I have a difficult time with all the
commercialism this time of year. There were Christmas decoration things in the
store before Hallowe’en, for pete’s sake. There should be a law against that.
We’ll be bombarded from now until December
25th with advertising to buy buy buy as if our level of holiday
spirit is dependent on the size of our credit card bill.
So what better way to escape from all that
noise than with a good book, one where the focus is on family and love (rather
than the lowest price on the biggest TV).
And perhaps a mystery will be solved along with the lighting of the plum
pudding.
My favourite book to re-read in December (I
refuse to even think about the holidays until then, except for baking my
fruitcake – it needs time to soak up the holiday spirit <wink>) is slightly “deck the halls” but mostly murder
mystery set during the Victorian era. Part of a long series by the great Anne
Perry, it can nonetheless be enjoyed on its own.
A Christmas Homecoming takes place at a country
manor house – aah – in the dead of winter – brrrr – and centres around a
theatrical production of Bram Stoker’s Dracula – oooh – at Christmas time – fa la la! It really is a good story.
I also happen to have a book with hints of
the festive season and it has been re-released (this past weekend) with a new
cover, just in time for a much-needed break from holiday turmoil. Content
warning: a blizzard, a gloomy country manor house, and smexy times.
Her wish
will be granted…
When a
mysterious note directs Miss Miranda Large to a tiny village in Cornwall to
find her heart’s desire, she’d be a fool to not go. The excitement mounts when
she meets a strange shopkeeper who claims that a magical keepsake will make
possible her dream of marriage to a man with a title. But a snowstorm forces
her to accept the hospitality of a sullen earl and Miranda fears she’s made a
horrible mistake.
He’s given up hope…
Edward
Penhallion, the 12th Earl of Claverlock, is not in the mood to search for yet
another wife. He longs to be left alone with his books and his dreams of
revenge. But the arrival of a headstrong, sharp-tongued spinster forces him to
play the charming host. Not a difficult task, given her intelligence and
beauty.
As the blizzard rages, Edward discovers there’s more to Miranda than a
lively wit and a lovely face. And Miranda wonders if the trappings of wealth
are enough for true happiness.
And here's the handy Universal Book Link that'll take you to your favourite book seller:
8 comments:
Okay - I can totally agree with all your points of b"ringing" in the holiday season, EXCEPT, well I AM immersed in holiday movies on two Hallmark channels and Lifetime. Sorry - just can't help myself. AND, preparing for my RTG blog on 11/19, I have read numerous holiday books, including your book. WHICH I LOVED! I also just sent off a holiday story to my editor (of which you will all hear more about next year :-) ) Other than reading, (writing ) and watching holiday stories, I do not relish the impending commercialism either. So here's to family and friends and old-fashioned holiday prep (including soaked fruit cake) and burying our heads to the overt commercialism. Happy holidays!
I enjoyed your blog post! Thanks for the heads up on the two Christmas books. I haven't read either one. but will read them. I'm with Deb N. I love the Hallmark holiday movies. Maybe because our Christmas is just my husband and I as all the family lies far away. So I get my Holiday fix with movies.
I do some Christmas shopping in November as we mail the gifts. Sometimes, I have Amazon mail off the gifts.
In fact this December I've scheduled cataract surgery! No body is coming for Christmas.
I still do some decorating, (have to instill a little Christmas spirit in the house.).
Luanna, so glad to find someone else rereads favorite holiday books! My mom made a white fruitcake that was not soaked in spirits but delicious anyway. Then she made rum balls - yep, a bit of spirits in them! I used to do baking and candy making but no longer. And my gift shopping is to transfer some funds into my granddaughters' accounts and give my son and dil a bit of cash (oh he gets shelled pistachios and she get Starbucks French Roast Coffee Bean also). I've friends I shop for and thankfully that's all done. Now to get everything together and packaged. I've a couple of far away friends but will mail in early December. Nearby ones? I'll give them out when I see them once 12/01 comes around. They then can decide if they want to open then or wait until Solstice, Yule, Christmas or ?
Decorating? I keep Christmas lights up all year round. I may put a few fir boughs around if I find them "donated" to my cause. I'm bins of decorations in the basement but I'm long past "the putting them up and taking them down" cycles that ruled the majority of my life.
Thanks for the Anne Perry and Luanna Stewart book recommendations!
Hey, Deb, I know all about your Hallmark addiction, hehe. I'll tune in every now and then - I'm not a total Scrooge. But I prefer to keep the rest of the season fairly low key.
Thank you so much for your kind words about my book, and good luck with your own 'holiday' story!!
Hi Diana, thanks for your comment. Our family is spread around as well but we do see everybody at some point in December, just not necessarily all at once.
Good luck with your cataract surgery - the lights and decorations which be much brighter for you afterward!!
Hi Judith, Oh yes, I re-read several of my favourite books throughout the year. They're like a comfort blanket, or snuggling into my favourite pj's.
I also make rum balls for the holiday treat table but for some reason they disappear before 12/25 and I need to make a second batch, LOL.
My mum keeps her lights up inside year round as well, and plugs them in starting about now when the night draws in so early. I'm tempted to do something similar because the little fairy lights cast such a nice, soft glow in the room.
We'll be hauling our bins of decorations down from the loft on Dec 7th and not one second before! I actually gasped when I saw an Instagram post of someone with their tree up BEFORE Hallowe'en. Wouldn't it get awfully dusty by Christmas?!?
I'm with you on the rampant commercialism, Luanna. And for the book recommendations!
Thank you for your comments, Sarah.
I just think that when we're bombarded with "the holly and the ivy" from mid-October, it loses some of its specialness and disappears into the scenery.
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