Preparing to start a new year with a Winter's Respite readathon

Welcome back, folks, and I hope all of you are enjoying the holiday season as much as I am. As the new year approaches, there are plans to be made and mine begin with books, naturally.

To get things off to a fine start in 2020, Seasons of Reading(hosted by Michelle Miller) will have the Winter's Respite readathon for the whole month of January.

There is still plenty of time to sign up if you're interested and while fiction of all sorts  is strongly encouraged, nonfiction titles are perfectly fine as well. It's a nice relaxed way to join a few like minded friends in tackling your overgrowing TBR lists and/or your pile of holiday gift books.

My list includes some lovely novels that arrived under my Christmas tree along with one that I'll be reviewing for a blog tour related to Jane Austen and PBS. That last one may not be as easy to guess as you might think....

SANDITON: Yes, this is the upcoming PBS Masterpiece miniseries set to start on January 12 but this edition is not the unfinished work by Jane Austen. This book is a novelization of the Sanditon screenplay that was written by Andrew Davies(who also provides a foreword here) from author Kate Riordan.

As an uncompleted novel, which Austen was working on until her sad passing, there is much speculation as to what direction she might have taken it, given that the setting of the story was unlike any other in her prior books.

The title refers to a seaside town where locals such as the ambitious Tom Parker hope to expand their businesses and visitors like Charlotte Heywood and Georgiana Lambe seek their futures either with or without a romantic partner in tow.

I've been looking forward to this miniseries for months now and was very happy to be asked by Laurel Ann of Austenprose to take part in the blog tour for Riordan's adaptation.

I was also pleasantly surprised by the publisher who not only sent me a review copy of the novelization but the companion book, The World of Sanditon, to boot! I've already started reading that one and it's a delightful preview of the series as well as a nice refresher course in all things Jane Austen.

This indeed is a lovely way to start the new year and what better hostess than Jane Austen to make an old story feel so brand new:

THE WEDDING PARTY: Jasmine Guillory's third book pairs up a most unlikely couple-Theo and Maddie, who can't stand each other yet are willing to get along momentarily for the sake of their mutual friend Alexa.

That common bond leads them to a romantic encounter that lasts longer that either one of them expected it to. With Alexa's wedding approaching, Maddie and Theo decide to keep their possible relationship under wraps until then.

However, that secrecy is putting a strain on their personal and professional lives, leaving them both to wonder if keeping this secret is really worth all of the trouble.

I have to confess that due to having read the book that comes after this(Royal Holiday, which features Maddie's mother Vivian) already that I do know where this ends up. That doesn't mean that just because I know where the ultimate destination for these two characters is, I have no interest in their journey there. On the contrary, my curiosity is quite peaked, to say the least:

THE BOOK WOMAN OF TROUBLESOME CREEK: The leading lady of the title from Kim Michele Richardson is Cussy Mary Carter, a young woman living in Kentucky of 1936.

She has signed up for the Pack Horse Library Project, an idea that emerged from the New Deal in Washington, that intends to bring literature to those in rural areas. Due to her blue skin(a rare hereditary condition), Cussy has been made to feel isolated in her community but the book deliveries bring her more in contact with the world around her,allowing a few new friends to be made as well.

While the possibility of finding the cause of her skin condition and the chance for a new life are offered up to Cussy, she still has plenty of roadblocks in the way towards her future happiness,especially a wrathful preacher who unjustly blames her for the death of a relation.

This story has had a lot of good word of mouth, plus the Pack Horse Project was a real thing which makes this all the more intriguing to check out:

THE CHOCOLATE MAKER'S WIFE: Author Karen Brooks introduces us to Rosemund, who is living in the Restoration era of England and very willing to enter into an arranged marriage with a much older man in order to leave her disruptive household.

Her new husband ,Sir Everald Blithman, is happy to have her be the hostess of his new chocolate house which serves steaming hot sweet beverages to the elite. While Rosemund is eager to prove her worth, she soon discovers the true reason that Sir Everald wanted her as his wife.

As it turns out, Rosemund bears a striking resemblance to Helena, Blithman's late daughter who married Matthew Lovelace, a man that Everard considers his nemesis. This plan to irk his former son-in-law promises to backfire on him as Rosemund is less than thrilled to be a pawn in either man's privately declared war and has her own agenda in mind for the future of the chocolate house and those who benefit or suffer by it's merits.

This blend of historical fiction with the development of commercial chocolate sounds deliciously page turning and should go well with a nice cup of warm cocoa on the cold nights to come:

The Winter's Respite readathon begins on January 1st and lasts until the end of the month and while you can begin or end when you want to here, it is more fun to share this bookish time with good friends, in my opinion. Also, this is a great way to extend the holiday season-don't take those lights down yet, you may need them to read by!: