Dear Fellow Reader,

Fall is working its colorful magic outside. Yes, it is getting colder, but we are getting nature’s final show for the year before we settle into a world of whites and greys. No, I am not very excited about winter coming. After spending a lot of time at home, the prospect of the time of year where we spend a lot of time at home is not as exciting as it might have been in the past. But decorating the house is more fun for the next few months.

I went back to the well of ARCs. (Advanced Reader Copies) I try to keep myself from going there too often because there is so much that interests me. And in the past, I have taken many more than I can possibly read and write about. And there have been times that I have written about them and forgotten to report back that I did read and write about the book. I try to be much more careful now. Despite my efforts, I have five books. Yikes! I pick up five books (!) and three of them are new Christmas themed books. I think it is a bit early for Christmas books but not for publishers. I have read two and 1/3 of them so far. I regret to say that the one I have not finished is about to go on the “not going to finish pile”. I feel bad not finishing a book but there are so many books to read that I find that I need to just give up on some. (My husband would point to the large pile of books that I have not read yet as proof.)  I will say that sometimes it is the mood that I am in rather than the book itself. As I am sure you know, if you are stressed about something it influences your interpretation of the book.

I was asked recently if I review books that I don’t like or would not recommend. The answer is no. There are a few reasons for this. The primary reason is that the author has put a lot of work in to writing a book. Even if it is the worst book on earth, there were hours and hours of work put into that book and I am not interested in knocking the work that was put into a book. There are plenty of reviewers who will do that. Also, as mentioned in the last paragraph, your moods can affect your interpretation of a book. Also, your maturity can affect your feeling about a book. When I was younger, I loved the book Pentimento by Lillian Hellman. When I read it a few years ago, I was not as smitten. As a rule, I will not review a book that I didn’t like.

That leads us to today’s review. I was surprised that I was given an advanced copy of this book. Debbie Macomber is a well-established author. I would not have expected them to have a desire to ask for reviews as her books will sell well without any reviews. She is very popular.

Jingle All the Way is Debbie Macomber’s latest Christmas book. If you have never read one of her books before – how? – she writes contemporary woman’s fiction books. They are almost always from the female perspective. In this story, we meet Everly Lancaster. She is a very successful real estate executive who is frustrated with her business partner and his niece, who has been installed as her assistant. The niece has screwed up again and Everly wants her gone. The business partner decides that what Everly really needs is a vacation and tells her to take the month of December off. He practically pushes her out of the door. But he does tell his niece to book Everly on a cruise for the first two weeks of December. A wonderful relaxing cruise with all the perks. Instead, Everly is booked on a nature cruise down the Amazon. The boat is utilitarian. There are no phones or internet. Everly tries to get off the boat but that isn’t possible. Then she gets sick from a bug bite and spends days in bed with a fever. The boat’s naturalist, Asher Adams, takes care of her and spends time talking to her. When she is finally back up on her feet, she has two misadventures on the boat’s excursions. As a result of the trip, Everly finds herself and true love.

Okay, is it a bit formulaic? Yes. Is it a pleasurable read? Yes. This book is a salve to the holiday crazies. And you get to learn some fun facts about the Amazon. If you haven’t read Debbie Macomber before then you are in for a treat. If you have, then you know the pleasurable experience.

This book comes out on October 13. And time for the usual disclaimer – I was given a copy of this book for my unbiased opinion.

Thanks for reading!