DNF Review - All Booked Up by Melody Carlson

All Booked Up by Melody Carlson - DNF

Did Not Finish after roughly one third of the book. 

The premise is a recent widow opening her home to renters and the promise of found family and second chances is warm and appealing, but the execution left me disengaged and unwilling to continue.

What I liked:

- The setup feels like we could have some good bookish elements with the books and depth from grief of loss. The library and bookish elements add charm to it for any book lover. The characters are kind of like golden girls style ladies if you will so that's fun in general. I love a good friendship story, especially with older characters, so I really wanted to love this but it just wasn't working... see below.

Why I DNF’d:

Honestly, for me, the characters just felt too surface level. I felt like I wasn't getting to know them well enough to care. I could never really "connect" to them I guess. Too much gossip and petty conflicts for my taste. That is pretty true to the Golden Girls I guess, but I still couldn't come to care for them. The romance was awkward, just didn't connect because this guy is the center of everyone's interest.

I do like some of Melody's books, but this one just wasn't for me. I saw a review mention this would probably be great as a series for each character and I fully agree.

Content/Trigger Warning: Clean romance, no language, grief from spouse loss

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy to honestly read and review. All thoughts are my own. 

Once Upon A Christmas Carol by Melody Carlson

Once Upon A Christmas Carol by Melody Carlson

4 Stars 

I really liked this year's Christmas novella by Melody! It has A Christmas Carol feel with our main character of Carol who is a bit of a Scrooge about Christmas, but she soon realizes Christmas may finally be a happy day after all when her planned trip to the Bahamas gets derailed due to a snow storm in Michigan - which just so happens to be where her Aunt Maria - who she never met before - lives. Her mother and Maria have been estranged for years due to a falling out many years ago. When Carol randomly calls her up needing a place to stay due to her travel delays, Maria is beyond kind and welcomes her to her farm with open arms. This blesses Carol in many ways. 

As Carol stays with Maria, she realizes she may never want to leave and Michigan feels more like home than anywhere else before...especially after she meets the handsome Victor. :) Victor did have a girl Victoria he had been seeing on a few dates but nothing serious and you can tell he is trying to break it off with her at some point and its more on Victoria's side. I didn't mind that storyline really as there wasn't a romantic interest between Carol and Victor much with them until more of the end. 

This book had a lot of holiday spirit, joy and read like it could easily be a Hallmark movie. We have all the checkboxes for a cute Christmas read - a sweet romance, family elements, the real meaning of Christmas and a girl who realizes what matters most.

Seeing Carol's perspective change on Christmas after spending time with her Aunt was the best part of the book. I loved their discussions about life, decorating, cooking, and just the holiday season. 

I think the only thing that would have made it perfect was the addition of an epilogue - maybe like, 6 months later or the next year at Christmas with us seeing everyone together at that time. Other than that, solid Christmas book rec!

Thanks to Revell for a copy of this book to honestly read and review. All thoughts are my own.

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7821474361
Amazon: https://amzn.to/4lKFTTv

Baker Book House: https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/637248

*Amazon links are affiliate links and a commission may be earned on items purchased from these links.

 

Welcome to the Honey B&B by Melody Carlson

Welcome to the Honey B&B by Melody Carlson 
3 Stars 

I read Welcome to the Honey B&B with my friend Melissa and this had the makings of a cozy, heartfelt small-town story with a realistic and heartfelt portrayal of CT and Honey walking through CT's dementia diagnosis. Knowing this was a personal story for Melody, I can see the level of care, detail and heart she put into writing it. I really felt the empathy as a reader for the characters and loved Honey's character the most. I teared up a couple of places because of what they were going through.

In this story, Jewel goes home to Oregon to help her parents and takes her 13 year old daughter Cooper with her. Jewel convinces her parents to turn a farmhouse into a B&B to make some needed money. Aaron, the contractor for the job, is interested in Jewel but she isn't sure she can trust him. Miguel is a neighbor that also helps out and cares about her family's well being. Jewel and Miguel have more of a romantic interest together in this but Aaron doesn't really like that due to the history with Miguel and he continues to pursue Jewel for his own personal gain. 

