Away for Christmas - Jan Ruth

Jonathan Jones has written a novel. Losing his job a few days before Christmas means the pressure is on for his book to become a bestseller, but when his partner drops her own bombshell, the festive holiday looks set to be a disaster.

When he's bequeathed a failing bookshop in their seaside town, it seems that some of his prayers have been answered, but his publishing company turn out to be not what they seem, and when his ex-wife suddenly declares her romantic intent, another Christmas looks set to be complicated.

Is everything lost, or can the true meaning of words, a dog called Frodo, and the sheer magic of Christmas be enough to save Jonathan's book, and his skin?

What did I think?

Just the thing to get us in the Christmas spirit is the latest novella from Jan Ruth, although the main character is more of a grinch than a jolly Santa Claus.  That's why I liked him!  I wasn't sure what to make of Jonathan Jones at first: he's an accountant who wants to swap numbers for letters and become an author.  His idea of keeping warm when it's cold outside is to wear two sweaters - give this guy my number, it's like looking into a mirror!

When Jonathan loses his job at the same time as his partner quits her job, it looks like Christmas isn't going to be much fun.  Add to this Jonathan's struggles with his publisher, who seem to forget he even exists, and even the coldest heart would start to feel sorry for him.  Things start to look up when he becomes the surprise new owner of a charming but neglected bookshop where he finally sheds his accountant skin and takes a few risks that could see all his dreams come true.

A book with books in it is always going to get a big thumbs up from me - it's definitely a book for booklovers.  I could virtually smell the books in Beachside Books and I knew it would be a place where I could spend hours browsing the shelves.  I loved Jonathan's dreams of becoming an author and taking risks which would be completely against his nature.  To see him evolve from an unhappy accountant to a much happier person at the end was well worth it.

Although it has Christmas in the title, it's not too Christmassy so you could definitely read Away for Christmas at any time of the year.  Whenever you read it, I know you will enjoy it as much as I did.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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The Rejected Writers' Book Club - Suzanne Kelman

Librarian Janet Johnson is puzzled when she is invited—and practically dragged—to her first meeting of the Rejected Writers’ Book Club. This quirky group of women would much rather celebrate one another’s rejected manuscripts over cups of tea and slices of lemon cake than actually publish a book. But good friends are exactly what Janet needs after moving to the small town of Southlea Bay, Washington. Just as the ladies are about to raise a teacup to their five hundredth rejection letter, they receive bad news that could destroy one member’s reputation—and disband the group forever. To save the club, Janet joins her fellow writers on a wild road trip to San Francisco in search of the local publisher who holds the key to a long-buried secret. As they race to the finish line, they’ll face their fears—landslides, haunted houses, handsome strangers, ungrateful children—and have the time of their lives.

What did I think?

I had seen some excited tweets about this book and, as a self-confessed chain tea drinker, how could I resist a cover with such fabulous teacups on it?  It's a book club with a difference; every member has written a book and received a rejection letter which is just cause for a get together and celebration.  Then disaster strikes...one of the ladies receives an offer from a publisher!

Janet works in the local library and, after receiving a call from her 'ice child' daughter in distress, decides to visit her daughter in California.  Janet is afraid of flying so she is planning to drive from Washington to California.  This links in nicely with the book club ladies as they need to go to San Francisco to convince the publisher to reverse the offer letter, and as Janet is going anyway they invite themselves along.  As the ladies go off on a road trip, Janet leaves her husband to hilariously cope with the raccoons that visit their garden at night to play dustbin piñata.  

The Rejected Writers' Book Club is a fun read that reminded me of the Golden Girls as the ladies get into so many hilarious scrapes as they attempt to recover the manuscript.  I also really enjoyed the relationship between Janet and her daughter; seeing it develop over the course of the book into something a little less strained.  I read this whole book with a smile on my face; although there were some worrying moments I knew there would be a smile right around the corner.

I do hope Suzanne Kelman allows us to visit Southlea Bay again soon.  I'll certainly be in the queue to read the next book.

I received this e-book from the publisher, Lake Union Publishing, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My rating:

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