Book Review: A Winter by the Sea

January 9, 2024 / Kristi / Leave a comment

A Winter by the Sea
On Devonshire Shores #2
by Julie Klassen

My rating: 3.5 / 5
Genre: Christian historical romance

When Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent and Strathearn, and his family come to spend the winter in Sidmouth, the Summers sisters’ guest house becomes host to three members of the prince’s staff. Emily Summers finds herself drawn to the duke’s private secretary, even though she is still holding out hope for a renewal of a relationship she’d left behind when the family first moved to Sidmouth. Meanwhile, Sarah Summers has to deal with the duke’s junior chef invading her kitchen, and the third guest harbors secrets that may lead the sisters into danger.

It’s a little difficult to boil this book down to a succinct summary, because there’s so much going on. Each book in the series so far has given insight into more than one of the sisters living at Sea View, while focusing in on one sister. In the previous book, we see Viola fall in love, and this time, the spotlight is on her twin sister Emily (and Viola is mostly in the background, comparatively). My favorite thing about this book is the way the author includes the real history of the duke’s family visiting Sidmouth and what transpires during that visit. The brief quotes from real history books at the beginning of each chapter give hints into what will be coming in each chapter, and sometimes they can be seen as spoilers, but I liked the way they ground the book in reality. Though I will admit that the inclusion of the fortune teller was a bit more than I would have preferred in a book of this genre, considering the weight Emily gives to the woman’s predictions, despite being warned against paying any attention to her by a woman who uses the Bible as her reference.

One of my biggest issues with this book, though, is the length. While in the previous book, there were 3 perspectives shown (Viola, Sarah, and Emily), there were only 2 in this book, yet it is just as long as the previous. I often felt like too much detail was included about things that aren’t important, and the book could have been considerably shorter without hurting the main story or any of the side plots. Though I also question if all of the side plots were needed as well. I read and enjoyed the Tales from Ivy Hill trilogy by the same author, which was a similar kind of series with an ensemble set of main characters, but this one hasn’t worked as well as the first one did, for me. I don’t know if I can really explain why, but I think part of it is that a trope I noticed in the earlier series is simply wearing on me more in this series. That being that when one of the female MCs has a dramatic moment or is in come compromised state, despite the fact that there is a house/town full of people, it just so happens that the potential love interest for that character is in the area, and usually the only one in the area, so that they can have a moment. It’s the kind of forced coincidence that I can let slide a few times, but it happens so often that it’s now become boringly predictable.

There are a few threads that have gone through both of the books in this series that could be tied up in the third book, and at least one of them I very much hope to see expanded on, so I definitely plan to read the third book in the series and see what comes of those threads. After that, I may stick to stand-alone books by Klassen, because I have loved those I’ve read by her, but I’m a bit more rocky with these ensemble-cast series. Based on past experience, though, I have good reason to believe that most fans of Regency-era Christian romance will enjoy this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bethany House for providing me a copy of this book to review.

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Book Review: A Beautiful Disguise

January 4, 2024March 22, 2024 / Kristi / Leave a comment

A Beautiful Disguise
The Imposters #1
by Roseanna M. White

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Christian historical mystery

Lady Marigold Fairfax and her brother Yates, an earl, may have inherited a grand estate, but their father left no money to keep it running. He blew it all on entertainment, which fortunately included circus acts that gave Marigold and Yates the training they needed to earn money as private investigators. When Sir Merritt Livingstone brings them a case involving possible espionage and treason, the investigation brings the Fairfaxes a little too close to home. Marigold’s carefully cultivated disguise of wealthy, vapid noblewoman might just blow up in her face.

This book drew me in right away, and I loved it all the way to the end. The story alternates between 3 POVs—Marigold, Yates, and Merritt. I worried it might be too much at first, but I really appreciated all 3 of these perspectives. I enjoyed the balancing act that both Yates and Marigold had to perform as anonymous investigators hired by Merritt and as acquaintances in social settings. While there’s a subplot of romance, it is not a focal point of the book, in my opinion. In fact, I feel like there’s more of a friendship base before anything further develops than normally happens in a book where the romantic pair start off as strangers.

