Welcome everyone to the eighteenth day of Blogmas :)
This past weekend I was blessed to have had both Saturday and Sunday off, and I had a fun weekend with my friends and family, and actually had some time to catch up on writing blog posts, getting housework done, wrapping presents and baking cookies.
I finally had the time to type up a review for a book that I finished near the start of December, and that's the review I'm excited to share with all of you today.
A Cliche Christmas by Nicole Deese:
Source: Purchased for myself
Publisher: Waterfall Press
Publication Date: October 7th, 2014
Genre: Inspirational Fiction/Contemporary Romance
Synopsis:
Writing happy endings is easy. Living one is the hard part.
Georgia Cole—known in Hollywood as the “Holiday Goddess”—has made a name for herself writing heartwarming screenplays chock-full of Christmas clichés, but she has yet to experience the true magic of the season. So, when her eccentric grandmother volunteers her to direct a pageant at Georgia’s hometown community theater, she is less than thrilled. To make matters worse, she’ll be working alongside Weston James, her childhood crush and the one man she has tried desperately to forget.
Now, facing memories of a lonely childhood and the humiliation of her last onstage performance, seven years earlier, Georgia is on the verge of a complete mistletoe meltdown. As Weston attempts to thaw the frozen walls around her heart, Georgia endeavors to let go of her fears and give love a second chance. If she does, will she finally believe that Christmas can be more than a cliché?
My Review:
One of the main reasons I was so drawn to this particular novel was the fact that the plot point about the main character being a screen writer of Christmas movies for the Hallmark channel definitely stood out to me as something I thought I would love. However, I was quite surprised by just how amazing this sweet, contemporary Christmas novel actually was, and it definitely left an imprint on me that I wasn't entirely expecting.
Georgia Cole has done her best to avoid her hometown, and Christmas since she left for California seven years ago. Growing up, she always knew her mother considered her the mistake that ruined her life, and after her best friend embarrasses her during their big scene in the town's Christmas pageant, she's had enough and she takes off for the big city to make her dreams come true. She's worked her way into the film and screen industry as a talented screenwriter of Christmas stories, and since she lives the Christmas season eleven months out of the year, the actual Christmas season is spent in avoidance while taking her Grandmother on a fancy vacation, like this year's two week extravaganza to the shoreline of Hawaii. However, nothing ends up going the way Georgia had planned this year when her Gran instead insists she comes back home to help her hometown throw a Christmas pageant fundraiser for a little girl with cancer. And the little girl with cancer who Georgia is immediately smitten with, and wants to help? Yeah, she just happens to be the niece of Weston James, her former best friend who was one of the main reasons she left her hometown in the first. However, Weston seems to remember everything that went down differently, and this Christmas may just change everything Georgia's spent the last seven years believing.
One of my favorite aspects of this novel was the way that Nicole Deese blends the faith element in so realistically, and so authentically. It's never done in a way that really stands out to the reader, and instead it just seems like part of the story, and more like second nature than anything else. The character's definitely understand the importance of faith, but it's just blended in so well that this novel never comes across as preachy, and that's something that I really enjoy when inspirational writers portray it as so. As well, Nicole Deese beautifully touches on the idea of how running away from a problem is not truly dealing with a problem, and no matter how successful you become, it won't ever make up for what you've lost in the past if you've not found yourself a way of truly dealing with it. Insecurities,second chances, cancer, mean girls, familial issues, failing to live up to someone else's expectations-these are all deeper concepts that the author dives into headfirst in this touching story, and the way the characters overcome these obstacles really had an impact on me throughout this story.
The romance that develops between Georgia and Weston was so touching and beautiful, and it definitely had me rooting for them right from the start. Weston was such an amazing main character, and definitely had a huge heart. He's doing everything he can for his niece, he does everything in his power to help his students, and he jumps into help Georgia, despite the cold shoulder he often receives back from her. As well, Georgia's character was one that I loved right from the opening chapter. Although her childhood dealt her some pretty hard breaks, her Gran is one person who meant the world to her, and she's willing to put aside her feelings for her hometown and the negative memories associated with it, to help her Gran out, and help the town be able to put on the beloved Christmas pageant in support of one adorable little girl.
Overall, this novel had me hooked right from the get go, and I adored Nicole Deese's beautiful writing style, and the way she was able to turn a simple contemporary Christmas novel into so much more. This is probably one of the best inspirational romances I've ever personally read, and I ended up rating it four out of five stars. I definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a new holiday read, and or anyone who's been looking for an amazing faith based holiday story. I will definitely be picking up more books from Nicole Deese in the future, and I'm so glad that this book ended up exceeding the expectations I had for it!
Thanks so much for reading guys! I'll see you all again tomorrow for Blogmas Day Nineteen which I'm hoping will be my first DITL post for this year's Blogmas series!
