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annarella's review
4.0
Three fun and entertaining cozy novellas, well written and festive.
All of them are entertaining and engrossing but my favourite was Laura Levine's story that I found hilarious.
A good read, perfect for a holiday read.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the Kensington Books and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
All of them are entertaining and engrossing but my favourite was Laura Levine's story that I found hilarious.
A good read, perfect for a holiday read.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the Kensington Books and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
teatimewtrisha's review
. Her cozy mysteries are the ultimate in cozy. Her protagonist, Hannah, owns a bakery in a small town in Minnesota. After each chapter or two, Fluke inserts a recipe that corresponds with the book’s story. What I love about the recipes is that they’re so homey and easy to follow. The ingredients are always found at any grocery store or already in your pantry, and the steps are no-frills. No fancy, obscure foods or a need to buy a spiralizer. I’ve never tried a recipe because I hate baking, but if I did, I’m 99% percent sure the cookie, cake, or other baked good would be delicious.
Fluke tends to coincide her stories with the seasons or holidays. She has a few Christmas themed stories and books, and I’ve read a Valentine’s Day and summer themed mystery as well. (Actually, I’ve read them all. I can’t get enough.) They’re the perfect “palette cleanser” book, great after a book with heavier, more serious themes. This Christmas story, The Twelve Desserts of Christmas, didn’t disappoint. It was cute, heart-warming, and exactly what I expect from a Fluke work.
Levine and Meier are new writers to me, and although the stories were great, they didn’t bring the mild starry-eyed worshipping feelings I have for Fluke.
Levine’s Nightmare on Elf Street has her protagonist, Jaine Austen- how cute- doing one of the worst (or best for some) seasonal job ever – a mall Santa Claus’ elf. The experience seems like something straight out of the movie Bad Santa and is pretty hilarious. And in following typical cozy mystery fashion, Jaine has a kitty cat pal.
Meier’s The Christmas Thief was good, but not my favorite. A hotel concierge gets caught up in a jewelry theft mystery and must find the real culprit before she loses her job. There was a romantic element that was a little predictable, and the cast of characters didn’t exactly thrill.
It was a breath of fresh air to read something so fun and lighthearted between the horror and thriller novels that I wanted to read for October.
Fluke tends to coincide her stories with the seasons or holidays. She has a few Christmas themed stories and books, and I’ve read a Valentine’s Day and summer themed mystery as well. (Actually, I’ve read them all. I can’t get enough.) They’re the perfect “palette cleanser” book, great after a book with heavier, more serious themes. This Christmas story, The Twelve Desserts of Christmas, didn’t disappoint. It was cute, heart-warming, and exactly what I expect from a Fluke work.
Levine and Meier are new writers to me, and although the stories were great, they didn’t bring the mild starry-eyed worshipping feelings I have for Fluke.
Levine’s Nightmare on Elf Street has her protagonist, Jaine Austen- how cute- doing one of the worst (or best for some) seasonal job ever – a mall Santa Claus’ elf. The experience seems like something straight out of the movie Bad Santa and is pretty hilarious. And in following typical cozy mystery fashion, Jaine has a kitty cat pal.
Meier’s The Christmas Thief was good, but not my favorite. A hotel concierge gets caught up in a jewelry theft mystery and must find the real culprit before she loses her job. There was a romantic element that was a little predictable, and the cast of characters didn’t exactly thrill.
It was a breath of fresh air to read something so fun and lighthearted between the horror and thriller novels that I wanted to read for October.
piepieb's review
3.0
Just a trio of quick, fun, holiday stories, two were mysteries and only one had a murder. The Leslie Meier one was my favorite of the bunch. Thanks, Netgalley, for this arc.
lauren_garcia's review against another edition
4.0
Note: This is a set of three novellas previously published. I have rated each one individually and then made an average for the set.
Average: 3.67 (rounded up on Goodreads)
Novella 1: THE TWELVE DESSERTS OF CHRISTMAS by Joanne Fluke. Rating: 2.5
Pros: It has great recipes, and I like the writing of Joanne Fluke normally. I also really like the setup for the story. Note: It is not a mystery but a light romance.
Cons: I really like this author, but have to say that I did not enjoy this story very much. It could be that it's out of date and also deals a lot with technology, so parts of it read very clunky. But it was more than that. The main character is not Hannah but Julia whose character to me was not as interesting. The children's characters were also not very believable to me and didn't act like children. The romance also didn't seem very realistic, and the two main characters read as very cardboard-like. All in all, I was quite disappointed, perhaps because I had high-expectation because I have read this author in the past and genuinely enjoy her writing and humor.
Novella 2: NIGHTMARE ON ELF STREET By: Laura Levine Rating: 4
Pros: A Jaine Austen mystery novella, very humorous, and a fun read. I love the set-up, and even in the short novella, the characters were well-developed, funny, and interesting. Enjoyed reading it.
Cons: The ending was not very surprising, and there are some jokes that are definitely out of date and in poor taste and remind you that the book is older. I also found it annoying how she was constantly talking about her weight. I don't mind a few comments here and there, but every woman was constantly referred to by what size she was, and for a novella that was too much for me, and it didn't seem necessary or interesting.
Novella 3: THE CHRISTMAS THIEF By: Leslie Meier Rating 4.5
Pros: This was my favorite novella of the three. It's a mystery but not a murder mystery. The characters were well developed and interesting and quirky and fun. The main character was likeable but not too perfect. It also did not feel as dated as the others and so has definitely aged very well.
Cons: Not really any except the very end was a little cheesy for me, but I'm not too picky about that stuff in a cozy mystery. I reserve 5 stars for books that have that extra wow factor, and while I really enjoyed this novella, there wasn't any aspect that put it over the top for me.
Average: 3.67 (rounded up on Goodreads)
Novella 1: THE TWELVE DESSERTS OF CHRISTMAS by Joanne Fluke. Rating: 2.5
Pros: It has great recipes, and I like the writing of Joanne Fluke normally. I also really like the setup for the story. Note: It is not a mystery but a light romance.
Cons: I really like this author, but have to say that I did not enjoy this story very much. It could be that it's out of date and also deals a lot with technology, so parts of it read very clunky. But it was more than that. The main character is not Hannah but Julia whose character to me was not as interesting. The children's characters were also not very believable to me and didn't act like children. The romance also didn't seem very realistic, and the two main characters read as very cardboard-like. All in all, I was quite disappointed, perhaps because I had high-expectation because I have read this author in the past and genuinely enjoy her writing and humor.
Novella 2: NIGHTMARE ON ELF STREET By: Laura Levine Rating: 4
Pros: A Jaine Austen mystery novella, very humorous, and a fun read. I love the set-up, and even in the short novella, the characters were well-developed, funny, and interesting. Enjoyed reading it.
Cons: The ending was not very surprising, and there are some jokes that are definitely out of date and in poor taste and remind you that the book is older. I also found it annoying how she was constantly talking about her weight. I don't mind a few comments here and there, but every woman was constantly referred to by what size she was, and for a novella that was too much for me, and it didn't seem necessary or interesting.
Novella 3: THE CHRISTMAS THIEF By: Leslie Meier Rating 4.5
Pros: This was my favorite novella of the three. It's a mystery but not a murder mystery. The characters were well developed and interesting and quirky and fun. The main character was likeable but not too perfect. It also did not feel as dated as the others and so has definitely aged very well.
Cons: Not really any except the very end was a little cheesy for me, but I'm not too picky about that stuff in a cozy mystery. I reserve 5 stars for books that have that extra wow factor, and while I really enjoyed this novella, there wasn't any aspect that put it over the top for me.
mudder17's review against another edition
4.0
This book caught my eye, because one of my guilty pleasures from long ago were the Hannah Swenson books by Joanna Fluke and I haven't read any of her books for some time. So I decided to give this a try, and to my surprise, I enjoyed the other two short stories even more. I think it's partly because I was expecting a murder in the Hannah Swenson story and it turned out to be a silly little mystery/romance. It wasn't a bad story, it just wasn't really a mystery. Still, I did enjoy it and it makes me want to revisit her books and catch up with what Hannah has been up to in recent years (according to an introduction by Joanne Fluke, Hannah has accepted a proposal of marriage, but I don't know who from, so now I need to check it out!). I was not at all familiar with the other two authors, but ended up really enjoying the stories. The second one involved Jaine Austen, her stubborn cat, and the hilarious job she has as Santa's elf working with a "good" Santa and a "bad" Santa who's a real jerk. This one ended up being a murder mystery and I enjoyed it enough that I may have to check out some books from the series. Like the Hannah Swenson books, though, they're probably mostly stand-alone books. The third involves Lucy Stone's oldest daughter and her job at a swanky hotel. Although Lucy and Miss Tilley don't show up until close to the end, I loved them and am definitely planning on checking out some of their books. What all three books seems to have in common is that they're great for a quick read, not really very deep, but quite entertaining with a particular "style". I'm glad I was able to read this book. Thanks to #NetGalley, the authors, and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
lisadee's review against another edition
3.0
This was a collection of 3 novellas surrounding Christmas and more specifically how the 1% lives. I have read early books in 2 out of the 3 series that these novellas go with. The Lucy Stone mystery series story was very far removed from where I am in the series. Overall I liked this book but the second story was a new to me author and it took me a while to get into her style. The banter was a little too...cutesy? I guess that is how I thought of it but by the end I could say it was enjoyable.
annarella's review against another edition
4.0
Three fun and entertaining cozy novellas, well written and festive.
All of them are entertaining and engrossing but my favourite was Laura Levine's story that I found hilarious.
A good read, perfect for a holiday read.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the Kensington Books and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
All of them are entertaining and engrossing but my favourite was Laura Levine's story that I found hilarious.
A good read, perfect for a holiday read.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the Kensington Books and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
pages_and_procrastination's review against another edition
4.0
I was given a digital copy of this title, free, in exchange for my honest opinion.
Twelve Desserts of Christmas -(Hannah Swensen) Joanne Fluke
I have been meaning to start the Hannah swensen series for over a year now. But this is a great kick in the pants to get going on that. This was a short and sweet (pun!) novella, that requires Hannah’s special skills to get to the bottom of things. Two teachers are stuck at the boarding school watching over several kids. The romance between the teachers seem to be going fine until someone decides to throw a wrench in things. Really, it was just a fun story, and I’m glad to have read it. I’ll definitely be starting the series soon (-ish)
Nightmare on Elf street (A Jaine Austen Mystery) by Laura Levine
Jaine Austen takes a job as Santa’s elf at a local mall in An attempt to get a writing job. Unfortunately she is stuck with a sloppy drunk Santa who is cruel to just about everyone. Sometime during a catastrophe caused by Jaine a cat, someone takes advantage and kills the cruel Santa. For the most part I did enjoy this cozy. It had its funny moments and it was the kind where the pseudo-investigator doesn’t actually investigates but stumbles onto the killer by becoming the next victim and finagling a way out of the situation. While there were parts of Jaine that I liked, there were more parts that I didn’t. Mainly her issues with her weight were front and center and mentioned in just about every. single. scene. That and the envious way she described skinny/ pixie people were annoying and got old fast.
The Christmas Thief (Lucy Stone 18.) by Leslie Meier
Elizabeth Stone's plan to return home for Christmas is cancelled when she is told that she will have to stay and help with a big party that is coming to the hotel. There will be celebrities and expensive jewelry and everyone will have to pitch in and help. When the jewels come up missing, Elizabeth becomes the suspects. Luckily for her, her mother, Lucy decided to fly in for a surprise visit. Again, this was pretty quick and it definitely made me want to go back and start this series from the beginning.
Along with mini-mysteries to unravel, their were recipes that I am dying to try out. If you are a fan of cozy mysteries, I would definitely recommend checking out either (or all) of these series!
Twelve Desserts of Christmas -(Hannah Swensen) Joanne Fluke
I have been meaning to start the Hannah swensen series for over a year now. But this is a great kick in the pants to get going on that. This was a short and sweet (pun!) novella, that requires Hannah’s special skills to get to the bottom of things. Two teachers are stuck at the boarding school watching over several kids. The romance between the teachers seem to be going fine until someone decides to throw a wrench in things. Really, it was just a fun story, and I’m glad to have read it. I’ll definitely be starting the series soon (-ish)
Nightmare on Elf street (A Jaine Austen Mystery) by Laura Levine
Jaine Austen takes a job as Santa’s elf at a local mall in An attempt to get a writing job. Unfortunately she is stuck with a sloppy drunk Santa who is cruel to just about everyone. Sometime during a catastrophe caused by Jaine a cat, someone takes advantage and kills the cruel Santa. For the most part I did enjoy this cozy. It had its funny moments and it was the kind where the pseudo-investigator doesn’t actually investigates but stumbles onto the killer by becoming the next victim and finagling a way out of the situation. While there were parts of Jaine that I liked, there were more parts that I didn’t. Mainly her issues with her weight were front and center and mentioned in just about every. single. scene. That and the envious way she described skinny/ pixie people were annoying and got old fast.
The Christmas Thief (Lucy Stone 18.) by Leslie Meier
Elizabeth Stone's plan to return home for Christmas is cancelled when she is told that she will have to stay and help with a big party that is coming to the hotel. There will be celebrities and expensive jewelry and everyone will have to pitch in and help. When the jewels come up missing, Elizabeth becomes the suspects. Luckily for her, her mother, Lucy decided to fly in for a surprise visit. Again, this was pretty quick and it definitely made me want to go back and start this series from the beginning.
Along with mini-mysteries to unravel, their were recipes that I am dying to try out. If you are a fan of cozy mysteries, I would definitely recommend checking out either (or all) of these series!
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