The mystery that Merritt brings to The Imposters, Ltd. is not super complex, yet was not easy for me to unravel on my own. It actually seemed a little too simplistic at first, but then it became more complex as it went. Overall, it kept me engaged, as did the unique lifestyle of the Fairfax siblings, living on their estate with circus performers, complete with a monkey, a peacock, and Marigold’s lion friend.

It is never difficult for me to explain what I don’t like about a book (and I’m usually the outlier, struggling with books that most others loved), but it is often difficult to put into words what I enjoy about a book. What I have expressed above doesn’t adequately explain my love for this book, but I liked it so much, I’m going to immediately add previous books by this author to my TBR list, plus I’m so excited to see the next book in the series has already been announced! I highly recommend this book for fans of Christian historical mystery (this is set during the Edwardian era in London), but be aware the romance is a fairly slow burn.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bethany House for providing me a copy of this book to review.

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2023 in Books

January 3, 2024 / Kristi / Leave a comment

2023 was an unusual year for reading, which reflects the difficult year as a whole. My mom died at the beginning of February, which led to a months-long drop off in reading, which was just as well, because I also stopped writing reviews for at least a month. I stopped doing much of anything productive for a few months in general, but then by July, I was at least back to reading more regularly. By then, though, I was behind in my Goodreads challenge enough that I read a series of super-short kids’ books to catch back up, and then I proceeded to hit my original goal earlier than I have the last few years (then kept raising it).

I read 140 books in 2023, hitting my Goodreads challenge of 140 books on December 28th. My total page count was 37,252, making my average book length for the year 266 pages.

Below are the books I read in 2023. The link is to my review for that book, and a link to the book on Goodreads is at the bottom of each review.

January

The Diamond of Darkhold by Jeanne DuPrau (4.5 / 5)
The Cat Who Wasn’t There by Lilian Jackson Braun (4.5 / 5)
Keep Moving by Dick Van Dyke (4 / 5)
Old Yeller by Fred Gipson (3 / 5)
The Lost World** by Michael Crichton (4 / 5)
Rise of the Elgen by Richard Paul Evans (4 / 5)
The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle** by Stuart Turton (5 / 5)
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (5 / 5)
Summer Knight by Jim Butcher (4.5 / 5)
The Sound of Light* by Sarah Sundin (4.5 / 5)
The Mystery of the Candy Box** by Elspeth Campbell Murphy (5 / 5)
Kidnapping Kevin Kowalski** by Mary Jane Auch (4.5 / 5)

February

The Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle (4 / 5)
Saint Patrick the Forgiver* by Ned Bustard (5 / 5)
On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder (5 / 5)
The Cat Who Went into the Closet by Lilian Jackson Braun (5 / 5)
A Star In The Breaking by Bill Myers & Ken C. Johnson (4 / 5)
The Office BFFs by Jenna Fischer & Angela Kinsey (5 / 5)
Olivia & the Gentleman from Outer Space* by Moses Yuriyvich Mikheyev (2 / 5)
The Escape Game* by Marilyn Turk (2.5 / 5)

March

Death Masks by Jim Butcher (3.5 / 5)
One False Note by Gordon Korman (4 / 5)
By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder (5 / 5)
Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary (4 / 5)
The Cat Who Came to Breakfast by Lilian Jackson Braun (2.5 / 5)
Where the Red Fern Grows** by Wilson Rawls (4 / 5)
The Inimitable Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse (4 / 5)

April

Runaway Ralph by Beverly Cleary (3.5 / 5)
Code Name Edelweiss* by Stephanie Landsem (4 / 5)
The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder (5 / 5)
The Prophet of Yonwood by Jeanne DuPrau (1 / 5)
Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary (5 / 5)
The Cat Who Blew the Whistle by Lilian Jackson Braun (4 / 5)
The Not-So-Great Escape by Bill Myers (5 / 5)

May

Evil Genius* by Chris Grabenstein (4 / 5)
The Hobbit** by J.R.R. Tolkien (5 / 5)
Battle of the Ampere by Richard Paul Evans (3.5 / 5)
Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen, adapted for younger readers by Fern Siegel (4 / 5)
The Ferryman* by Justin Cronin (4 / 5)
My Man Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse (4 / 5)
The Cat Who Said Cheese by Lilian Jackson Braun (4.5 / 5)
Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder (5 / 5)
The Sword Thief by Peter Lerangis (3 / 5)
Ramona the Brave by Beverly Cleary (5 / 5)
The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (3 / 5)

