Holiday Reads

Here I am with the final book in the Murder, Tea and Crystals trilogy by Sherri Dodd (check out an author interview HERE). Every year, the annual debate over labelling Die Hard a Christmas movie is renewed in my household. In that same vein, I'd like to propose that Hummingbird Moonrise is a perfect (albeit unconventional) Christmas read since it takes place in November-December amid the holiday hoopla.

I LOVE this trilogy and these book covers. Don't miss the giveaway! You can read my reviews:

Book 1: Murder Under Redwood Moon HERE

Book 2: Moonset on Desert Sands - Whoops, read it but never posted a review!

Book 3: Hummingbird Moonrise HERE and below

Holiday Reads

Yes, I will start officially posting some Holiday Reads suggestions on Wednesdays in December but Hummingbird Moonrise, which is holiday-adjacent, got me thinking about what we consider Holiday Books. Sure there are the books that are the equivalent of Hallmark Christmas movies. You may poke fun at them but you know deep down a part of you loves them. The romance, the over-the-top holiday celebrations, the happily ever after. So here's a list of a few holiday reads you may not have considered straight from my bookshelves:

Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke

This book is almost 50 years old but if you like romance a la Little House on the Prairie this is for you. It takes place over the course of a year but there are a few really touching chapters about Christmas.

The Longest Winter by Alex Kershaw

If you can't take anymore holiday sweetness, settle in for a story of the Battle of the Bulge and a platoon that received a Presidential Unit Citation for their heroism.

The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding by Agatha Christie

Technically, "The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding" is just one in a collection of stories but it really captures a classic English holiday and Hercule Poirot's dismay at the holiday traditions.

Skipping Christmas by John Grisham

Save this one for when you realize if your to-do list gets one more holiday event, task or shopping trip added you will run screaming into the night. It's the story of a couple who faced the holiday season mania and said, "Not this year."

The Christmas Tree by Julie Salamon

This is a novella (only 128 pages) with sweet illustrations. Yes, it's a little Hallmark-y but it isn't a romance. Instead it's about a relationship between a young girl (eventually an old woman) and a pine tree. Perfect for an afternoon read while eating Christmas cookies.

Christmas at the Mysterious Bookshop edited by Otto Penzler

For 17 years the owner of a New York City bookstore commissioned writers to write a short story that combines Christmas, a bookstore and crime (or the appearance of a crime...tricky that caveat). They are collected here and the authors include mystery authors from Mary Higgins Clark to Ed McBain. What mystery lover could resist?

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

This book is my dream. Communicating with someone through a journal left in a NYC book shop (during the Christmas season). Granted, they are teenagers but it's fun all the same.

The Jolly Christmas Postman by Allan Ahlberg

The English postman is back, this time delivering letters, cards, invitations and more during the holiday season. And your young reader gets to open all the teeny-tiny envelopes and look at the mail. It will make you want to send your own snail mail.

More About Hummingbird Moonrise

The past two years have taken their toll on Arista Kelly. Once an eternal optimist, now she has faced the darkness and must recalibrate what true happiness means for her. Meanwhile, Shane, her ex-boyfriend, is pulling all the right moves to help keep her sane from her heightening paranoia. But it doesn’t help that Iris, her Great Aunt Bethie’s friend, has disappeared.

Still, one additional trial remains in Hummingbird Moonrise. While searching for Iris, Bethie and Arista stumble upon a grand revelation in the eccentric woman’s home. With the discovery, they realize their run of chaos and loss of kin may have roots in a curse that dates back to the 1940s—the time when their family patriarch first built Arista’s cottage in the redwoods and crafted his insightful Ouija table.

This pursuit will not follow their accustomed recipe of adrenalized action, but the high stakes remain. Will the mysterious slow burn of unfolding events finally level Arista’s entire world or be fully extinguished, once and for all?

More Thoughts on Hummingbird Moonrise

I enjoyed the final act of this trilogy because you can really see how the characters have grown and changed through the books. In the first book, I was still very aware of the fact that these seemingly average people are witches but now it's become such a natural part of their characters. As always, I enjoyed the lush descriptions of everything from gardens to witch rituals.

This book added a great facet for me - delving into the past. Learning more about the family history and roots in witchcraft make this story even richer. If you love tender romances, this is the book for you. At times I felt like this story was speeding headlong into danger at every turn of a page. It left me breathless. The ending left me satisfied but still wondering...could

there be more to this story?

Want to Win?

TWO winners will receive a Super Prize from author Sherri Dodd that includes:

• Hummingbird Moonrise

• Candle

• Gemstone

• Oracle Cards

• Soap

• Lip Balm

• And more!

Enter by November 15th to win HERE