brooke_review's reviews
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Violinist-turned-author Brendan Slocumb’s The Violin Conspiracy is a difficult book for me to review because despite generally being engaged with this story about a black violinist who has his Stradivarius stolen from him before the most significant international music competition in the world, this novel was not without glaring problems that soured my overall enjoyment of the book.

Ray McMillian, a black violinist without formal training, is very good at what he does.  He is so good, in fact, that he has been able to pursue a career as a professional musician, traveling the country doing what he loves - playing music on his violin, which just happens to be a priceless Stradivarius, gifted to him by his grandmother after being passed down through the family line.  But as Ray prepares for the Tchaikovsky Competition, the most elite music competition in the world and a life-changing opportunity for Ray, his 10 million dollar Strad is stolen, sending Ray on a manhunt to uncover who took his most precious possession from him.

The Violin Conspiracy is one part mystery, one part social commentary on the struggles of a Black musician in a predominantly white classical music world.  Conversations surrounding race are heavy in this book, and a significant portion of the storyline focuses on how Ray overcomes prejudices to rise to the top. 

As a lover of classical music but not a musician myself, I quite enjoyed learning about the daily life of a violinist and the work that goes into training to perform at the caliber that professional musicians do.  I also found the mystery surrounding the stolen Stradivarius to be quite fascinating.  The fact that an instrument could be worth so much money and have so much history behind it … and then be stolen was indeed captivating.

But then there is the bad.  Slocumb unfortunately made the deliberate choice to write every white person in his novel as being a raging racist who not only has prejudices toward black people, but also outwardly and violently voices their hate and anger toward Ray at any given opportunity.  There is not one redeeming white person in this book - all written as bigots or cowards - and unfortunately, this is not true to real life.  The fact that Slocumb chose to paint an entire race of people with one ugly broad stroke is unfortunate on his part because it ruined his book for me.  One-note, stereotypical characters who behave more like cartoons than actual people is just bad writing in my book. 

Marketed as a self-help book, Gretchen Rubin's Life in Five Senses is more of a memoir of sorts, detailing a year in Rubin's life as she attempts to become more attune with her senses and the world around her.  Presenting scientific information about the five senses alongside the activities Rubin (of The Happiness Project fame) partook in to enhance her sensual experience of the world, Life in Five Senses is one woman's personal journey through the landscapes of sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch.

Because I was anticipating Life in Five Senses to be more of a self-help manual that would empower me to explore the five senses in my own life, I had to adjust my expectations of this book quite quickly when I realized that Rubin was moving through the senses without providing any practical advice for application in the lives of her readers.  Rather, she details her own experiences of making a daily visit to the Met for a year to utilize her five senses in a museum setting, listening to more music and creating playlists, and having a "tasting party" with friends where they blindly try out delicacies like ketchup and energy drinks.  All rather pedestrian and applicable only to the author, making this book generally intriguing, but not aspirational.

If you're interested in reading about other's experiences without feeling entirely compelled to try them out on your own, this book will be right up your alley.  For those of you looking for more of a guide to your own senses discovery, a better starting place may be just slowing down and taking in the world around you.

I decided to start off 2024 reading Melissa Wiesner's The Second Chance Year, and I am so glad that I did!  This insightful, yet engaging story about a young woman who makes a wish on New Year's Eve for a "re-do" of the past 12 months of her life was the perfect novel to kick off the year.  

Sadie Thatcher has had a very bad year.  She lost her job, boyfriend, and apartment, and has found herself crashing on her brother's best friend's sofa.  Wallowing in self-pity and regretting every life decision she has ever made, Sadie is in a very bad place.  When her best friend Kasumi convinces her to come out to a New Year's Eve party, Sadie protests, but then relents ... and it is there that she meets the fortune teller who will change everything.  Sadie makes a wish, desperately pleading with the universe to allow her to redo the last year of her life.  As it turns out, wishes really do come true ...

Sadie awakes on January 1 to discover she is back in her old apartment, sleeping next to her old boyfriend, and very late for work at her old job.  Is it really possible that Sadie is back reliving the first day of her very bad year?  Determined to do things right this time, Sadie, who remembers everything about her terrible year, sets out to change the course of her future, censoring herself in conversations and avoiding situations that she knows landed her in hot water last time.  But as time goes on, Sadie can't help but ask if she is being true to herself, and is this new life really so much better than her old one?  