This is not a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. The tree photo was taken by me, and belongs to me. The book cover photo does not belong to me, and all rights to the respective owners.
I finally had the time to type up a review for a book that I finished near the start of December, and that's the review I'm excited to share with all of you today.
A Cliche Christmas by Nicole Deese:
Source: Purchased for myself
Publisher: Waterfall Press
Publication Date: October 7th, 2014
Genre: Inspirational Fiction/Contemporary Romance
Synopsis:
Writing happy endings is easy. Living one is the hard part.
Georgia Cole—known in Hollywood as the “Holiday Goddess”—has made a name for herself writing heartwarming screenplays chock-full of Christmas clichés, but she has yet to experience the true magic of the season. So, when her eccentric grandmother volunteers her to direct a pageant at Georgia’s hometown community theater, she is less than thrilled. To make matters worse, she’ll be working alongside Weston James, her childhood crush and the one man she has tried desperately to forget.
Now, facing memories of a lonely childhood and the humiliation of her last onstage performance, seven years earlier, Georgia is on the verge of a complete mistletoe meltdown. As Weston attempts to thaw the frozen walls around her heart, Georgia endeavors to let go of her fears and give love a second chance. If she does, will she finally believe that Christmas can be more than a cliché?
My Review:
One of the main reasons I was so drawn to this particular novel was the fact that the plot point about the main character being a screen writer of Christmas movies for the Hallmark channel definitely stood out to me as something I thought I would love. However, I was quite surprised by just how amazing this sweet, contemporary Christmas novel actually was, and it definitely left an imprint on me that I wasn't entirely expecting.
Georgia Cole has done her best to avoid her hometown, and Christmas since she left for California seven years ago. Growing up, she always knew her mother considered her the mistake that ruined her life, and after her best friend embarrasses her during their big scene in the town's Christmas pageant, she's had enough and she takes off for the big city to make her dreams come true. She's worked her way into the film and screen industry as a talented screenwriter of Christmas stories, and since she lives the Christmas season eleven months out of the year, the actual Christmas season is spent in avoidance while taking her Grandmother on a fancy vacation, like this year's two week extravaganza to the shoreline of Hawaii. However, nothing ends up going the way Georgia had planned this year when her Gran instead insists she comes back home to help her hometown throw a Christmas pageant fundraiser for a little girl with cancer. And the little girl with cancer who Georgia is immediately smitten with, and wants to help? Yeah, she just happens to be the niece of Weston James, her former best friend who was one of the main reasons she left her hometown in the first. However, Weston seems to remember everything that went down differently, and this Christmas may just change everything Georgia's spent the last seven years believing.
One of my favorite aspects of this novel was the way that Nicole Deese blends the faith element in so realistically, and so authentically. It's never done in a way that really stands out to the reader, and instead it just seems like part of the story, and more like second nature than anything else. The character's definitely understand the importance of faith, but it's just blended in so well that this novel never comes across as preachy, and that's something that I really enjoy when inspirational writers portray it as so. As well, Nicole Deese beautifully touches on the idea of how running away from a problem is not truly dealing with a problem, and no matter how successful you become, it won't ever make up for what you've lost in the past if you've not found yourself a way of truly dealing with it. Insecurities,second chances, cancer, mean girls, familial issues, failing to live up to someone else's expectations-these are all deeper concepts that the author dives into headfirst in this touching story, and the way the characters overcome these obstacles really had an impact on me throughout this story.
The romance that develops between Georgia and Weston was so touching and beautiful, and it definitely had me rooting for them right from the start. Weston was such an amazing main character, and definitely had a huge heart. He's doing everything he can for his niece, he does everything in his power to help his students, and he jumps into help Georgia, despite the cold shoulder he often receives back from her. As well, Georgia's character was one that I loved right from the opening chapter. Although her childhood dealt her some pretty hard breaks, her Gran is one person who meant the world to her, and she's willing to put aside her feelings for her hometown and the negative memories associated with it, to help her Gran out, and help the town be able to put on the beloved Christmas pageant in support of one adorable little girl.
Overall, this novel had me hooked right from the get go, and I adored Nicole Deese's beautiful writing style, and the way she was able to turn a simple contemporary Christmas novel into so much more. This is probably one of the best inspirational romances I've ever personally read, and I ended up rating it four out of five stars. I definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a new holiday read, and or anyone who's been looking for an amazing faith based holiday story. I will definitely be picking up more books from Nicole Deese in the future, and I'm so glad that this book ended up exceeding the expectations I had for it!
Thanks so much for reading guys! I'll see you all again tomorrow for Blogmas Day Nineteen which I'm hoping will be my first DITL post for this year's Blogmas series!
This is not a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. The tree photo was taken by me, and belongs to me. The book cover photo does not belong to me, and all rights to the respective owners.
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