My True Love Gave to Me

[shannonmiz]

I have never read an anthology before. I have also never read a holiday themed book before. I have read books that have happened to include some kind of holidays of course, but not one specifically designed for December holidays. I figured this would be a good place to start on both counts, but only if I had the pretty blue and gold book with the hot pink pages. Obviously. I figure a nice little blurb about each story should suffice, no?

1. Midnights by Rainbow Rowell This was my first foray into Rainbow Rowell's writing. The verdict? Success! I shall be needing all her otherbooks immediately. I liked this one so much for a few reasons: I loved delving into the past New Years, I connected with Mags (and related to her so much), and I was impressed at how developed the story was in such a short number of pages! 5/5

2. The Lady and the Fox by Kelly Link Well, I liked this one too! I didn't completely "get" what happened and what the deal with some of the characters was, but it was overall good. 4/5

3. Angels in the Snow by Matt de la Peña I really enjoyed this one, thought that the romance was adorable, but Shy's pride was driving me nuts! Overall, another win! 4/5

4. Polaris Is Where You'll Find Me by Jenny Han This story and I did not click. At all. At first, I found it silly, and then I found it was bumming me out, and then it just kind of ended. 2/5

5. It's a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown by Stephanie Perkins Adorable! I loved it, and I loved the kindness that was shown in a world that can be so very unkind. Definitely a good one! 4/5

6. Your Temporary Santa by David Levithan It was cute and hopeful, but I didn't feel particularly connected to the characters. 3/5

 7. Krampuslauf by Holly Black Well. This was a mixed bag for me. I did enjoy it, and there were some funny moments, but the whole thing was really pretty weird. And since it was a short story, there wasn't really time for explanation, so it just ended up being... weird. 2.5/5

8. What the Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth? by Gayle Forman Another win. I really related to Sophie and how lonely college can really be. Sophie and Russell were fantastic, and their banter was so fun. I definitely laughed during this one, and I liked it a lot. 4.5/5

9. Beer Buckets and Baby Jesus by Myra McEntire Okay, fine, I really kept thinking about Reba McEntire. Especially with the southern theme. Sorry. But anyway, I liked this one too. The message was really cute, and even though it wasn't completely enthralling, it was solid. 4/5

10. Welcome to Christmas, CA  by Kiersten White Another solid story. I may have cried a bit during this one (don't fret, it was happy tears). I really liked the message in this one too, but there was a weird food-magic element, and I still don't completely get it. Whatever, it is a nice story either way. 4/5

11. Star of Bethlehem by Ally Carter Well, aside from the fact that the story was unbelievable, I really enjoyed it. The writing was good, and I really cared about all the characters, even the more minor ones. Another enjoyable one for me! 4/5

12. The Girl Who Woke the Dreamer by Laini Taylor I... don't know what this is exactly. I mean, fantasy for sure. Anyway, I was extremely impressed with the amount of world building that Laini was able to put into such a short amount of pages! It was kind of incredible. Neve was a likable character too, and I enjoyed the story, although I am still a little confused about "the Dreamer". But that's probably on me. This just makes me excited to read Daughter of Smoke and Bone, because if she can create such an elaborate world in 30 pages... well a whole series should be epic! 4/5

Bottom Line: My first anthology and first holiday book was a success! There is truly something for everyone in this book. I loved the amount of diversity too, there were characters from quite a few different backgrounds, which was refreshing. The book brought a smile to my face, and served as a nice reminder about the real reason for celebration and togetherness.
This review was originally posted on It Starts at Midnight