"My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories" edited by Stephanie Perkins

This was another great compilation of holiday themed tales. 12 original short stories written by bestselling contemporary authors do not disappoint. In fact, I thought the book got better and better with each new story. Even though most are written as contemporaries, there are a few fantasies/fairy tales. Each one follows a character during the holiday season as something magical and life-changing happens to them. I also might note that not all of these are purely Christmas stories, some focus on New Year's and Hanukkah.

As I read the book, I was trying to select the stories that I particularly liked. In the end, I decided they were all equally excellent just different in some ways. Mark de la Pena made me laugh out loud and Holly Black brought me to tears. Laini Taylor's piece is pure magic and Kiersten White focuses on finding miracles right where we are in our daily lives... Overall, a great book. If you got this for Christmas, do not wait to read it until next December. Dive right it. You can always re-read it again - that is what I will do next year for sure!

For those who are not familiar with Stephanie Perkins' writing or do not recognize the names of some authors in this book, this is a great introduction to the work of these writers. I for one definitely want to read their other books.

"Twin Souls" by DelSheree Gladden

I picked up Twin Souls because I really enjoyed DelSheree Gladden's Destroyer trilogy (see my review here). Her writing is fast-paced and addictive. You get immersed in the story and keep wanting more long after it is over. Twin Souls was no exception, and luckily it is a trilogy so I have two more books to go. 

Unlike The Destroyer trilogy, this is not a dystopian novel. Twin Souls is an urban fantasy, rooted in the Native American mythology and legends. Personally, I love mythology and I had high expectations about the book before I even started reading it. 

As all great legends, it is centered around a love story of a great hero. Uriah and Claire seem to be made for each other and despite her father's objections, they are making plans for a summer wedding. Following their parents' wishes, they go to the elders to receive permission for a wedding on the tribal lands. To everyone's utter shock and dismay, the tribe's shaman denies their request. She claims to have gotten a vision which precludes her from granting them permission to get married. Nothing like this had happened for as long as anyone can remember, and if the shaman is telling the truth, all legends and fairy tales Uriah grew up with are real. This visit to the elders sets in motion the chain of events which will test Uriah and Claire's love and put Uriah on the path to self-discovery and realization of his own nature and destiny. 


The book is well-written. The story is unique and authentic. I highly recommend this book to everyone who likes mythology, legends and the supernatural. I cannot wait to read the rest of the series.

"Let It Snow" by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle

This is definitely a nice book to read around Christmas. It is a compilation of three stories by three different authors. All three stories are set in the same location and have common characters. Each story zeroes in on a different couple, but you will see them again in the following stories. Reading this book reminded me of watching "Love Actually" or "New Year's Eve", the movies that have several story lines, but the characters all one way or another know each other and all come together at the very end. Overall, I would say the stories get progressively better as you go along. So I liked the final one best of all. John Green wrote the second one, and I was a bit disappointed in it. I guess I had high expectations for his writing. Definitely a great book to curl up with near a Christmas tree with a cup of hot chocolate. These are all fluffy love stories with couples finding true love or reuniting on Christmas Eve/Day. It will also make a great holiday present for a book-lover in your family.

Reading during Holidays

With Thanksgiving behind us, my next several posts will be centered around holiday reads and reading during holidays.

My most cherished childhood/college memories have to do with reading during winter breaks. Growing up, my parents did not have much money and my brother and I did not get lots of presents for Christmas. However, I always got a good book as a gift from my mom. I remember the feeling of anticipation that I would get a new book to read and then actually reading it late into the night sitting on the couch by the twinkling Christmas tree in the family room. Those are the moments I treasure as I think about holidays. It is also a reminder to me that it does not matter how small is the gift, what we will remember is how that gift made us feel. Books were always my favorite presents to get, and my family always knew the types of books I loved: a mix of adventure and historical fiction, mysteries or detective stories. That love for books never died, and I still prefer getting books to just about anything else for the holidays. So this year, I already got quite a few books to read over the holidays and December is definitely shaping up to be a great reading month for me. Stay tuned for updates on the best holiday reads!

"The Infinite Sea" by Rick Yancey

Unlike some other readers who reviewed this book, I really enjoyed this sequel. If you have not read it and are hesitant to pick it up because of lukewarm reviews, I suggest you give it a try first. I liked The Infinite Sea much better than The 5th Wave (see my review here). The first book was really slow going for me, especially the first 150 pages or so. The Infinite Sea, on the other hand, is well written, things move along at a nice pace and a new twist to the whole situation is gradually introduced. Since this is part 2 in a trilogy, there is not much I can share about the plot without giving away too much. The story continues where it left off in The 5th Wave. The main characters are still trying to survive and evade silencers, Commander Vosch and his recruits. Cassie, Evan and Ringer are really starting to question everything they know about the alien invasion. In particular, they try to make sense of why would a technologically advanced species need to stage several waves of invasion when they could have easily wiped out the entire humankind. I really liked diving deeper into the minds of the main characters (especially Ringer). Overall, this is a very good sequel, I can't wait to read the conclusion