Pam

Impossible is a swear word!

A lovely middle grade holiday read telling the origin of Father Christmas.

Some stories were better than others.

Question Kerry's quick acceptance of Patrick's behavior when they first met. But it was a nice read overall.

I want to thank Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of A Killer for Christmas. All opinions presented here are solely mine.

A Killer for Christmas was added to my TBR because it sounded like a fun holiday read. And guess what, it was! Even with the murders. It’s great if you enjoy the Hallmark holiday movies, but need a little something to cut through all the sweetness. Even Kelsey, the main character, admits Christmasville is a tad over the top with Christmas.

Kelsey finds herself in need of a change after serious heartbreak and loss of self-confidence in Boston. So she turns to the one place she’s always felt happy-Christmasville, Maine. After visiting the charming town, I could see why someone would want to move there for a chance at a new life. A place where it’s Christmas year-round? It could be fun and charming, right? Then why would someone start killing people? Were the deaths accidents? Or were they murder?

Of course, I’m not going to tell you who the murderer is. That would be a major spoiler! Just know that I was a little broken-hearted when it was revealed. Yes, I had my suspicions about this person, but I hoped they were wrong. I had a couple of other suspects, and one major red herring!

Overall, A Killer for Christmas is a quick, easy, killer of a holiday read! (See what I just did there?) If you enjoy reading holiday romances, you’ll enjoy reading A Killer for Christmas. If you enjoy cozy mysteries, you guessed it, you’ll enjoy it too.

Fun non-spicy romance

Eliza Reid has become an instant-read author for me ever since I read her first book, Secrets of the Sprakkar. In her first book, she discusses Iceland’s work towards gender equality. In this book, she shares how she took it upon herself to be a sprakki (Icelandic for an extraordinary woman).

Reid takes readers on a brief journey through her childhood and her decision to study in England. I enjoyed that she let readers see she was always a bit outside the norm. I mean, how many 8-year-olds play bridge? She also shares the solo journeys that she took before marrying her husband.

When Reid became the First Lady of Iceland, she found herself unsure of what she could and should do, as there was no instruction manual for the position. One thing she knew was that she would not be more than her husband’s companion. She didn’t know how to go about doing that. So, Reid did what felt was right to her.

Though I’m older than Reid, I want to be like her when I grow up! And I’m not just talking about her actions as first lady, but the way she fights for what she feels is right.

I added The Secret of Snow to my TBR back in August of 2021. It sounded like a cozy, but not romance-forward holiday read. And it kind of is. But don’t be fooled; it’s not really a holiday story, since most of it takes place after the New Year. The book starts before Christmas and ends in March.

There were a few times after I started reading that I was tempted to DNF the book. Why? Because the pacing felt a tad slow. And Sonny had a major chip on her shoulder, which really made me not like her. But I stuck with it, and I’m glad I did. As the story progresses, Sonny shows some character growth and begins to deal with the guilt that she had carried for over 30 years.

I enjoyed the little mystery that was in the middle of the story, though I knew exactly who was behind it all. It was a bit surprising that none of the characters caught on as quickly.

Overall, The Secret of Snow is a story about grief and healing, about letting go of guilt and trying to live in the present.

Thankfully, this is a short read. All the strife in the story would be solved easily by having honest conversations — Madison and Addie, with their differences, especially Addie's attitude; Madison and Gavin, about what happened all those years ago.

Lovely story set in northern Scotland during Christmas.

A fun read giving us Bitty and Zimmerman as they continue to grow and devlop in their relationship.

I want to thank Forever, Grand Central Publishing, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Book Club Boyfriend. All opinions presented here are my own.

Book Club Boyfriend flew under the radar; I was unaware of its pending release until 6 weeks before its scheduled release date. I’ve enjoyed the other books I’ve read by Jenny Holiday, so this was an instant add to my TBR.

Overall, I enjoyed reading Book Club Boyfriend. I’m unsure why it’s classified as an enemy-to-lovers story. Why? Because I don’t see it. Sure, Blair and Jack have a rough meeting at the beginning of the book. But that doesn’t mean they’re enemies. They are two opinionated people with different life experiences.

I loved that Blair and Jack are older than the typical leads in a romance. When I say they’re older, I mean they aren’t in their mid-20s like so many leads.

Another thing I loved was the exploration of mental health and childhood trauma. One character has anxiety and OCD. One character has a parent who was less than loving, maybe even a bit neglectful. But with these topics, there were many instances of “poor me” from both leads. While the characters have the right to feel their feelings, there were a couple of times when it felt too much. And a competition to see who was in the worst space.

