30 | October | 2019 | Berit Talks Books

Happy almost Halloween!

Nothing better than posting a review for a Christmas book on the spookiest day of the year! This was a fun festive story perfect for the Christmas lover! Move over pumpkins and ghosts it’s time for trees and mistletoe!🎄

My Thoughts

This book was Christmas STRONG! If you love listening to Christmas music, watching Hallmark Christmas movies, and have a Christmas wreath on your car this one is for you! Karen Schaler has written a couple hallmark Christmas movies and that really shown through in this book. Emmie is all about Christmas! This is the first Christmas after she lost her parents and she is determined to keep her family’s Christmas spirit alive. Her boyfriend Grant is a bit of a Scrooge, but she is convinced that with a little time and a clever Christmas scavenger hunt that she has planned he will see the Christmas lights! But when there is a bit of a mix up and Sam (a best-selling mystery writer) shows up at Christmas Point instead of Grant Emmie’s perfect Christmas might be spoiled. But Sam loves Christmas just as much as Emmie and soon she finds herself enjoying the things she planned with Grant with him. So who really is the jingle to Emmie’s bells?

Festive and sweet this book will definitely put you in the Christmas mood and make you want to take a trip to Christmas Point. Emmie was likable, but oh so frustrating. The girl was clearly with the wrong guy, I mean there is no way Grant would have participated in this Christmas scavenger hunt and I’m not sure how she could’ve ever thought he would? Sam was great, he loved Christmas but I think he balanced over the top Emmie out well. The town of Christmas Point was Holiday perfection! Ice-skating, gingerbread cookie making, tree lighting ceremony, and even a dog named Dasher. This book is not for the faint of Christmas heart, it is a Christmas book for the Christmas lover! I suggest reading it in front of a cozy fire with Christmas music in the background, a cup of hot chocolate and twinkling lights on the tree.

This book in emojis: 🎄 🎁 🐶 ☃️ 🤶 ⛸ 🍪

*** thanks to William Morrow for my copy of this book ***

About Finding Christmas

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (October 15, 2019)

With all the glittering decorations, twinkling lights, snow angels, gingerbread men and mistletoe, Christmas is Emmie’s first love.

This year, she can’t wait to share her favorite Christmas traditions with her boyfriend, Grant. She thinks he’s “the one.” So when Grant’s hectic work schedule has him more “Bah Humbug” than “Ho, Ho, Ho,” Emmie creates a holiday-themed scavenger hunt to help him find his Christmas spirit. At the end of the journey, Grant will arrive at the charming town of Christmas Point where she’s planned a romantic weekend filled with holiday activities.

But Emmie’s plan backfires when a mix-up has the wrong guy following her clues! Sam, a best-selling mystery writer, thinks Emmie’s clever Christmas riddles are from his agent, who is trying to help him get over his epic writer’s block.

When he arrives at Christmas Point and finds the stunned Emmie, he immediately feels she’s someone special, but she can’t see beyond the fact that the wrong guy has shown up. Inspired by the small, charming town, Sam decides to stay and convinces Emmie to join him in a little holiday fun while she waits for Grant.

When Grant finally shows up, Emmie is disappointed to discover he’s not enjoying the activities she planned and can’t help wonder if he’s really the one for her. She also can’t get Sam out of her mind and all the great times they had together. With Christmas coming fast, Emmie will need the magic of the season to help steer her in the direction of true love…

Purchase Links

HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Photo 2018 by Scott Foust

About Karen Schaler

Karen Schaler is a three-time Emmy Award–winning storyteller, author, screenwriter, journalist, and national TV host. She has written original screenplays for Netflix, Hallmark, and Lifetime Christmas movies, including the Netflix sensation A Christmas Prince. Karen wrote the Hallmark movie and novel Christmas Camp, and the sequel novella, Christmas Camp Wedding. Traveling to more than sixty-five countries as the creator and host of Travel Therapy TV, Karen is constantly inspired by the diverse people, places, and cultures she encounters. All of Karen’s stories are uplifting, filled with heart and hope.

Find out more about Karen at her website, and connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

Happy hump day all!

Hope life is treating you well! Excited to share with you today my review for this charming coming-of-age story that was delightfully nostalgic.

My Thoughts

Andrea Simon has written a beautiful coming of age story. The book perfectly captures the innocence, hope and heartbreak of youth. 1955 Brooklyn, Mandy loves her life in Brooklyn and her summers in the Catskills. The story is entirely told in Mandy’s voice, each chapter is a short story a little snapshot of Mandy’s life. You will meet her colorful family, or loyal friend, you will feel her hope, and fear her pain. The story is poignant and raw and touches on some tough subjects such as abuse and grief. The book is also nostalgic and charming and reminds you of all the hope and innocence of youth. My only complaint is it ended too quickly.

This book an emojis: 🗽 🌳 👭

*** Big thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book ***

About the Book

In the summer of 1955, nine-year-old Amanda Gerber tearfully leaves her best friend, Francine, and their adventurous life on her block in Brooklyn’s Flatbush. She joins her cantankerous family on the long, hot drive to her grandmother’s home in the Catskill Mountains among the city’s Jews who flock to countless hotels and bungalow colonies in the heyday of the Borscht Belt. In the idyllic mountains, Amanda becomes ensconced in the tumult of her extended family and their friends, often seeking solace in the woods with her beloved cousin Laura.

Through the following summers, interspersed with the heightened drama of her emotionally charged city life, Amanda faces severe tests to her survival mechanisms, including the pain of loss, abuse, and betrayal, while family secrets threaten to disrupt her life even further. A novel-in-stories, Floating in the Neversink is a testament to the power of survival, friendship, and love.

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