Book Tour::The Twelve Months of Christmas by: Sheila Roberts

 

 

From USA TODAY bestselling author Sheila Roberts comes a story of family, second chances and holiday do-overs, brimming with warmth and Christmas charm.

Title: The Twelve Months of Christmas

Author: Sheila Roberts

Publication Date: October 3, 2023

Pages: 400

Genre: Women's Fiction/Romance

Sunny, Arianna and Molly are having three different but equally terrible Christmases. Sunny is a newlywed with two new stepkids who want nothing to do with her; Arianna is newly divorced and hates having to send her daughter off to spend the holiday with her dad; for Molly, nothing is new, but her job at the post office is getting very, very old. The whole Christmas season has been a bust all around. 

But Sunny and Arianna have a wild idea: What if they had a Christmas do-over in January? February? On Saint Patrick’s Day? Christmas all year long – what could that look like?    As these three determined women chase the perfect holiday through twelve months of cooking disasters, over-the-top festivity, and lots of laughter and tears, they’ll discover perfection is way overrated.

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Book Excerpt  

Sunny Hollowell had planned a perfect day for her first Christmas as a wife and stepmom and it was a fail. Who was it that said something about the best-laid plans getting screwed up? Whoever it was, her mom liked to quote him a lot. 

“The best-laid plans of mice and men,” her mom had begun when Sunny told her about the latest development as she and Dad walked in the door, presents in tow. 

“And women,” Sunny had added before Mom could finish. Women who were trying their best to be a good wife and mother, women who only wanted to bring two families together for a memorable day. 

The day was memorable all right, but not in the way Sunny had intended. 

It all began at eight in the morning. Sunny had found a recipe online for a crescent roll breakfast pastry with a cherry filling shaped like a candy cane and, to her surprise and glee, it had actually turned out like the picture, ready for the kids to be dropped off by their mom at nine o’clock. She was laying it out on the family room coffee table for everyone to enjoy while they opened presents when the Weed called Travis to let him know that she wasn’t going to bring the kids over for the big day. 

“What do you mean you’re still stuck in Spokane?” Travis had growled into his cell phone. 

Sunny had watched the anger roll over his features like a breaking storm. Scratch two kids from the guest list. Tansy strikes again. 

“You did this on purpose,” he’d accused. 

Of course, Tansy would deny it. That was how she rolled. Mess with the ex and his new wife as much as possible but never let it look like you meant to. Was Tansy’s mother psychic when she named her daughter after a noxious weed? 

“Well, thanks a lot,” Travis had growled. “Way to screw up Christmas for the kids.” 

“Okay, what happened?” Sunny had asked after he ended the call and dumped his phone on the coffee table. 

“She did it again, managed to screw us over,” he’d said, and slumped on the sofa. “She and Jared accidentally—” he held up exaggerated air quotes “—missed their flight home last night and are stuck at his parents’ place.” 

“Can’t they get another flight out? There has to be something going out today.” Of course, by the time they got to Bremerton, Washington, breakfast and Christmas dinner would long be over. 

“Not until tomorrow.” 

Sunny had made a superhuman effort to blink back tears. Poor Travis was already upset about not getting to be with his kids. She didn’t need to make things worse by having a holiday meltdown. But darn, she’d sure wanted to. 

My Review: 

This book follows Sunny, Arianna, and Molly who are having a very bad Christmas.  For Sunny it's trying to have a perfect Christmas with her new stepkids.  For Arianna it's dealing with her ex and their time with their daughter.  For Molly it's dealing with angry people at the post office and not loose her cool.  The three decided to extend Christmas for the whole year.  What could go wrong with that?

This was a great addition to Sheila Roberts collection of stories.  I love her writing ability to pull you in and generally care about them.  Can't wait to see what she comes up with next!

About the Author

 

USA Today and Publishers Weekly best-selling author Sheila Roberts has written over fifty books under various names, ranging from romance to self-improvement. Over three million copies of her novels have been sold to date. Her humor and heart have won her a legion of fans and her holiday novels have been turned into movies for the Lifetime and Hallmark and Great American Family channels. When she’s not out dancing with her husband or hanging out with her girlfriends, she can be found writing about those things near and dear to women’s hearts: family, friends and chocolate.  

