A Cliché Christmas
By Nicole Deese
Rating: 4.8
'Eleven months of the year, I lived in a perpetual state of holly-jolly fanfare. But by the time the first of November rolled around, I was completely Christmased out.
I know I sound like a Scrooge to admit such a travesty, but believe me, when you build a career on Christmas cheer and holiday hype, the warm fuzzies of nostalgia fade faster than Hollywood's latest scandal.
(...) Ironically, December was my only month off.'
Hollywood knows her as the 'Holiday Goddess'. Lenox knows her as Georgia Cole.
Georgia has her December holidays all planned out.
A remote getaway in the Hawaiian Islands is calling her name and she can hardly wait to take a break from writing clichéd Christmas screenplays. No snow for this girl - bring on the palm trees, sandy beaches and fruity drinks!
The very last place she expects to be for Christmas is Lenox, Oregon.
But when Georgia's grandmother volunteers her to direct a pageant at Lenox's community theater, Georgia finds herself heading back to her hometown for the first time in seven years.
He's known as the Lenox Heartbreaker. To Georgia, he's the man she left behind.
Weston James. Once her childhood friend and crush, he's now the one man Georgia can't forgive...or forget.
But he's also the man she has to work with in order to make the pageant a success.
As the two work side by side, will they be able to overcome the past that divides them? Or will Georgia's fears cause her to miss out on a second chance at love?
Thaw your heart this Christmas with a heartwarming tale that puts true love to the test.
Refreshingly honest and beautifully written, A Cliché Christmas is anything but cliché! Emphasizing the importance of family, love and making memories, it's a book you're going to want to have on your bookshelf these December holidays.
Be prepared to add A Cliche Christmas (and Weston!) to your Christmas list!
All Who Dream (Letting Go #3)
By Nicole Deese
Rating: 5
"You can't love me, Angie," he pleaded. "Please don't love me - you deserve a better man."
"I already love a better man. He just can't see that you're one and the same."
My thoughts on the book:
This book turned me into a human sprinkler.
Angie and Jackson's story of redemption is one that will warm your heart to its core and use up your entire supply of Kleenex tissues. All Who Dream is a testimony to hope in the darkest of times, no matter our pasts, or our circumstances.
So, instead of filling up this review with a bunch of positive adjectives and 'meaningless compliments' (as Jackson would say!), I'm going to share a quote that really connected with me from this book:
'When I was a young girl I believed that romantic love had the power to save. I saw it as the great remedy, the one cure that could fix all wounds and mend all hearts. But I didn't believe that anymore.
Sometimes love was not all we needed.
Sometimes it didn't cure our hurts.
Sometimes it wasn't the eraser of our mistakes.
Love is instead, the bridge that leads the broken to grace, hope, and redemption. Love is the greatest amplifier that God ever gave us. Our strengths are made stronger with it, and our faults are shown mercy because of it.'
How beautiful is that?!
Here is a book that shows us the true meaning of the word 'love'.
Love isn't the miracle cure that you pop at the end of a tale to give everyone a happy ending. Love can't dissolve the past, and excuse our mistakes.
Those things we need to do for ourselves - self forgiveness, self healing, contrition, etc. But love can aid us in becoming stronger people. Love can help us to start healing, to start living again.
Unlike in many NA and YA books, where love is a lovely sandwich spread that is smoothed over everything to make it look prettier.
Angie discovers this and realises that each person needs to make the decision for themselves. Whether that is to forgive themselves, forgive others, or move on.
We are the most important people in our lives - only we can make the decisions that form the person we can, and wish to, be.
All Who Dream is a deeply insightful and beautiful story, that reveals to readers the beauty in life and its mistakes...and, ultimately, the power of faith and hope.