If you like slow-burn romances, you should give Book Club Boyfriend a read.

DNF at 19%

I can't quite put my finger on it, but I struggled to connect with the story.

DNF at 16%

None of the characters are likable. The story is not funny; why do they advertise it as such? The storyline is choppy and disjointed.

Based on true events, it's a look at the German occupation of Jersey.

Overall, the story was good. I just wasn't in love with the characters themselves.

A love letter to the books and libraries that have allowed us a safe place to escape to.

4.75 rounded to 5

I want to thank Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Lady X. All opinions presented here are my own.

Lady X was a book I added to my TBR because of its subject matter. What do I mean by that? Simply put, it’s about women fighting for what’s right and showing the world that women are important.

The story is told through two timelines, 1977 and 2024. Each chapter tells you at the beginning which year and which character we are with — Ginger or Margot. At the same time, the story is told in third-person POV.

Margot is a woman I can relate to, as she wonders what’s next in her life now that the kids have all grown and she’ll soon have an empty nest. She’s struggling because she’s set aside her hopes and dreams, even friendships, to be there for her family 100%.

Ginger is a woman trying to make it in New York City. But she finds that the men around her see her only as an object, not a person. If she doesn’t give them what they want, they won’t give her what she wants. After a friend is attacked, Ginger has had enough and starts letting the world know what’s going on.

Both women grow and develop the more we get to know them. Ginger goes from being a bubbly pageant queen who lets things happen to a strong woman willing to stand up for what is right. Margot stops caring about everyone else’s feelings except her own. I know that may sound harsh, but she is so worried about rocking the boat that, in many ways, she lets people walk over her.

Overall, I feel that Lady X is a book that everyone should read. Given the current state of affairs in the world, and how women are still treated, I feel that Lady X is a timely read. It’s a perfect mix of historical fiction, contemporary fiction, and mystery.

I decided to read Something More after reading You Started It in 2025. I am so grateful that I finally read Khalilieh’s debut novel. A bonus for me is that it is set in the Toronto area, which I love.

Khalilieh has a way of writing realistic characters, based on her own life experiences. Jessie’s parents are Palestinian, making Jessie a first-generation Palestinian-Canadian. With that, Jessie is trying to balance her parents’ wishes and desires for her and her siblings with what is happening in school.

I found Something More relatable, even though my high school years are far behind me. In many ways, I saw myself in Jessie, though I never had the desire to be in a school play. Jessie’s relationships with those around her were ones I heard about from my two girls as they navigated the life that is high school. There’s making friends, losing friends, crushes, dating, breaking up, and the heartache of it all is described perfectly in this book.

Something More is classified as a young-adult romance. But to me, it is much more than that. To me, this is a contemporary slice of life that is so relatable.

My biggest issue with the book was the ages of the main characters. Jessie turned 15 before we ever met her, and she’s excited to start high school in grade 9. Levi just turned 16, and he’s in grade 10. Maybe it’s just me, and the fact that my birthday was later in the year, but those ages feel off for the Canadian education system. My youngest daughter turned 15 in the middle of grade 9, as her birthday is in January. Also, at one point in the novel, Levi is driving alone at age 16. If you don’t live in Ontario, Canada, you may not see that as a flaw. But in Ontario, you don’t get to drive alone until you’ve been driving for at least a year, and you can’t start driving until you turn 16. As I said, this is an issue I have because I know the details aren’t quite right. And in other places, these ages and actions may be correct.

Overall, Something More has plenty of fun and drama! There’s character growth, messy families, and lots of fun. If you enjoy Lynn Painter’s YA books, I honestly feel you would enjoy Something More.

DNF around page 100. While not a bad story, it's told in a way that makes it hard to follow the revolving cast of characters. Bouncing from modern times back to WWII, then to postwar Russia, and back to the war makes it hard to keep track of what's happening and to whom.

I added My Roommate Is a Vampire to my TBR when I first learned about it, almost a year before its release. It saddens me to know that it has taken me this long to read it. Overall, I enjoyed my time with Cassie and Fredrick.

I found this to be a quick and easy read, full of interesting characters. Though he is only a side character, Reginald is great fun and one I would love to know more about. Thankfully, he is one of the main characters in Levine’s second book, My Vampire Plus-One. Even Edwina, Fredrick’s mom, is an interesting character.

