To start off the holiday season this year, I read Blame It On The Mistletoe by Beth Garrod. This book was a great way to properly get me in the holiday spirit. The book is about two girls, Elle and Holly, who swap houses for Christmas. Elle is looking to boost her followers on social media and prove old enemies wrong, while Holly is looking to escape the past year and all the heartache it brought her. Both girls hold high hopes for this house swap and try their hardest to fix their current lives. In the end, both find out that what they thought they needed was actually not the solution, and the answer has been in front of them the whole time. Elle learns that her social media life and her real life were too separate and decides to combine them. Holly heals her heartbreak and realizes that no one can have a truly perfect Christmas by leaving their loved ones. 

This book was a great read, and I really enjoyed the story! Because of school work and other activities, I didn’t get to read it all together. I read over the course of about two weeks, but if you have free time you could probably finish this book in a day or two. Even though the story kept getting interrupted by my Song of Solomon assignments, it was still fun to read. 

The story was interesting and kept me entertained. Never once did I get tired of the book or wanted to stop. The relationships that both girls got into were cute and enjoyable to read. The characters were well-developed and the character perspectives were fun to read from. In some books, I just want to skip chapters to get past the perspective of one character, but I never once felt like that in this book. 

Although the story was good, the writing wasn’t really anything amazing. At times, the writing seemed over-exaggerated or pointless, but overall it was decent. It fit the plain and simple vibe of the book. Overall, it didn’t really affect how the book felt to me: it was still a genuinely good read. 

Furthermore, the book didn’t really stand out to me as one I’ll love and cherish forever. I wasn’t really expecting it to. It’s the kind of book you get just to have something easy to read and pass the time. It did fulfill my expectations of being a pleasant read, though. 

Altogether, I’d give this book a 9/10. It was a cute way to get into the holidays and start off the Christmas season. I really enjoyed reading this book even though it did take me a bit to get through it. I’d recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a cute holiday read or just a cute rom-com feel book. Next I am going to read All The Jingle Ladies by the same author. It’s another Christmas themed book and I am hopeful that the book will be better than the title and just as good as Blame It On The Mistletoe. 

Now, are you ready to hear the title of what will soon become your new favorite book? 

It’s called Verity. 

Verity follows a young woman named Lowen, a struggling writer who is offered a job that could save her whole career. The husband of the famous author Verity Crawford offers Lowen the job of finishing his injured wife’s best-selling books series. Lowen takes the job, but when she goes to the Crawford’s house to look at Verity’s notes, she finds a dark and chilling autobiography written by Verity, admitting to actions she has taken to get what she wants. As Lowen is drawn further and further into the autobiography, so is the reader. The story lures you in, and you can’t help but become obsessed with every new chapter of Verity’s past. 

I would give this book a definite 10/10, 5-star rating! It is just amazing how Hoover captures your mind and holds it hostage, making it so you don’t want to and can’t stop reading until you’ve finally finished the book. And even the ending is absolutely amazing! You think that you’ve gone through everything while  reading the story, but then the ending comes, and catches you completely off guard! After I read the ending, it was all I could think about. 

Because this book leaves you thinking and thrown, it surely deserves an award. I’m not even sure I’ve fully explained how utterly ingenious it is. That  being said, the first thing you should do after reading this article is to go to your nearest library and check out Verity. I truly hope you take my advice, but if you don’t, ask any other person who has read Verity, and they will shove the book right in your hands. 

So why are you still here? Go read Verity!