{Blog Tour} The Greatest French Holiday Stories of All Time (Review & Giveaway)

The Greatest French Holiday Stories of All Time (short story collection) 
 Release date: October 10, 2017 at New Vessel Press 
ISBN: 978-1939931504 142 pages 
Website Goodreads  

SYNOPSIS

A continuation of the very popular Very Christmas Series from New Vessel Press, this collection brings together the best French Christmas stories of all time in an elegant and vibrant collection featuring classics by Guy de Maupassant and Alphonse Daudet, plus stories by the esteemed twentieth century author Irène Némirovsky and contemporary writers Dominique Fabre and Jean-Philippe Blondel. With a holiday spirit conveyed through sparkling Paris streets, opulent feasts, wandering orphans, kindly monks, homesick soldiers, oysters, crayfish, ham, bonbons, flickering desire, and more than a little wine, this collection encapsulates the holiday spirit and proves that the French have mastered Christmas. This is Christmas à la française—delicious, intense and unexpected, proving that nobody does Christmas like the French.

THE AUTHORS

Alphonse Daudet, Guy de Maupassant, Anatole France Irène Némirovsky, Jean-Philippe Blondel, Dominique Fabre, Paul Arene, Francois Coppee, Antoine Gustave Droz, Anatole La Braz

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Review

This is a short story collection like none I have ever read before.  A few of the stories are uplifting towards the end of them and some gave me a lot to think about.  I also want it to be Christmas time after reading the book.

My favorite story was in the beginning of the book with the old man who is out with his family.  He goes into portions of his life and how it went wrong with him and his deceased wife.   I loved getting his reflection back on life and how he came to be sitting with his family.  The author did a great job even going into the dynamic of the family it was only a short story, but it felt very memorable and a lot longer. The ending of the story is adorable and really makes me believe in fate.  This was an excellent addition to the Christmas story collection. 

Each story has a different meaning and is written in a different style.  I found some of the stories harder to follow along with than others, but overall the stories where great with very profound lessons.   Each story is unique in it's own right and they don't really have to be read in any particular order.

I enjoyed the bits and pieces of the older French culture that came through the book.  A large amount of the stories are set in the past and it was great to read about life in that time period in France. I liked how the stories where also dated so you could tell the time period of when the story was taking place. 

I would suggest this as a great nighttime read around Christmas time right when you are getting in the spirit of the holidays.   I would also suggest this could be a book for a middle school reader, although some of the topics where tougher I think it has a lot of valuable Christmas lessons to learn.   

I received a copy of this book from France Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.   This does not effect my opinion of this book.

My Rating: 3/5

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{Blog Tour} Murder at Mistletoe Manor - Holly Tierney-Bedord (Review)

Murder at Mistletoe Manor Book Tour 

By Holly Tierney-Bedord  

Tour Dates: November 20th – 26th, 2016

Blurb:

Klarinda Snow is the innkeeper of a beautiful, historic bed and breakfast in Windy Pines, Idaho. Guests come to Mistletoe Manor to escape from their troubles while enjoying the scenic mountain town.

When all seven rooms of the inn get booked on a Tuesday night in December, Klarinda is excited about having so much business, but a little confused as well. After all, her inn normally isn’t exactly a destination hotspot.

The guests have barely settled in before strange things begin happening. Is this the most accident prone group of travelers ever, or is someone out for revenge?

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Review

This book follows Klarinda Snow who owns the Mistletoe Manor, which is an Inn in Idaho.   Klarinda had recently purchase the Inn and is trying to keep it on budget as well as slowly making improvements.   She finds it odd that on one random Wednesday night all of the rooms in the Inn are booked as she rarely has a full house.   It gets even odder when some of the guests know each other, but Klarinda keeps going. 

I loved Klarinda as the main character of this book.  The book is completely told through the eyes of Klarinda so we don’t get the full ins and outs of how the guests know each other but we get a broader overview, which really makes the story move along.   We get just the right information at the right time to know what is going on, but having the mystery keep going.   Klarinda is just trying to get through the night and is just trying to make the inn successful so she keeps the budget tight.   Klarinda leans on the chef and the house cleaner a lot in the book since they have been with the Inn longer. 

The author does an amazing job with the storyline.  There were parts of the books where I just couldn’t stop laughing while other parts I just couldn’t stop reading because I needed to know what happened.  I also loved how the author did a great job summing up the book and tying up all the loose ends!