While there are some sexy scenes, most of those are over the halfway point of the book. In general, I would classify this as a slow-burn romance with a lot of will-they-or-won’t-they energy. From the moment Cassie meets Fredrick, she admits he’s the sexist man she’s ever met. And through Fredrick’s diary entries and texts with Reginald, we learn he is attracted to Cassie.

Most of the story is told in the first person from Cassie’s POV. However, most of the chapters do start with something from Fredrick. There are a few places where Fredrick’s thoughts are interjected in the middle of a chapter.

My biggest issue is Cassie herself. While it’s great to have a character who doesn’t have their stuff together, it gets a tad frustrating when they seem to ignore the assistance offered by their friends and family. I guess what I’m trying to say is that Cassie has a little too much woe-is-me energy for my liking.

Overall, My Roommate Is a Vampire is a quick and easy read that is lots of fun. Who will enjoy it? Honestly, that depends on how you like your vampires. Fredrick is not a sparkling, sex-crazed, needs to bite everyone kind of vampire. He’s more of a dark, broody one. But he’s more than that, too.

This is not your typical Christie novel. While there's a mystery or two, Postern of Fate is more of a recap of Tommy & Tuppence's adventures while they have one more.

I read some where that this was Christie's last novel, and that she made voice recordings of it over typing it out. As such, the story may be a bit more meandering than people expect.htt

As someone who grew up in the 1980s, I remember watching Fox as Alex P. Keaton every week, though mostly after the period covered in the book. And like most Gen-X, I remember watching him as Marty McFly for the first time. For me, it wasn’t on the big screen, but the impact of Back to the Future was the same no matter what! So it felt like a no-brainer to read Future Boy. And I’m glad that I did.

From reading Future Boy, I learned things about the filming of Back to the Future that I hadn’t known. Like someone else had originally been cast to play Marty McFly. That seems preposterous to me. It turns out the role was actually written for Fox, but he wasn’t initially offered it because of his obligations to Family Ties.

I listened to the audiobook, which Fox himself narrated, and I highly recommend it as well. There are sound bites of various interviews conducted while writing the book. The physical copy has photos from Fox’s life, both before he became famous and from the sets of both the show and the movie.

Overall, anyone interested in TV and movie production would enjoy reading Future Boy. I also recommend it to everyone in search of a quick, refreshing, and blunt memoir.

I want to thank Tor Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Dead Weight. All opinions presented here are my own.

I requested the ARC for Dead Weight for two reasons. The first, because I’ve read a book by Knútsdóttir a couple of years ago, and found it interesting. The second is that Knútsdóttir is from Iceland. I suppose I have a weakness for Icelandic authors, even if their genre isn’t my normal.

Now, let’s talk about Dead Weight. This can be a quick read, as it’s around 160 pages. But you may find yourself taking it slowly with the first half or so. Well, after you get past the prologue and the first little bit of the first chapter. But once the ball starts rolling, it speeds to the finish line.

Yes, the events of the final few chapters are obvious from the beginning. But I wasn’t certain who it would be until a chapter or so before it happened. And just because you know what’s coming doesn’t mean it’s not worth the read.

Dead Weight is marketed as a horror; it’s more than that. Yes, there are horror elements, including some blood and gore. But it’s also a look at what happens when people get pushed to the edge. While none of the characters are what one would call good people, you will find yourself able to relate to Unnur’s thoughts and actions as the book progresses.

If you’re looking for a book with interesting pacing and story arc, you should give

With that ending, there had better be a 5th book! Someone, please, tell me there's another one coming?

I’ve finally read a Hannah Bonam-Young book, and I find myself wondering what took me so long! Truthfully, I wasn’t sure I wanted to read Out on a Limb because I didn’t think I could relate to the characters. And in many ways, I didn’t. But I did connect with Win and her concerns about a previous relationship impacting a new relationship. I feel that we are all concerned about our previous relationships impacting us when starting a new relationship. While I never had one like her, I could still understand her fears—the same was true for Bo.

Out on a Limb is told through Win’s POV. As such, it was great to see her inner turmoil with her feelings for Bo. Occasionally, though, I did wish that we could have Bo’s POV. What were his thoughts about his feelings for Win?

I found myself cheering for them throughout the story, and may have squealed with joy and excitement a few times while reading. Their relationship felt real, and while not everyone could afford to do what they did, I was great to see Win finally see she’s worthy of everything she gives to others.

Overall, Out on a Limb is a fun read that I think many people will connect with. And I, for one, cannot wait to read more by Bonam-Young!