A Royal Christmas Wedding by Rachel Hauck (Bibliolifestyle Book Tour)

 

Thank you, Partner @bibliolifestyle @tnzfiction for the review copy of A Royal Christmas Wedding by Rachel Hauck.

Have you ever attended a Christmas wedding?  I’ve been to a couple of weddings right after Christmas, but not on or before Christmas.  It’s a beautiful time of year to get married, but we did have to drive through a snowstorm to get to one.

Avery Truitt was a college volleyball star and has dreams of coaching college volleyball.  She is traveling with her mother to the (fictional) Kingdom of Brighton for the holidays as her sister, Susanna, is pregnant.  She will see her former love, Prince Colin, for the first time since he stood her up at prom five years ago.  Will Avery be able to find out the truth on why Colin ghosted her?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       I loved the prologue.  It was a very exiting story set in the 19^th century where a man must ring the Pembroke chapel to signal that there will be a royal wedding on Christmas day.  This last time the bell was run, it resulted in death.  I admit that I did want more resolution on this flashback and wish the story would have flash backed to it again.

·       This is book number four of a series, but it was okay reading it as a standalone.  I would like to read the rest of the series.

·       This book is definitely for fans of the Christmas Prince series on Netflix.  This book would make a good Hallmark Christmas movie.

·       This was a slow read for me and I’m not sure why, maybe the business of the season?

·       This was a clean read and inspirational contemporary romance.

·       It was a modern-day fairy tale.

·       Brighton royalty all seems to marry girls from the American south for some reason.

·       The trope was second chance romance which is one of my favorites. 

·       This story had echoes of Persuasion by Jane Austen although this time it’s the man, Colin, who is persuaded that he shouldn’t pursue a relationship with a foreign non-royal.

Overall, A Royal Christmas Wedding by Rachel Hauck is a sweet inspirational contemporary romance that is for lovers of Hallmark Christmas movies and the Christmas Prince series on Netflix.

A Merry Little Lie by Sarah Morgan

 

Do you travel during the holiday season?  We travel at either Thanksgiving or Christmas to Michigan each year to visit my family.  It’s by car, but the drive through Chicago keeps things exciting.

A Merry Little Lie is a family drama that is told through many point of views.  Becky is trying to get home for Christmas but is stranded at the airport.  She runs into her brother’s best friend Will, and he offers her a ride home.  Will experienced her very embarrassing moment at her twin sister Rosie’s wedding.  Will she be able to face down this embarrassment? 

Rosie married Declan after a very quick relationship.  They are having problems – will they be able to hide them from Rosie’s family?

Hayley is being introduced to Jamie’s family as his significant other and they have some exciting news to share.  Jamie is Rosie and Becky’s older brother.  Hayley is meeting the family for the first time.  Will she find the family she has always wanted?

Jenny is happy her kids are coming home and is trying to put together the perfect Christmas experience.  Will she be able to hold everything together?

My thoughts on this book:

·       A Merry Little Lie by Sarah Morgan is the Brenda Novak Book Club read for December.  I finished it up at the end of the month and still need to watch the book club meeting on Facebook.

·       There were a few different romance tropes in this book including forced proximity, friends to lovers, and second chance romance.

·       I would rate this as some spice.  There were a couple of steamy scenes.

·       It made me laugh when the elders were very excited about the romance between the young people.  Grandma in particular was very forthright in her thoughts.

·       Jenny and her husband, Martin, are having problems as he has just retired as a doctor and doesn’t know what to do with himself.

·       I liked all the relationships in this book including the romantic, sibling, parent, etc.  It was a good family drama.  I liked how the book focused on family in all different stages of life.

·       I loved how Hayley was accepted and able to experience a family Christmas she never had before.

·       This book did move rather slowly for me with all the characters to keep track of.

Overall, A Merry Little Lie by Sarah Morgan is an enjoyable family drama perfect for the holidays and all year round.

Book Source:  Review Copy from NetGalley.  Thank-you!

 

A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie

 

What was your last read of 2025?  A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie was my last read of 2025.

Miss Marple’s nephew, Raymond, has paid for her to vacation in the Caribbean for her health.  She arrives alone but gets to know the people at the resort she is staying at.  She is intrigued by an old soldier’s story.  When he is found murdered, will she be able to connect the story with the crime?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       A Caribbean Mystery is my December pick for the Read Christie 2025 Challenge.  This challenge explored Christie’s stories through her canon of characters and their careers.  December was novels featuring military characters.  A Caribbean Mystery featured “the old major whose habit of storytelling puts him in grave danger.”

·       It cracked me up that just like Poirot, there really is no vacation for Miss Marple. Murder finds her wherever she goes.

·       Fellow guest, Mr. Rafiel and Miss Marple team up to solve the murder.  I liked their partnership.

·       This was a perfect read for Christmas break.

·       There were a lot of shenanigans going on with couples at the resort. 

·       The poor couple that owned the resort know that murder is bad for business and want the case resolved quickly.

·       Nemesis is apparently a sequel to this novel. I hope to get to it this year!

·       Miss Marple has great powers of observation.  When she knits or putters around, people tend to ignore her and say incriminating things in front of her.

·       This novel kept me guessing.

A Caribbean Mystery is a perfect cozy mystery to keep one dreaming of sunny days in the midst of a snowy winter.

Book Source:  Purchased from Amazon.com