Author Links 

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Book Spotlight: Christmas in Newfoundland by: Mike Martin

 

From the author of the Award-winning Sgt. Windflower Mysteries including Christmas in Newfoundland: Memories and Mysteries Book 1, comes another welcome addition to the Sgt. Windflower family of books…

By Mike Martin

Book Blurb

From the author of the Award-winning Sgt. Windflower Mysteries including Christmas in Newfoundland: Memories and Mysteries Book 1, comes another welcome addition to the Sgt. Windflower family of books.

Come sit by the fire of the woodstove in the kitchen and listen to stories of Christmas long ago in Grand Bank and Ramea and tales of great adventure and Christmas magic in St. John’s in the 1960s and onward. Have Christmas dinner with Sgt. Windflower and Sheila and their two little girls. Then wait and see if any special visitors show up to entertain them.

Sing along with the choir or have a drink with old friends to celebrate Tibb’s Eve. Follow along as Eddie Tizzard has a special mission in the middle of a snowstorm and Herb Stoodley becomes an unlikely Christmas hero.

Christmas in Newfoundland is always a time for good food, good friends, and good cheer. And there’s always another chair at the table.

Release Date: September 26, 2022

Publisher: Ottawa Press and Publishing

Soft Cover: 978-1990896033; 141 pages; $16.95; eBook $4.99

Amazon: https://amzon.to/3fSJoL

 

Book Excerpt

  

Christmas Memories

It was their very first Christmas together and while it was so exciting to be in love and together during this magical season, it was also a little bit awkward as they tried to develop their own holiday traditions.

Their memories and celebrations of Christmas had been very different growing up. Windflower’s holidays in Pink Lake, his northern Alberta birthplace had been full of love but also tinged with sadness and a healthy dash of chaos. His parents had given him everything they had, which meant he got all the most favourite toys that they could order from the Sears catalogue.

His parents were no longer with him and that made him sad sometimes this time of year. He missed his mother especially. She had been so kind to him and everyone around him. He missed his dad, too, but not in the same way. His dad had worked as a logger most of his life and that meant he was away a lot, clearing brush and hauling raw lumber down to Edmonton.

Christmas Eve was his favourite time when he was little. Maybe the same even today. He loved the feeling of expectation. That something really good was going to happen. He always got new pajamas and slippers on the night before Christmas and there was a special meal of venison stew and bannock with dark fruitcake for dessert. Santa didn’t play a big role in a Pink Lake Christmas, everyone knew their parents were bringing the gifts. But that did nothing to dampen their enthusiasm. Certainly not Windflower’s.

He liked Christmas Eve, too, because that was the one night before the parties began. Before the drinking began. Everything really was calm and bright and full of hope. The next day some of his relatives would arrive with their Christmas stash and over the following days his father’s friends would also pop by. It was great fun at the beginning but as the night and the drinks wore on, it became louder and a little frightening for a little boy. Sometimes his mother would take him to be with Auntie Marie and Uncle Frank. He liked that and loved his aunt who would make him special treats and tell him stories of the old days and their Christmas around a large community fire. 

Sometimes his father would go away with his friends and he and his mom would be left waiting for his return. It could be later that evening or a few days but eventually he would come home, most often drunk, and spend the next day recovering. Windflower knew to be very quiet around those times. His mother had warned him not to wake the sleeping bear.

Those were all but passing memories for Windflower now and he was looking forward to spending time and celebrating Christmas with Sheila, the light and love of his life.

Sheila loved, loved, loved Christmas. Everything about Christmas. She had taken out all the old ornaments weeks before Christmas so she could look at them and pressured Windflower to go out early in December to get their tree. The first Sunday in the month they drove to the woods on the outskirts of town and walked in to get their tree. They didn’t have far to go. About five minutes in, Sheila found the tall balsam fir she was looking for. 

“Perfect,” she announced.

“Okay,” said Windflower and he sawed the tree near the bottom and tied it to the top of her car. They drove home and while he made them hot chocolate, Sheila laid out all the decorations that she wanted to use.

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About the Author

Mike Martin was born in St. John’s, NL on the east coast of Canada and now lives and works in Ottawa, Ontario. He is a long-time freelance writer and his articles and essays have appeared in newspapers, magazines and online across Canada as well as in the United States and New Zealand.

He is the author of the award-winning Sgt. Windflower Mystery series set in beautiful Grand Bank. There are now 12 books in this light mystery series with the publication of Dangerous Waters. A Tangled Web was shortlisted in 2017 for the best light mystery of the year, and Darkest Before the Dawn won the 2019 Bony Blithe Light Mystery Award. Mike has also published Christmas in Newfoundland: Memories and Mysteries, a Sgt. Windflower Book of Christmas past and present. And now Christmas in Newfoundland: Memories and Mysteries 2.

