Review: The French Kitchen

Posted on January 27, 2026 by Barbara Harper

The French Kitchen by Kristy Cambron is a novel set mostly in two timelines in France–one in 1943, during WWII, and one after the war in 1952.

Kat Harris likes to work in her deceased father’s garage in Boston, but her high-society French mother wants to turn her into a debutante. Her brother, Gavin, stops by to say he’s going on a trip with friends for a couple of weeks and will write. But he never does. Kat learns that he joined the military to fight in the war, but he’s missing. Kat is recruited by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and is sent to France.

Due to an accident on her way to her assignment, she is injured. She wakes up in the house of the Vichy captain in a small French village. Since Manon, the chef at the nearby Chateau du Broutel–also an operative–was expecting a replacement who didn’t arrive, she claims Kat is the person she was expecting, named Celene. Kat aids the OSS and the French Resistance under the noses of the Nazis while also learning to cook French Cuisine.

In 1953, Kat receives a telegram saying her brother is alive. She believes it was from the same Vichy captain. When she confronts him, he neither confirms nor denies it. But they decide to enter a marriage of convenience to help each of them with their pursuits.

Then Kat runs into the man that betrayed her during the war. He goes by a different name now, and they can’t let on that they know each other. But now she wonders if he sent the telegram for his own purposes. In addition to searching for her brother, she has to keep one wary eye in what this man is doing.

Kat’s friend, Mimi, talks Kat into coming to cooking classes with her, taught by Julia Child–before she was known as the Julia Child. As Julia and Kat become friends, Kat learns she has more in common with Julia than a knowledge of French cooking: Julia also worked for the OSS during the war.

Kristy Cambron is one of my favorite authors. I would almost buy a new book from her before knowing what it was about. I liked the overall story here, but I found it very hard to follow. I’ve read many books with dual timelines–and even a few of Kristy’s with three–without any trouble. But I think the fact that these two timelines were close together, involved many of the same people, many of whom had two different names due to their espionage, and both timelines involved looking for Kat’s brother, made them so similar that it was hard to distinguish them at first. I had to make a point of looking at the dates before each chapter to get oriented.

Plus there were a lot of details and surprises of discovering who certain persons were and where their loyalties unexpectedly leaned.

Also, Kristy usually writes Christian fiction. There’s little mention of anything Christian here besides an occasional reference to prayer or a “God help him.”

The book did have its bright spots. It was fun to discover who some of the people really were. I liked the unfolding relationship between Kat and her husband. And though I know nothing about French cooking and little about Julia Child, I enjoyed seeing her in the pages.

I didn’t dislike the book–I just didn’t enjoy it as much as some of Kristy’s others. But lots of other readers did, so you might, too.

Kristy wrote a fun article about what she learned from Julia while writing this book here.

Review: Saving Grayson

Posted on January 22, 2026 by Barbara Harper

In the novel Saving Grayson by Chris Fabry, Grayson Hayes has early-onset Alzheimer’s. He knows his diagnosis and realizes his thinking ability and memories are slipping away. But there are some wrongs he would like to right while he can–even if he doesn’t remember exactly what they are.

He has a recurring dream about a woman in his home town. She’s on a bridge and someone is trying to push her off. Grayson feels his dream is a sign that he is supposed to go back to his home town in West Virginia and either save her from her fate, or find out what happened and who is responsible so justice can be satisfied.

Gray’s longsuffering wife, Lottie, has sworn never to go back to WV. And she can’t let Gray drive alone. But a young Black man named Josh volunteers to drive Grayson from AZ to WV.

As you might imagine, Josh and Grayson have several arguments and misadventures along the way.

Grayson isn’t a very nice person. At first we assume this is because of his condition and his frustration over things like his wife trying to sell his tools and pack up for a move. Grayson is paranoid, instantly thinking people are conspiring against him instead of assuming there is a reasonable explanation for whatever is happening. Lottie knows this is part of his disease but admits she is exhausted.

Yet when Grayson finally makes it to WV, nearly everyone he meets says, “I can’t believe you would come back here.” So we wonder if maybe his abrasiveness is not completely due to his disease after all.

Yet Grayson had an encounter with God late in life that changed him, and moments of clarity sometimes come through.

Chris Fabry skillfully weaves together threads of what it’s like to lose your memories and yourself, to love someone in this situation, the value of all life, the nature of forgiveness and receiving love, a little humor, and some suspense.

