Christmas For Beginners - Carole Matthews

This one has been sat on my TBR since last Christmas. I'd tried to read it last night but struggled to get into it (this was definitely more to do with me than to do with the book!) so I've been super excited to get stuck in this year.

This is a sequel book. I didn't realise this until the end, the prequel is Happiness For Beginners. Thankfully, the story is written so well that I wasn't left wondering "why?" at anything so you can easily read this is a festive stand-alone.

Molly runs Hope Farm, a charity that works with not only animals that have been rescued, but children from different backgrounds. And this is where Molly is at her happiest; mucking out and mucking in.

With her almost-step-son Lucas and her best friend, they're preparing for the Christmas open day which will bring in some much needed funding for their charity and home. But working with animals never goes to plan; and on top of unruly alpacas and an anti-social sheep, Molly is also navigating her new relationship with Shelby, the local soap-star that is allergic to anything with fur and feathers.

I adored this lovely story set in the English countryside.

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Murder on the Orient Express - Agatha Christie

Started: Saturday 2nd July 2022 Finished: Saturday 2nd July 2022 Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ On Saturday I travelled up to London to see Beauty and The Beast at the London Palladium and with a four hours on a train, I wanted something I could really get stuck into. I need a book small enough to fit in my bang, fast paced enough to lose myself in and lighthearted enough not to impact my mood and Murder On The Orient Express was perfect. My second delve into the Agatha Christie catalogue, I’ve already labelled her books as “filler” books - perfect for one sitting and clever enough to keep me guessing without the dreaded Book Hangover. Murder On The Orient Express sees the infamous Monsieur Hercule Poirot have an urgent recall to England, cutting his leisure time short. But oddly, the sleeper train is full, a strange and unexplained circumstance given the time of year. Through his years of connections, a temporary cabin is found to be shared with McQueen - the travel companion for Ratchett; and ...

DNF - The Final Revival of Opal & Nev - Dawnie Walton

I've been looking forward to this book so long but I'm just not in the right headspace for it. If you loved the writing style of Daisy Jones & The Six , you'll love this. In a similar vein, The Final Revival of Opal & Nev visits the history of these two performers in the 70s through interviews and accounts of the people that knew them. Everything about it is fantastic, the imagery, the tone - everything. I'm about 100 pages in and it's just not grabbing me at the moment. Could be something to do with the excessive weather we're having. So for now, I'm going to put it back on my TBR and try again another time.

A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

It’s a story we all know and love. I think you’d be hard pushed to find anyone who doesn’t know the story of Ebeneezer Scrooge and the ghosts of past, present and future, yet I would bet that not many appreciate the true story. The main adaptations I know of, consist of The Muppets Christmas Carol and most recently - Spirited, the 2022 release with Ryan Reynolds and Will Farrell (a fun new take on the classic) so my comparisons between the book and films will be quite basic. The first thing I’ll say is that A Christmas Carol is a tiny 80 page read. I got through it in one evening (90 mins) in fact and would be a perfect addition to someone’s end of her reading goal. Secondly, the book does now take long to get into it. I can see why it’s heralded as a classic - easy to read and a basic but resonating moral, this is great for a reader of any age. The fact that it jumps straight in so soon will keep younger readers hooked. The original text is slightly darker that is expected...

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