I love it when I can share that I did not spend one minute bored reading a book!  Wiesner writes in an engaging style and moves her story along at a steady, even pace.  Despite Sadie reliving the past year of her life, all of the events of said year are new to the reader, so this time loop novel never became stale or stagnant.  Furthermore, Wiesner's characters feel like real, vibrant people, making it easy to root for them while getting lost in this spirited read.

I can't recommend starting off a new year reading The Second Chance Year enough!  This novel gives off just the right vibes for January - a time when everyone is making (and breaking) resolutions and reflecting on their place in life and the universe.  Tinged with just the right blend of introspection and intrigue, The Second Chance Year is quite the compelling, yet thought-provoking novel ... and I loved every minute of it!

With Hallmark Christmas movies filling the holiday season year after year with holly jolly cheer, it’s no surprise that novels in a similar vein are gaining popularity with lovers of everything merry and bright.  Lillie Vale’s new novel Wrapped with a Beau even incorporates a Hallmark-esque film into its storyline by way of a historic home that served as the set for an infamous holiday movie made in the 70s.  

Vess Hollins is in the town of Piney Peaks to handle his late grandmother’s estate.  He wasn’t close to his grandmother and just wants to get the job done quickly and leave town, but there’s one problem.  His grandmother’s home was featured in a much beloved Christmas movie, Sleighbells, 50 years ago, and the town, and one woman in particular do not want to see it fall to the wayside.

Elisha Rowe loves her hometown of Piney Peaks and her job as a film liaison, securing quaint places for potential movie sets.  She would love to see a sequel to Sleighbells filmed in Piney Peaks, but it is going to take some convincing of the Grinch who has just arrived in town, AKA Vess Hollins.  Can Elisha find a way to persuade Vess to honor his grandmother’s legacy and continue on the film series that she loved so much?

Wrapped with a Beau is one of those novels that starts strongly, but begins to waver as the story progresses.  I really enjoyed the first half of this book as Elisha and Vess get to know one another as we learn more about the town of Piney Peaks, the Sleighbells movie, and Elisha and Vess’s upbringings.  However, once the book moves on to “more than friends” territory, I found that the story weakened due to the characters acting, well, out of character!  Elisha especially felt phony and so unlike how she presented herself in the preceding parts of the novel - I just could not connect her to the girl we got to know in the beginning of the book.

With all that being said, while I have read better Christmas novels, I have also certainly read worse, so Wrapped with a Beau falls somewhere in the middle of the available holiday fare.  If you’re looking for a light, comfortable Christmas read, this book will do it for you, as long as you don’t mind some very steamy open door romance scenes!

Codi Hall’s Mistletoe Romance series is my Christmas guilty pleasure read every holiday season.  Along Came Holly is the third installment in the series, which follows three siblings, all born in December and graced with wintry names, as they find love over the Christmas season.  Book # 3 is about Holly, the outspoken and brash youngest sibling, who finds herself falling for the Grinch next door.  

The Mistletoe Romance series is lighthearted, fun, and full of comfort and joy.  I love these books for the fact that they do NOT tackle the heavy topics, at least not in depth, and instead focus on the merry and bright aspects of the holiday season.  These books do not try too hard to be literary or of importance, but rather embrace the spirit of the season, enveloping the reader into the sights and sounds of Christmas in one of the holliest, jolliest towns around … Mistletoe, USA! 

Every time I pick up a new Jenny Bayliss book, I hope that it will capture the holiday fun, magic, and charm that was so prevalent in her debut, The Twelve Dates of Christmas.  Every year, I find myself sorely disappointed with this year's read, A December to Remember, being the most monumental let-down of all.  

I could unfortunately tell from the very first page that A December to Remember was not going to be it for me.  We are immediately thrown into the disorder and melee following a small-town's strange, and now dead, Lothario.  He leaves three semi-estranged daughters in his wake, all birthed by different mothers, who grew up only spending their summers together.  Thus, their relationship isn't the best, but in order to receive their inheritance, they must work together to follow a trail of clues that their father has left them to revive the town's Winter Solstice Festival.