I’ll admit the first few chapters were not a cozy read–it was frustrating to read of Grayson’s misunderstandings and antics. Yet I am sure it’s many times more frustrating for all involved to actually deal with these issues.

But I am so glad I kept with the book. I loved the redemptive arc the story took. There was a nice “aha” moment when I realized who one character was (I don’t want to say more and spoil the surprise for other readers). The last chapter was a nail-biter.

Some of my favorite quotes from the book:

He had clear memories of the past, but others were fuzzy, like a photo taken from a car at a high rate of speed (p. 9. Kindle version).

How many of the mean people he’d met in his life were just scared of something, a monster they couldn’t see past? (p. 55).

Can God forgive what a man can’t remember? Can a man atone for the mistakes that haunt him when his memory is in ruins? If I could go back and relive a moment or an action, I don’t know where I’d go or what I’d do to make up for my failures (p. 215).

Let people love you. Don’t push them away. Allow God to love you through those he’s put in your life. Live knowing you are loved. You don’t earn that kind of love. You just receive it every day (p. 229).

Forgiveness is not never thinking of the bad things again. Forgiveness is choosing to move past them. Or maybe better put, allowing the past to move in next door (p. 240).

Chris has a Q&A about the book here. I got the Kindle version on sale last year and then the Audible version, read by Chris, a few weeks ago. It was nice to be able to switch back and forth between them.

I wasn’t sure what “Jerry Jenkins Presents” on the front cover referred to. That wasn’t explained inside the book. But this article shares that this book was one of three published by Focus on the Family and edited by Jenkins which deal with modern issues in a redemptive way.

Though this book would be helpful for friends and loved ones of people with dementia, I think it would be beneficial to anyone. The story itself is excellent and enjoyable. And many of us wrestle with feeling we have to earn people’s love–or God’s–instead of receiving it. Or we feel we have to atone for our sins, when Jesus is the only One who can do that.

Review: Count the Nights by Stars

Posted on January 20, 2026 by Barbara Harper

In Count the Nights by Stars by Michelle Shocklee, Audrey Whitfield is the college-aged daughter of the manager of historic Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville in 1961. The hotel had once been one of the grandest in Nashville, but was now mainly used as a residential hotel.

Audrey’s mom passed away the year before. Her brother, Emmett has some kind of unspecified developmental issues–though he’s seventeen, he has the mind of a five-year-old. Her father had a near break-down of his own. Plus the employee who worked at the front desk had just gotten married and moved to Texas. So Audrey is helping out until she can get back to school or decide what to do next with her life.

Then one of their oldest residents, Miss Nichols, suffers a stroke. When Audrey’s father learns that Miss Nichols probably won’t return to the hotel, he asks Audrey to box her things until they know what to do with them.

Andrey finds a scrapbook in Miss Nichol’s room dating back to the time of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition in 1897. She keeps it out to show a friend who is interested in history. They find clippings about the expo as well as postcards written from someone named “Peaches” to a “Luca.” Then there’s an article about six women who disappeared during the exposition. Audrey and her friend, Jason, try to research and find out more about this time in their city’s history.

The book goes back and forth between 1961 and 1897, when Priscilla Nichols was the daughter of a railroad magnate. Their family lived in Chattanooga but came to spend several weeks at the Tennessee Centennial Exposition. Her parents keep thrusting her into the company of Kenton Thornley, hoping for an engagement. But Priscilla refuses to be married as part of a business deal. Plus, she knows Kenton isn’t all her parents think he is.

The luxurious Maxwell House Hotel supplied ladies’ maids and drivers for its guests. Priscilla’s maid is a lovely young Italian girl named Gia, and her brother, Luca, is the family’s carriage driver. Since Priscilla’s parents have various social obligations, and Priscilla can’t go around the Expo alone, she is often accompanied by Gia and Luca. She’s amazed at how much more respectful and thoughtful Luca is than Kenton.

Then one day, Gia mysteriously disappears. As Priscilla and Luca use their separate resources to search for Gia, they discover a seamy side to the beautiful city. As they work to rescue Gia, Priscilla can’t help but wonder about the other young women caught up in the same business about which polite women did not speak. But if no one speaks for them or intervenes for them, how will they ever make it out?

I loved the historical aspects to this book, which sent me on internet searches for more information. The Maxwell House Hotel was a real grand hotel in its day, which later became a residential inn. It’s also where Maxwell House coffee was first served. Sadly, the hotel was destroyed by fire in the 1960s. The current Millennium Maxwell House Hotel was named for it but was built on a different site.

It was fun to learn about the Exposition as well. I found some sites online with drawings of some of the buildings and features mentioned in the book. A replica of the Parthenon from the Expo still stands.

I didn’t see in the author’s notes whether the part about six girls going missing during the expo was true. But I respected the careful way Michelle dealt with the trafficking issue. Priscilla wants her life to count, and she knows that if she starts to work with a couple who helps rescue women in this situation, she’ll likely never marry or be accepted in “polite” society of that era.

Michelle says in this interview that one theme of this book is “I see you,” while another is “Love thy neighbor.” I think she brought out both themes well.

I enjoyed Audrey’s story, too. She’s at a crossroads in her life, waiting until she can take the next step. How God leads her and how she changes in the interim was a nice arc as well.

I listened to the audiobook, nicely read by Sarah Zimmerman. But I also checked the Kindle version from Libby especially for the author’s notes.

This is my second book by Michelle, the first being The Women of Oak Ridge. I am eager to read more.

Review: The Book of Hours

Posted on January 14, 2026 by Barbara Harper

In Davis Bunn’s novel, The Book of Hours, Brian Blackstone has been traveling aimlessly for the past two years, grieving the death of his wife. After a harrowing illness in Sri Lanka, and still not completely well, Brian lands in Oxfordshire at Castle Priory, where his wife had grown up. Her aunt had passed away and left the property to him.

The aunt had been elderly and unable to keep up with repairs, plus, the property had sat untouched for some time. It needed a lot of work in addition to an enormous amount of death duties owed. Though Brian would like to keep the place for his wife’s sake, he can’t afford it. The real estate agent in charge of the property already has it set up to be sold at auction.

The people in the small town around the castle mistakenly think Brian is only after the money the estate will bring, not realizing their won’t be any money left after the sale. One who is particularly frustrated with Brian is Cecilia Lyons, an American doctor whose dream has been to practice in an English village. Plus, she loves her home, Rose Cottage, which is one of the buildings on the castle property, and doesn’t want to lose it.

In addition to the castle drama, the local vicar is facing a battle on another front. The church bells had been taken down to be repaired. But some people don’t want them put back up. They used to chime every hour, which annoyed many people. But the vicar insists it’s not just about the bells–the chimes were a call to prayer.

When Brian finds a letter from his wife’s aunt with a clue to finding another message, he, Cecilia, the vicar, and a couple of others discover that the castle problem and the bell problem might be intertwined. But will they find the solution in time?

I am not sure of the time frame of this story. I don’t think one was mentioned. There are cars and phones, but no mention of cell phones, computers, the internet, etc.

Though most of the book takes place in the weeks before Christmas, that’s almost incidental. The connection with Christmas isn’t mentioned until the last chapter.

I really enjoyed the story a lot. I loved how so many people had to overcome their mistaken impressions about each other. There was quite a lot of suspense in the latter half of the book. And I really loved a lot of side characters, particularly an older couple who are Brian’s neighbors. I found the spiritual journeys of the characters quite touching.

The only odd thing about the story was frequent mention of proceeding with an action or conversation because it “felt right.” That’s not so unusual in itself, but it was mentioned so often it began to stand out.

Overall, I loved the book.

Two More Christmas Books

Posted on December 30, 2025 by Barbara Harper

The Wish Book Christmas by Lynn Austin takes place in post-WWII America. Audrey Barrett and Eve Dawson are best friends who came to America after being ambulance drivers in England during the war. That story is told in If I Were You, which I have, but have not read yet.

Each of the women has a young son in kindergarten in 1951. Bobby, Audrey’s son, is quiet and reticent. Eve’s son, Harry, is outgoing and a natural leader.

When the Sears Christmas Wish Book catalogue arrives, the boys are obsessed with all the toys (as well as a dog and a daddy) that they hope Santa will bring them.

At first, Audrey and Eve are at a loss as to how to turn their sons’ attention away from their own desires and towards to the true meaning of Christmas and serving others. But gradually, ideas start coming to them.

Reading this novella without reading the book that came before it means I probably encountered a lot of spoilers. But I don’t think it will ruin my interest in the first book when I get to it.

I thought the story went in the same circles at first, but then picked up as the moms began implementing measures to help their sons.

