Love and Lies at the Village Christmas Shop by Portia MacIntosh

Rating:

3 Stars

Themes:

Psychological Fiction, Romance, Christmas

Thoughts:

When I picked this book up I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into as I went in blind and at first couldn’t decide if it was a romance or psychological fiction and it turns out to be the perfect blending of both. The story around the town and the characters own lives holds its own and doesn’t lose anything to the main characters developments. The FMC is a strong and independent individual but still manages to maintain strong connections to her family and the town which is great to read. The premise of it being Christmas everyday is such a cool idea but I have a feeling I would end up the same way as Holly after too long of it. I like how the romance felt slow and natural with the first meeting really setting us up and then the conflict of their needs turning them almost into enemies with moments that gave us hope. I also think that the (real Christmas in the book is just perfect with what Christmas means to each of the different people.

Favourite Quote:

"You can't beat a good book, can you? The way it just drags you in, taking you into someone else's life, into their home, their relationship -into their everything. It's a sneak peek into something you don't usually get to see, and I think that's why I love it so much. Whether ľ'm walking through the streets in King's Landing in A Game of Thrones or being a fly on the wall in Nick and Amy's house in Gone Girl, people are living a million lives far more interesting than mine, and with books, I get to live them too."

Comments

Mint and Murder by Carly Winter

Rating: Stars Themes: Short Story, Cosy Mystery Thoughts: Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I had to read this book, seeing it was available, after reading Pipers Piping and Puppies last year. I did read it as a standalone (it’s not the first time I’ve read a series out of order and likely won’t be the last) I managed to follow along fine although I’m sure I’d have understood the relationship dynamics better had I read it in the correct order. I found the story great and as for the mystery I was guessing myself right the way through until Sam figured it out. Sam is a strong female main character who feels worth investing in so I may have to go search some more of the Heywood Herbalist series out. I enjoyed seeing Sam interact with her friends as they had great chemistry and it felt real, and also really liked Sam’s interactions with Doug as it added another layer of humanity to her and reality to the town. I would love ...

Shame-Sex Attraction by Lucas Wilson

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, LGBTQ+ Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is definitely a difficult read and it took me quite a while to get through it for that very reason. It is split up into 17 different peoples experiences with a foreword and afterword. It’s definitely an important read for many as these practices are still legal in many countries, including my own, and without knowledge of the damage of the practices many may not join in the protests or sign the petitions to try to get laws in place. As a member of the community myself I found some of these stories such as the ‘Sniffing the Gay Away’ and ‘Convert’ especially difficult to read and reminded me just how lucky I was to have such a supportive and loving community around me. I appreciated that the afterword highlighted the limitations of the collection such as having little to no religious, geographical or racial diversity but that they did try to ga...

Porn is Not Sex Ed! by Jessica Melendez

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Young Adult Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. In the age of lessening sex education this book could be a great tool to help bridge the gap. I appreciate the talk to an adult bits that can encourage children to start to have conversations that are important but they often think are cringy. The note to trusted adults bit at the end is great too and there’s quite a few useful activities to help the messages really sink in. Some of the points here such as fetishisation and body image are really important ones that I never learned that young (which could be the reason I had such poor body image as a teen) and for the most part the book talks to kids on their level although some areas may feel a little immaturely worded for older teens. With thanks to Hachette UK and Netgalley for my advanced digital copy of this book.

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