Skip to main content

Holidays are for...

Christmas can be a hectic time of year, even without the pandemic blues; new couples try to sort out which side of the family to visit, parents search for the perfect Christmas present, and people reflect on the previous year, wondering what could have been, and what will be next year. 

On top of all of this, many movies, tv shows and books stress the importance of having someone special to say "I love you" to on Christmas Eve/Day. For some odd reason or another, romance has suddenly become an intrinsic part of Christmas. However, it is the decentralization of romance that made me love Home for the Holidays by Sara Richardson.

Home for the Holidays

Dahlia, Magnolia and Rose are sisters who returned to their Aunt's inn, thinking this is their last chance to spend Christmas with her. Upon their arrival, they discover that what they really needed was time away from their busy lives to reassess what it is they really want, and whether or not they should reach for those goals. While there were love interests for all three protagonists, the love interests were very small side stories. Instead, Richardson focused on the importance of reflecting on one's life, discovering what you want and finding the courage to embrace it rather than run from it. 

Easy to read and full of sisterly love, Home for the Holidays made me feel slightly more inclined to like Christmas, despite my Grinchy ways. There were no cringey romantic moments, and although the ending was slightly predictable, I definitely needed a book with a happy ending. 4/5 stars from this Grinch!

If you would like to request a review or share some thoughts with me, please comment below, email me (theopinionatedbookworm@gmail.com), or follow me on Instagram (@theopinionatedbookworm1).

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The House of the Spirits

A good friend of mine once told me, "if a book has a rating of 4 or more stars on Goodreads, it is probably a safe bet that you will like it." This is why I almost always choose my books by their Goodreads rating, a strategy I am currently rethinking after reading The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende. With an average rating of 4.23/5 on Goodreads, I thought I was going to love this book, and for the first four chapters, I did. However, as the story progressed I started to struggle, which has led me to believe that when choosing books I might need to employ tactics that do not solely rely on Goodreads ratings. The Patriarch Isabel Allende's novel takes place in early to mid twentieth century Chile, and tells the story of landowner Esteban Trueba, a man who went from rags to riches using nothing but his mother's honourable last name. Esteban is a classic example of an upperclass patriarch; he believed that by going back to the land of his mother's fami...

Abensa Egralve Uffubensu

 "And so, with laughter and love, we lived happily ever after" (232). Do you have a book that you turn to when you're sad? My happy book is Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, and I found comfort in Ella's journey once again while I was dealing with a small heartache. I always thought it was a wonderful interpretation of Cinderella, and I love how all the characters have a rich backstory, from the evil stepsisters, to Prince Charmont, Mandy the Cook/Fairy Godmother and Ella's best friend Areida. Everyone has a story, rounding out the plot of the novel. When she was a child, Ella was given a gift (or a curse, depending on how you look at it), by the fairy Lucinda, and since then she has always had to obey any command anyone gives her. Her mother forbids her from telling anyone about the curse (not that she would), but when her mother passes away, there is no one who can help Ella defeat the curse. Her father eventually remarries, bringing Ella two stepsisters, H...

The Will. The Words. The Way.

I started 2020 by reading The Ten Thousand Doors of January  by Alix E. Harrow, and although this past year has been hard for so many, for me, it was also one of adventure. I was accepted to my dream university, but prohibited from pursuing that particular adventure by events that we are all well aware of. I briefly lost my job, but became closer with my coworkers because of it. And I was hurt deeply by someone I trusted, but eventually moved on. I cannot say that Harrow's magical words from her debut novel were the reason behind all of these adventures, but I must admit that I was inspired by January to become more resilient, so I find it fitting that I start 2021 with Harrow's second novel, The Once and Future Witches.  The Once and Future Witches Juniper, Agnes and Bella are three sisters that were separated, but somehow found each other again in the city of New Salem, a place where women who rally for the right to vote are accused of witching. "But witching is nothing ...