Mike is Past Chair of the Board of Crime Writers of Canada, a national organization promoting Canadian crime and mystery writers and a member of the Newfoundland Writers’ Guild and Ottawa Independent Writers and Capital Crime Writers.

You can follow the Sgt. Windflower Mysteries on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TheWalkerOnTheCapeReviewsAndMore/

Website: www.sgtwindflowermysteries.com

Twitter: @mike54martin

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Review: A Killer Christmas Wish by: Lynn Cahoon

Title: A Killer Christmas Wish

Author: Lynn Cahoon

Publisher: Kensington 

Series: Cat Latminer Mystery #7

Format: e-book ( 174 p.) Personal Purchase

Description:

From NYT bestselling author, Lynn Cahoon, comes a new Cat Latimer mystery. Santa's on his way, but the house Cat shares with her best friend and a monthly writing retreat isn't even decorated yet.Christmas is coming early to Cat Latimer's Writers Retreat. Cat and the gang aren't feeling the Christmas spirit. First up on her to do list, the last retreat of the year. A group of non-fiction authors dying to get into the Covington library. When one writer is found dead before the first retreat session, Cat must find the killer before he puts her on his naughty list.

My Thoughts:

This book follows Cat, Seth, Shauna and Uncle Pete as they are ready for the newest retreat to begin.  Cat finds herself hearing more about her ex than she wanted.  Everywhere she turns it's something about Michael Latimer.  What she doesn't know is why someone is so interested with her ex?  

This retreat is all about non fiction which works well with the visit to Covington Library and the Professor who speaks to them.  Cat is also under a big deadline for her last Teen novel about Tori and magic.  She also is working on her wedding plans that don't seem to be going perfectly.

I love this series it's totally different then other series as the main thing is writers and writing retreats which has it's ups and downs.  Unfortunately someone winds up dead and this puts a major kink in the holiday cheer along with Seth being distant with Cat.  Does it have to do with the Michael talks or is it something else?

Check out this series if you haven't yet you are missing something that really pulls you in and won't let go until the end of the story and leaves you awaiting the next book!

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Book Review: Cocoa For Two by: Claudia Shelton

Title: Cocoa For Two

Author: Claudia Shelton

Series: PCS Hometown: Awesome

Publisher: CCS Writings LLC

Format: e-book ARC ( 226 p.) NetGalley

Description:

***Welcome to a heartwarming holiday story that is also the first book in the upcoming series —PCS Hometown: Awesome— about returning veterans, their adopted hometown and love. And what could be more exciting than the small town of Awesome's annual 'Holidays on the Square' festival.***

Adam acts on gut instinct and common sense. Brie's a thinker and planner. All he has to do is convince her to make Awesome—and him—her final stop.

After her grandmother's death, travel vlogger Brie Dresser returns to the small town of Awesome to finalize her inheritance. She quickly learns the new hardware store owner and Grandma Rose had an unbreakable contract. He's supposed to remodel the house for Brie. But she isn't there to stay and has no intention of reopening Rose's Gift Shoppe. Unexpectedly, Christmas inventory begins arriving for the gift shop. Brie senses a touch of her grandma's matchmaking in the air.

Army veteran, First Sergeant Adam Barkley, wants to make sure soldiers he served with always have a place to call home. Counting on the friendliness of a small town to help veterans readjust stateside, he buys a hardware store in Awesome. He hadn't known the remodeling contract he made with Grandma Rose would end with her world-traveling granddaughter back in town. Suddenly, he feels alive again. The pain from shrapnel still left in his side, tells him he should be careful. 

My Thoughts: 

This book introduces Brie whose moved back home to decide what to do with her Grandmother's house after hear death what she didn't count on was the cute handyman working on the house when she pulled in.  Brie has spent most of her time traveling as part of her vlogger and being a influencer.    Having her grandmothers house and business makes Brie wonder what she wants in life?  To settle at home or keep traveling?

Adam Barley working on his job at the hardware store and helping veterans move back into normal living a life outside of the military.  He didn't count on the adorable Brie flying into his life.  Making him realize what he's been missing in life.

I loved this series how incorporated military and civilians and how they move on together to get along and be accepting.  This book is such fun to read and it's also special with the holiday season!

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