Christmas by the Book Published by Penguin on October 12, 2021 Source: ebook
Genres: Fiction / Holidays, Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, Fiction / Women
Pages: 320
Find the Author: Website, Twitter, Goodreads, Amazon
Format: Ebook Arc
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
“A heartfelt and lovely Christmas tale for book lovers everywhere!”—Jenny Colgan, author of The Bookshop on the Shore
In small-town England, two booksellers facing tough times decide to spread some Christmas cheer through the magic of anonymous book deliveries in this uplifting holiday tale for book lovers everywhere.
Nora and her husband, Simon, have run the beautiful oak-beamed book shop in their small British village for thirty years. But times are tough and the shop is under threat of closure--this Christmas season will really decide their fate. When an elderly man visits the store and buys the one book they've never been able to sell, saying it's the perfect gift for his sick grandson, it gives Nora an idea. She and Simon will send out books to those feeling down this Christmas. Maybe they can't save their bookstore, but at least they'll have one final chance to lift people's spirits through the power of reading.
After gathering nominations online, Nora and Simon quietly deliver books to six residents of the village in need of some festive cheer, including a single dad of twins who is working hard to make ends meet, a teenage boy grieving for his big sister, a local Member of Parliament who is battling depression, and a teacher who's newly retired and living on her own. As the town prepares for a white Christmas, the books begin to give the recipients hope, one by one. But with the future of the bookshop still up in the air, Nora and Simon will need a Christmas miracle--or perhaps a little help from the people whose lives they've touched--to find a happy ending of their own....
Review:
First, don’t let my 3-star rating put you off this book; I picked it up to read as I just finished an intense graphic horror novel and needed a light, fun read. That is precisely what Christmas by the book is meant to be. It’s the hallmark movie you want when you feel overwhelmed, down in the mouth or just a grumpy. It is set in a small town quaint book shop and loveable characters. Problems are somewhat easily solved, and everything is most easily solved in around 300 pages. None of that makes the book wrong or good. It just makes it an ok read for the time and spot I needed it to be. I thought the writing was excellent, the characters were sweet, the plot had a great message, and it got me out of my grumpy mood. It also contains the critical news that books can change a life in many ways if you just let them.
About Anne Marie Ryan
Anne Marie Ryan works as a book editor and has written several successful children’s fiction series under a variety of pseudonyms. THE SIX TALES OF CHRISTMAS is her first novel for adults. Born and raised in Massachusetts, Anne Marie now lives in west London with her husband, two daughters and two kittens. When she’s not reading or writing, Anne Marie plays tennis and acts in amateur dramatics (much to her family’s embarrassment)
