On tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club - Fair Mountain Christmas (Heartwarming Christmas) by Heidi Eljarbo #BookReview #BlogTour #CoffeePotBookClub @HeidiEljarbo @maryanneyarde

 I am so excited to share my review of Fair Mountain Christmas (Heartwarming Christmas) by Heidi Eljarbo. Thank you to The Coffee Pot Book Club for your invite to take part in the tour. 

Fair Mountain Christmas

(Heartwarming Christmas)

By Heidi Eljarbo

Nostalgia and Christmas miracles burn bright in this uplifting and heartwarming story about new beginnings and falling in love under a blanket of stars.

Fair Mountain, December 1972.

A few days before Christmas, Juni’s editor gives her a writing assignment that throws her far outside her comfort zone. She and her terrier, Leo, retreat to her grandparents’ old cabin in the Norwegian mountains in hopes of inspiration. But the trip turns into a heart-wrenching and emotionally challenging encounter. 

Memories of Juni’s childhood seep in as soon as she enters the cabin, and as for the writing assignment…what does she know about what children need for Christmas?

Juni’s focus changes when handsome Henry Norheim from Moose Lodge down the hill unex-pectedly shows up outside her cottage door. His dedication to family, traditions, and Christmas celebration is contagious, but for Juni, coming out of her lonely shell is easier said than done.

As Juni’s deadline draws closer, and the snowflakes softly swirl down on Fair Mountain, she has to face up to her past, open her heart, and dare to take a step forward.

Will the miracle of Christmas live up to its promise of hope, goodwill, and love this year?

I am the kind of person who gets into the Christmas spirit far too early in the year. I start counting down the weeks, and my present buying sometimes starts in September. So, although this review will go out in December, I actually read the book in October. And, as I’m writing this, I’m wondering if my husband (the Grinch) would let me put some tinsel up on the mantlepiece. My bets are on no!

When Juni is given an assignment from her editor, she doesn’t want to take on the piece. She doesn’t know what five things children need for Christmas, not having any herself and not spending much time around children. But, when she learns of the stakes, that the success of this piece could be the make or break of the newspaper, Juni begrudgingly agrees to write it. Packing up some things, Juni and her dog, Leo, head up to her family’s cottage at Fair Mountain, where Juni hopes she can finally find some inspiration for the article.

She arrives at the cottage to find it warm, and the fridge already stocked. With the feeling of uncertainty surrounding her, Juni relies on her big softy of a dog to protect her should anyone have a key to the cottage and wish to pay a visit in the middle of the night. And yet, she doesn’t meet anyone until the next morning, and when she does, it is not the kind of man who would wish her any harm. Henry Norheim’s family own Moose Lodge, and she knew him from childhood. As he explains the state of the house, once again giving her the feeling of safety, Juni finds herself start to relax a little, and certainly, Henry draws her eye.

This book is the perfect depiction of what Christmas is all about. It is not about presents (although the children I buy presents for may tell you differently), but about the experiences and memories you create as the holiday season surrounds you. There are some traditions that simply cannot be overlooked, and they are what make the time of year so magical.

In my house, the lead up to Christmas includes listening to Mariah Carey and Wham, eating chocolate and making messes in the kitchen as we try to make cute Christmassy biscuits. At the start of this book, the author says about how this story comes from a place in her heart, with the traditions and the memories ones that she has lived as a child. I think reading that made this book seem even more magical to me, because it is not just a story, it is an experience that the author has been kind enough to share with us. 

As Juni tries to write her article, she slowly, with the help of Henry, remembers what Christmas is about. It isn’t about stressing about work, forcing yourself to get things done and panicking as the big day creeps closer and closer, and you still have so much to do. It’s about letting go, and making those memories that will be precious enough to you that you will remember for the rest of your life. I loved Henry, and as he helps to show Juni what Christmas is really about, they grow closer and Juni can’t help but feel something towards him. After all, what could be more magical than Christmas and love combined?

I do not know much about Norwegian Christmas traditions, as it is a subject I have never felt the need to research, but after reading this book, I would very much like to experience a Norwegian Christmas. My household has definitely fallen under the spell of Christmas being about one day, that we all count down to, and then once that day is over, everything is finished and we can move on to waiting for the New Year. We eat a big meal, watch movies, and then eat more chocolate. This book, though, shows that Christmas is not about that one day, it is about the togetherness, the joy, the laughter. It is about spending time with the ones you love, and making other people smile. And, more importantly, it’s about eating lots and lots of cookies!

