Tag: christmas

adult, contemporary, fantasy, Humor, Romance, ya

Down the TBR Part 13!

Courtney/Enchanted.to.Read.You

I’m so ready to trim the TBR again this week! The last two weeks I have added books to the tbr, so it really needs to get cleaned out. This meme is hosted by Zezee with Books. Here’s how it works:

The rules for Down the TBR Hole:
  • Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf.
  • Order on ascending date added.
  • Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
  • Read the synopses of the books
  • Decide: keep it or should it go?

Here are this week’s books. At first glance, there’s a lot of Christmas. I feel like I will get rid of a good many. I’m starting the week at 1934.

The Lost Gate by Orson Scott Card

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: YA fantasy, which is fun. I read some not great reviews. I love the cover, but I don’t think this one is for me.
  • Keep or Delete: Delete.

Wards of Faerie by Terry Brooks

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: Another series in the Shannara Universe. I’ll keep for now, since I kept the others. If I don’t like them, I’ll come back and delete.
  • Keep or Delete: Keep.

Dark Bites by Sherrilyn Kenyon

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: Series of paranormal romance short stories.
  • Keep or Delete: Keep

The Yada Yada Prayer Group by Neta Jackson

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: Christian chick lit. I’ll pass
  • Keep or Delete: Delete

The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Decked Out by Neta Jackson

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: Number 7 in the series. I think if I don’t like the first I probably won’t like the 7th.
  • Keep or Delete: Delete.

Sisterchicks on the Loose by Robin Jones Gunn

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: Another Christian Chick lit. Just not my cup of tea.
  • Keep or Delete: Delete.

The Christmas Blessing by Donna VanLiere

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: Ok, surprise. I’m keeping this one for this year’s Christmas! The MC is a doctor. I can’t not keep it.
  • Keep or Delete: Keep

The Christmas Promise by Donna VanLiere

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: Christmas story about promises to each other. This one isn’t as enticing as the one above.
  • Keep or Delete: Delete

The Christmas Secret by Donna VanLiere

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: This is about a woman who saves an elderly lady’s life, a man who is supposed to find her to reward her, and how they fall in love. Eh.
  • Keep or Delete: Delete.

The Christmas Note by Donna VanLiere

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: Another elderly lady dies, and they find a note that reveals some family secrets.
  • Keep or Delete: Delete.

We are currently at 1927. I’m feeling frisky. Let’s do 10 more!

The Christmas Hope by Donna VanLiere

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: Ugh. About a social worker taking in a kid for Christmas. My heart. I gotta keep.
  • Keep or Delete: Keep

Who Do I Talk To? by Neta Jackson

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: I didn’t keep the other Yada books, do I don’t think I’ll keep this one either.
  • Keep or Delete: Delete

Miss Julia Stirs Up Trouble by Ann B Ross

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: I deleted the other Miss Julia books. This is #14. I think I’ll delete this one too.
  • Keep or Delete: Delete

Sisterchicks in Wooden Shoes by Robin Jones Gunn

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: I deleted the other Sisterchick book above, so I’ll delete this one too. If I can’t read #1 I won’t be able to read #8 lol.
  • Keep or Delete: Delete

Sisterchicks Do the Hula by Robin Jones Gunn

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: Same as above.
  • Keep or Delete: Delete

Angels at the Table by Debbie Macomber

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: Christmas book about angels bringing two people together to love.
  • Keep or Delete: Delete

Black Hills by Nora Roberts

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: This sounds like it might be good, but I don’t know if it’s enough to keep. Especially since I haven’t read her other works.
  • Keep or Delete: Delete

Stars Collide by Janice Thompson

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: About two actors who play a couple on screen but are actually a couple in real life.
  • Keep or Delete: Delete

A Promising Man by Elizabeth Young

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: Sounds like it could be a cute romance. I’ll bite.
  • Keep or Delete: Keep.

It All Began in Monte Carlo by Elizabeth Adler

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: I saw it was suspense, and thought ok. I can do this. But honestly, there’s A LOT going on in the synopsis and I’m just not up for that.
  • Keep or Delete: Delete.

We are ending at 1919! Only 20 books and we are under 1900! Progress, people! So, my biggest surprise was A Promising Man. I didn’t think I’d keep any of the second set of 10.

Only 123 books to go and we are done with everything I added on June 27! I don’t know why I added so many that day. Like, I wish I could go back to me then and ask myself what I was doing. Cause it’s causing me some headaches now.

I may do a bonus post later on this week. I am so ready to be under 1900 on my tbr and to have a true tbr! But I’ll also probably add any arcs I request or receive, so that will skew the numbers a bit.