The moms are dealing with issues of their own: Eve feeling she needs to atone for a past sin, and Audrey feeling she needs to make her own way without relying on others for help.

I’ve had the Kindle version of this for a while, but just got the audiobook via a special coupon from Audible. Once again, it was nice to go back and forth between them since they automatically synced with each other.

Blizzard at Blue Ridge Inn wasn’t described as a Christmas book, though it is set in the weeks before Christmas.

In this story, three women end up at the Blue Ridge Inn at the same time. Amanda Sullivan has been married to her second husband for nine years. She knows she doesn’t love him as much as her first husband, her soul mate, who was killed in a car crash. She’s hoping this romantic get-away will revitalize their relationship.

Erica Parker fears her husband is hiding something, possibly an affair. She’s on a mission to find the truth.

Wendy Peterson is in her twenties and loves having a rich husband and the ability to buy whatever she wants. She’s pregnant with her first child and is a little immature and naive. She can’t wait for her husband to join her at the inn.

However, all three husbands are delayed by work. And then an unusual blizzard traps all three women at the inn for a couple of days. They have nothing else to do but get to know one another better.

When the snow begins to clear, they’re informed that a stranger wants to meet with them together. They learn that they are not at the inn by accident. And it’s no coincidence that none of their husbands have arrived.

What the stranger shares will turn their worlds upside down. Each woman has to decide how she will navigate the changes to her life.

I didn’t know when I started this book that it was the first in a series of six about the women. I was frustrated to find that Wendy doesn’t have her baby until the third book, and apparently the antagonist still hasn’t been dealt with by the sixth. I don’t feel inclined to read the rest of the series–at least, not any time soon. The story was compelling, but the writing didn’t really grab me. It wasn’t terrible, but it just didn’t resonate with me. I have too many other books stacked up that I really want to read to spend time with some that I am not into.

I also wasn’t sure if this was meant to be Christian fiction or not. About 80% of the way through the book, one of the women meets with her pastor, who gives her some good advice.

According to the reviews, though, lots of people love the series. So you might get more out of it than I did.

Three Christmas Stories

Posted on December 24, 2025 by Barbara Harper

I finished one Christmas novel and two novellas recently and thought I’d share them all at once.

In Tidings of Comfort and Joy by Davis Bunn, Marissa is a teen-aged girl whose family is about to go on a longed-for trip to Hawaii for Christmas. But then Marissa gets sick with an unknown illness, so sick she can hardly stand. When she stabilizes, the family decides to go on the trip and leave Marissa with her grandmother, Emily. Emily feels the family needs the respite. And I don’t think this was ever spelled out, but since the trip was only affordable through a special sale, the family would probably not be able to get refunds on the airfare.

Marissa, as you can imagine is heart-broken and blindingly angry. She says a lot of hateful things to everyone–when she can stay awake.

Emily helps care for Marissa and then begins to tell a unknown story from her own past. During WWII, Emily had met and fell in love with a pilot. After the war, she flew to England against her parents’ wishes to marry him. But after a harrowing trip, she arrives only to find that he has gone and left her a note, breaking their engagement. He has made arrangements for her to stay in his flat under the care of his landlady until she can get back home.

The only problem is, she can’t get home. All the means of transportation are taken up by the military trying to get soldiers home.

After grieving for a few days, Emily reluctantly gets involved with the community, specifically the orphanage full of children from different countries. The government wants to send the children to a camp for displaced persons, but Emily and the local vicar fight to keep that from happening. And then an outbreak of hepatitis sweeps the orphanage.

This is a sweet story of finding meaning and purpose in the midst of heartbreak.

Finding Christmas by Karen Schaler is not Christian fiction, but the reviews assured me it was clean, and it was.

Emmie is an over-the-top fan of Christmas. Her family always loved the holiday. But since her parents died, everything about Christmas helps Emmie feel close to them.

Her boyfriend, Grant, is a busy lawyer trying to make partner. Emmie runs the community center her parents started. Their schedules are so crazy, Emmie decides to take a special vacation to Christmas Point, a Christmas-themed town three hours from Seattle. She prepares a scavenger hunt that will lead Grant to the inn where they are staying. The clues start with a present Emmie left with the doorman at Grant’s condo.

But then the present gets delivered to the wrong guy, Sam. He’s a best-selling writer who has been stuck ever since his sister passed away. He thinks the present is from his agent, Candace, to help revive his Christmas spirit. Delighted, he follows the clues only to find, not Candace, but Emmie.

Emmie is devastated that her perfect plans went so awry. She loses all interest in the special dinner she had planned. But, since Grant can’t get away, the inn’s owner encourages Emmie and Sam not to let the dinner go to waste.

As Grant remains glued to his job, Sam is so delighted with the town, he decides to stay for a few days. At first he and Emmie keep running into each other as she participates in some of the activities she had planned to do with Grant. Emmie finds Sam loves Christmas as much as she does. And maybe he’s right about a more laid-back and less scheduled approach to life. And maybe he’s not the wrong guy after all . . .

This book took a thoroughly secular approach to Christmas. But it was a nice story with a Hallmark feel. In fact, the author has written a couple of successful Netflix and Hallmark films (which I have not seen).

Waiting for Christmas: A Story of Hope and the Best Gift of All by Lynn Austin involves characters from her earlier novel, All My Secrets. In that book, Addy was from a wealthy Gilded Age family, but when her grandfather died, the bulk of the estate went to a male heir. Addy had a trust fund left to her. Over the course of the novel, her grandmother convinces her that the excess the family had lived with for years was wasteful. It was better to live a useful live than an empty one of balls and society gossip. Addy married a young lawyer she fell in love with at the end of that book.

In this novella, Addy and Howard have been married about a month. Addy wants to be economical and learn to cook and keep house. Howard assures her that her gifts are better used in the suffrage movement she is active in as well as her charitable pursuits. He’s secretly afraid she will miss the high society life she came from.

Addy comes home one day to find a small, dirty boy, Jack, hiding in the bushes in front of her house. She coaxes him in. He had been looking for her mother, who had visited his orphanage earlier. He insists he is not an orphan. His father is on a ship which is due back at Christmas. When his mother died, their landlord called the authorities, who took him to an orphanage. But his three-year-old sister was hiding and never brought to the same orphanage.

Addy and Howard take the child in and try to help him find his sister as well as learn something about his father. Was his father on a ship, or had he abandoned the family? Did he truly have a sister, or was she imaginary?

Addy’s family’s foundation already supported a few orphanages. But as Addy visits others while looking for Jack’s sister, she’s appalled at their conditions. She’s equally upset to learn that many of the children are not true orphans, but have been left by mothers too poor to care for them. She insists that the suffrage movement was more than a fight for women’s right to vote, but a means of advocating for better conditions for women, better wages, and respectable opportunities to earn a living. But the need is so great.

This was another sweet story with several layers for a novella. Along with the search for Jack’s family and Addy and Howard’s adjustments to marriage and each other, it explores the truth that help doesn’t necessarily come from grand efforts at saving the day, but in small acts of kindness to those God places in our path.

All three of these were audiobooks, but I either had the Kindle version already, or found it for a couple of dollars. It’s nice when that happens. I love being able to go from reading to listening and back, depending on circumstances. The narrator for the first book was a little annoying, but not enough to set the audio aside. The other two were great.

These books all were a nice way to enhance my Christmas spirit and celebrations.

Review: My Beloved

Posted on December 17, 2025 by Barbara Harper

Jan Karon’s last book in her beloved Mitford series was published in 2017 and was supposed to be the end of the series. But she began to play around with an old short story idea, and eventually came up with My Beloved.

The premise of the story is that Father Tim, an Episcopal priest and the main character, has been told by his wife that all she wants for Christmas is a love letter. In a moment of inspiration, he bares his heart on paper. He also buys her a book of poetry, tucks the letter inside, and wraps them.

But then the letter and book go missing. After tracing his steps and racking his brain, he still can’t find them or come up with any ideas about where they could be. He tries a few times to write another, but just can’t get it to sound like the first one did.

Meanwhile, the letter and book get accidentally passed to various Mitford characters. Sometimes the result is comic, sometimes touching.

There are a few subplots running through the book. One involves Hope, owner of the Happy Endings book store, and the financial difficulties threatening the store. Former Mayor Esther Cunningham and her husband are aging and fussing with their “bossy” daughters over what they can and can’t do.

Dooley made an appearance in the first Mitford book as a “throwaway” boy who comes under Father Tim’s influence and, over the course of the series, eventually becomes his adopted son. Though the Mitford books are generally “cozy” reads, they don’t shy away from serious issues. Dooley’s mother had been an alcoholic who gave away some of her children for drink. Though she has become sober and even become a Christian, and all her children have been found, there are still underlying issues and pains blocking healing and relationships.