While this novel did not work for me due to its detached writing style and superfluous amount of supporting characters, it will be right up the alley of those who enjoy quirky reads that feature eccentric people and places.  Readers who love books with small town vibes and all manner of personalities among the townfolk will appreciate what Bayliss was going for in this holiday-lite read.  

I am obsessed with my dogs and am always looking for ways to make their lives better, so a book like Sophie Collins How to Raise a Happy Dog is right up my alley.  This easy to read guide, complete with cute doggie illustrations, is chock full of information and tips to making your pooch as happy as can be!

Included is info on dog body language so that you can read your dog’s personality and mood; ideas for games, tricks, and enrichment (I taught my own dogs how to roll after reading the tips in this book); info on eating & exercise, as well as tips on how you can make your home a comfortable place for your dog to rest; and info on the life stages of dogs.

In all, this book is packed with a lot of helpful, pertinent info that even a dog lover like myself will find useful and eye opening.  I can truly say that my dogs’ lives are better after implementing the tips & tricks I found in this book!

Imagine running into your ex, the one who got away, in the buff serving drinks at a friend’s holiday party.  If it sounds like the stuff of nightmares, welcome to Maya Bashir’s world.  Maya’s world has just been turned upside down, having left both her job and relationship, and she’s headed back to her childhood Scotland home with her entire life packed in the back of her car.  On the way, she stops at her friend’s home to rest, and it is there that she is reacquainted with Sam Holland, her ex.  ‘Tis the start of Zoe Allison’s new Christmas novel, The Ex-Mas Holidays!

The Ex-Mas Holidays follows Maya and Sam as they adjust to Maya being back in their hometown and taking up an instructor job at the ski resort where Sam works.  The more and more time that Sam and Maya spend together, the harder it becomes to deny their still lingering feelings for each other.  The only problem?  Sam’s toxic girlfriend, who is the reason why Sam broke Maya’s heart in the first place.  Maya saw him kissing her the night she wanted to profess her love to him … but did everything really go down as Maya perceived it to be?

If you guessed that The Ex-Mas Holidays revolves around the miscommunication trope, you’d be right … it does seem to be a theme among holiday novels as of late.  Depending on whether you love or hate misunderstandings between potential lovers will determine which way this book will go for you.  I don’t outright dislike the trope, but it can become frustrating in a book as long as this one - you just want the characters to air their grievances and move on instead of harboring ill feelings toward each other.  As it is, Sam and Maya really don’t have a heart to heart about their conflict until the near end of the novel, making this book one long build-up to a conversation we know is bound to eventually happen.  

Sprinkled among Sam and Maya’s reunion is conflict with peripheral characters, including Maya dealing with her father’s expectations of her life, and Sam being emotionally abused and manipulated by his narcissistic girlfriend.  These relationships provide a bit of meat to this story, making it just as much about two young adults coming to terms with their lives, as it is about the budding romance between them.

However, this book is not without problems.  Maya is the daughter of an immigrant father; however, there is so little mention of her family’s culture that I frankly cannot remember where her father originated, aside from the odd choice of her being referred to as a mixed race girl at one point in the novel.  Furthermore, Sam’s girlfriend is terrible, but conversations revolving around her vile behavior come off as if being read from a guide on dealing toxic people.  Buzzwords such as gaslighting and narcissist are frequently thrown around and do not gel well with the story, making them feel disjointed and out of place in the novel.  

As it is, The Ex-Mas Holidays is a light Christmas read that will satisfy anyone looking for a little Scottish charm and cheer.  This book includes a lot of cute flirting and banter, and is not overtly explicit in content, falling more in the mid-range for steaminess. 

The year 2000 was special not only for being the dawn of a new millennium, but also for being a year in which the holiday seasons of Christmas, Ramadan, and Hanukkah all fell within days of each other … meaning people of all walks of life were making memories and celebrating meaningful moments at the same time.  Authors Uzma Jalauddin and Marissa Stapley have taken us back over 20 years to that unique moment in time with their co-authored seasonal novel Three Holidays and a Wedding.

