Christmas is scarily close so I thought now would be the perfect time to indulge in all of those short, lovely Christmas short stories I had languishing on my Kindle. Here's what I thought of them:
Pages:
25
Publisher:
Quercus
Release
Date: 19th
November 2012
Edition:
e-book, free
Kindle download
Synopsis
With Christmas just around the
corner, the residents of Skipley village are gearing up for the annual
bake-off, and tensions are high.
Winning means a lot to everyone
involved – talented cake-shop owner Katie dreams of baking stardom, Rachel
wants to prove she’s more than a stay-at-home mum, and John hopes his culinary
skills will impress the woman he loves.
But when the judges discover
that some cakes have been tampered with, the villagers’ loyalties are called
into question – whose ambition would stretch to sabotage, and why?
Mini-review
I was very impressed by the
depth and history of the characters that took part in the bake-off in this
very, very short story. There were subtle implications of loss, loneliness,
struggles, ambition and love and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’d very much like to
go back to Skipley.
The Perfect
Treat: Heart-Warming Short Stories for Winter Nights, Miranda
Dickinson et al
Pages: 129
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: 17th September 2012
Edition: e-book, free Kindle download
Synopsis
Featuring
short stories from Sunday Times bestselling authors Miranda Dickinson and
Claudia Carroll and highly anticipated debuts from Mhairi McFarlane and Liz
Trenow, this collection is the ultimate treat.
Each
short story is followed up by exclusive extracts of each of the author’s
upcoming titles.
LOVE,
LOSS AND COFFEE CAKE: Through tears, heartbreak and the undying hope of love, a
tale of a pair of star-crossed lovers.
IT’S A
WONDERFUL LIFE: A comedy that proves you should be very careful what you wish
for.
DRIVING
HOME FOR CHRISTMAS: A touching tale about newlyweds desperate to spend their
first Christmas alone.
BREAKING
THE SPELL: A moving story about the power of love and hope.
THE
TWELVE LIES OF CHRISTMAS: A hilarious feature that offers up the truth about
the festive season.
Mini-review
I was a
little bit disappointed by this collection; it wasn’t the Christmas stories I was
expecting. The first was a little rambly and confusing, but I really enjoyed
the idea behind it: an old couple sharing their story over Margaret baking for
the launch of her husband’s boat he’s been restoring for months. It had a lot
of potential and I think would have worked beautifully as a full length novel. It’s a Wonderful Life was sweet and fun
and reminded me a lot of Alexandra Potter’s Be
Careful What You Wish For which I adored years ago. I do love me some
magical realism.
The third
story, Driving Home for Christmas, was
by far my favourite. A nurse working on Christmas Eve, her first as a married
woman that they intended to spend alone together was really touching and
emotional; I genuinely teared up which is impressive as it was so short! I love
stories where a character’s life or tales inspires another to change their
outlook or actions to make the best of what they have.
I wasn’t
really a fan of Breaking the Spell. It
was incredibly odd. Drawing on fairy tales and Sleeping Beauty, a mother tried to cure her daughter out of a vegetative
state using tricks from tales of magic and legend. There wasn’t really a
conclusion and the end was abrupt and just...weird. the final part of The Perfect Treat is The Twelve Lies of Christmas by Mhairi
McFarlane and wasn’t a story at all but a piece on why Christmas is a pain and
a disappointment. It was witty and funny and it’s made me eager to read her
novel.
A very
mixed bag, this one.
Winter Warmers, Carole
Matthews
Pages:
192
Publisher:
Sphere
Release
Date: 26th
November 2012
Edition:
e-book,
purchased
Synopsis
Three short stories from the
wonderfully warm Carole Matthews.
All
I Want For Christmas is You
Christmas is around the corner
but Maria just can’t get into the spirit – will she ever find Mr Right? But
when a secret admirer starts leaving her poems and notes, it looks as though
her luck is about to change...
Cold
Turkey
Tara is in love with a man she
can’t have. She expected to spend Christmas with him but when the big day
arrives, she finds herself alone. Sad and upset, Tara just wants to ignore the
festive season – and then a chance encounter changes everything.
About
Gardening
I love my husband Sam but our
relationship isn’t what it used to be. Can I find a way to bring us back
together?
Treat yourself to this
heart-warming collection today.
Mini-review
Carole Matthews’ three short stories
all held themes of loneliness and the hope of something new and romantic, but I
wasn’t a complete fan of the idea that these women could only be happy with a
man in their life. Saying that, I thought the first story, All I Want for Christmas is You was very sweet and cheerful: a
secret admirer, little Christmas surprises and a burgeoning relationship made
the perfect Christmas story. I was also very fond of the second. The idea of
two broken, lonely souls in unhappy and difficult situations finding solace in
each other knowing how the other felt. It was warm and happy and uplifting. The
third and final story was my least favourite of the collection. It was more of
a stream of consciousness as the woman (whose name I cannot remember...) tended
her wild garden in the cold. She thought about her relationship and why it was
going south and when she came inside made a few small gestures in an attempt to
start again. It didn’t really felt like it went anywhere, if I’m honest.
Another patchy collection, this
time from an author whose full-length novels I used to love – I really need to
start reading chick-lit again.
In a New York
Minute, Eleanor Moran
Pages: 39
Publisher: Quercus
Release Date: 1st December 2012
Edition: e-book, free Kindle download
Synopsis
Amy is
on a film set in New York, trying very hard to wrap up the advertisement she’s
filming in time to catch the last flight home for Christmas. But the actors are
squabbling, the star of the piece, a cat, won’t play ball, and, truthfully,
Amy’s heart isn’t in it anyway – she’d escaped to the Big Apple to try to
forget her broken heart. But as snow begins to fall on Christmas Eve, someone
on set with Amy makes her realise fairytales really do happen in New York.
Mini-review
I was a
little disappointed in the lack of New York in the snow in A New York Minute as in all honestly, that was what appealed to me
about it. I did find the details of being a producer interesting and Amy had a back
story that sounded like it could have been a novel on its own, but I felt like
even making the story a little longer, just past Christmas Day, would have
endeared me to her even more.
Six Geese A-Laying, Sophie
Kinsella
Pages:
28
Publisher:
Transworld
Digital
Release
Date: 16th
December 2011
Edition:
e-book, free
Kindle download
Synopsis
In Six Geese A-Laying, Christmas is approaching, and Ginny is looking
forward to the birth of her first baby. It’s a pity her partner Dan is so
useless, and she has to keep reminding him where he’s going wrong. Luckily
she’s enrolled into the most exclusive antenatal class going – all the highest
achieving, smartest mothers-to-be aspire to be taught by the legendary Peter
Harmon. Like the other five women in the class, Ginny already knows exactly
what she wants, and how she’s going to handle motherhood.
But when they turn up for the
final class it isn’t quite what they expect. As Ginny discovers what parenthood
is really going to be like, she begins to realise the things that really
matter...
Mini-review
I was immediately swept up with
Sophie Kinsella’s offering as Ginny began to conversational tell me the story
of her final antenatal class with a very peculiar teacher. I really liked the A Christmas Carol spin on things; it’s
original and unusual in this type of story. Good fun and nicely hopeful.
So there
you go a very mixed bag of Christmas short stories. Some weren’t even
Christmassy at all to be honest! Oh well, still a nice way to spend a rainy
Sunday afternoon! Do you know of any gorgeous Christmas stories I should read
in the run up to the big day? Comment with suggestions below!
Sophie
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