Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow....

As some of you probably know by now I have a thing for Christmas books.  Especially romance Christmas books.  And with covers like these who can blame me.

There is just something about the idea of a roaring fire and snow and mulled wine and snow and gingerbread and snow.... that makes me go all gooey and warm.

And did I mention the snow?  I did?  Oh good.

That I have currently got nearly all of these at home waiting for the holidays to start so that I can curl up on the couch and fall into a Christmasy romance hole will come as no surprise then.

Now someone hand me a glass of that mulled wine...

The Twelve Posts of Christmas: Excuse Me While I Curl Up On The Sofa...

I'm a sucker for a good romance story and I have a special weakest for Christmas romance stories.  There's just something about these holiday themed books that makes me feel all warm and glowy and probably explains, at least in part, my addiction to all things Christmasy.

Luckily here at Auckland Libraries we have heap to choose from so I have no trouble in adding to my growing to-be-read pile which at this time of year can get rather... big.  It's a good thing I have a very large book bag to take them all home with.

Still it's worthwhile because I can then curl up on the sofa with a bowl of cherries, a mince pie... or two and a pile of books to work my way through.

The only problem is deciding which one to start with first...

Mistletoe on Main Street / Olivia Miles.

Briar Creek's quaint shop windows, cozy homes nestled in snow, and neighborly residents are what Christmas dreams are made of--for everyone except Grace Madison. She left her hometown years ago to pursue a writing career. But when her father's death leaves his bookstore empty, Grace must return to face why she fled Vermont in the first place: Luke Hastings, who still heats her up like a shot of smoky whiskey on a cold winter's night.

Where the heart is / Darcy Blake.

The simple life is all Chloe English hoped it would be until her house burns down, leaving her homeless. When a handsome firefighter swoops in to save the day, she can't believe her luck. He's laid-back and unassuming, everything she's looking for in a man - or so he seems. It turns out he's as ambitious as her ex, comes with a family who could be more stifling than hers, and harbors dark secrets he may never be able to share. Can she help him face his bleak past so they can forge a happy future?

The heart of Christmas / Brenda Novak.

Eve Harmon has always enjoyed Christmas, but this year it reminds her of everything she doesn't have.  A husband and kids of her own. But the B and B she manages, and even Whiskey Creek, the small Gold Country town where she was born and raised, suddenly seem confining. There's no one in the area she could even imagine as a husband until a handsome stranger comes to town. Eve's definitely attracted to him, and he seems to have the same reaction to her. But his darkly mysterious past could ruin Eve's happily ever after just when it finally seems within reach. 

All he wants for Christmas / Lisa Plumley.

Jason Hamilton is on thin ice with the board of his toy company. The young CEO may be a kid at heart, but his party boy reputation requires damage control. So, Jason's off to Kismet to inspect a model store and stick to business--no goofing around. Which is too bad, because the store manager, Danielle Sharpe, is the definition of what makes Naughty fun. Danielle is thrilled to show off her thriving little toy store. But if she'd known Jason was this hot, she wouldn't have offered to host him.

A Christmas to remember / Jenny Hale.

Carrie Blake loves her job as a nanny but, while her friends are settling down, all of Carrie’s spare time is spent with other people’s families. Though it breaks her heart, her New Year’s resolution is to embark on a new career and fix her love life.  As Carrie starts her last job, she’s sure she’ll be going out on a high - the only problem could be her boss… single-dad Adam Fletcher might be both handsome and successful, but he’s always working. 

Doesn’t he realise he’s missing out on precious moments with his son and daughter?

It must have been the mistletoe / Judy Astley.

Thea's parents have split up but still seem to be together. Both her younger sister and her brother are Smug Marrieds. But Thea is single and very much wishes she wasn't. When her mother and father plan a great family Christmas in a big house by the sea, the idea is to make it all great fun and tremendously civilised - not remotely complicated despite the fact that what they will really be celebrating is the final break-up of their marriage and the Moving On to new partners. And the new partners will also be there - and why not? It's what they do in Sweden, apparently, and it all works out fine. But will they move on? And will Thea manage to navigate her way through the forced jollities and family disasters to find some happiness for herself?

I'm Dreaming Of A White Christmas...

As some of you may know I have a love hate relationship with Christmas.

I love the idea but hate the reality.  The heat, the shopping, the crowds.  The whole general un-Christmasy feel of it all.

I want snow damn it.

Thick, white, glorious snow that you can make snowmen out of or lay down on, making Christmas angels.  And I want a roaring fire that I can curl up in front of with a pile of books and a cozy blanket.  And I want Christmas markets where I can buy egg-nog and mulled wine and Christmas cookies and gingerbread men and beautiful hand made Christmas ornaments. 