We don’t get full backgrounds on all of the guests, which I think would have made the book drag along further and that would be completely unnecessary because the book is the perfect length.  The story moves along at a very steady fast pace.  I felt like by the time I was trying to figure out what was going on something else would happen.   The author also did a great job with all of the details I felt like I could imagine myself at the Inn and also what the colored bedrooms would look like. 

I highly recommend this as a weekend read where you have some time to get into this short book.  The book is very short and fast paced so it was easy to read in one sitting.  This is the perfect book to read while sitting by the firing and just relaxing during the weekend.  

I received a copy of this book from Hello Chick Lit in exchange for an honest review.  This does not affect my opinion of this book.

My Rating: 5/5

 

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About the Author:

Holly Tierney-Bedord

Bio:

Holly Tierney-Bedord is the author of over a dozen books. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin with her husband Bill and their dog Tyler.

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Visit all the Tour Stops:

November 20th

Book Lover in Florida - Book Excerpt Post Hello...Chick Lit - Book Excerpt Post

November 21st

My Novelesque Life - Author Guest Post Steamy Book Momma - Book Review Judging More Than Just the Cover - Author Q&A

November 22nd

Reviews by Crystal - Book Excerpt Post Imaginary Book Club - Book Review

November 23rd

Lilac Diaries - Author Guest Post Thoughts on Books - Book Review Christa Reads and Writes - Book Review

November 24th

Jenabooks - Book Review

November 25th

Bookaholic Babe - Author Guest Post Appletree Books - Book Review

November 26th

Reading To Unwind - Book Review 4TeenReaders - Author Q&A

Tour arranged by:

Let It Snow -- John Green, Lauren Myracle, Maureen Johnson (Book Review)

The story follows three independent mini stories that all interconnected in the ending.  Each author writes with their typical style so it is a interesting read.  The romance in all three independent books adds up to a cute story and fast read that you are not going to want to put down. I got this book from the library as one of my holiday reads.  I didn't not anticipate it to be a can't put down, but I do love the authors who wrote this book so I shouldn't have expected anything less.

The book begins with Jubilee whose parents who got placed into jail after a freak holiday shopping issue.  She than gets on a train going to her grandparents in Florida that gets stuck in the snow outside Grace town.  This is the biggest snow storm ever, which is present throughout the rest of the book.  Jubilee meets Stuart at the Waffle House after she gets off the stuck train. Stuart takes her home and she learns more about herself in that short time than she ever knew, which leads to a new romance.  This story has a very happy ending and some unexpected drama along the way.  Stuart's mom is one of the best characters in the book all she wants is for her son to be happy and sometimes as a younger adult you forget that your parents are looking out for your well being. 

During the train ride there are fourteen cheerleaders who also get off and go to the Waffle House, along with Jeb.   In the second story it follows a group of three friends on there journey to get to the cheerleaders in the Waffle House with Twister.  On the way to the Waffle House they get into a car accident due to the snow banks and race out other people to bring the Twister.  Along, the way though the story takes a twist with two of the characters starting to realize they have feelings for each other.  This I feel is something that does happen with friendships while growing up that feelings start to change as you grow older, which makes the story all to possible.   

The last story follows Jeb's recent girlfriend Addie's emotions from there breakout.   Addie learns from her friends that she might be to self absorbed, which actually caused the breakup.  Addie goes through a quick learning about life and the character development is unreal for her.  I felt that I got such a blunt look at her in the beginning that I needed to know what happened.  All the main characters end up being in the last story together, which gives it a very happy holiday ending.

One of my favorite parts is how the books connect together.  Each author picks a tiny detail that was mentioned in the previous books and expands upon it to make the reader feel they are in one larger story.  The different writing styles of each author also keeps the story moving since it is really like three short stories all rolled into one.  The story feels complete at the ending and ties up all lose ends to make it the perfect romance. 

The book has a broad look at the holidays based on being in a relationship, looking for a relationship, family, and friendships.   Everyone needs someone during the holidays to get thru this time.  

It is the perfect holiday read! It keeps your mind off the stress of the holidays and let's you get lost in a cute romance.  This is the perfect read over the winter time curled up in front of the fire.

Here are a few cute quotes I love in the book:
"The expression is: a boy's best friend is his mother. It's not: a boy's best pimp is his mother.  It is that way for a reason."

"But than again (and here is one of my main complaints about human consciousness): once you think a thought, it is extremely difficult to unthink it."

My Rating 4/5
Author website http://johngreenbooks.com, http://www.laurenmyracle.com,
http://www.maureenjohnsonbooks.com
Publisher Speak
ISBN 9780142414996
Length 352
Format Paperback