My husband just walked into the room, and I have Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree playing in the background as I write this. He gave me the most disappointed look he could possibly muster, and walked out of the room again, closing the door behind him so he couldn’t hear it. Somehow, I don’t think he’s going to bring me a cup of tea. Maybe I’ll make some hot chocolate and try my hand at gingerbread. He might not like that gingerbread is associated with Christmas, but he is certainly fond of eating it! He is the Henry of my household – we have to watch him around the biscuits!

 I received my copy from The Coffee Pot Book Club but you can grab your from Amazon. And check this out, if you subscripts to #KindleUnlimited you can grab your copy for free. Now, that's a present under the tree worth having!!!

Heidi Eljarbo

Heidi Eljarbo is the bestselling author of historical fiction and mysteries filled with courageous and good characters that are easy to love and others you don't want to go near.

Heidi grew up in a home filled with books and artwork and she never truly imagined she would do anything other than write and paint. She studied art, languages, and history, all of which have come in handy when working as an author, magazine journalist, and painter.

After living in Canada, six US states, Japan, Switzerland, and Austria, Heidi now calls Norway home. She and her husband have a total of nine children, thirteen grandchildren—so far—in addition to a bouncy Wheaten Terrier.

Their favorite retreat is a mountain cabin, where they hike in the summertime and ski the vast, white terrain during winter.

Heidi’s favorites are family, God's beautiful nature, and the word whimsical.

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On tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club - Christmas at Hembry Castle by Meredith Allard #BookReview #HistoricalFiction #HistoricalRomance @maryanneyarde

  I am so excited to share my review of Christmas at Hembry Castle by Meredith Allard . Thank you to The Coffee Pot Book Club for your invite to take part in the tour. 

Christmas at Hembry Castle 

By Meredith Allard

You are cordially invited to Christmas at Hembry Castle.

An unlikely earl struggles with his new place. A young couple’s love is tested. What is a med-dling ghost to do?

In the tradition of A Christmas Carol, travel back to Victorian England and enjoy a lighthearted, festive holiday celebration.

Christmas is one of my favourite times of the year. It is also the time of year when I do an incredible amount of reading as I try and catch up with my to-read list because Christmas means new books! Christmas is also a time for celebration and for joy, and for festive short stories! 

After the death of his older brother, Frederick inherited the title of Earl of Staton, even though the title had never been meant for him, and he was not prepared to take on such a role. And still mourning the death of his wife, Frederick has only his daughter, Daphne, and his mother left. But little does Frederick know, Richard’s death did not take him far.

As Daphne attempts to arrange her wedding, she begins to find her beloved, Edward, putting off the task of setting a date. He is determined to finish writing his Christmas story first, and refuses to marry until he has received his first paycheck. But as he starts to drift further from Daphne, she begins to wonder whether he really wants to marry her at all.

Every writer has their own style of writing, and I love coming across styles that are so very different from what I have read before. The detailing and absolutely stunning descriptions that the author has used in this book brings everything to life on the page, without my imagination having to do much work at all. At times, I felt like I was watching an episode of Downton Abbey (I know it’s the wrong era, bear with me) instead of reading a book, as it had all the drama and intrigue, and the writing was so exquisite that I was utterly hooked. Plus, it has a ghost, for extra measure!

I absolutely loved Daphne, she was such a delightful character to read about. She fell in love below her station, to the grandson of her family’s housekeeper and butler, but when love strikes, it doesn’t matter whether the person is rich or poor. I really liked reading about Edward as well, who loves Daphne dearly. But Edward has some skeletons in his closet, and there is one thing in particular that he must tell Daphne before they marry, but working up the courage to do so is something that Edward struggles to do. Daphne and Edward make such a lovely couple, understanding each other in a way that they haven’t been understood before, that I spent the entirely to this book crossing my fingers that Edward would be able to find a way to tell Daphne, and that everything would work out alright for them. It is a Christmas story, after all, and I really wanted a happy ending!

