The Girl who woke the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

This story is the biggest disappointment of the book. But only because I had the highest expectations and was really looking forward to reading this one. I love Taylor’s “Daughter of Smoke and Bone” and was pushing my expectations higher and higher while reading “My True Love Gave To Me”. The idea of the story was not even bad per se. I just did not care for the characters at all. I could not get into the story until I finally started skimming the pages. Taylor’s writing was beautiful as ever but I just did not feel this story.

1 star

Star of Bethlehem by Ally Carter

What a pleasant surprise! I did not know what to expect when I started reading this story. I liked the airport scene at the beginning very much and enjoyed myself immensely when I was continuing the story. I loved the idea, I loved the characters, and it also felt kind of like Christmas. My only problem with this story was that it felt rushed. The plot is enough for a longer story if not even a book. Crammed into this little short story the characters felt kind of flat. The story moves on way too fast and suddenly we are at the end of it even though it feels like so much more is going to happen. So, how about a longer version of this, please? I would love to read it!

“That’s not Santa. He’s one of the Yule Lads.”

“How many are there?”

“Nine,” I said.

“I thought there were twelve?” Emily asked.

“Well, maybe it varies in different parts of the country,” Ethan said. “Right, Hulda?”

“Right!” I agreed. “Some places there are twelve, but where I live there are nine because … the other three died because they forgot their shoes.”

4 stars

Welcome to Christmas, CA by Kiersten White

I must admit I was a little apprehensive at the beginning because I could not imagine a good Christmas story set in California. Christmas for me means snow and coziness, not hot sun and a diner. But White got the other things right: warm feelings, family, and happiness. I loved all the characters (besides one) in this story. I had a smile on my face the whole time reading. And that little food magic was just adorable. Beautiful little Christmas story.

“It looks like a warm, happy community. It looks like, well, Christmas.”

4 stars.

Beer Buckets and Baby Jesus by Myra McEntire

This was kind of disappointing. I even skimmed of a few pages because the story did not hold my interest. It was actually quite well written and the characters interesting but the plot was boring. I just did not care at all what was going to happen. And when I skim pages then the book must be bad enough that it can’t hold my attention.

1 star