My True Love Gave to Me

[Stephanie]

This was my first anthology, so I wasn't completely sure how I was going to like something like this. It was hard for me to completely switch gears every time I started reading a new story, especially if I really enjoyed one story, and then had to start a completely different one.

I'll break it down into each short story because some of the stories I have a lot to say about.

Midnights by Rainbow Rowell: 5/5
This one was really cute and fun and I would definitely read this if it was a full length novel.

The Lady and the Fox by Kelly Link: 1/5
Reading this story right after Midnights was hard, especially since I liked Midnights so much. This one was weird. I had no idea what was happening most of the time and really didn't care for the main character and what happened. There's really no explanation to what is going on, which kept me from really committing to the story. The fact that this girl falls in love with a guy she's only seen a handful of times on Christmas was unbelievable to me.

Angels in the Snow by Matt de la Peña: 3/5
I liked this story, but sometimes I got really frustrated with the main character. He was starving most of the time, and this girl was offering him food, but he would turn down her offer because of his own stupid pride. He was frustrating at times, but the story was cute once we got past the annoying part.

Polaris Is Where You'll Find Me by Jenny Han: 2/5
Another weird one where the main character is pretty much the adopted daughter of Santa and all the elves are jerks to her, besides one, who she is in love with. I couldn't get into it. I felt sorry for the poor girl who really had no place in the north pole. I like the little glimmer of hope we get at the end, but I still had trouble really caring.

It's a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown by Stephanie Perkins: 5/5
I loved this one (of course)!! I don't know how Stephanie Perkins does it, but she had me rooting for these two people to get together after only knowing each other for an hour. And I just want to hug them both. And I want a full length novel about them.

Your Temporary Santa by David Levithan: 1/5
I hate that I have to give the LGBT story a 1 out of 5 but, ugh. I really got tired of the main characters depressing thoughts. His boyfriend, Connor, wants him to dress up as Santa, sneak into his house at night and act like he's putting presents under the tree for Connor's little sister. It's a cute idea. But the main character (I don't remember his name) had thought's like "he wants me to be Santa because I'm fat and will fit the suit better" I mean, come on. And then there's the constant thoughts about their relationship and how he's sad that he will never be in that house as Connor's boyfriend, because Connor doesn't want to come out to his family about their relationship. There was barely any hope there that made me want to cheer on the couple.

Krampuslauf by Holly Black: 2.5/5
This one was weird. It was kind of hard for me to get into, but the ending was very satisfying and I liked the little magic that was in it. It was sort of fun, but nothing spectacular.

What the Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth? by Gayle Forman: 2/5
I liked this one, but there were time when I got very annoyed by Sophie. Sophie is from the "big city" so she feels very out of place in the small town college. She feels like no one gets her or understands when she uses sarcasm (which apparently is so "big city" of her). I found it kind of insulting. I did really enjoyed the romance and how it made Sophie open her eyes to how she was acting.

Beer Buckets and Baby Jesus by Myra McEntire: 4/5
This is fun! And definitely a nice relief after the Sophie Roth story. It was fun to read about how this little church production would manage to pull everything off after everything that could go wrong, went wrong.

Welcome to Christmas, CA by Kiersten White: 5/5
I loved this one. I wasn't that into it at first, but the more I read the more I loved it. I really liked that this new, young chef comes in and just happens to know what people want to eat, even when they don't even know. There was a little but of magic in there, which I would say is exactly what Christmas is about, that little bit of magic.

Star of Bethlehem by Ally Carter: 3/5
This story was cute and I liked how I didn't know what was going to happen until it happened. It was a fun idea, what would happen if two girls switched plane tickets? The story was a little far-fetched, but that didn't really keep me from liking the story. I thought the ending wrapped up a little too quickly and a little too nicely, but overall, it was a good story.

The Girl Who Woke the Dreamer by Laini Taylor: 1/5
I feel like I'm the only one who didn't like this story. It was weird, to the point where I would set down the book and think "WTF am I reading?" I would go online and read reviews for it and how awesome it is, which would give me hope that I would like it the more I read. But that didn't happen. It was unique, I'll give it that. But I had no interest in what would happen to the characters at all and I was just happy to be finished with the book.