Hello again, my lovelies,
I do hope your January has been filled with lots of wonderful stories so far. My life is busy enough right now that few books seem to make it into my hands. Other than books necessary for school, that is. Still! I manage to fit a small bit of reading for pleasure time in there wherever I can! :) Is it snowing in your part of the world? I know it is at my home in VA. But here in Thailand? Not so much! It is still quite warm and humid on the daily around here...
Meanwhile! Back to more book reviews!
This book began making it's rounds on twitter and several of my blogging friends gushed over it's delightfulness. Yet it wasn't until I saw it compared to North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell that I knew I'd be reading it! I'm a goner for N&S and any story even remotely related to it. ;) All the gushing reviews are correct, my friends! It's definitely got N&S vibes going on and it's simply a really sweet little short story, perfect for Christmastime! Of course, Christmas is now over, but this book is still worthy of picking up. :) I was swept up into chapter one and very quickly knew I wouldn't be putting it down until I reached the end. Sophie is definitely my favorite character! Quite spunky underneath her proper exterior, she surprised me a few times with her choices. And she certainly surprised her suitor! Which was perfect and wonderful and made for a few awfully swoony moments! :D If you haven't read this one, friends, then you really should. I've already re-read it two or three times!
I admit that the biggest draw of this group of novellas was Becky Wade's. I've so much loved her Bradford Sisters series! And this was a wonderful edition to it. Yet the other three stories in this collection certainly held my attention once I got to them. From blunt grandmothers, to "stern" businessmen, and shooting competitions, the side characters and plotlines made me laugh and swoon. Sometimes at the same time! :) I enjoyed how the brooch made its rounds through each of the stories and tied them all together. Super sweet stories that are worth your time, reader friends!
This was one story that had me SO EXCITED before I ever dived inside! I am such a huge fan of Ms. McMillan's Three Quarter Time series of novellas, so I knew I was guaranteed to love this one. And I was right! I loved getting back into Rose and Oliver's lives. Seeing them in the middle of their happy ever after was delightful. A fellow blogging friend called this "a tiny piece of Christmas perfection" and she is spot on! From first page until last, the sweetness you'll find in between is sure to make you smile. Oliver and Rose are adorableness personified and now I think I'm ready to go re-read it yet again! If you loved Rose in Three Quarter time, this is the perfect story for you! :)
Adding A Holiday by Gaslight to my Amazon wishlist!
ReplyDeleteKARA! I agree, all three of these are wonderful! Reading your thoughts makes me want to reread A Holiday by Gaslight. It was just a delight!
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks a ton for the review shoutout! I dearly hope Rachel continues the Rose and Oliver stories in the future. I would read about their grocery shopping. And furniture assembly. And whatever other little normal things people do in Vienna :) .