This book was structured a little differently, rotating the point of view with each chapter. I loved how the dialect instantly let us know which “voice” was speaking, even though the subject’s name was the name of the chapter.

Some of my favorite quotes:

Father Tim: “God’s love for his children wasn’t just for them to have and to hold, it was to freely, spontaneously give away—and to gratefully receive from others.”

Esther: “She was already surprised, thank you. Surprised by bein’ old as dirt; surprised by losin’ her scatter rugs; an’ surprised by goin’ from a mayor everybody voted for to an old woman whose car battery died months ago from sittin’ in th’ garage with a mouse nest under th’ hood.”

Cynthia: “Every saint has a past. Every sinner has a future.”

Esther: “A recliner was a drug, an’ she was overdosin’.”

Ray: “He would consider it a freebie for old people. I’m not goin’ there.” Esther: “Freebies for old people is exactly where I’m goin’.”

Esther: “At their age, surprises were not a good idea in th’ first place. You could keel over from a surprise.”

Helene: “With war raging around the world and suffering everywhere, how extraordinary, how beautiful this life could be. There were no words, really. No words.”

Father Tim: “There was only one person in the world who would really get what just happened. Thank God he was married to her.”

Father Tim: “Even now, that tribe is splitting apart, that one small wounded fragment is scattering in all directions, nursing their wounds, reluctant to give up anything so darkly familiar as their wounds, and headed to places from which they may not find their way back.”

Father Tim: “Why invite more pain into a family raised on pain? Because pain can serve as a passageway to joy. It’s that dark tunnel that goes through a mountain and dumps us out on the other side where the light is.”

I’ve seen reviews of Christian fiction that complain over the least mention of any religious content. So I have always marveled that these books so full of gospel truth have been so popular with the general public. Oh, I wouldn’t agree with every little point. But the great majority of these books are spot on.

Reading a Mitford book is like a visit back to one’s hometown. It was good to catch up with various characters and their situations.

Updated to add: Jan was interviewed on CBS This Morning recently:

Review: The Christmas Book Flood

Posted on December 16, 2025 by Barbara Harper

Jolabokaflod is an Icelandic tradition that translates to “Christmas Book Flood.” It began in 1944 near the end of WWII. Iceland was occupied by the Americans, and their willingness to spend money in town and help arrange for exports of the country’s fish helped Iceland become a little more prosperous than many European nations occupied by Germany.

But many items were still in short supply due to rationing. Icelanders were already great readers and storytellers, but this particular year, books were the main gifts. A tradition began Christmas night of people reading the books they had gotten for Christmas, often while enjoying hot chocolate. Sounds like a great idea to me!

Roseanna M. White has set her novella, The Christmas Book Flood, in this time and place.

Tatiana Eliasdottir is her uncle’s assistant at his publishing house. Tatiana’s sister calls to ask if she can send her seven-year-old daughter for the holidays. Her sister is having difficulties in her pregnancy, and has lost several unborn babies. Her sister’s husband has injured his leg and is out of work. They felt their daughter, Elea, needed a brighter, happier setting for Christmas. Tatiana agrees to host Elea. At first the girl is disconsolate over not being home for Christmas. But getting into some of the traditions and learning she’ll be able to go to work with Tatiana, where her favorite author, Anders Johannsson, also works, begins to lift her spirits.

Author, illustrator, and editor Anders and his secretary agree to help Tatiana watch Elea when Tatiana can’t be at her desk. Tatiana has liked Anders for a while, but he is so shy and quiet and easily flustered that it’s hard to talk much with him.

Anders’ personality tends toward quietness, but he is also that way because he feels like a misfit. His brothers are all hardy, big, strapping fishermen who make fun of him for his shyness and bookish ways.

A true part of the story deals with the publishing companies teaming to form a “Book Bulletin” sent to every home.. The results were so successful–a flood of orders–that they weren’t sure they would be able to fill the orders before Christmas.

Another part deals with Tatiana and Anders getting to know one another and overcoming their misconceptions.

Woven in with the plot was some Icelandic folklore. They don’t have Saint Nicholas, but they do have the “Yule lads“–Troll brothers who take turns visiting in December and leaving gifts in shoes if they find everything to their liking.

This was a delightful novella. I knew very little about Iceland and its traditions and folklore. Then the plot was so different from many Christmas novellas. And, though there’s a slow romance, the book is not at all cheesy. The characters have things to learn and ways to grow along the way.