With Daphne and Edward struggling to keep their relationship together, and Frederick trying his best to keep everything running smoothly, Richard can do nothing but look in on the family he left behind. Or can he do something else, can he help his family as he should have helped them during his living days? Richard seems to regret his life, and leaving his family behind with his death, and I felt incredibly sorry for him as he looks in on the life he should still be living. Richard is a strange sort of ghost, the kind I haven’t come across in literature before, as he still feels the cold, footsteps sound out as he walks around, and he is capable of drinking a cup of tea – this seems like quite a different view on ghosts than I am used to, but it seems almost typical that an English ghost can still drink tea.

I know this book is meant to be a kind of twist on A Christmas Carol, but I didn’t quite see it. Sure, there are ghosts, and it is Christmas, but the story is entirely different, other than a meddling ghost. A Christmas Carol is mentioned by the characters several times, but I thought this story was not in the tradition of A Christmas Carol, but rather an entirely new story, which deserves to take its place next to all the other famous Christmas stories. Who knows, maybe this story will also get a Muppet’s movie about it, and it will play on loop around the holiday season (and in the summertime) because children love it so. I also love that movie, but I must say, it gets a little tedious when it is set back to the beginning for the fortieth time.

If you would like a read that will not take you long (and evening or two, perhaps) and will make you thoroughly ready for Christmas, you need to read this book! It will give you that cosy feeling that means you simply have to curl up with a big fluffy blanket and a cup of tea, and read until you fall asleep.

I received my copy from The Coffee Pot Book Club but you can grab your from Meredith Allard’s Website, Amazon UK, Amazon US, Amazon CA, Amazon AU, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, iBooks

Meredith Allard

Meredith Allard is the author of the bestselling paranormal historical Loving Husband Trilogy. Her sweet Victorian romance, When It Rained at Hembry Castle, was named a best historical novel by IndieReader. Her latest book, Painting the Past: A Guide for Writing Historical Fiction, was named a #1 new release in Authorship and Creativity Self-Help on Amazon. When she isn’t writing she’s teaching writing, and she has taught writing to students ages five to 75. She loves books, cats, and coffee, though not always in that order. She lives in Las Vegas, Nevada. Visit Meredith online at www.meredithallard.com.

 

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On tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club - The Castilian Pomegranate (The Castilian Saga, Book 2) by Anna Belfrage #HistoricalRomance #Medieval #medievalspain @abelfrageauthor @maryanneyarde

 I am so excited to share my review of The Castilian Pomegranate (The Castilian Saga, Book 2) by Anna Belfrage. Thank you to The Coffee Pot Book Club for your invite to take part in the tour.

The Castilian Pomegranate

(The Castilian Saga, Book 2)

By Anna Belfrage

An enraged and grieving queen commands them to retrieve her exquisite jewel and abandon their foundling brat overseas—or never return.

Robert FitzStephan and his wife, Noor, have been temporarily exiled. Officially, they are to travel to the courts of Aragon and Castile as emissaries of Queen Eleanor of England. Unofficially, the queen demands two things: that they abandon Lionel, their foster son, in foreign lands and that they bring back a precious jewel – the Castilian Pomegranate.

Noor would rather chop off a foot than leave Lionel in a foreign land—especially as he’s been entrusted to her by his dead father, the last true prince of Wales. And as to the jewel, stealing it would mean immediate execution. . . 

Spain in 1285 is a complicated place. France has launched a crusade against Aragon and soon enough Robert is embroiled in the conflict, standing side by side with their Aragonese hosts. 

Once in Castile, it is the fearsome Moors that must be fought, with Robert facing weeks separated from his young wife, a wife who is enthralled by the Castilian court—and a particular Castilian gallant. 

Jealousy, betrayal and a thirst for revenge plunge Noor and Robert into life-threatening danger. 

Will they emerge unscathed or will savage but beautiful Castile leave them permanently scarred and damaged?  

Trigger Warnings:

Sexual content, violence

 

I don't like pomegranate, there I have said it. I don't like their shape, their texture or their taste. In fact, when I looked at the cover of this book all I could think about was my husband saying that I "needed to try new foods and that I could not spend my life eating pasta and cheese". Well, even he does not like pomegranates. But I never judge a book by its cover and it isn't really about a pomegranate - not one you have to eat anyway. 