June

A Fire to Kindle* by Daniel Dydek (3 / 5)
Skate Expectations by Bill Myers (5 / 5)
Hunt for Jade Dragon by Richard Paul Evans (4 / 5)
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (5 / 5)
The Cat Who Tailed a Thief by Lilian Jackson Braun (3.5 / 5)
Dragon and Thief by Timothy Zahn (5 / 5)
Doon by Carey Corp & Lorie Langdon (1 / 5)
Wives and Daughters** by Elizabeth Gaskell (5 / 5)
What If Love Is the Point?* by Carlos PenaVega & Alexa PenaVega (4 / 5)

July

The Novice** by Taran Matharu (4 / 5)
Beyond the Grave by Jude Watson (5 / 5)
Carry On, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse (4 / 5)
The Cat Who Sang for the Birds by Lilian Jackson Braun (5 / 5)
Ralph S. Mouse by Beverly Cleary (5 / 5)
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (4 / 5)
Back to the Drawing Board by Bill Myers (5 / 5)
Facing the Enemy* by DiAnn Mills (2 / 5)
The Cat Who Saw Stars by Lilian Jackson Braun (3 / 5)
These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder (4 / 5)
Meet Molly by Valerie Tripp (5 / 5)
Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary (5 / 5)
Storm of Lightning by Richard Paul Evans (3 / 5)
Molly Learns a Lesson by Valerie Tripp (5 / 5)
Molly’s Surprise by Valerie Tripp (5 / 5)
Happy Birthday, Molly by Valerie Tripp (5 / 5)
Molly Saves the Day by Valerie Tripp (5 / 5)
Changes for Molly by Valerie Tripp (4 / 5)
Signs of Life by Creston Mapes (3 / 5)
The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (4.5 / 5)
The Black Circle by Patrick Carman (4.5 / 5)
A Royal Christmas* by Melody Carlson (4 / 5)
The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper, adapted for younger readers by Eliza Gatewood Warren (4 / 5)

August

Spy on the Homefront by Alison Hart (3.5 / 5)
Very Good, Jeeves! by P.G. Wodehouse (4.5 / 5)
Click Here to Start by Denis Markell (2.5 / 5)
The First Four Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder (3.5 / 5)
Ramona and her Mother by Beverly Cleary (4 / 5)
The Cat Who Robbed a Bank by Lilian Jackson Braun (3 / 5)
Adventures with Waffles by Maria Parr (4 / 5)
Fall of Hades by Richard Paul Evans (4 / 5)
The Cat Who Smelled a Rat by Lilian Jackson Braun (4.5 / 5)
His Last Bow by Arthur Conan Doyle (3 / 5)
Dragon and Soldier by Timothy Zahn (4.5 / 5)
Thank You, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse (4 / 5)
The Woman from Lydia* by Angela Evans (5 / 5)
Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary (4 / 5)
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins (4 / 5)

September

In Too Deep by Jude Watson (4 / 5)
The Cat Who Went Up the Creek by Lilian Jackson Braun (3.5 / 5)
Beneath the Swirling Sky* by Carolyn Leiloglou (5 / 5)
Greetings from Witness Protection! by Jake Burt (5 / 5)
Take Me Out of the Ball Game by Bill Myers (4 / 5)
Annabel Lee by Mike Nappa (4.5 / 5)
The Inquisition** by Taran Matharu (4 / 5)
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson (4.5 / 5)
The Fellowship of the Ring** by J.R.R. Tolkien (4 / 5)
The Cat Who Brought Down the House** by Lilian Jackson Braun (3 / 5)
The Final Spark by Richard Paul Evans (2 / 5)
‘Twas the Bite Before Christmas* by David Rosenfelt (4.5 / 5)