There were a couple of anachronisms–I don’t know if they talked about “patriarchal” expectations of women then, or “fighting the patriarchy”–at least not in those terms.

Happily, this audiobook did include the author’s notes about the inspiration and research for this book.

I listened to the audiobook, nicely read by Talon David. The only negative to listening was I had no idea what some of the Icelandic terms and names looked like. But there was usually enough explanation that I understood what was going on.

Review: A Royal Christmas

Posted on December 9, 2025 by Barbara Harper

Melody Carlson must be the queen of Christmas novellas–she’s written dozens of them.

In A Royal Christmas, Adelaide Smith is a law student working her way through college as a barista. Her mother passed away three years earlier, and she’s still grieving.

One day she gets an official-looking letter saying that her DNA in a registry has indicated she is the daughter of King Maximillian Konig of Montovia, a small European country near Lichtenstein.

At first, Adelaide believes the letter is a scam. But upon further investigation, she begins to think it might be legitimate. Her mother had never said a word about her father.

She calls the phone number provided in the letter and is told her father is dying. He would very much like to meet her while he can. He will pay all her expenses to travel to Montovia.

So Adelaide travels to Montovia for the month of December. She’s met by a member of Parliament named Anton, who has been assigned to be her guide and help her with anything she needs.

Adelaide meets with the king and is soon drawn to him. She learns the particulars of her parents’ relationship. She discovers her father would like for her to rule in his place when he passes on. Though Adelaide comes to love Montovia, she’s not even a citizen. What would she know about being a queen?

Not everyone would be happy about her staying on, especially not her father’s wife, who has been grooming her son from a previous marriage to take over for the king.

Amidst learning the privileges and problems of royal life, evidence of some kind of intrigue arises.

This book had Princess Diaries vibes at first. Though there are some similarities, the plot is different. Some parts were predictable. But it was a nice, short Christmas read.

The audiobook was free from Audible’s Plus Catalog, and the ebook was $1.99 at the time I purchased it (and still was as of yesterday).

Review: Drenched in Light

Posted on November 13, 2025 by Barbara Harper

Drenched in Light is the fourth novel in Lisa Wingate’s Tending Roses series.

Julia Costell trained all her life as a ballerina, but crashed soon after being accepted into the Kansas City ballet troupe. The emphasis on body line and thinness and the stress of competition led to an eating disorder, which led to a ruptured esophagus and near death.

Now she’s 27, living at home with worried helicopter parents, and working as a guidance counselor at the same performing arts magnet school she attended.

Julia feels lost and without purpose. But then one day a student named Dell Jordan is sent to her office with a troubling essay she had written for English.

Dell was the impoverished neighbor of Grandma Rose in the first book in this series. She started out as a side character, but now has moved to the forefront. The previous book, The Language of Sycamores, ended with Dell being adopted by Karen and James, Karen being Grandma Rose’s granddaughter. Dell is something of a musical prodigy–she has an a beautiful voice and an aptitude for piano even though she had no training.

Her adoptive parents thought the performing arts school would be the best for Dell. But the students there are from well-to-do and high-level families. Some of the administration, as well, as the students, don’t see Dell as the “right kind of student.” Though she excels in music, she’s behind in her other subjects. Furthermore, though she knows her new parents love her, she feels a need to keep everything “perfect” before them. So they don’t know she’s struggling.

Julia sees something of herself in Dell–their circumstances are different, but they both deal with pressure and expectations. So she offers to tutor Dell privately.

Meanwhile, Julia becomes aware of other problems within the student body. But the principal and school board members want to keep up the school’s reputation, so they want problems handled discreetly or swept under the rug. Julia is advised to “play the game.” Yet she sees the kids are hurting. If she pushes the issues, she might lose her job.

There’s a fun side story with Julia’s sister’s upcoming wedding and the wedding dress restorer Julia finds to repair their mother’s wedding dress.

Also, some of the characters from the previous books make appearances here.

I thought the book started a little slowly at first, but gained traction in the last third or so, becoming very exciting towards the end. I enjoyed Julia’s and Dell’s journeys.

I was dismayed by instances of taking God’s name in vain, using “Good God!” and such as expressions.

But otherwise, I thought this was a great story. I listened to the audiobook nicely read by Erin Spencer but also checked out the e-book from the library for the author’s notes.