Anyway, did I make any wrong choices? What do you think about these books? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time…

adult, contemporary, Romance

Down the TBR Part 11!

Courtney/Enchanted.to.Read.You

Last week we made it through 100 books! I’m so excited to start the next 100 and dwindle down my TBR as much as possible. Lord knows I have a ton of current books to add!

First thoughts. Uhm. There are 7 Christmas books. What the hell?! Like, why? And the other three are Nora Roberts. So there’s not going to be a lot of diversity, unfortunately. This may be my second week in a row of deleting all 10! We’re staring at 1942. Let’s see where we end.

A Creed County Christmas by Linda Lael Miller

  • Date added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: Christmas love story set in 1910 in the Montana wilderness. This is a book for my mom.
  • Keep or delete: Delete

The Christmas Brides by Linda Lael Miller

  • Date added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: This has A Creed County Christmas plus another story. 2-in-1.
  • Keep or delete: Delete

Chesapeake Blue by Nora Roberts

  • Date added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: Adult romance. Not sparking my interest.
  • Keep or delete: Delete.

Christmas in Apple Ridge by Cindy Woodsmall

  • Date added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: Three Amish Christmas novellas.
  • Keep or delete: Delete

Lakeshore Chrsitmas by Susan Wiggs

  • Date added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: A ‘prim’ librarian and troubled child star fall in love while putting on a Christmas Pageant.
  • Keep or delete: Delete

Love Finds You on Christmas Morning by Debby Mayne and Trish Perry

  • Date added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: Two stories about two ladies who get proposed to in the same house on Christmas 85 years apart.
  • Keep or delete: Delete.

The Christmas Candle by Max Lucado

  • Date added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: An Angel finds a poor candlemaker and he needs to decide who in town needs a Christmas Miracle.
  • Keep or delete: Delete

A Lancaster County Christmas by Suzanne Woods Fisher

  • Date added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: Two couples pushed together during a snow storm to find the true meaning of Christmas.
  • Keep or delete: Delete

Northern Lights by Nora Roberts

  • Date added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: Cop starts a new life in Alaska only to find there’s a murderer on the loose!
  • Keep or delete: Keep!

The MacKade Brothers: Rafe and Jared by Nora Roberts

  • Date added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: Two love stories about two brothers. A bad boy and a lawyer.
  • Keep or delete: Delete

We are ending at 1933! I kept the one book about a murderer. I do love me some murder.

I’m again confused by all the Christmas books. I mean, I have kept one or two for this holiday season’s tbr, but none of these struck my fancy.

I’ll see yall again next week as we get through another 10!

Have you read any of these? Did I make the wrong decision? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time…

adult, contemporary, Romance

Down the TBR Part 10!

Courtney/Enchanted.to.Read.You

Guys! We’ve gone through 100 book together! Well, it will be 100 after this. I’ll have to get some stats!

We are starting off this week at 1953. I added two books to my TBR. It’s a real problem. Let’s jump right in and see if we can get under 1950! By the first look at these books, I think we will.

The Paper Bag Christmas by Kevin Alan Milne

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: Book about bringing the Christmas spirit to everyone.
  • Keep or Delete: Delete

An Amish Christmas by Cynthia Keller

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: Why all the Amish Christmas books? Just not my jam.
  • Keep or Delete: Delete

The Au Pairs by Melissa de la Cruz

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: Three teens in East Hampton for the Summer. I think I would have loved this YA when I was a bit younger, but not now.
  • Keep or Delete: Delete

Tell Me Lies by Jennifer Crusie

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: Very chick lit. Very adult – but not in the sexy way.
  • Keep or Delete: Delete

Danny by Susan Vance

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: This is a sequel, but the synopsis was king of convoluted and wasn’t enough to make me look into book 1.
  • Keep or Delete: Delete

Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind by Ann B. Ross

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: Woman’s husband dies, finds out he had a child with someone else, life turns upside down. No thanks.
  • Keep or Delete: Delete

The Beach House by Georgia Bockoven

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: “Novel tells of the beauty of life and the power of love.” Just not my thing these days.
  • Keep or Delete: Delete

Waiting for You by Susane Colasanti

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: YA contemporary, but just isn’t piquing my interest.
  • Keep or Delete: Delete

The Christmas Singing by Cindy Woodsmall

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: Sheesh. Another Amish Christmas. What was with me in 2015?
  • Keep or Delete: Delete

The Shack by William Paul Young

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: Christian fiction. I’m just not sure about it.
  • Keep or Delete: Delete

We rounded out 100 with a bang! I deleted all 10! My TBR is now down to 1943. Under 1950! Wooo! Let’s look at some stats

  • I kept 32 books.
  • I deleted 67 books.
  • One book was a 3-in-1 that I deleted, but added one of the books from it to my tbr.
  • I’ve read one from the books I kept.

