A Double Review of The Santa Suit by Mary Kay Andrews
Today Kim and I bring you a double review of The Santa Suit by Mary Kay Andrews! You guys know we both will read practically anything she writes! We both gave The Santa Suit 5 stars and it also touched me in a personal way, which will be in my review. I listened to the audiobook while Kim read the physical book.
The Santa Suit
Author: Mary Kay Andrews
Narrator: Kathleen McInerney
Published: September 28, 2021
Audiobook/224 Pages
Book Description:
When newly-divorced Ivy Perkins buys an old farmhouse sight unseen, she is definitely looking for a change in her life. The Four Roses, as the farmhouse is called, is a labor of love—but Ivy didn’t bargain on just how much labor. The previous family left so much furniture and so much junk, that it’s a full-time job sorting through all of it.
At the top of a closet, Ivy finds an old Santa suit—beautifully made and decades old. In the pocket of a suit she finds a note written in a childish hand: it’s from a little girl who has one Christmas wish, and that is for her father to return home from the war. This discovery sets Ivy off on a mission. Who wrote the note? Did the man ever come home? What mysteries did the Rose family hold?
Ivy’s quest brings her into the community, at a time when all she wanted to do was be left alone and nurse her wounds. But the magic of Christmas makes miracles happen, and Ivy just might find more than she ever thought possible: a welcoming town, a family reunited, a mystery solved, and a second chance at love.
Kim’s Rating: 5 Stars
Kim’s Review:
What a perfect way to start out the holiday season!! This is a Hallmark Christmas movie in book form … except it’s better than the movies! The best way to describe it is “feel good”. It’s not a long book, nor is it complicated with lots of drama or conflict. It’s just a sweet story that probably won’t happen in real life, but stirs up all those warm and fuzzy feelings you want around Christmas time. I wasn’t expecting it, but I was in tears by the end. My heart felt so big and happy that I wanted to tell Ivan that we should buy a fixer upper farm house in the country and keep it decorated all year long! I might just add this book to my annual Christmas reading list!
Jessica’s Rating: 5 Stars
Dates Read: November 9-12, 2021
Format Read: Audiobook
Jessica’s Review:
The Santa Suit is a cute novella that will get you all ready for Christmas! As with many of her more recent novels, MKA has characters that deal with houses that are ‘fixer uppers’, this time newly divorced Ivy buys an older farm house called The Four Roses without seeing it. Unaware of how much work needs to be done on the house until she sees it firsthand, Ivy finds herself overwhelmed as the previous owners left their personal possessions. This includes a Santa suit which she just can’t throw away. Inside the suit she finds a very old letter written by a little girl wanting her daddy to come from the war. Ivy then becomes determined to find out what happened to the little girl and her family.
Ivy becomes friends with a local girl who is engaged to a man she has never actually met, and she isn’t exactly how she described herself to him. There is also a potential romance and starting over for Ivy.
This is an enjoyable Christmas tale without a complex story to it and everything wraps up nicely in a sweet and cute novella that we need after the last couple of years. If you are a fan of MKA, do yourself a favor and read The Santa Suit this Christmas season!
The Santa Suit touched me personally, from when I was in middle school on, my own dad played Santa every Christmas. It was something he loved doing. Listening to the audiobook brought back those memories.
The Santa Suit is recommended!
Here are some pictures of my dad in action as Santa:
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Short Story Sunday: The Marriage Test by Suzanne Redfearn
The Marriage Test
Author: Suzanne Redfearn
Narrator: Karissa Vacker
Published: November 23, 2021
Audiobook
Reviewed By: Jessica
Date Read: November 23, 2021
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
From the bestselling author of In an Instant comes a heartfelt short story about one couple’s journey to discover if there really is a secret ingredient to happily ever after before their upcoming holiday wedding.
