Book Review | Book Chatter

Christmas on Cape Cod
By Nan Rossiter
Zebra, ASIN, B079KTR5ZP, 67 pp.

The Short of It:

A heartwarming story about family, love, and creating new traditions during the Christmas season.

The Rest of It:

I am no stranger to Nan Rossiter’s work. I think I’ve read nearly everything she’s published. Whenever I hear about something she’s written, I’m always eager to read it because it’s guaranteed to make you feel good. Christmas on Cape Cod can now be added to that feel-good list.

Christmas on Cape Cod includes some notable characters from Rossiter’s novel, The Gin and Chowder Club. which I also reviewed on this blog. That said, I don’t think you have to read the books in any kind of order. This story centers around Christmas so now is the perfect time to read it.

Asa and his son Noah head up to see his parents on the Cape for Christmas. As a single parent, Asa has his challenges but his good friend Maddie comes along for the ride and the three of them learn what Christmas means as they figure out this new life together.

I really enjoyed this story. It’s short but so full of good. Christmas stories (and movies) can be a little sappy in the telling but not here. Christmas on Cape Cod is all about family, and traditions and food and drink. It’s about letting go of what you know, in order to create something wonderful and new.

If you want to feel good, pick it up, start a fire and drink a mug of Glug, which is proudly featured in the book.

You can get Christmas on Cape Cod as a stand-alone ebook here.

Or, you can get Making Spirits Bright which is a Christmas anthology including Christmas on Cape Cod. Click here for that.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

Unsheltered
By Barbara Kingsolver
Harper, 9780062684561, October 2018, 480pp.

The Short of It:

Kingsolver is known for taking on the big issues and she does the same here.

The Rest of It:

Unsheltered tells the story of two families, from two different centuries, who live in the same house. The present day family struggles financially. The house is in disrepair, they are caring for an elderly parent, insurance isn’t covering it and although they did everything right, this couple is on the brink of ruin. It’s a situation that many find themselves in and it’s definitely a story readers can relate to.

But the other story, the one from the past, is not as compelling. That story involves science, truth and how the people of that time would rather turn a blind eye to Darwin’s research than investigate it.

Two very different families but what they have in common is the home they live in. Interesting concept, but overall, it didn’t work for me. I loved the present day story, but really did not enjoy the story from the past and found myself skimming through it.

I think there are a lot of things to ponder in Unsheltered such as our failing healthcare system, but the alternating timelines caused me to ultimately lose interest in the story as a whole.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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