Three Holidays and a Wedding follows two protagonists - dutiful Muslim daughter Maryam who is headed to Toronto with her family for her younger sister’s wedding and fish-out-of-water Anna who is on her way to the same destination to meet her boyfriend’s affluent family for the first time.  On the same plane and seated next to each other, Maryam and Anna meet, but don’t exactly hit it off at first.  However, that all changes when their plane is diverted due to a snowstorm and they find themselves grounded in the tiny Canadian town of Snow Falls.

Stuck in Snow Falls for the unforeseeable future, the two woman explore the village and discover that it is actually a melting pot of cultures and religions.  Maryam, a follower of Islam, and Anna, who grew up celebrating both Christmas and Hanukkah, are delighted to discover that there’s a little something for everyone in this quaint town.  As the women become assimilated with their surroundings, they learn more about themselves and what they want for their futures.  And what would be a holiday novel without a little romance?  You can bet that both Maryam and Anna may also cross paths with love as they set out on this journey of seasonal self-discovery.

Three Holidays and a Wedding succeeds in what it sets out to do - to highlight other religions and seasonal celebrations in addition to Christmas.  In fact, Christmas completely takes a back seat in this diverse and informative novel with Ramadan/Eid and Hanukkah holding the spotlight.  However, despite offering up tons of facts about these celebrations (I did learn quite a bit about Muslim and Jewish traditions from this book), this novel didn’t make me fall in love with these holidays.  I never quite felt enveloped in the celebrations as Three Holidays and a Wedding failed to evoke any meaningful feelings from me in that regard.  Rather, the book felt a bit preachy, as if it was trying too hard to be diverse and different, as opposed to letting this story follow a more natural progression.

Recommended to readers looking for a holiday novel that is NOT about Christmas, featuring a diverse cast of characters and small town vibes.

 I have a love-hate relationship with Joss Wood's Confessions of a Christmasholic, a story about a down-on-her-luck traveler who finds herself virtually penniless and homeless amidst a charming Christmas village. It is there that she meets a local grumpy widower dubbed Mr. Christmas, who only pretends to love the holiday to honor his late wife's memory. There are some things that really worked with this novel, and others that really didn't, making this a mixed bag of a read that I enjoyed for the most part, but can't quite say that I loved.

Sutton Alsop has landed broke and broken in a small English village thanks to her best friend who stood her up for their 30th birthday trip of a lifetime, leaving Sutton to foot the bill. After paying for both her and her friend's share of the trip, Sutton is left without a penny to her name. Stranded with no way of getting home until her friend pays her back, Sutton plans on squatting in a home in a quaint Christmas village when she runs into Mr. Christmas, aka Gus, a Grinch of a man who bedecks his home in swaths of Christmas lights only because the town expects him to carry on his late wife's love of the holiday. Taking pity on Sutton, Gus invites her to stay with him and his twins for the holiday. As Sutton and Gus grow closer as Christmas inches nearer, they find themselves falling for each other. Can Sutton warm this Grinch's heart in time for Christmas?

Admittedly, I do not read a lot of romances, aside from the occasional rom-com, because I find them to be cheesy and unrealistic. However, I do make the exception for romances set during Christmas because usually the joy of the holiday can off-set any overbearing romantic storylines. Confessions of a Christmasholic has all of the tropes that you would expect in a traditional steamy romance - there's definitely a heavy dose of insta-love, and a preoccupation with sex - however, it also has a pretty decent plot, even if it is a bit underdeveloped. The storyline kept me interested as I turned the pages amidst eye rolls over the overtly sexual and dramatic behavior of the two main characters.

What I didn't like about this novel was the love interest, Gus. I frankly found him to be toxic to both Sutton and his twins. He traverses through the novel constantly being irritated by his kids, snapping at them and acting like they are a hindrance to the life we really wishes he were living. I worry about the future version of the twins, having grown up in a clearly hostile household. As for Sutton, his relationship with her is just about sex, yet he sets her up time and again to be indebted to him without a substantial partnership between the two. I worry about Sutton, as well, who is doing too much too fast with a guy whose personality and temperament is questionable.