Holiday Reads ~ Week Three

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

There are fewer things that get me in the holiday spirit than a good holiday book. Whether it's romantic, traditional or mystery, I am happy to read it.

This year, I thought it would be a great idea to share some of the NEW fiction novels that I have added to my to-be-read list that have a Christmas theme. Each Sunday of December, I will highlight two new novels and on Christmas Day, I will post my favourite read of the season!

Week Three of Holiday reads:

Any Dream Will Do by Maria Duffy

Summary (from chapters.ca):

'Tis the season to be jolly, except single Dubliner Jenny Breslin is feeling something a little closer to gloomy. Everything about her life - her boring job at the bank, the complete lack of romance - has been untouched by holiday magic, and she dreads the thought of spending yet another festive season with her larger-than-life mother and her new boyfriend. Thank God for Twitter, a place where there are always people ready and waiting to have a chat. She's even managed to make a couple of genuine friends there, even though she's never met them IRL (that's 'In Real Life' by the way).

'So who's on for a few days in Dublin? Would love to meet you all in person. I have a spare room in my house' - this drunken tweet to her Twitter pals changes Jenny's life forever.

Before she knows it, she's counting down to a Christmas visit from London-native Zahra Burns, make-up artist to the stars; Fiona Lee, a stay-at-home mum from Galway, and nurse Kerry (the Twitter buddy Jenny feels closest to). Suddenly, Jenny becomes aware of how her life will appear to these strangers. In a word: Boring. It's easy enough to pretend that you're an exciting and sophisticated person when nobody can see you, but now Jenny's worried about being caught out in the occasional lies that she's told. All the more incentive to change her life for the better! But once her pals arrive, Jenny finds herself pining for the past and wondering if people are ever who they claim to be.



Trading Christmas by Debbie Macomber

Summary (from chapters.ca):

Emily Springer, widowed mother of one, decides to leave Leavenworth, Washington, to spend Christmas with her daughter in Boston.

Charles Brewster, history professor, curmudgeon and resident of Boston, wants to avoid Christmas altogether. He figures a prison town should be nice and quiet over the holidays, except he's thinking of the wrong Leavenworth!

Through an internet site, Charles and Emily arrange to swap houses for the holiday. So Emily goes to Boston, and discovers that her daughter has gone to Florida. And Charles arrives in Leavenworth to discover that it's not the prison town, it's Santa's village! The place is full of Christmas trees, Christmas music and elves.

Meanwhile, Emily's friend Faith Kerrigan travels to Leavenworth to visit her and instead finds Charles the grinch. Then Charles's brother, Ray, shows up at his home in Boston to discover that he isn't there, but Emily is.

Through all the mix-ups and misunderstandings, amid the chaos and confusion, romance begins to emerge in unexpected ways. Because everything changes at Christmas!



Check back next week to see which book I chose as my favourite read of the season!