Making merry with the Yuletide Spirit reading challenge!

Well, the winter holiday season is definitely upon us and as a break from the seasonal frenzy all around me, I decided to join in on Seasons of Reading’s Yuletide Spirit reading challenge, held by Michelle Miller(who also has a separate series dedicated to the Christmas season). 

For the challenge, you just need to select a level of holiday themed reading to go for; mine is Mistletoe which is between two to four books and I have three in this TBR at the moment. One is on order , the other arrived a couple of days ago and currently, I am in the midst of…

The Christmas Tree Farm:

In this third entry of Laurie Gilmore’s Dream Harbor series, we met Kira, a new arrival to town, who is surprised to learn that the quaint piece of property that she brought is a tree farm that everyone expects her to reopen in time for the holidays.

Due to spending more than she intended on the land, Kira finds that she has no other choice but to restart the business and finds unexpected help in the form of Bennet, a temporary visitor (his sister runs the local cafe) who has been recruited by the town to revive the farm as well as keep an eye out for a possible buried treasure on the grounds.

Since Kira is more fond of Bennet’s dogs(one of them is named Odie as in the Garfield comics!) than she is of him, this relationship is not off to a promising start to say the least. However, they do begin to slowly warm up to each other and by the time a major snow storm hits the area, those few sparks are ready to set off a roaring fire indeed!

I have read the first two books in this series (and there are more to follow after this one) and enjoyed them quite a bit. The “Gilmore Girls with a sexier edge”vibe of these stories works for me and that each book has a musical playlist attached to it especially helps for setting the right holiday romance mood here:

After that, my next pick is The Mistletoe Mystery, a novella from the Molly the Maid series by Nita Prose.

Molly hasn’t had a good Christmas since her beloved grandmother died yet this year promises to be different.  With her circumstances becoming much better than before and having Juan Michael to share this season with, Molly hopes to not have any mysterious events to look into.

However, a bizarre exchange during the Regency Grand Hotel’s Secret Santa party brings up a lot of questions about who she can trust, particularly when it comes to Juan Michael. Is Molly able to solve this mystery without having her heart broken into the bargain?

Since this book is still on its way to me via Better World Books, I hope to find out before Christmas Eve. Molly is a delight to know on page and if anyone fictional deserves a romantic happy ending, she’s the one:

Fortunately, the last book in this TBR is already awaiting to be opened, thanks to Book of the Month Club.

Good Spirits by B.K. Borison is best described as “A Christmas Carol meets The Ghost and Mrs. Muir” with our leading lady Harriet being haunted by a spirit of Christmas Past named Nolan.

With Harriet being a rather sweet natured soul, Nolan wonders why he was sent to haunt her in the first place. She is curious about that as well and the more they get to know each other, the distinct possibility that he’s the one in need of saving begins to cross their minds. Can this the case and if so, do they want to risk the love connection forged between them to earn a redemption by Christmas Eve?

This does sound charming and since I did read one of Borison’s other works this year(First Time Caller), this ought to the perfect holiday read for me. An added bonus is the ghost angle as one of my favorite sitcoms has similar themes in abundance:

If you’re interested in signing up for either the readathon or the challenge, there is a link in the second paragraph of this post that will steer you towards the correct website. As always, much thanks to Michelle Miller for getting us band of eager readers on the proper path this and every other year.

Look, I know good and well how chaotic this year alone has become, with more difficult challenges perhaps in the year to come. However, one thing to keep in mind as the end of the year approaches is that renewing your energy for what lies ahead is the best way to start off on the new adventures before us. 

Also, appreciating the good that we do have in our lives such as family, friends or loved ones of all sorts are treasures that no one can truly rob us of, despite their dubious best efforts. While it’s hard to reimagine our lives from what they once were in the past, we can use our present moment in time to give ourselves a better future for all to share in.

So, let’s keep our spirits bright with some good books and of course, a classic song in our hearts: