Speed Reviewing!

"A Wallflower Christmas" by Lisa Kleypas (201 pages) - 3 Stars
The Wallflowers are four young ladies in London who banded together in their wild and wickedly wonderful searches for true love. Now happily married, they join together once again to help one of the world’s most notorious rogues realize that happiness might be right under the mistletoe.…
Christmas works in the most unexpected ways, changing a cynic to a romantic and inspiring passion in the most timid of hearts.

I was really excited to read this book after reading her newest series this past year. But this book was not as good for me. Now this is part of a series and I had not read the other books. I don't know if that had anything to do with it. The story was OK, and the character development was good. One of the problems is that I just don't like reading books that take place in England. One thing I do have to say for this book, it was very funny in spots and did have me in giggles!
Warning - there are a few graphic sex scenes.
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 "The Great Christmas Bowl" by Susan May Warren (156 pages) - 3 Stars
Marianne Wallace is focused on two things this holiday season: planning the greatest family Christmas ever and cheering on her youngest son’s team in their bid for the state championship. Disaster strikes when the team loses their mascot—the Trout. Is it going too far to ask her to don the costume? So what if her husband has also volunteered her to organize the church Christmas tea. When football playoffs start ramping up, the Christmas tea starts falling apart. Then, one by one her children tell her they can’t come home for Christmas. As life starts to unravel, will Marianne remember the true meaning of the holidays?

Once again this book was not as good as others I have read by this author. I am usually a big fan of Susan May Warren and have given all her books 4-5 stars, but this one just wasn't there for me. It got great reviews from other people, so I think it was just me! It had a lot of football references in it and I did love that, being a football fan. But the rest of it was just kinda slow. It did get better towards the end but still didn't thrill me.
Very clean - no swearing, no sex.
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"Silent Night" by Deanna Raybourn (60 pages) - 3 Stars

After a year of marriage—and numerous adventures—Lady Julia and Brisbane hope for a quiet, intimate Christmas together—until they find themselves at her father's ancestral estate, Bellmont Abbey, with her eccentric family and a menagerie of animals.

Nevertheless, Julia looks forward to a lively family gathering—but amongst the celebrations, a mystery stirs. There are missing jewels, new faces at the Abbey, and a prowling ghost that brings back unwelcome memories from a previous holiday—one that turned deadly. Is a new culprit recreating crimes of the past? And will Brisbane let Julia investigate—?

I actually kind of liked this British book! Even though I only gave it 3 stars, it was a high 3 stars, LOL. I enjoyed the storyline. I loved the scene descriptions and I loved the characters! I liked the conversations between Julia and her husband, Brisbane. I did kinda feel like I was missing some pieces, not having read some of the other books. But it wasn't too hard to follow.

A nice short historical Christmas read and pretty clean too! I might actually be interested in trying one of her others.