All I Want for Christmas: a funny and sexy festive novella
by Keris Stainton
To get myself into the festive mood, I started with Keris Stainton's new Novella, All I Want for Christmas. It's a simple story but a really nice uplifting read to start feeling a bit of Christmas magic.This Novella is all about romance and how love can bloom from the first glance. Despite awful things that can happen, this story really reassures you that when you're surrounded by wonderful people, everything will be okay in the end.
All I Want for Christmas is a lovely and endearing story with a romance you'll be invested in from the get-go but beware, this book has the side effect of making you blush in public.
Almost Midnight
by Rainbow Rowell (Author), Simini Blocker (Illustrator)
Continuing with the holiday theme, I dived into a fun little book containing two short stories from the famous Rainbow Rowell. This was my first time reading Rowell's work and I completely understand what the hype is about. She managed to capture so much in both stories in under 100 pages each.The first story, Almost Midnight, is set throughout several years at each new years, with each chapter being a different new year night. It follows the journey of two friends meeting and we watch their journey, year after year, as they grow up and fall a little bit more in love.
The next story, Kindred Spirits, is very fitting for Star Wars month as it takes up back to the opening weekend of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. We follow young Star Wars superfan, Elena, queuing outside the cinema and anxiously waiting to see the much-anticipated film. She meets fellow fans along the way, builds friendships, and reminds us what Star Wars is all about.
It’s the perfect story to take Star Wars fans back to the excitement that was felt around the beginning sequel now that we have reached the end. And while the films may be divisive, this story reminds us that we all share our love of this expansive universe.
Grave Matter
by Juno Dawson, Alex T. Smith (Illustrator)
Moving away from the festivities, I turned my interest to the dyslexia friendly publisher, Barrington Stoke. I’ve been obsessed with their YA books! They are such a variety of stories all with super-readable layouts.Grave Matter is all about the overwhelming grief you feel when you lose someone you love so tragically and what happens when you pair that feeling with supernatural power you can’t possibly begin to understand.
While it feels like this concept could go on for pages and pages, it’s tastefully short. The story doesn’t dwell and get straight to the important things and because of this, you’re able to read this incredibly sad story without feeling too dragged down.
Second Best Friend
by Non Pratt
This book has been sitting on my TBR list forever. I’m a huge fan of Non Pratt and her other book with Barrington Stoke, Unboxed, is one of my favourite books so I was eager to get into this.This isn’t your traditional story about friendship, it shows the flip side to that relationship that we don’t like to acknowledge in ourselves. Jealously. We all experience but this book takes it a step further after a spiteful boy tells Jade she’s second-best to her best friend, she begins to compare every aspect of her life to her friends.
This books really emphasises the importance of seeing yourself through your own eyes, rather than others. Focus on what the people you care about think and screw the rest.
Letting Go
by Cat Clarke
“Never make a motto at a funeral. It’s my new motto. It’s pretty specific as mottos go, I know. But I think it will serve me well.”Nothing can sum up the tone of this book and entice you more than this opening statement. Wow. As soon as I read this, I knew I was in for a ride but where it takes you is so unexpected.
It’s a story about battling with your own mind, grief, love, and ultimately recovery. Trying to deal with just one of these things can feel like climbing a mountain but it’s another thing to actually be stuck on one when sorting through your emotions.
Have you read any of these books? Let me know what you think!
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