Dear Santa - Debbie Macomber

Dear Santa by Debbie Macomber
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I've long wanted to read a Debbie Macomber book. This might not have been a great choice for my first. Or perhaps I'm just not the right reader for her books.

In Dear Santa, Lindy returns home for the holidays after a rough year on both a personal and a career front. After reviewing letters she wrote to Santa as a child, she decides to write another letter to Santa this year. Will this this new letter be answered in the same ways her childhood letters were?

I think that I just wasn't in the mood for the sacchrine sweetness of this book. So I think my rating and review are probably more a refleciton of me at the time and not necessarily the book. However, the book itself had issues with inconsistencies and a lot of redundant information (sometimes even the exact phrasing). The pacing of the story overall was off - weird time jumps and other parts that dragged. Hopefully some of these things were taken care of in a final edit (I was reading an advanced review copy).

I wanted to like Lindy, and maybe I did. She just wasn't as fully developed as I would have liked. None of the characters were, but I at least hoped to have a more complete main character. The romance part was okay. Quick but understandable.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for an advanced copy to read and review. All opinions are my own.

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Always, in December - Emily Stone

Always, in December by Emily Stone
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Oh, I so wanted to love this book.

Josie is not a fan of December. However, a chance run-in with a stranger (Max), makes the first holiday season of the book a little more bearable. Could there be more?

I know this was marketed as a Christmas book. I don't think it was very Christmassy aside from the first part is set in December as well as the last part.

I *loved* the first part of this book. I liked the characters, their interactions, the deeper aspects of the story. Unfortunately, the book doesn't continue in this same vein, or even the same tone. Part 2 shifts to Max's perspective. It is much less engaging and more sweary. The book went downhill from there for me, including the ending. There were moments of sparkle but not enough to sustain the rest of the plot, dialogue, and character devolvement for me. I think my hopes were just too high after part 1.

Content: language, closed door romance

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

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Maiden Voyages: Magnificent Ocean Liners and the Women Who Traveled and Worked Aboard Them

Maiden Voyages: Magnificent Ocean Liners and the Women Who Traveled and Worked Aboard Them by Siân Evans
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book was promoted as being an "engaging and anticdotal" history of woment who traveled or worked on the Ocean Liners so popular during the early 1900s.
There were certainly spots of that, and they were wonderful. I enjoyed reading the vignettes of both the wealthy and the working class. But this was not the majority of the book. So much of the book was history and tangent and nothing to do with ships, travel, or woment at work or play. That was disappointing.
Also, there were many redundancies in the text as well as some organizational issues.

I appreciate the review copy from NetGalley and the publisher. Clearly, my review is my own thoughts. I just wish the book would have more stories and life aboard the liners and less of all the other stuff.

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Book of Lost Friends - Lisa Wingate

The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lisa Wingate has a gift for finding things in US history that aren't well-known (even though they should be) and couching those events in a compelling story. In the case of The Book of Lost Friends, Wingate shares the true story of advertisements placed by former slaves in a Methodist newspaper in the hopes of reconnecting with lost or sold, stolen or run away family members. The narrative moves between post-Civil War times and 1987. I found the stories both disturbing and fascinating. All of the families torn apart, lives forever changed by greed and the awfulness of owning others. And then the more modern story that ties us all together.

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The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House - Kate Andersen Brower

The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House by Kate Andersen Brower
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I read Upstairs at the White House by JB West earlier this year. This was a nice companion read to carry work in the White House into the 21st century. Definitely a different perspective in the writing, a bit more gossipy (which I don't mind), and interesting.

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Finally You - Debbie Macomber

Finally You by Debbie Macomber
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

So this is a two novella collection. The first one was decent. I enjoyed it. However, the second one...I wouldn't even give one star to. Nothing in it made sense. There were so many poor word choices. In no reality does it take three days to drive from Seattle to anywhere in Montana...especially when you're driving from morning to at least mid-afternoon. Every single character was a self-centered brat. The two main characters didn't have anything like a true relationship - just attraction fueled passion. Their interactions and "relationship" was both destructive and toxic right to the end. Hated it.

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A Woman of Intelligence - Karin Tanabe

A Woman of Intelligence by Karin Tanabe
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Katharina Edgeworth went from a single life in the 1950s working at the UN to the life of a NYC housewife and mother. She's struggling until a new opportunity enters her life.

This book was definitely not un-put-downable. I put it down a lot to read other things, explaining why it took my so long to read the ARC I received (thanks, NetGalley & the publisher...all thoughts on this book are my own.).

There were just a lot of things that didn't make sense. Katharina seemed incredibly unstable and so a huge risk for the work she was being asked to take on. And then the focus of the book wasn't even that work (which could have been interesting) but more manufactured drama. The timeline was jumpy, which was just more evidence the book could use a good edit. Also, the character relationships on all levels were awkward. Especially an attempted romantic interest that was supremely awkward and never very clear.

Really, giving this book two stars that it was okay is probably stretching it a bit.

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Jane Austen Society - Natalie Jenner

The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I did NOT enjoy this book for the first third of it. It kept hopping from character to character giving seemingly random information about their pasts and current lives. 30% into reading. No society formed. And I'm ready to shelve as abandoned.
But I'm glad I stuck with it. The book is probably more 3.5 stars for me. Things like regular mentions of how mean Mr. Knight is and how nosy/gossipy the nurse was annoyed me. But the characters, once they coalesced, became really enjoyable. There was some good introspection and growth.

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