This particular blood-red pomegranate stone has some mystical powers, it “makes the birthing easier for the mother and ensures a healthy child.” Queen Elenor is desperate to get her hands upon the stone as she has only given her husband, Longshanks, one living son and she has lost so many children in the past. In her desperation, she sends Noor and Robert, the protagonists of this tale, to Castilian to fetch the said pomegranate and bring it back. A task easier said than done. Oh, and there is also the matter of Noor and Robert's foster son. Under no circumstances are they to bring the child back with them. They are exiled until they have disposed of their son and retrieve the pomegranate - what a nice person Queen Elenor is!! She is almost as nice as he husband who has locked up Lionel, the little boy who is banned from entering England again, with his brothers in Bristol Castle. It is always nice to live under a benevolent king and queen. Ummm...!

So, Robert and Noor find themselves in Spain, hoping that at some point the Queen will forget all about them and they will be able to slip back into the country and continue their lives at their estate. There is no way they would ever abandon Lionel and the only way they could bring the pomegranate jewel back would be if they stole it, which would mean they would be thieves and if caught, hung. So, there is that. 

I don't know about you but we like to take road trips, but when you travel with little ones I find it both infuriating and adorable when you pull out of the drive and they ask in unison "Are we nearly there yet?" and then ten minutes down the road "I need a wee." This narrative will then continue for the rest of the trip until you get to your destination. Imagine trekking across Spain with two young children in the 13th Century. Noor and Robert, along with their maid whose name escapes me, should be given medals for even attempting such a feat, not that they had any choice. Lionel and his little sister are absolute sweethearts, although I really worried for their mental health for the journey they are on is full of danger, and they witness things no child should ever witness. And also, for a child, what a tedious journey it must have been. But, this book is not so much about the children but about Noor and Robert's relationship.

Noor and Robert make the perfect couple, although they certainly have their ups and downs. Noor is young, and Robert is a soldier, a knight. There are some horrific scenes involving Noor and Robert which are quite unsettling, but they really demonstrated the danger of this era. 

Fernand was one of my favourite characters in this novel. Although I never expected to say that! He is a young Lord whom everyone seemingly wants to kill, in particular his stepfather, the vile Aznar, who wants the titles and wealth to pass onto his son—families, don't you just love them. Anyway, Fernand finds himself beholden to Robert and by doing so he hopes he can stay alive long enough not to marry Petronilla, the most patronising and annoyingly bossy woman that ever lived. During the course of this novel, Fernand becomes quietly more confident, taking his lead from Robert, and he is also a really nice person, despite the first impressions.

I LOVED this novel so much. The non-stop action, the likeable and the not so likeable characters really stole the show. I cannot wait to get my hands on the third book in this series because I really want to know what is going to happen next!

I received my copy from The Coffee Pot Book Club but you can grab your from Amazon. And get this you can grab your copy on #KindleUnlimited for free!!

Anna Belfrage

Had Anna been allowed to choose, she’d have become a time-traveller. As this was impossible, she became a financial professional with two absorbing interests: history and writing. Anna has authored the acclaimed time travelling series The Graham Saga, set in 17th century Scotland and Maryland, as well as the equally acclaimed medieval series The King’s Greatest Enemy which is set in 14th century England.  

Anna has also published The Wanderer, a fast-paced contemporary romantic suspense trilogy with paranormal and time-slip ingredients. 

The Castilian Pomegranate is the second in her “Castilian” series, a stand-alone sequel to her September 2020 release, His Castilian Hawk. Set against the complications of Edward I’s invasion of Wales, His Castilian Hawk is a story of loyalty, integrity—and love. In The Castilian Pomegranate, we travel with the protagonists to the complex political world of medieval Spain, a world of intrigue and back-stabbing.

Her most recent release prior to The Castilian Pomegranate is The Whirlpools of Time in which she returns to the world of time travel. Join Duncan and the somewhat reluctant time-traveller Erin on their adventures through the Scottish Highlands just as the first Jacobite rebellion is about to explode! 

All of Anna’s books have been awarded the IndieBRAG Medallion, she has several Historical Novel Society Editor’s Choices, and one of her books won the HNS Indie Award in 2015. She is also the proud recipient of various Reader’s Favorite medals as well as having won various Gold, Silver and Bronze Coffee Pot Book Club awards.

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