Basically I want the Christmas of my dreams.  Until then I just have to settle for the huge range of Christmas books that we have got at Auckland Libraries to fulfil my Christmas wishes.

Calling Mrs Christmas / Carole Matthews

"Cassie Smith has been out of work for a while but she has an idea. Drawing on her love of Christmas, she begins charging for small things: wrapping presents; writing cards; tree-decorating. She's soon in huge demand and Cassie's business, Calling Mrs Christmas, is born."

 Wish upon a star / Trisha Ashley.

"Single mum Cally’s life is all about her little girl Stella. But life gets very tough when Stella gets sick. Balancing her job as a recipe writer and looking after Stella is all consuming, so when Cally meets handsome baker Jago the last thing she wants to do is fall in love...

Christmas at Rosie Hopkins' sweetshop / Jenny Colgan

"Rosie Hopkins is looking forward to Christmas in the little Derbyshire village of Lipton, buried under a thick blanket of snow. But when a tragedy strikes at the heart of their little community, all of Rosie's plans for the future seem to be blown apart. Can she build a life in Lipton? And is what's best for the sweetshop also what's best for Rosie?"

 
Take me home for Christmas / Brenda Novak

"Christmas is a time for remembering….  Too bad all memories aren't pleasant. Everyone in Whiskey Creek remembers Sophia DeBussi as the town's Mean Girl. Especially Ted Dixon, whose love she once scorned.   But Sophia has paid the price for her youthful transgressions and is reduced to looking for any kind of work to pay the bills and support her daughter. With no other options, she becomes housekeeper for none other than Ted."

Just for Christmas / by Scarlett Bailey

"When Alex Munro learns that the love of her life is getting married to another girl, all she wants is to be alone.  Moving to a Cornish cottage Alex finds that her new neighbours are determined to involve her in their madcap Christmas festivities.  Then she meets her sexy neighbour Ruan - and somehow Alex doesn't want to be alone this Christmas after all. But having lost one fiance, Ruan has no intention of letting anyone get close to him again."

 
The cowboy's Christmas courtship / Brenda Minton

"With her mortgaged farm and two jobs, Layla Silver is struggling to keep afloat for the holidays. But does she need Gage Cooper riding to her rescue? Back in high school, Gage was nobody's hero. Now he's an injured bull rider home for Christmas to make amends for his checkered past. And something about the stubborn, beautiful Layla has him wanting more than forgiveness. Can a wandering cowboy turn a Christmas courtship into an everlasting love?"

Summer Reads Just For Us Chicks

There are times when I almost hate my job or, more accurately, regret my job.

Just when I think I've got my reading list under control I start browsing through web pages and book lists hunting for new titles to blog about and suddenly I find myself adding more and more titles to my own reading list.

It's a bit like the finger in the dyke story only the idea of being flooded with books actually sounds quite nice.  Though if they were to come all at once it could, I think, be quite painful.

Death by book avalanche anyone?

There is, I fear, no hope for me and my never ending reading list.

Even if I wasn't a librarian my reading list would still be out of control.  There's just something about their glossy covers and blurbs that tempt me with whispered words that I can't resist.

I'm an addict I know and it's an addiction that I hope never leaves me however much I sometimes regret my endlessly long reading list.

This year there seems to have been particularly busy year in the book world with a plethora of new titles streaming out or perhaps it's just that my reading has reached epic proportions, either way I know that I'm going to be having a very busy summer working my way through an increasingly large pile of books.

From fashion to murder to romance hopefully there is something here for everyone.

Christmas fiction for non-Grinches

Yes, yes, a post with a Christmas theme. What else would I be doing in December? (Aside from vacuuming tinsel off the carpet at regular intervals.) Thank goodness my family has gone to a ballot system for Christmas presents - one name, one present. So much easier.

Anyway, suppose I should talk about books, given that's what my masters let me out for. Christmas-themed anythings tend to bring me out in hives - especially holiday films and Mariah Carey albums - but I realise not everyone is as Grinchy as I am. Some of you even listen to Cliff Richard year-round. There is no hope for you.

To put fellow Grinches in the festive mood, here is a holiday assortment of Christmassy titles - some romance, some family dramas, some with a gripping mystery. To cater for those who love Christmas lists, I have attached the same.

We are an all-inclusive organisation.

By the way, you may notice extended loan periods kicking off around now, meaning you get to relax and take your time reading your holiday books. Our present to you.

