Bought this for my nieces and I couldn't resist reading it before putting it away for the holidays. (I read it so it counts for my reading challenge, right? ;) )

The illustration style was lovely and the book was a cute little biography of BTS. My only complaint is that the romanization of Kim Seokjin's name was misspelled and wasn't caught by the editor or author. Perhaps a misprint? Either way, my nieces will love it and I will love reading it to them over and over again.

This was exactly my kind of romance - just the right amount of whimsy, chemistry, spice, and a great plot.

Why did Kitty St. Clair leave an abandoned dance hall to Jules, one of the staff at the retirement home where Kitty spent her last days? That is the answer we are searching for, which slowly pieces together for Jules through vivid dreams, diary entries, and conversations with other residents and people in their small vacation town.

While this is happening, an old fling returns to town, wanting to purchase the property and turning it into luxury condos. Will Jules give Reeve a second chance or is he not worthy of her trust? She’s also toying with the idea of moving to Toronto for med school and leaving her town behind (for now).

Kitty always had the best advice and Jules is looking for the answers she needs before making decisions that will not only change her own life but the lives of everyone in town.

I enjoyed this book immensely, I couldn’t put it down and when I was forced to, I was thinking about it and couldn’t wait to pick it back up again. It had the perfect amount of magical realism and was a great escape from my day-to-day life. I am going to have to go back and read Kate Robb’s other novels as I truly could not get enough of this one. I loved the characters, the story, and I adored that it took place in a vacation town in Ontario. I spent some of my summer breaks with my aunt and cousin in the small town they moved to and it brought back the same vibes. I highly recommend it. I loved it.

I received an e-arc in exchange for an honest review and I’d like to thank NetGalley, Random House, Dial Press, and Kate Robb for the opportunity.

I read and enjoyed Timothy Janovsky’s holiday offering last year, “The Merriest Misters”, so imagine my delight when I was given the opportunity to read “A Mannequin for Christmas” - and I can say it did not disappoint! I love a good holiday romance but add a magical element? Instantly sold.

Henry Aster has taken over his Great Aunt Isla’s vintage shop after she is put into a nursing home but he’s struggling. Not only are sales down but he’s majorly behind on rent while going through a breakup over the holiday season to a man he thought he would propose to. Henry has all but given up on love, his art, and the shop. After making a wish for the perfect man - one appears.. The mannequin from the shop window has come to life. He comes with an expiry date, though, if he does not find love by midnight on New Year’s Eve, he goes back to being a mannequin forever. Chaos ensues while Henry tries to balance the shop, family drama, and teaching this new man, Aidan, how to be human.

I loved the holiday movie vibes of this one, a perfect little slice of the holidays in late September. While it definitely had some cheesy Hallmark vibes, this one also has a deeper plot that I wasn’t expecting but I completely enjoyed. It had a lot of heart and I could not put it down.

I think I might as well start reading all of Timothy Janovsky’s books because I am officially hooked.

I received an e-arc in exchange for an honest review and I’d like to thank NetGalley, St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin, and Timothy Janovsky for the opportunity.

Content Warning (if you are sensitive to the following, you may want to skip this one): Childhood SA (mentioned), grief, complicated family dynamics.

A very strange and tense book that just feels dreadful. That might seem like a bad way to describe a book I enjoyed, but I mean it in a good way. The entire book is disjointed, intentionally - to build up the tension through the entire novel. It’s intense and does not follow rhyme or reason. Our narrator is unreliable both in narration and in her own life, and we follow her from Vancouver to Nova Scotia to see her mother after they’ve both experienced breakups.

I went from confused to disgusted to angry to sad - sometimes from sentence to sentence. When I hit the last page I sat still for awhile, asking myself, “What the f- did I just read?” A perfect way to start the spooky season and crisp nights, I’d recommend reading it in one sitting.

I received an e-arc in exchange for an honest review and I’d like to thank NetGalley, Penguin Random House Canada, McClelland & Stewart, and Sara Peters for the advance copy and opportunity.