While I enjoyed the chapters with Honey and CT so much, I ran into several frustrations that kept this from being a higher rated read for me personally. Jewel as a main character often felt so passive, specifically when it came to standing up for her father. Aaron really didn't need to be in this book, he felt like he was added for the drama of the book but he would say horrible things about her father, knowing his health diagnosis, and Jewel never really would stand up for her Dad. That really bothered me, because he would have been out of there so fast if that was me. The lack of backbone just made it hard for me to connect with her or root for her decisions. 

My friend Melissa made a really great point in our buddy read that this would have been a stronger read if it was more focused on Honey and CT and not so much Jewel's drama with Aaron, Miguel, her daughter etc. Maybe some flashbacks of Honey and CT's life together. I totally agree with that point. 

Another disappointment was the B&B itself. The title leaves me to believe we will have more details about the B&B, but you don't see it until the very end. It felt very incomplete in the end.

At just around 280 pages, the book felt too short to fully flesh out certain relationships and arcs. While I loved Honey and CTs story and appreciated the heartfelt dementia storyline, my frustrations with Jewel’s character, the unnecessary drama from Aaron, and the lack of actual B&B scenes ultimately left me feeling like the story was missing something.

I still very much enjoyed the experience reading this story and felt like the Christian faith elements added were beautiful, specifically with Honey and CTs journey...the conversation surrounding CT would be better not in this life or on this earth was emotional for me. I just wanted a bit more from the story as mentioned above.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7351859274
Amazon: https://amzn.to/4mB1EFW
Baker Book House: https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/598765

*Amazon links are affiliate links and a commission may be earned on items purchased from these links.

Christmas at Harringtons by Melody Carlson

                               Christmas at Harringtons by Melody Carlson 

5 Stars 

What a wholesome Christmas story! I loved this one. I find I love her Christmas books with family and redemption elements more than the ones she writes with romance and this one had great family elements and faith threads of forgiveness, second chances through Jesus 💛

In this story, we have Lena Markham and she finds herself broke and with no where to go after being released from prison from false accusations made by her ex-husband. She is trying to start over and lands a job as Mrs. Santa at a department store, due to her wonderful red coat. She is trying to keep her past a secret the best she can and start over. She meets a beautiful young girl with her Mama and helps them out along the way, and makes several friends from the very beginning in this new small town. We see the true redemption, forgiveness and second chances shown in this story and it's filled with great holiday spirit.

No real romance in this book, which I prefer in Melody's books honestly. She writes great family Christmas stories and redemption in Jesus well. Highly recommend.

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6844845902
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3XBSsGx
I could not find this one Baker Book House's website.

*Amazon links are affiliate links and a commission may be earned on items purchased from these links.

The Christmas Joy Ride by Melody Carlson

The Christmas Joy Ride by Melody Carlson

Super cute Christmas read ya'll!  I love a good story with a grandmother figure and Joy, one of main characters who is 85 years old, does NOT disappoint with her humor and spunk! She tells her neighbor Miranda that she plans to drive an old RV decked out in christmas decorations from Chicago to her new retirement home in Phoenix. Miranda goes with Joy in fear of what she might find out on the road in the dead of winter by herself and the trip becomes a very interesting one as they help others during Christmastime along the way!

The romance at the end, I could have done without, a little bit instalove but not too bad. I did like the guys little girl as I always love a good single Dad finding love again trope so it wasn't too bad :)

My favorite part of this was the friendship that Joy and Miranda form together. It really goes to show you can find true friendship, no matter your ages. Joy will filled with wisdom and this was a delight to read during the Christmas season! 

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit/25512493
Amazon: https://amzn.to/46zN0pY
YouTube Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw_MGwskxR4&t=

*All amazon links are an affiliate link and a small commission may be earned if purchases are made from that link.

Christmas in Winter Hill by Melody Carlson

 

Christmas in Winter Hill - Melody Carlson - 4 Stars 

Melody Carlson’s Christmas books can be hit or miss for me but I really enjoyed this one! This is all about Krista Galloway and her 8 year old daughter Emily who move to Winter Hill, Washington for Krista’s new job as Winter Hill’s city manager. Krista is recently divorced and grew up in foster homes - always having a disappointing Christmas each year. This year, they hope all is different as Emily and Krista start anew in Winter Hill.

This was such a cute, heartwarming Christmas read with all the makings of a beautiful Christmas movie! Some nice faith content, hometown family vibes, wonderful Christmas details - all the fun things you want at Christmas time. 4 stars.

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5212490206
Amazon: https://amzn.to/43qRkGw
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmUXgZGhqm4&t=64s