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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated In a Holidaze in Books

Oct 29, 2020  
In a Holidaze
In a Holidaze
Christina Lauren | 2020 | Contemporary, Erotica, Fiction & Poetry, Humor & Comedy, Romance
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
A joyful and flirty holiday romance
Maelyn Jones spends every Christmas at her favorite place in the world: a cabin owned by her parents' friends in Utah. She joins her (divorced) parents, younger brother Miles, and two other families for a magical Christmas experience--cookie baking, snow creature making contests, holiday scavenger hunts, and more. She's been sleeping in the basement in the "kid bunk beds" with Miles and family friends Theo and Andrew for years, despite the fact that they are adults now. But this year, it's all ruined: their friends are selling the cabin and Mae is humiliated after an embarrassing encounter with Theo. As her family drives away from the cabin one last time, she makes a desperate plea for happiness. Then she sees a car headed straight toward theirs, and it all goes black. When she awakes, she's back on a plane headed to Utah, headed to the same holiday trip. As various disasters return Mae to the plane over and over, she realizes she's in a time loop--she needs to break free, and figure out to find true love and happiness, once and for all.

"So I ask the universe, simply: Can you show me what will make me happy?"

I know I must have read this synopsis when I requested this book, but I didn't reread it before starting, because hello, CLo, enough said. So I was slightly surprised by the Groundhog Day-esque story to this one, but I went with the flow. Luckily Mae is funny and charming enough to make just about anything fly, even a crazy time loop plot where you're not exactly sure how or why she's in it or quite what she's supposed to do to get out of it.

"'I think it's possible I'm in the past, repeating the same holiday, and I'm the only one who knows it.'"

It took a little while for the romance to heat up here, but once it did, the book was off and running. And boom! It's a sweet read, but flirty and romantic too. I loved Mae and her crush--they crackled and simmered. Honestly, the time loop piece was secondary to their joyful love. Seeing Mae come into her own made everything else less important, including Mae's reliving of her holiday. (And I enjoyed how she took to it so quickly--don't eat that, you're going to need this, tell me a secret so I can prove this to you next time--you go girl, embrace the loop!).

So, yes, while this book is a little crazy, it's also sweet and happy, too. It's a perfect Christmas read for a snowy day (or a fall day when you feel like the world is falling apart). 4 stars.
  
Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
2019 | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
The Christmas Holiday Speical
The Rise of Skywalker- is better than the last jedi but worse than force awakens. I mean it has good parts, intresting parts and alot of bad parts, no spoilers. All of go to this place to get this thing, than go to that place, than that place and continues on until the end. Still alot of unanswered questions from the pervious movies, still alot of questions from this movie, that will be unanswered. Alot of what the fuck moments from this movie.

The Plot: The surviving Resistance faces the First Order once more as Rey, Finn and Poe Dameron's journey continues. With the power and knowledge of generations behind them, the final battle commences.

A fitting conclusion to this saga. I felt that this whole new sega was way overhyped, just so much hype for them, that their were all okay.

May The Force Be With You All, and a merry christmas. Happy holidays and a happy new year.
  
The Night of the Hunter (1955)
The Night of the Hunter (1955)
1955 | Drama, Mystery
9.0 (5 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"This is my favorite movie of all time, and the only one that I watch on an annual schedule (Thanksgiving) other than A Muppet Christmas Carol (Christmas). I first saw it on that holiday, and the experience was so meaningful that I suppose I’m always trying to recapture it. Coincidentally, on Thanksgiving my family used to travel to West Virginia, where the novel’s author, Davis Grubb, was from, and where the book is set. Grubb arguably doesn’t get enough credit for the look and feel of the film: I can’t really think of a movie that is more faithful to the tone and even letter of its source, and Grubb also essentially storyboarded the film. It’s such a rich parable of good and evil, and a boundlessly profound exploration of intangibles like innocence, loss, deceit, and the yearning to be loved. Although terror is a central theme, it’s ultimately a very comforting film."

Source
  
A Cold Christmas and the Darkest of Winters
A Cold Christmas and the Darkest of Winters
Rasta Musick | 2021 | Horror, Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
not bedtime reading but very good!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

A collection of 23 different authors come together to bring you short stories set around the winter season or Christmas.

Not a single one of these authors have I read before, and there is a varied bunch of tales here. Some are just sad but some are downright scary!

Loosely, they are "holiday" stories, but more are winter ones, rather than Christmas.

An eclectic bunch of tales that can be read at any time, but I'd recommend NOT at bedtime! You might stop on one of the scary ones, and get some weird dreams as a consequence, like I did!

I didn't read them all, I will be honest, but the ones I read were very good, or excellent. Just on the short side. but 23 stories across 360 odd pages is never going to produce novel length books.

4 stars

*same worded review will appear elsewhere