October

Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham (4.5 / 5)
Abby’s Letters by Dana Romanin (2.5 / 5)
Hangman’s Curse** by Frank Peretti (5 / 5)
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle (4 / 5)
Divergent by Veronica Roth (4 / 5)
Right Ho, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse (4 / 5)
The Cat Who Talked Turkey by Lilian Jackson Braun (2 / 5)
Ramona Forever by Beverly Cleary (4 / 5)
The Viper’s Nest by Peter Lerangis (3.5 / 5)
Snow Place for Murder* by Diane Kelly (2 / 5)
The Event by Whitney Dineen (2 / 5)
Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer (3.5 / 5)
The Cat Who Went Bananas by Lilian Jackson Braun (3 / 5)
A Ranger’s Guide to Glipwood Forest* by Andrew Peterson (5 / 5)

November

The Two Towers** by J.R.R. Tolkien (4 / 5)
The Visitation** by Frank E. Peretti (4 / 5)
The Parasite by Richard Paul Evans (1 / 5)
Look Out for the Little Guy by Scott Lang with Rob Kutner (4 / 5)
4 Years Trapped in My Mind Palace** by Johan Twiss (audiobook) (3.5 / 5)
Dragon and Slave by Timothy Zahn (4 / 5)
Not If I Save You First by Ally Carter (1.5 / 5)
Nightmare Academy** by Frank E. Peretti (audiobook) (3 / 5)
You Make It Feel Like Christmas* by Toni Shiloh (4 / 5)
Children of the Shadows* by Erica Vetsch (4.5 / 5)

December

‘Twas the Fight before Christmas by Bill Myers (5 / 5)
The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse (3.5 / 5)
Shiloh** by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (2 / 5)
Ramona’s World by Beverly Cleary (3.5 / 5)
The Porcelain Maker* by Sarah Freethy (3 / 5)
All’s Fair in Love and Christmas* by Sarah Monzon (4 / 5)
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, the Graphic Novel* by Chris Grabenstein (5 / 5)
A Caffeine Conundrum by Angela Ruth Strong (2.5 / 5)
The Emperor’s Code by Gordon Korman (4.5 / 5)
The Return of the King** by J.R.R. Tolkien (4 / 5)
The Faithful Spy by John Hendrix (5 / 5)
The Cat Who Dropped a Bombshell by Lilian Jackson Braun (2.5 / 5)

This list includes 21 ARCs (marked with a *) and 18 re-reads (marked with a **). I’m not going to try to pick my single favorite book from the year, but I did post about my top 10 favorites already. During the last year, I started 12 series and finished 11 series, caught up on 1 series (meaning the author plans to release more in the future), and decided not to continue 1 series (after being at least 2 books into the series). I currently have 11 series in progress. I also DNF’d 1 book (not listed anywhere in this post).

Here is a break-down of the ratings I gave (minus some re-reads whose rating I didn’t count again):
1 star: 2
1.5 stars: 1
2 stars: 8
2.5 stars: 6
3 stars: 12
3.5 stars: 10
4 stars: 44
4.5 stars: 16
5 stars: 35
Average rating: 4

Because I did read 140 books, despite the few months of difficulty, I’m going to set my goal for the Goodreads challenge at 140 books (I started last year with 130 and kept adding to it in December). This number is only achievable if I read a lot of shorter children’s books, but that has been my plan for the last few years, and I did stellar with it this last year.

My ever-changing short list of to-be-reads, as well as a flag for the book I’m currently reading and an ongoing list of those I’ve read and posted about can be found here. I’m also keeping my Goodreads page updated with a more extensive list of to-be-reads, if anyone is interested in that.

What did you read last year? Let me know in the comments, and even feel free to link to your own summary post!

December in Review

January 2, 2024January 3, 2024 / Kristi / Leave a comment

I read 12 books last month, a respectable end to the year’s reading. Though the total page count was the lowest of the 2nd half of the year, reflecting quite a few shorter books in there. I hit my Goodreads goal of 130 books early in the month, but I had no idea until I checked the site later. That made me sad, since I like seeing the announcement that I reached my goal, but for whatever reason, I didn’t get that. So I added 5 books to the goal and kept going. Again, no announcement. So I set it for 140 books, which I ended up hitting with the very last book I read this month. Still no pop-up for me, so I gave up. I was out of time anyway. But then the next day, I went to the Goodreads app, and it randomly popped up to tell me I’d reached my goal. So yay, now I have a picture to share!

