Christmas in July Book Reviews (Post Three)

Hi everyone, as I said in my first post here, I usually do my book reviews separately so that each one gets their own due. But after December and all the Christmas books I read but did not get reviewed then I thought that I would make a special "Christmas in July Book Review post.

  I Love Love Love Christmas and all of the books that I read were awesome. This may be a little bit long of a post, due to me wanting to give you some of my thoughts on each of the nine books (some are pictured above), that I am going to post today. And give you my rating of them each.    

I did actually get some of my books done in Dec. 

So on with my seventh book in this Christmas in July set of reviews.

 Blame it on the MISTLETOE by JOYCE MAGNIN

Synopsis:    

Is There Really a Fountain of Youth in Paradise?
Welcome back to Bright’s Pond, where strange happenings are afoot at the Greenbrier Nursing Home. Strange even for Bright’s Pond.
The residents suddenly act like kids again—riding trikes, climbing trees, and—of all things—falling in love. Some of the townsfolk blame it on the crooked new gazebo, or its builder, a quirky little man who quotes Don Quixote, collects water from the fountain at the Paradise trailer park, and disappears on a regular basis.
While Chief of Police Mildred Blessing investigates the mystery, Griselda and her friends deal with a luau Thanksgiving, preparations for the Christmas pageant, and maybe even an upcoming wedding.
Only, in Bright’s Pond, nothing ever really goes as planned . . .

My Review:  
How would you like to act like a kid again? Or how many times have you acted like a kid lately? 

This is one funny corky book. I loved reading it all the way through till the end. 

After reading this one I would love to know if we can actually find the true Fountain of Youth..

So due to the above, I am giving this book a Breath of Life ratings of: 

Five Clock Rating!!! 

Disclosure: I did not receive this book for my honest opinion and review. But these opinions are my own and yours may differ.

About the Author: 

Joyce Magnin is the author of the popular and quirky Bright's Pond novels. She is a frequent conference speaker and writing instructor. When she's not writing or reading Joyce enjoys baseball, needle arts, video games and cream soda but not elevators--especially glass ones. She listens to many kinds of music, shamelessly confesses to enjoying American Idol, has never eaten a scallop or sky dived. Joyce has three children, Rebekah, Emily and Adam and three grandsons, Lemuel, Cedar and Soren and one son-in-law, Joshua. Joyce lives in Havertown, Pennsylvania with her son, Adam and their crazy cat, Mango, where she cares for an eighty-year-old onion plant.

Website:

Book Review Number Eight: 

CHRISTMAS WITH GRANDMA ELSIE by Martha Finley  

Synopsis: 

Enter the world of Elsie Dinsmore! These nineteenth-century fictional chronicles of a beautiful young heiress in the Civil War South have captivated generations of 10- to 14-year-old readers eager to follow Elsie's life from childhood to motherhood and beyond. You'll find Christian values, tender romance, family fun, and lasting lessons--refreshed for a new generation! These later books in the series include visits to historic sites in Boston, Philadelphia, New Orleans, and New York, and feature custom illustrations.

Christmas with Grandma Elsie, Book 14 Sleigh rides, ice skating, and rousing snowball fights abound when Grandma Elsie hosts the holidays! Cousin Ronald Lilburn visits and is a welcome source of fun.

My Review:  

A Classic. And one that reminded me of our Christmas' when I was growing up. One of my grandma's raised us four kids along with our dad. I loved when the whole family, aunts, uncles, cousins and all met at grandma's house. 

One classic you need to pick up and read this coming Christmas for sure. 

 

So due to the above, I am giving this book a Breath of Life ratings of: 

Five Clock Rating!!!  

Disclosure: I did not receive this book for my honest opinion and review. But these opinions are my own and yours may differ.

About the Author: 

Martha Finley was a teacher and author of numerous works, the most well known being the 28 volume Elsie Dinsmore series which was published over a span of 38 years. Finley wrote many of her books under the pseudonym Martha Farquharson. 

Website:

or 

Website:

Book review number Nine:

 

A CHRISTMAS HOME by GREG KINCAID

Synopsis:

  Todd McCray, hero of A Dog Named Christmas, is now twenty-four years old and working at a local animal shelter, where he meets and quickly becomes best friends with Laura, a young volunteer. Laura, like Todd, has disabilities of her own, but her struggles are more physical than developmental. Their friendship is sealed when Todd—with the help of his trusted companion, the tenacious Labrador retriever named Christmas—trains a beautiful dog named Gracie to help Laura with the day-to-day life tasks that are difficult for her.
            Life seems good for Todd, but all is not well in his hometown. Struggling families unable to make ends meet are abandoning more and more dogs, and the shelter is swelling to capacity.  The local government is struggling to meet its obligations too, and in early December, on the cusp of another holiday season, Todd’s boss delivers the bad news.  Due to funding problems, the shelter will close its doors before the end of the year.  But what will happen to all the animals?
   As the Christmas holiday approaches, Todd has limited time to find homes for all the dogs. Not to mention that he needs to secure a new job and figure out what to do when his friendship with Laura takes an unexpected romantic turn. All this seems overwhelming unless you’ve got a loving family, dedicated friends, and a couple of very special dogs behind you. In which case, nothing is impossible. 

My Review:  

Do you love animals? Do you love awesome and unusual gifts? Well let me say this: THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU!!! 

I love both and love to read about them. It kept my attention the whole way through. Even though I was very busy with holiday prep this was a book I didn't want to let go of. 

Author Greg Kincaid really knows how to grab your attention and keep it from the beginning to the end.  

So due to the above, I am giving this book a Breath of Life ratings of: 

Five Clock Rating!!!  

Disclosure: I did not receive this book for my honest opinion and review. But these opinions are my own and yours may differ.

About the Author:

Greg Kincaid, author of A Dog Named Christmas and Christmas with Tucker, is a practicing lawyer who specializes in family law mediation. He is also an active advocate for literacy and for the humane treatment of animals. He helped to start the Foster a Lonely Pet for the Holidays program that has found homes for tens of thousands of shelter dogs. The father of five children, he lives on a farm in western Johnson County, Kansas, with his wife, two cats and two dogs.

So I hope you have enjoyed these reviews of my Christmas Books.