Happy Friday Everyone :)
A couple of weeks ago, I participated in a Christmas In July readathon. I talked about it in a previous blog post which you can find here, and I have to say I really ended up enjoying it for the most part.
It was kind of fun to sink myself into holiday themed reads during the middle of the heat, humidity and crazy busy times at work, and I may have to do one of these every July.
Today I'd like to share a review with you all of one of the books I read for the readathon.
This particular title was for the group book challenge. The host of the challenge picked this book for everyone participating to read, and it ended up being a pretty enjoyable read for me for the most part.
The Christmas Sisters by Sarah Morgan:
Source: Library
Publisher: HQN
Publication Date: September 25th, 2018
Genre: Women's Fiction
Synopsis:
In the snowy Highlands of Scotland, Suzanne McBride is dreaming of the perfect cozy Christmas. Her three adopted daughters are coming home for the holidays and she can’t wait to see them. But tensions are running high…
Workaholic Hannah knows she can’t avoid spending the holidays with her family two years in a row. But it’s not the weight of their expectations that’s panicking her—it’s the life-changing secret she’s hiding. Stay-at-home mom Beth is having a personal crisis. All she wants for Christmas is time to decide if she’s ready to return to work—seeing everyone was supposed to help her stress levels, not increase them! Posy isn’t sure she’s living her best life, but with her parents depending on her, making a change seems risky. But not as risky as falling for gorgeous new neighbor Luke…
As Suzanne’s dreams of the perfect McBride Christmas unravel, she must rely on the magic of the season to bring her daughters together. But will this new togetherness teach the sisters that their close-knit bond is strong enough to withstand anything—including a family Christmas?
(synopsis from goodreads)
My Review:
I can personally see The Christmas Sisters by Sarah Morgan becoming a new holiday favorite for many readers. With beautiful storytelling, a festive holiday atmosphere, and engaging, well developed characters; this particular Christmas story was a pleasant surprise, and put me right into the holiday spirit.
Suzanne McBride's life didn't exactly take the route she'd thought it would. As a young adult, she lost her closest friends in a horrific accident; and ever since she's been plagued with a bad case of survivor's guilt. It's bad enough that she was the only survivor, but her best friend left behind three beautiful young daughters that Suzanne and her husband end up adopting, and Suzanne's always been worried that she won't be able to help them through their extreme grief.
The years have passed, and while Suzanne's youngest daughter Posy has chosen to remain in Scotland near her parent's, her older two, Beth and Hannah, have made new lives for themselves in New York, and she doesn't get to see them nearly as much as she would like. This Christmas the whole family is going to be together again in Scotland for the first time in awhile, and Suzanne is determined it's going to be perfect. However, each of her daughter's are dealing with their own personal hurts and sufferings, and the three haven't had a close relationship in years.
Hannah is scared of commitment and doesn't see herself ever truly falling in love. Posy wants more out of her life than she currently has, but she's scared to admit that fact to anyone. Beth isn't content with her life as a stay at home mom anymore, and she's frustrated that her husband can't seem to understand her feelings on this. As the three come home for Christmas, past grief and anguish will come to light as previous memories are unfolded, and Suzanne's perfect Christmas is definitely not turning out quite the way she had planned.
Told in the viewpoints of each McBride woman, The Christmas Sisters is a heartbreakingly honest holiday story that will have readers glued to each and every page. The storytelling is beautiful, the setting makes you feel like you're right their with the characters, and the familial bond that plays throughout the story was probably my favorite part. Sarah Morgan is a talented storyteller, and knows exactly how to balance heavier story lines with witty banter to keep the story fresh and exciting to the reader.
My only complaints were that I could have done without some of the sexual content interlaced throughout the plot, and also, that the character of Beth grated on my nerves throughout most of the story. Overall though, this was a surprisingly, refreshing holiday tale, and I'm glad I got the chance to read it.
Final Rating: 3.5/5
Thanks so much for reading guys! Have a great rest of your day!
This is not a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. The photo does not belong to me and all rights to the respective owners.