Here are the books I read in December:

‘Twas the Fight before Christmas by Bill Myers (5 / 5)
The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse (3.5 / 5)
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (2 / 5)
Ramona’s World by Beverly Cleary (3.5 / 5)
The Porcelain Maker by Sarah Freethy (3 / 5)
All’s Fair in Love and Christmas by Sarah Monzon (4 / 5)
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, the Graphic Novel by Chris Grabenstein (5 / 5)
A Caffeine Conundrum by Angela Ruth Strong (2.5 / 5)
The Emperor’s Code by Gordon Korman (4.5 / 5)
The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien (4 / 5)
The Faithful Spy by John Hendrix (5 / 5)
The Cat Who Dropped a Bombshell by Lilian Jackson Braun (2.5 / 5)

This list includes 3 ARCs and 2 re-reads. My favorite book from December was The Faithful Spy. I started 0 series, continued 4 series, and finished 2 series. My ever-changing short list of to-be-reads, as well as a flag for the book I’m currently reading and an ongoing list of those I’ve read and posted about can be found here.

I’m also keeping my Goodreads page updated with a more extensive list of to-be-reads. Despite my almost too-long TBR list, I’m always looking for more to add. Feel free to offer suggestions of your favorites or just recent reads you enjoyed.

Book Review: The Emperor’s Code

December 28, 2023December 27, 2023 / Kristi / Leave a comment

The Emperor’s Code
The 39 Clues #8
by Gordon Korman

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: Children’s mystery, adventure

Spoiler notice: The following review may contain some spoilers for the previous books in the series, starting with The Maze of Bones.

Amy and Dan Cahill are reeling over news of their heritage and take it out on each other. When they get separated, Dan and Amy will have to use the clue hunt to find their way back to each other.

I really liked the fresh turn this story took with Dan and Amy’s argument. Not that it’s the first time they’ve argued, but the siblings being separated, having different experiences, and working the clue hunt from two different angles, is all new and interesting. The ways that they’re both trying to deal with what they discovered in the previous book about their parents, grandmother, and themselves, adds some realism and seriousness to the story. While there are still some outlandish situations, the climax in particular, I found myself enjoying the ride. I really want to see how Amy and Dan handle their ancestry and what it means for their role in the clue hunt, and I hope to learn for certain who can be trusted and who can’t. The clues themselves seem less important than the hunt to find them at this point, and I look forward to continuing the series.

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Book Review: A Caffeine Conundrum

December 23, 2023 / Kristi / Leave a comment

A Caffeine Conundrum
by Angela Ruth Strong

My rating: 2.5 / 5
Genre: Mystery

When Marissa Alexander and Tandy Brandt both want to purchase the same building—Marissa to open a tea house and Tandy to open a coffee shop—the bidding war is over before it begins, due to the untimely death of the building’s owner. To make matters worse, their proximity to the death and desire to buy the building put Marissa and Tandy squarely in the crosshairs of the investigation. Local beauty queen Marissa and newcomer Tandy will have to work together to find the real killer so they can go back to vying for the building.

These ladies are not the kind of MCs I look for in a mystery story. They jump to suspecting everyone that they meet or that comes to mind in the course of the investigation, coming up with outlandish theories, making wild accusations with no particular need for evidence, and then proceeding to be terrified of whoever they’ve most recently decided must be guilty. Tandy has her issues, but she’s a lot more relatable than Marissa, who is incredibly rude to Tandy the moment they meet, is selfish and whiny, and gives a whole new meaning to the word “klutz” (seriously, how she doesn’t kill herself is beyond me). On the plus side, though these two start off at odds with each other, I do appreciate that they begin a grudging partnership that turns into friendship in a way that doesn’t feel forced.

The mystery itself left a bit to be desired for me. Because every single potential motive is beaten to death by these girls, it’s pretty clear to me that none of their suspects could be the actual killer. Which led me to suspect the one person they hadn’t turned their attention to, which turned out to be correct, though I didn’t guess the motive at all. The “murder weapon,” though, really threw me off. I tried to look up what would happen if you put instant coffee into a machine and brew it, and other than gunking up the inside of the machine, it seems to have no other negative side effects. Either the author completely made up the chemistry involved or didn’t explain what she was going for very well in the book.

