Tuesday was a joyful day for me. I played the last jury of the semester, walked out of the office, and headed home to quickly pack. That began 4 consecutive days of driving cross country: Dallas, Geriatric Ward, Nashville, and back to the Geriatric Ward. All of that time in the car meant some quality reading time. It also meant that I didn’t have anything I needed to do when I arrived at each destination (except for a performance in Nashville), so I was able to wind down after each leg of the drive with a good book. That led to a very productive week and lots of Christmas romances.
What I Finished This Week
Billionaire Secret Santa by Lena Michaels. This was a typical holiday romance and a quick read when I needed a change of pace from children’s literature. Bruce, the company CEO, disguises himself as Santa in order to learn what is happening in his company when the employees don’t know he is watching. Holly serves as Santa’s elf and Bruce’s consultant in the investigation. It’s love at first sight and the sparks fly. That’s the summary of the entire plot. This novel had a lot of potential, but Michaels was light on the actual plot, choosing only to focus on the romance. Even though I enjoy the growing love story, I wanted to know what was happening in the company. When Bruce and Holly figure out what is happening, the author just says that things are resolved — and doesn’t create what could have been a really fun, dramatic scene. As smut, Billionaire Secret Santa was fine. As a novel, it left me wanting more. 3 stars.
Good Elf Gone Wrong by Alina Jacobs. Few things can make the holidays more festive than a wedding, right? For Gracie, that has always been the dream. She found her groom for her Christmas wedding in James…until she found him screwing her sister under the tree on Christmas Eve! A year later, James plans to marry Gracie’s sister on Christmas Day — and expects Gracie to plan the wedding. Desperate times call for desperate measures. When Gracie meets Hudson on the bus headed home, it seems that fate has provided the perfect solution to destroy her sister’s wedding. Gracie and Hudson falsely portray themselves as a couple in order to keep Gracie from being forced to answer too many questions. It is also meant to prove that Gracie’s sister will forever try to steal anything she wants from Gracie — including her men! What follows is a funny tale of revenge, deception, and Christmas cookies. This romance novel definitely needs a spice warning — 5 out of 5 jalapenos! Overall, I really enjoyed the book. 4 stars.
Holiday Ever After by Hannah Grace. My journey through Christmas romances continued with Holiday Ever After. Clara is the daughter of a toy mogul, looking for her path to advancement in the family company. In order to get the promotion, she is sent to Fraser Falls, a small, close-knit community that has become a PR problem for the corporation. What’s the problem? Viral videos are appearing all over the internet claiming that the mogul stole the inspiration for their latest hot toy from the residents of Fraser Falls. When Clara arrives in town to see if she can get the videos taken down, she meets Jack Kelly, the artist who produced the doll in question and a beloved member of the community. What follows are Clara’s efforts to earn the trust of the small community as she attempts to find positive ways to shift the community’s focus away from the family company…..and to earn a long overdue promotion. In the process, she and Jack fall in love. Can it survive the turmoil of doing business? 3.75 stars.
What I’m Currently Reading
The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan (5:19 of 11:23). Since I finished my previous audiobook while driving in from Dallas this week, I needed something for the trip to Nashville at the end of the week. I wanted something that had a little less romance and a little more family dynamics. I was cautiously optimistic about this novel set in Edinburgh. Carmen lost her job in a department store due to the economic shift. When she struggled to come up with another position, her mother pressured her sister, a lawyer in Edinburgh, to see if she could find something. Now Carmen finds herself living with her estranged sister and her three children while working at an old bookstore desperate for a change. In fact, the bookstore will be closed if it doesn’t turn a profit by Christmas. With only a few weeks left, Carmen’s work is cut out for her. So far, the book is an interesting story although it does tend to move at a slightly slower pace than my most recent audiobooks. Now that my driving will be significantly reduced, I’m going to need to look for new ways to incorporate listening into my reading schedule.
The Inferno by Dante (p. 96 of 387). This week, I received the invitation to alumni of the Great Books program at Pepperdine to participate in a spring reading group that will focus on Dante’s Divine Comedy. In a moment of wanting to stretch those intellectual legs a bit in a setting that holds tremendous memories, I decided to participate. When I walked over to the bookshelf and saw the edition I had used in class all those years ago, I took it as a sign that there was no better time than the present to start reading. (By the way, the price tag is still on the back of the Penguin Classic edition: $3.50 in the campus bookstore. Somehow, I doubt that students are purchasing copies of the book for that price anymore.) I’ve decided to not be in any rush, reading 1 or 2 cantos each day, so I have time to dive into the notes and think about the implications of each ring’s punishment. So far, I’m finding that much that I learned in my Great Books reading is coming back to me without too much effort. We shall see if the trend continues.
Good Spirits by B.K. Borison (p. 29 of 370). With the finish of Holiday Ever After yesterday, I wanted to go ahead and pick up another of the Christmas themed books I purchased on Thanksgiving weekend. This one has an interesting premise and I’ve heard good things about it. Good Spirit seems to be a spin on Dicken’s classic, A Christmas Carol. In Borison’s retelling, the Ghost of Christmas Past haunts Harriet, but she has no idea why since she is not a Scrooge at all. The idea of a contemporary romance between such diverse characters was far too intriguing to pass up.
December 2025 Mini-Challenge
The December mini-challenge has been pretty simple. It’s a game of Bingo using nine different prompts for each of the spaces. I decided that rather than really planning out my strategy, I would read holiday books and see what would fit where. When I finished Holiday Ever After, I made my first Bingo!
Now what? I figure I’ll still do some holiday reading through Christmas Day and then turn my attention back to My Library Shelf project until the 2026 Reading Challenge starts. I don’t know that I will end up with a blackout board, but anything is possible.
Reading for Me 
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