feel the chill! I love it when a fiction book brings a little armchair travel into the picture. The fact that the story takes place around Christmas isn’t quite as well integrated as the setting, but you still get the sense that it is a Christmas story.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It brought all the feels. I highly recommended it.