Saturday 27 December 2014

Christmas Special Post!

Well, since it's Christmas (well, it was yesterday for me, but it might still be Christmas where you are??) I was going to do something really special I hadn't done before on this blog. A book photo shoot!

I was going to take beautiful Christmassy/wintery photos with my Christmas book for this year, My True Love Gave To Me, which is an anthology of different holiday love stories. The edition I ordered is beautiful; here's a picture:

But thanks to Dymocks Australia and their unpredictable shipping methods (although the site did assure me it would arrive before Christmas... >:( not very happy at all...) my book did not arrive and I therefore cannot do the photo shoot. 

However, do not fret! The photo shoot is coming. I promise it is. As soon as the book arrives, I will do it just for you guys. I'm leaving my Christmas decorations up just so I can.

To make up for this tragedy, I will instead talk briefly about each story and rate each one, with no spoilers because the book was published fairly recently, and there's a fair chance many of you mightn't have read it. 

Midnights by Rainbow Rowell
Midnights is quite adorable. It's a quick insight to two friends every year on New Year's Eve, from the time they met. This one has to be up there in my favourite stories from the book; it's so cute and it was a really good start to the book. 5/5 stars.

The Lady And The Fox by Kelly Link
This story is about a girl who goes every year to her godmother's house for Christmas. And every year, there is a mysterious man outside in an exquisite coat. This was mysterious and intriguing. I really liked the whole story and all the characters, and everything about it made me want to keep reading, however the end was quite confusing. I was left wanting a lot more. It is also one of my favourites in the book. 5/5 stars.

Angels in the Snow by Matt de la Peña
This story was cute and interesting, but not as fun to read as Midnights. It's about a boy who's cat sitting in the apartment below a pretty girl whose shower isn't working. I liked reading it quite a bit, but it just didn't have the specialness other stories did, and I didn't really connect with the main characters. 4/5 stars.

Polaris Is Where You'll Find Me by Jenny Han
The is probably towards the end of my favourites list. I didn't really love the main character; I found her to be rather annoying. I also didn't really connect with the story or the characters. This story is the only story set in the North Pole, with elves and Santa's human daughter. I found it quite dry, and not really a love story... 2.5/5 stars.

Your Temporary Santa by David Levithian
This was cute but there were some bits I wasn't sure whether I liked it or not. It's about the main character dressing up as Santa for his love interest's little sister. I won't explain the bits I didn't like, because it will spoil the story, but all in all, it was rather cute. 3.5/5 stars

It's A Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown by Stephanie Perkins
This was for sure one of my favourites. It's definitely up there with Midnights and The Lady And The Fox, which is to be expected from a Stephanie Perkins story. It's about a girl who doesn't really need a Christmas tree, but she keeps going back to the shop, because there's something else there she needs. It was so, so cute and everything about it left me wanting more. I want a whole novel about these two. Please. Now. 5/5 stars.

Krampuslauf by Holly Black
Krampuslauf  is about three best friends getting revenge on a boyfriend with a vintage cocktail party... and... magic? This story was at times hard to follow, to be perfectly honest, but it was pretty great. I did love the mystery, but I felt like it could've been fleshed out more. 4/5 stars.

What The Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth? by Gayle Forman
This one wasn't up in my favourites, but I definitely loved it. I disliked the main character; I', not quite sure why. She was just a bit annoying. But the relationship was very cute and adorable and I quite enjoyed the story. It's about a girl whose counting the "what the hell have you done?" moments from her year, and as she thinks she's creating another one, she learns she's doing quite the opposite. 3.5/5 stars

Beer Buckets And Baby Jesus by Myra McEntire
Wow. This is one of the more memorable stories from the book. This story is about the boy who blew up the church storeroom and the pastor's daughter. The characters were all really fun and interesting and the main character's point of view was brilliant. I loved this story. 5/5 stars

Welcome To Christmas, CA by Kiersten White
This one is definitely close to being my favourite, if it isn't already. It's about a small not-even-a-towm called Christmas, and the people living there. The characters in this were all spectacularly developed for a short story, and the main character went through serious development during the story. The main relationship was absolutely perfect and I loved the whole thing. 5/5 stars.

Star Of Bethlehem by Ally Carter
I didn't expect to love this story, because I'm not a huge fan of Ally Carter's previous books. But this story about two girls who switch places was fantastic, and I loved the element of mystery in it. The characters were all beautiful and I really really liked it. 5/5 stars

The Girl Who Woke The Dreamer by Laini Taylor
This was so interesting and mysterious, but it was very info-dumpy for a short story. There were large chunks of text explaining the mythology of the book and so it just wasn't as fun to read as the others, even though it was spectacularly crafted. It's about this mythological land where on each day of advent, admirers leave tokens of love on the girl they admire's doorstep. 4/5 stars

So those are my reviews of the stories, and I think it has come time to rank them from favourite to least favourite. Are you ready?


  1. Welcome To Christmas, CA
  2. It's A Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown
  3. The Lady And The Fox
  4. Beer Buckets And Baby Jesus
  5. Midnights
  6. Angels In The Snow
  7. Star Of Bethlehem
  8. The Girl Who Woke The Dreamer
  9. Krampuslauf
  10. Your Temporary Santa
  11. What The Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth?
  12. Polaris Is Where You'll Find Me
Let's be clear on the fact that I loved all these stories and it was so hard to choose my favourite ones you have no idea!

I hope you had a very Merry Christmas and I will see you tomorrow with another post!

Lily xoxo













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