Rutabaga's Reads 2025: Part 11

I aim to make this a regular compilation post annually, but its nickname all these months has been Christmas in July. None of these books were published in July, but as you can see from the titles, they all have a Christmas theme. Happy Christmas in July! (^-^)

Christmas at Sugar Plum Manor (Sept. 3, 2024) by Roseanna M. White.

<This is a standalone novella.>

In Edwardian-era England, 19-year-old Lady Mariah Lyons is the beloved stepdaughter of Lord Geoffrey Lightbourne, the Earl of Castleton. Her mother married the earl when Mariah was only two years old. Lady Mariah has grown up in the idyllic Plumford Manor, a home and village she cherishes, and it’s rechristened Sugar Plum Manor every Christmas holiday. Her childhood friend, whom she hasn’t seen in 12 years, 22-year-old Cyril Lightbourne, is set to return to Plumford as its heir. Lady Mariah once dreamed her friendship with Cyril would spark into something more, but she’s learned that he’s courting the cruel Lady Pearl Kingeland. She vows to accept him as a friend and prays he’ll be the heir her stepfather and Plumford need.

            A youthful misunderstanding kept Cyril away from Plumford Manor, and he no longer has an attachment to Lady Pearl. He hopes Mariah is still a friend, but winning her heart may pose tricky, as a Danish lord, Søren Gyldenkrone, is determined to win her hand and whisk her back to Denmark. Will the magic of the holiday season usher in true love like sugar plums, cinnamon and gingerbread usher holiday merriment into a festive home?

            This short tale is layered with friendship, love, sugar plums, gingerbread and an E.T.A. Hoffman-inspired Nutcracker play. The main characters are easy to root for, and it’s even easy to root for Lord Gyldenkrone and hope for a happy outcome for Lady Louise, Lady Mariah’s 26-year-old widowed sister. There are Scrooge-y hearts that need thawing. The whimsical backdrop of this novella, with its holiday descriptions and Christmassy foods, makes for a charming historical romance. While outside the realm of her usual novels, White remains a powerhouse in Christian, historical fiction. What a treat that it’s Christmas-themed this time!

The Christmas Tree Farm (Sept. 3, 2024) by Melody Carlson.

<This is a standalone novella.>

After several years of teaching in Mongolia, Madison McDowell has returned to her family’s Christmas tree farm in Oregon. There’s damage after a recent wildfire, and it’s also been neglected due to her younger sister’s unwillingness to invest her time and money into the farm. Addie wants to sell, claiming there wasn’t much to inherit after their other grandparent passed away, but Madison is prepared to invest in the farm, and she does. Her time, her money, her sweat. She isn’t thrilled that their property-adjoining neighbors want to create a dusty, noisy, dirt bike track, but maybe dirt bikes aren’t so bad? The neighbor is a widower and her first love, Gavin Thompson, whose younger daughter, Lily, wants the track. The older daughter, Lucy, is away at college. Now all she wants is for them to be good neighbors and friends. Just friends. (Maybe.) Her focus is the Christmas tree farm and restoring the one place that ever felt like home to Madison. It’ll take grit, hard work and great effort to restore the farm, but that may prove easier than reconciling with her sister. Will unexpected help spell a second chance at love or will it just dredge up painful memories right before Christmas?

            This Hallmark moviesque novella is a Christian, contemporary romance with drops of faith that will have readers wanting a custom wreath, the fresh scent of a real Christmas tree and plenty of hot cocoa. Readers know the story will be tied up with a neat bow by the story’s end, but that’s not a bad thing when you know going in that you’re in for a swift, sweet, charming story that encourages holiday spirit.

Santa’s Secret (Sept. 24, 2024) by Fern Michaels.

<This is the third book in a series.>

With Christmas fast-approaching, ‘tis the season for high school friends Frankie (Francesca) Cappella, Amy Blanchard, Rachael Newmark and Nina Hunter to go on a Girls’ Trip. Their trip finds three-quarters of them traveling with partners, and Frankie’s parents are going, too. They’re traveling to Salerno, Italy, where Giovanni Lombardi’s family lives. Giovanni is Frankie’s boyfriend. Giovanni and his older brother, Marco, run an Italian restaurant in Manhattan, and the traditional family recipes delight tourists and locals alike. But one recipe eludes them, and it’s their mother’s coveted panettone. She claims it’s “Santas’ secret.” Amy, Rachael and Nina have their own side quests planned before converging on the Lombardi family. From lost luggage to the wrong tour group to jet lag and Vespas, there’s never a dull getaway with this crew of high school friends and company.

            The third in the Santa’s Crew series (I’ve not read the previous two) likely finds strong readership with viewers who enjoy their Hallmark holiday movies era. There’s amazing food, mischief-making, holiday merriment and wholesome romance in this contemporary romance, Christmas story. It’s a story of beloved traditions and making new memories. My one struggle is how she writes her interactions with her friends. The friends are in my generational age group, but none of my various friends with their varied backgrounds and current stations interact like that, not even those friends who are huggers. Those interactions are cringey to me. Still, for readers looking for a little merry mayhem during the holiday season and copious amounts of delectable Italian food, this may be the Christmas story for them.