A couple of weeks ago, I participated in a Christmas In July readathon. I talked about it in a previous blog post which you can find here, and I have to say I really ended up enjoying it for the most part.
It was kind of fun to sink myself into holiday themed reads during the middle of the heat, humidity and crazy busy times at work, and I may have to do one of these every July.
Today I'd like to share a review with you all of one of the books I read for the readathon.
This particular title was for the group book challenge. The host of the challenge picked this book for everyone participating to read, and it ended up being a pretty enjoyable read for me for the most part.
The Christmas Sisters by Sarah Morgan:
Source: Library
Publisher: HQN
Publication Date: September 25th, 2018
Genre: Women's Fiction
Synopsis:
In the snowy Highlands of Scotland, Suzanne McBride is dreaming of the perfect cozy Christmas. Her three adopted daughters are coming home for the holidays and she can’t wait to see them. But tensions are running high…
Workaholic Hannah knows she can’t avoid spending the holidays with her family two years in a row. But it’s not the weight of their expectations that’s panicking her—it’s the life-changing secret she’s hiding. Stay-at-home mom Beth is having a personal crisis. All she wants for Christmas is time to decide if she’s ready to return to work—seeing everyone was supposed to help her stress levels, not increase them! Posy isn’t sure she’s living her best life, but with her parents depending on her, making a change seems risky. But not as risky as falling for gorgeous new neighbor Luke…
As Suzanne’s dreams of the perfect McBride Christmas unravel, she must rely on the magic of the season to bring her daughters together. But will this new togetherness teach the sisters that their close-knit bond is strong enough to withstand anything—including a family Christmas?
(synopsis from goodreads)
My Review:
I can personally see The Christmas Sisters by Sarah Morgan becoming a new holiday favorite for many readers. With beautiful storytelling, a festive holiday atmosphere, and engaging, well developed characters; this particular Christmas story was a pleasant surprise, and put me right into the holiday spirit.
Suzanne McBride's life didn't exactly take the route she'd thought it would. As a young adult, she lost her closest friends in a horrific accident; and ever since she's been plagued with a bad case of survivor's guilt. It's bad enough that she was the only survivor, but her best friend left behind three beautiful young daughters that Suzanne and her husband end up adopting, and Suzanne's always been worried that she won't be able to help them through their extreme grief.
The years have passed, and while Suzanne's youngest daughter Posy has chosen to remain in Scotland near her parent's, her older two, Beth and Hannah, have made new lives for themselves in New York, and she doesn't get to see them nearly as much as she would like. This Christmas the whole family is going to be together again in Scotland for the first time in awhile, and Suzanne is determined it's going to be perfect. However, each of her daughter's are dealing with their own personal hurts and sufferings, and the three haven't had a close relationship in years.
Hannah is scared of commitment and doesn't see herself ever truly falling in love. Posy wants more out of her life than she currently has, but she's scared to admit that fact to anyone. Beth isn't content with her life as a stay at home mom anymore, and she's frustrated that her husband can't seem to understand her feelings on this. As the three come home for Christmas, past grief and anguish will come to light as previous memories are unfolded, and Suzanne's perfect Christmas is definitely not turning out quite the way she had planned.
Told in the viewpoints of each McBride woman, The Christmas Sisters is a heartbreakingly honest holiday story that will have readers glued to each and every page. The storytelling is beautiful, the setting makes you feel like you're right their with the characters, and the familial bond that plays throughout the story was probably my favorite part. Sarah Morgan is a talented storyteller, and knows exactly how to balance heavier story lines with witty banter to keep the story fresh and exciting to the reader.
My only complaints were that I could have done without some of the sexual content interlaced throughout the plot, and also, that the character of Beth grated on my nerves throughout most of the story. Overall though, this was a surprisingly, refreshing holiday tale, and I'm glad I got the chance to read it.
Final Rating: 3.5/5
Thanks so much for reading guys! Have a great rest of your day!
This is not a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. The photo does not belong to me and all rights to the respective owners.
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