Overall, this book was not for me. It’s the beginning of a series of mysteries with these two as the main characters, which I will not be continuing. However, the reviews for this book are mostly positive, and even more so for the rest of the series. If you’re a fan of contemporary mysteries and aren’t bothered by what I mentioned above, please consider giving this book a try.

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Book Review: Ramona’s World

December 15, 2023July 11, 2025 / Kristi / 1 Comment

Ramona’s World
Ramona Quimby #8
by Beverly Cleary
Read by Stockard Channing

My rating: 3.5 / 5
Genre: Children’s classic

Now in fourth grade and with a new baby sister at home, Ramona is growing up, but still struggles to fully understand what that means. She still reacts to perceived (or real) injustices a bit extremely, but she’s also a lot calmer than she used to be. It’s nice to watch her get a female best friend (no offense to Howie), and her having a crush is kinda cute and pretty relatable, even at that age. I don’t particularly care for the way her fourth-grade teacher treats her in regards to spelling mistakes, but I also had plenty of teachers who might not have handled imperfect students as well as they should have. Though I think some of the charm of the very young Ramona is gone as she gets older, I still enjoyed this book. I appreciated Stockard Channing’s narration throughout the series, and I recommend it for anyone who might be interested, young or old.

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Book Review: Shiloh

December 14, 2023December 13, 2023 / Kristi / 4 Comments

Shiloh
by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

My rating: 2 / 5
Genre: Children’s classic historical fiction

Another classic about a boy and his dog. While it was nice to have the happier ending than other such classics I’ve read recently, the story didn’t impress me overall. The main character, Marty, lies to everyone he cares about to take care of the dog that isn’t actually his, and his reasoning is that protecting Shiloh makes it okay. He feels bad about the lying and taking food that his family could use in order to feed the dog, but he does it anyway and gets away with it. I am not condoning animal abuse, but that doesn’t mean I condone lying and stealing to stop it. I’m not entirely sure what message Naylor was attempting to get across in this book, maybe that there’s not always an easy answer to a difficult question, but I think it could have been done better. I also think that a dog person might appreciate or enjoy the story more than I did. I wouldn’t really recommend this book for kids, other than perhaps to discuss the ethical questions presented within.

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Book Review: Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, the Graphic Novel

December 13, 2023February 28, 2024 / Kristi / Leave a comment

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, the Graphic Novel
Mr. Lemoncello’s Library series
by Chris Grabenstein
illustrated by Douglas Holgate

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Children’s adventure, graphic novel

Game-lover Kyle Keeley is desperate to win a spot in the overnight sleepover at the new, state-of-the-art local library. The library was designed by his hero, Mr. Lemoncello, who created pretty much every board game and video game Kyle loves. When the overnighter turns into a lock-in (literally), Kyle and his fellow 12-year-olds have to figure out how to escape.

I read and reviewed the original book (see review here), so this review is less about the story and content than it is about the graphic novel format. I was so excited to see that there was going to be a graphic novel of this book, because if there was ever a book (and series) that was crying for a graphic novel to be made for it, it’s the Mr. Lemoncello’s Library books. The amazing library and all of its high-tech features are just too big for the imagination (not that I’m saying the author didn’t do well describing it all in the original novel). Plus, puzzles that the kids need to solve are often shown in the book, and they fit in much better in a graphic novel. The characters are distinctly different, which helps when you’re talking about an original 12 kids that get pared down along the way, and Mr. Lemoncello himself really came to life for me in this format.

On top of all of that, there is a 11-clue rebus puzzle hidden throughout the first 46 pages of the book, which, knowing about in advance, forced me to pay close attention to the background while I read. In the end, I had to go back and look really hard for one I’d missed (and throw out one that turned out to not be a clue). Maybe I’m too old to send my answer and be in the running for the prize, but as a puzzle-lover, it was a lot of fun to work it out after I’d finished the book.

