The inventory manager at work is thinking about Christmas books, and is looking for the One that we can have as our featured book for the season. She threw two suggestions at me this week, and I have thoughts on both.

The Mistletoe Mystery
by Nita Prose
First sentence: “My gran loved all holidays, but her favorite by far was Christmas.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Release date: October 1, 2024
Content: It’s short and sweet, and nothing objectionable. It’ll be in the Christmas book section of the bookstore.

Christmases have been hard since Molly’s grandmother died a few years back. She and her boyfriend, Juan, have tried to make things special, but it hasn’t been quite the same. And then there was the unfortunate Secret Santa incident at work last year that made things a bit worse. But this year, it seems that Juan is really determined to make things shine. Except he’s acting a bit odd. Can Molly get to the bottom of things before Christmas?

I liked this one well enough, though I might have liked it more if I had read the other books in Prose’s series. Molly is an odd character, and I think I was missing parts so I didn’t quite get the whole picture. And as a Christmas-specific book, it tried to be O. Henry, but it fell flat. It was fine, but not one that I will get to be a part of our collection.

The Wood at Midwinter
by Susanna Clarke
First sentence: “It was winter, just a few days before Christmas.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Release date: October 22, 2024
Content: It’s illustrated, but it’s also a bit more adult in feel than a picture book would be. It will be in the Christmas book section of the bookstore.

This is a fable of sorts about a young woman who has a connection with animals and the woods and goes into them to ask for a baby, ends up with a bear cub as a child. I think. I’m not entirely sure what the plot of this one is. It’s more atmospheric – it has lovely illustrations, and I think the final package will be amazing. But, there wasn’t much substance to it at all. It tried to be a timeless Christmas tale, but I wanted more depth to it, more substance. And it says something when you like the author’s afterword better than the actual story itself.

Alas, no real Christmas winners yet this year.