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New York Times bestselling author Mary Kay Andrews's rollicking Christmas tale featuring the beloved characters from Savannah Blues and Savannah Breeze, now with a new cover and additional holiday recipes! 'Tis the week before Christmas, and antiques dealer Weezie Foley is in a frenzy to do up her shop right for the Savannah historical district decorating contest, which she fully intends to win. Her motif is Graceland Blue Christmas, with lots of tinsel, an aluminum tree, and enough tacky retro doodads to fill the Grand Ole Opry. But no sooner is she certain she's one-upped the trendy shop around the corner when Weezie notices things going strangely missing from her display. Despite the petty burglaries of her mysterious midnight visitor, Weezie still has high hopes for the holiday. Perhaps even an engagement ring is in the offing from her chef boyfriend, though Daniel, usually moody around the yuletide, seems even more distant than ever. Throw in some seasonal eccentricities from Weezie's decidedly odd family, a miraculous 1950s Christmas-tree pin, and a little help from the King (Elvis!) himself, and even Scrooge would have to agree there's real magic in the Savannah air this Christmas.… (more)
User reviews
I listened to the audio version, and the voice was fine for the main character, but there was hardly any differentiation among voices to identify who else was speaking--well, all the guys had low voices, except for the raging queen who of course had a lisp. Whatever.
Also very jarring to have the story end (cheeeesy ending) and then have recipes suddenly start up. They should have been put on a separate disk, or a readable insert, or something. "Will you marry me?" "Yes, of course!" "And the recipe for corned beef hash dip is..."
This was a predictable story I figured out who the homeless lady was pretty early on. There were also times when the story felt a little disjointed and I was disappointed in the ending. But all in all a fun story especially Christmas dinner. I wish there would have been a better ending but it was still a cute read.
3 Stars
However, it was a quick read and turned out to be quite enjoyable.
What set this one back for me was the implausibility of the family dinner (one or two crazies per family, please; not a half dozen!) and the tidy relationship subplot of Daniel's. Although I really should have seen that coming, since Andrews dropped so many hints.
All-in-all, this was a pleasant book that set me back only one day. I will probably read more by this author, and now that I realize that this is a series, I will start at book one.
I was in the mood to listen to a Christmas book and this was available. It was about what I expected – a light and funny feel-good Christmas story. It has just enough mystery to appeal to many cozy mystery readers, although there are a few uses of profanities that you wouldn’t find in a typical cozy. I’m sure the narrator did her best to mimic a Savannah accent but it just didn’t sound right. I almost abandoned the audiobook because of the reader’s accent, but I finally resigned myself to it.
Listening to this did not help my enjoyment. I found parts of it to be too dramatized and that ruins a book for me. The story line ended up being okay, as were the characters. All in all, a quick read with some seriousness and silliness thrown in. For me, chick lit often ends up in the "okay" range, so this one was no different. (3/5)
Originally posted on: "Thoughts of Joy..."