I don’t know if the rest of the series will follow this graphic novel, but I do know that I sincerely hope that Mr. Grabenstein will continue the main series, since the last book definitely set up more to come. As for this book, though, I think that fans of the series will enjoy this new format, but I’d imagine that the idea for it is more to encourage kids who don’t care to read regular books to pick up this illustrated version and enjoy the story. Since I had already read the original book, I can’t say for sure how the story will come across to a newcomer, but I think it would be a fun read for 8-12-year-olds!

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Children’s Books for providing me a copy of this book to review.

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Book Review: All’s Fair in Love and Christmas

December 12, 2023 / Kristi / Leave a comment

All’s Fair in Love and Christmas
by Sarah Monzon

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Christian Christmas contemporary romance

Mackenzie Graham wants nothing more than to do her job without drawing attention to herself and without having to talk to people any more than necessary. So when she’s put into the spotlight as a contender for a promotion, against a man she’s had a crush on for two years, for a boss who has a history of promoting the people who show the most Christmas spirit, she will have to force herself out of her comfort zone. Jeremy Fletcher really needs that promotion, since he’s raising his twin niece and nephew after the deaths of their parents, so he plans to use his penchant for meticulous planning to win the promotion. Mackenzie throws a wrench in his plans, though, by being much more than the quiet co-worker he’d never really paid attention to before, now that she’s been thrust front and center for him.

This is bizarrely the 2nd book I’ve read this holiday season that has a lot of overlap with my own life. Mackenzie’s mom has Alzheimer’s and has days where she doesn’t remember Mackenzie and/or is extremely agitated. My mom had Lewy body dementia, which declined quickly, but during that time, we dealt with a lot of memory issues and agitated states (even before we knew that she had dementia). Also, I have social anxieties similar to Mackenzie, though mine seem to be a different flavor, so to speak. While I recognized a lot of the inner monologue and choices made to avoid being in the spotlight, I don’t think I could bring myself to do some of what Mackenzie does to try to win the promotion—though possibly with such a powerful motivator (needing to pay for her mom’s care), I could. There was a certain thing she does a few times to try to push herself to be more confident that I know I would never do, and that angle doesn’t really go anywhere anyway, so it’s a little strange in the story anyway.

I was a little thrown off by the many references to TV shows and movies at first, but I think that’s just because I don’t actually read a lot of contemporary fiction—more historical or even SFF. But even in those references, there were a lot made to shows and movies I love, so it made me feel all the more connected to both main characters. Jeremy’s little shudder over thinking about his pre-teen charges spending countless hours watching other people play video games on YouTube made me feel as seen as the reference to Mackenzie’s half-print/half-cursive style of writing. If I could stop here, this would probably have been a 5-star read for me.

There were a couple of things that stuck out to me throughout the story, though, that brought the rating down: I don’t care for 1st-person, present tense for one POV and 3rd-person, past tense for the other. It’s kind of a pet peeve of mine, especially since it almost never seems necessary to do it that way. I suspect the author wanted to be more “in the head” of Mackenzie, with her social issues, and didn’t feel the need to do that for Jeremy, but even then, why the present/past difference? And the Christian content was weirdly paced. I had seen this was marked as Christian, which is why I was surprised to see absolutely no references to God by 15% of the way into the book. There is, though, flirting and suggestive movements, lots of secular music and such, and then suddenly there’s a prayer and biblical reference that seem to come out of nowhere. To be clear, I do not expect every book marked Christian to be chock-full of prayers and references to God or even to have a solid Christian message or moral. But other than Mackenzie’s belief that her lack of faith keeps her from getting past her social issues (which I kinda wish had been explored more), I would never really know that these characters are Christians. Overall, though, I enjoyed the book. It contains a lot of Christmas charm and is not too sappy, as Christmas romances go. I recommend it for fans of Christmas romance, especially with some Christianity involved.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bethany House for providing me a copy of this book to review.

Find out more about All’s Fair in Love and Christmas

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If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

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On Devonshire Shores #2
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Genre: Christian historical romance

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The 39 Clues #8
by Gordon Korman

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Genre: Children’s mystery, adventure

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by Angela Ruth Strong

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Mr. Lemoncello’s Library series
by Chris Grabenstein
illustrated by Douglas Holgate

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by Sarah Monzon

My rating: 4 / 5
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