Not too bad for the first 100 books! I’m looking forward to the next 100!

Have you read any of these? Should I have kept any? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time…

adult, contemporary, two star book

An Irish Christmas Review!

Courtney/Enchanted.to.Read.You
  • Title: An Irish Christmas
  • Author: Melody Carlson
  • Publisher: Revell
  • Publish Date: September 1, 2007
  • Pages: 192
  • Book Form: E-book
  • Genre: Christmas, Christian Fiction
  • Dates Read: Dec 22, 2019
  • Rating: ★★.5

For Colleen, life is spinning out of control. She just lost her husband, and her relationship with her young adult son Jamie is crumbling. Should she confess to him the secret that has been haunting her for twenty years? Jamie has a few secrets of his own. When he announces his plans to join the military, Colleen decides it’s time for the two of them to take a trip together–to Ireland. The truth they discover there could fulfill both their dreams in a way neither ever thought possible. An Irish Christmas is a captivating story of love, deception, and secret passions, from popular and prolific author Melody Carlson.

– Goodreads

So this was the first book I read off my Down the TBR lists! I kept it because it was around Christmas time and the synopsis said there was deception and secret passion. That sounds amazing. Unfortunately, this book was a flop for me.

First, I didn’t realize it was Christian fiction. If I had realized that, I probably would have deleted. It’s just not my jam.

The story started off kind of slow. It didn’t really pick up until the last 20% or so, when you started figuring out all the deceptions. I can’t remember anything about any of the characters. They were just sort of flat with no emotion. The author would say they were crying, or happy, and I just didn’t feel anything.

There were some positives about this book. It was short – only 192 pages, and I read it in a day. I love a book I can just sit and finish! Once you started seeing the deceptions, it got really interesting. I just wish there was a lot more build up. I wasn’t interested in reading about the characters just randomly traveling all over Ireland.

If you’re a fan of Christmas novels and Christian Fiction, you’d probably like this book. I just felt bored during certain parts. Just not my cup of tea.

Until next time…

adult, contemporary

Down the TBR Part 7!

Courtney/Enchanted.to.Read.You

You know guys, I’m really bad at this tbr thing. When last we left off, my TBR was at 1952. I started adding in all my arcs, and a few other books. My TBR is now at 1969. It went the wrong way! Ugh.

Anyway, let’s get this started and see if I can’t thin this out a bit.

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: Nonfic about a guy who was in a disaster on Mount Everest. I don’t think I would like this one.
  • Keep or Delete: Delete

Between Friends by Debbie Macomber

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: Chick lit about two girls who grew up in completely different backgrounds who remain friends throughout life. Not for me.
  • Keep or Delete: Delete

This Matter of Marriage by Debbie Macomber

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: Another chick lit about a girl who just HAS to get married. Be independent, girl!
  • Keep or Delete: Delete

One Night by Debbie Macobmber

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: Two rival radio hosts fall in love in one night. Ehhhh….
  • Keep or Delete: Delete

Patchwork Christmas by Colleen L. Reece

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: 2-in-1 Christmas Story with romance. I think I will pass on this one.
  • Keep or Delete: Delete

The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: Christmas story about a boy’s journey to realize material possessions aren’t the best thing in life
  • Keep or Delete: Delete

The Snowflake by Jamie Carie

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: “A soul-deep romance that gives a joyful reminder of a redeeming God who makes us each unique.”
  • Keep or Delete: Delete

One Perfect Gift by Kathleen Morgan

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: MC is a nurse. Falls in love with patient’s son.
  • Keep or Delete: Keep!

The Judge Who Stole Christmas by Randy Singer

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: Judge tries to cancel Christmas and he and the city battle. Too bad it’s not a physical battle.
  • Keep or Delete: Delete

Alaska Twilight by Clleen Coble

  • Date Added: June 27, 2015
  • Thoughts: I’m not so sure I want to read about a girl following a bear biologist around in Alaska.
  • Keep or Delete: Delete

Wow guys. This was the most I have deleted yet! I deleted 9/10 books! I really only kept One Perfect Gift because the MC is a nurse. I have to read it. I’ll probably save it for November/December though. Also, what was with all the Christmas books added in June? I wish I knew what I was thinking back then.

We are leaving my tbr at 1960. 8 more than last week. Here’s to hoping i won’t add any this week!

Have you read any of these books? What were your thoughts? Let me know!

Until next time..