With Love at Christmas

Juliet Joyce adores Christmas. She loves the presents, the tree, the turkey, the tinsel, everything. But this Christmas things are starting to get out of hand. Her son Tom is out of work and bringing home a slew of unsuitable partners; pregnant daughter Chloe and her little boy have moved back in; Juliet's father, Frank, is getting over a heartbreak of his own and Rita, her eccentric mother, is behaving more erratically each day. And has the chaos got too much for Juliet's husband Rick? With the big day fast approaching, Juliet hopes that she can stop everything spiralling out of control.

A Christmas Garland
The year is 1857, soon after the tragic Siege of Cawnpore. In the British garrison, a guard is killed and an Indian prisoner escapes, which leads to yet more British deaths. Cries for revenge are overwhelming. Despite no witnesses and no evidence, British medical orderly named John Tallis is arrested as an accomplice simply because he was the only soldier unaccounted for when these baffling crimes were committed. Chosen to defend Tallis, young Lieutenant Victor Narraway is not encouraged to try very hard. But with the help of a simple Christmas garland Narraway is determined to persevere.

Twelve Clues of Christmas
While serving as an assistant to the hostess of a large Christmas house party in Tiddleton-under-Lovey, Lady Georgiana Rannoch calls in her retired copper grandfather after dead bodies begin showing up in this fun 1930s crime caper.

Married by Christmas

All she wants is the perfect Christmas Eve wedding. It's been on Anna's wish-list since she was a little girl, dreaming of a far happier family life than she'd ever experienced. But now - only two weeks before her big day - her husband-to-be drops a bombshell...Only nothing's going to stop Anna's plans - not even the pesky inconvenience of discovering her groom already has a wife.

Merry Little Christmas
With four children, a Christmas cookbook to write, and her mum suffering from dementia, Cat Tinsall has plenty to juggle. When her eldest daughter, Mel, starts going off the rails, Cat has even more on her plate. Pippa Holliday adores her family, although often finds her hands full. When Dan is involved in a terrible accident, Pippa's world is suddenly turned upside down. Balancing her job as a school teacher with twins and her step-son Steven, isn't easy for Marianne North. With her husband's ex causing trouble, life is getting even trickier. As Cat, Pippa and Marianne help each other through a difficult year, they're all hoping for a much brighter Christmas.

Winter Flame
Eve has never liked Christmas, not since her beloved fiance was killed in Afghanistan on Christmas Day. So when her adored aunt dies, the last thing she is expecting is to be left a theme park in her will. A theme park with a Christmas theme. However, her aunt's will stipulates that Eve must run the park with a mysterious partner, the exotically named Jacques Glace. Who is this Jacques, and why did Aunt Evelyn name him in her will? But Eve isn't going to back down from a challenge. And maybe Jacques and his crazy ideas to make Winterworld more Christmassy than Lapland can melt Eve's frozen heart?

Deadly Patterns

Bliss, Texas, is gearing up for its annual Winter Wonderland festival, but when a mysterious Scrooge ends the merriment with murder, it'll take more than a ghost from Christmas past to set things right.

Merry Christmas, Alex Cross
It's Christmas Eve and Detective Alex Cross is called away from his family to resolve a horrific hostage situation that is spiralling out of control.

What Happens at Christmas
Camille, Lady Lydingham, wants an official engagement to a handsome, dashing prince for Christmas, but her plans go awry when she organizes a party for him to meet her unconventional relatives--and a former love interest also shows up.

Twas the Night After Christmas
Pierce Waverly, the Earl of Devonmont, has been estranged from his mother for most of his life. When his mother's new companion, Mrs. Camilla Stuart, writes to tell him that his mother is seriously ill, he goes home. But when he learns that the lovely widow tricked him in order to effect a holiday reconciliation, he refuses to stay unless she meets his "terms".

Some Kind of Fairy Tale

It is Christmas afternoon and Peter Martin gets an unexpected call from his parents. They have a visitor. His sister Tara. Twenty years ago Tara took a walk into the woods and never came back. The family have assumed that she was dead. Now she's back, dirty, dishevelled, but happy and full of stories about twenty years spent travelling the world. But her stories don't quite hang together. The intervening years have been very kind to Tara. She looks no different from the young woman who walked out the door twenty years ago. Peter's parents are just delighted to have their little girl back, but Peter and his friend Richie, Tara's one time boyfriend, are not so sure. Some would say it's as if she's off with the fairies. And Peter begins to suspect that the woods are not finished with Tara and his family.

As the Baron cried out: "Merry Christmas, my friend!"