Merry Humbug Christmas by Sandra D. Bricker

A Merry Humbug Christmas features two holiday romance novellas from hilarious and heartwarming author Sandra D. Bricker--the perfect gift to yourself or someone else at this most wonderfully stressful time of year.

In Once Upon a Jingle Bell, A Bah! Humbug cruise to the Mexican Riviera is Joss Snow’s answer to this year’s quest to avoid the holidays completely; at least until she’s rebooked on a different kind of cruise altogether. Candy canes, holly wreaths, reindeer and ornaments seem to be stalking her on the Twelve Days of Christmas holiday cruise extravaganza. An escape back to land is her only goal . . . until she meets a kindred spirit in rugged Irishman Patrick Brenneman, and then the game is on! Avoid Christmas festivities at all costs . . . except maybe for that one stop under the mistletoe.

In It Came Upon a Midnight Deer, Reese’s guilt over abandoning best friend Joss on their holiday tradition of avoiding all things Christmas is trumped by the joy of her recent engagement. Meeting Damian’s family for the first time on idyllic Sugarloaf Mountain is about as far from that Bah! Humbug cruise as she can get, and Reese can hardly wait to get there. But from the moment they hit that deer in the road just two miles from the cabin, everything seems to go wrong. There are no drummers drumming or pipers piping this particular year! And once she sets her future in-laws’ family cabin ablaze, she’s pretty sure there won’t be even ONE golden ring in her future.

My Review:
These two Christmas novellas tie in together with some of the same characters. Because of childhood experiences, Joss and Reese are BFFs who cling together each Christmastime as they try to avoid the season. Everything goes smoothly until Reese gets engaged and plans to spend Christmas with her fiance's family. The changes will keep you chuckling.

This lighthearted book is fun and easy to read. The author tells two stories within this one title. Chapters are short and titled with lines from The Twelve Days of Christmas. All things Christmas are covered. This would make a pleasant read for most anyone. Good Christmas gift!

Thank you to Bonnie at Christian Fiction Blog Alliance and BandH Books for my copy.

If you would like to read the first chapter, click here.

If you would like to buy a copy, click here.

Raw Edges by Sandra D. Bricker

Quilts of Love Series (Book 10)

Grayson McDonough has no use for teal ribbons, 5k runs, or ovarian cancer support groups now that his beautiful wife Jenna is gone. But their nine-year-old daughter Sadie seems to need the connection.

When Annabelle Curtis, the beautiful cancer survivor organizing the memory quilt project for the Ovacome support group, begins to bring out the silly and fun side of his precious daughter again, Gray must set aside his own grief to support the healing of Sadie’s young heart.

But is there hope for Gray’s heart too along the way?

My Review:
As an ovarian cancer survivor, I was intrigued with this novel. In addition, I love that the setting is Tampa, Florida--my home. The characters drive down familiar streets and eat in places that I'm acquainted with; they even attend a Rays Baseball game wearing jerseys with team members names on the back! They participate in an organization called, Ovacome, a group of volunteer survivors and members of lost loved ones, located in the Tampa area. I never knew it existed. Clearly, the author knows Tampa.

Grayson, AKA Gray, is a model father. (He's unbelievably perfect. How I wish parents really were like him.) Nine-year-old Sadie is a sweetie pie. She's the apple of her Daddy's eye and wise beyond her years. Gray sees her mother in Sadie's speech and mannerisms. The novel begins a year after Gray's wife and Sadie's mommy died from ovarian cancer. They meet Annabelle at Ovacome and seem to hit it off immediately. It's all too perfect, too expected; however, I enjoyed it.

At the end of each chapter is a short letter from Jenna to Sadie, along with a Bible verse. These notes contain wisdom that any person would cherish. Warning: they will produce tears.

This is a quick read--a sweet book.

Discussion questions are included.

Thank you to Bonnie at Christian Fiction Blog Alliance and Abingdon Press for my copy.

If you would like to read the first chapter, click here.

If you would like to buy a copy, click here.