When Ava Barnes’s boyfriend, Justin, proposes after a whirlwind romance, the young couple embarks on a quest that will test their love. For generations, engaged couples in Ava’s family have traveled into the Everglades to retrieve the egg of the magnificent frigate bird in order to bake it into a marriage cake. Those who succeed live happily ever after, while those who fail are destined for heartbreak. With Ava’s beloved grandmother gravely ill, never has the marriage tradition meant so much. Ava’s dream is to pass the test so her grandmother can attend Ava’s holiday wedding to the man she loves.
So Ava, Justin, and their best friend Walton as a witness set off on a remarkable adventure that will challenge the true depth of their character and devotion. An emotional, heartrending journey of self-discovery, The Marriage Test turns out to be far more than any of them imagined.
Is there any test more challenging than a test of love?
Jessica’s Review:
The Marriage Test is a novella that takes place in December, but that is all in regards to a ‘holiday’ story. Justin proposes to Ava after a short romance. Eva’s family has a long-standing tradition where engaged couples must go on a ‘quest’ of sorts to the Florida Everglades to retrieve a frigate bird’s egg and then they make their marriage cake (not their wedding cake). For generations, the couples who have succeeded have had long happy marriage while the couples who do not complete the quest or fail to attempt the quest at all fail at their marriage, which includes Ava’s parents. And Ava is determined to complete this quest.
Ava and Justin prepare for their quest along with their friend Walton (who does not agree with the relationship) as a witness to the events. We get to go into the Everglades with the trio and have a bit of an adventure. For me, I was expecting more of the quest than what we got, so it was a little bit of a let down for me, but there is a reason to this. The shortness of the quest and other signs point to you knowing how this story should go.
This short story is a complete story and optimistic at the end. I really enjoyed the idea of couples going on a quest to prove their upcoming marriage along with the baking of the marriage cake. This short story shows how everything that is supposed to happen does.
Karissa Vacker narrates the audiobook. She is a narrator I enjoy, so her narrating the story was a pleasant surprise for me. If you enjoy short stories that have a little bit of an adventure and romance, The Marriage Test will be one for you to read!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Book Review: Five Total Strangers by Natalie D. Richards
Five Total Strangers
Author: Natalie D. Richards
Published: October 6, 2020
Audiobook
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: November 14-17, 2021
Jessica’s Rating: 1 star
Book Description:
A hitched ride home in a snow storm turns sinister when one of the passengers is plotting for the ride to end in disaster.
When Mira flies home to spend Christmas with her mother in Pittsburgh, a record-breaking blizzard results in a cancelled layover. Desperate to get to her grief-ridden mother in the wake of a family death, Mira hitches a ride with a group of friendly college kids who were on her initial flight.
As the drive progresses and weather conditions become more treacherous, Mira realizes that the four other passengers she’s stuck in the car with don’t actually know one another.
Soon, they’re not just dealing with heavy snowfall and ice-slick roads, but the fact that somebody will stop at nothing to ensure their trip ends in a deadly disaster.
Jessica’s Review:
Five Total Strangers shows the stupidity and drama of young adults and why car companies don’t tend to rent cars to people under age 25! Mira is a high schooler flying alone trying to get home for Christmas. Her plane lands as a huge blizzard is set to hit the area. With her anxiousness to get home, Mira decides to catch a ride with her flight seatmate Harper and friends. But things are actually far from what they appear…As everyone in the car are actually strangers to each other and someone is up to no good!
The whole novel is in the car with few stops and the drama that continues. The group faces wreck after wreck as the weather worsens and their phones start dying and things start disappearing.
This is a novel that shows that having common sense works; Don’t go out in weather that is going downhill fast with complete strangers as you could be risking your life in multiple ways. Unfortunately, most people (including all of our characters) do not have common sense these days, but then we would not have this novel if Mira did!
The novel just did not work for me as we arrived to the climax and found out the responsible party. It came too much out of left field and there were also some outstanding questions left at the end. These characters were not sympathetic at all, so I did not care what happened to them. I have been lucky in the past that most of the YA/NA (Young Adult/ New Adult) books I have read have not had the overbearing drama that this novel did, otherwise I would not be able to read YA/NA!
Unfortunately, this is not a novel I can recommend.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK