Synopsis: "Christmas is coming to the small town of Cherico, Mississippi, and there’s no better way to prepare than with the Cherry Cola Book Club’s feast of good food, good books—and good people… Cherico’s newlywed librarian Maura Beth Mayhew is back from her honeymoon and she and Jeremy McShay are settling into married life. Maura Beth’s father has even given them the down payment on a charming cottage. But as the holidays approach, Cherico’s economy is struggling. Beloved local shops have closed, jobs have been lost, and there’s even a mysterious crime spree afoot. Amid the gloom, Maura Beth decides what the community needs is a healthy dose of Christmas cheer—which means a special meeting of the Cherry Cola Book Club...
Along with the delicious potluck offerings everyone has come to expect, Maura Beth has invited members and the public to share their most uplifting stories—and share they do. From poignant stories of grief and renewal to joyful stories of love and new life, Cherico’s residents infuse the gathering with so much hope and courage they just might inspire a culprit’s confession, and conjure a holiday miracle that could save the town—and Christmas…"
My Review: I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This is one of those books in a series that you really have to read all the preceding books for it to make any sense whatsoever. You are dumped right into the turmoil of a bunch of characters mid storyline. Usually by a third of the way through a book like this I can manage to straighten things out in my mind and get involved in the story but I was really unable to with this book. I had some issues with the main characters, Maura Beth, it sounds like she is supposed to be in her late 20s or early 30s but the way her character acts and her personality in the book sets her to be in her late 60s. I also found the storyline to continually forced back to her, making her the center of the book, which in the long run made for a rather dull read. Over the years I have read several small town, team work to save it, type books, but this one fell a little flat, it wasn't really the town coming together but rather dumb luck that led to the end events.
Along with the delicious potluck offerings everyone has come to expect, Maura Beth has invited members and the public to share their most uplifting stories—and share they do. From poignant stories of grief and renewal to joyful stories of love and new life, Cherico’s residents infuse the gathering with so much hope and courage they just might inspire a culprit’s confession, and conjure a holiday miracle that could save the town—and Christmas…"
My Review: I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This is one of those books in a series that you really have to read all the preceding books for it to make any sense whatsoever. You are dumped right into the turmoil of a bunch of characters mid storyline. Usually by a third of the way through a book like this I can manage to straighten things out in my mind and get involved in the story but I was really unable to with this book. I had some issues with the main characters, Maura Beth, it sounds like she is supposed to be in her late 20s or early 30s but the way her character acts and her personality in the book sets her to be in her late 60s. I also found the storyline to continually forced back to her, making her the center of the book, which in the long run made for a rather dull read. Over the years I have read several small town, team work to save it, type books, but this one fell a little flat, it wasn't really the town coming together but rather dumb luck that led to the end events.
My Rating: I definitely did not enjoy this book the way I had hoped, maybe if I had read all the previous books I would have had a better connection with the characters, but it just didn't work for me. I give it a rating of Two Paws.
That's depressing. It's too bad this one was a flop.
ReplyDeleteIt was a shame, but I bet if I had read the whole series it would at least have been a little more appealing.
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