Home For Christmas by Jan Ruth

Home for Christmas by Jan Ruth
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - < 1 day

Pages - 112

Publisher -

Source - Bought (I think)

Blurb from Goodreads

An emotive trio of stories with festive themes.
Rudolph the Brown-Nosed Reindeer Rick isn't looking forward to his lonely corporate Christmas, but it's the season of goodwill and magic is in the air. An off-beat love story. It's time Rick wore his heart on his sleeve, or is it too late? Lessons in love from an unlikely source.
Jim's Christmas Carol Santa and Satan pay a visit. One brings presents, the other an unwelcome presence. Paranormal reality. Jim's played with fire it's time he got his comeuppance, but from who?
Home for Christmas Deck the halls with boughs of holly. Fa la-la la-la, la-la la-la. Tis the Season to be jolly... Romantic-comedy. Pip might accidentally find her true vocation, but the folly of her fibs are about to catch up with her.


My Review

The blurb says three emotive stories with festive themes, I didn't find emotive really in any of them, maybe it is just me. The characters aren't exactly the nicest people (not all of them to be fair). The first one a guy goes through the motions and copes with what his relationship was/is whilst away on a work trip over the festive. Alcohol, self explorations/what is important to them plus maybe a wee bit of personal growth.

Story two has infidelity (extra martial affair) the guy is not a very nice chap and mayhap a bit of Karma is on the cards, see what I did there lol. A spiritualist, family, festivities and maybe a bit of comeuppance once can but hope.

The third and final is Pip, returning home from the big city and not wanting to come clean to just about anything and trying to keep the face/imagine she projects. Of them all I think this may well be my "fave" of the trio.

I liked they have Christmas vibes/theme weaved, I liked the visuals the author creates, wasn't a huge fan of many of the characters (not very nice people), I am the first to admit though short stories aren't my first pic. This was my first dance with this author and I am sure I have actual novels of hers so looking forward to trying them but for me, this one was 3/5. So many folk loved them, I liked them so absolutely check them out for yourself.

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Home For Christmas by Annie Groves

Home for Christmas by Annie Groves
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - In and out over 3 days

Pages - 311

Publisher - Harper Collins

Source - The Works

Blurb from Goodreads

'Home for Christmas' is a tale of four very different young women thrown together by war. Finding freedom and independence - as well as love, passion and heartbreak - for the very first time, a unique bond is formed as the hostilities take their toll on Britain.


My Review

Set in 1940 the story centres around no. 13 Article Row in London, bombs are dropping daily but life must go on. Sally, Tilly, Agnes and Dulcie are all living with Tilly's mother Olive, a kind hearted lady pulling together to survive another day. Sally fled from Liverpool after a betrayal, now working as a nurse. Dulcie is all about the attention and men, Tilly is a sweet girl who catches the eye of an American, Agnes finally gets to meet her beloveds family and has to deal with the dramas that follow. With all their personal dilemmas each is faced with survival, rationing and trying to enjoy life in such dangerous times.

I do enjoy nursing stories although this one only has brief snippets of nursing as it is mainly the relationship/friendship being the heart of the story. Relationship issues, courting, family issues, betrayal, friendships all during the war. Dulcie would be my least favourite character, she comes across quite shallow, working in a pricey department store Dulcie knows the life she wants. She always has to be the centre of attention and her friendships I think would be severely tested in modern day. Her background story, we only get snippets of that which does go a way to explain her behaviour. I think some folk will love her but I couldn't warm to her. Sally can't get over her past which impacts on her current situation and we do revisit that. Agnes a fair few issues many of us could relate to, meeting her future inlaws, trying to keep the peace and not upset her betrothed. And Tilly and Olive are just really sweet lovely characters, the relationship between mother and daughter warms the cockles.

It is a lovely wee Christmas read, it has a dash of everything. I could have read it in one sitting to be honest, it is one of those books you can just slip into. Despite it being book two, I hadn't known this, I didn't feel disadvantaged at all. I will get the first one and read the next in the series, I found the writing easy to get into. The characters, there will be at least one if not more characters for the reader to relate to and like or dislike them you do engage in the story and want to know what is coming next for them. 4/5 for me this time, I absolutely will read this author again.

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