Lindsey Love Loves

I've been in a bit of a reading slump, mainly because I've been bingeing on Christmas Netflix and spending loads of time crocheting. I've managed to finish a fingering weight blanket and I'm about a third of the way through a cardigan. I finished Lindsey Love Loves (free on KU or £3.10 to buy) several days ago, and I've got three or four Christmas cozies on the go that I haven't read a word of in days. So much for working through some of my Christmas TBR, which is an embarrassing amount.

I've been watching a lot of Netflix over the past weekend since my husband was in Wales working on our smallholding. I always save my viewing binges for when he's away, so I can go through an entire series in a few days. This time it was Virgin River on Netflix (UK link). I was immediately hooked by the scenery, ambiance and aesthetics, then drawn in by the story. I really like the characters and since I'm a sucker for character led viewing and reading, I worked my way through the two seasons in two days. I do hope there's a season 3 coming up. 

The Virgin River show is based on a 19 book series by Robyn Carr, and I've already managed to acquire all of them. I already had the first two books buried in my Kindle hoard, and then found all but two of the others on Scribd (audiobooks), so I got the other two on Kindle. I'm happy to see that there are three Christmas books in the series. My name is Xylia, and I'm a book hoarder. 

ETA: I've just discovered that there are actually 21 books in the Virgin River series, and the other two are more Christmas novellas!! I found them on Scribd, both in one audiobook called 'Tis the Season.

So, back to Lindsey Love Loves. I really don't have too much to say about it, since I have such a terrible memory that, after only a week, I've forgotten much of the story. Having such a memory can be a blessing, though, because I get to go back and read books I know I've liked in the past and read it as if I never have before. But, I digress. Lindsey was a likeable character, as were most of the characters. I loved the banter between her and the love interest whose name I've already forgotten. They certainly got into some situations, whether it was actual physical danger, cringeworthy behaviors, or even from family members who delighted in telling embarrassing tales of the love interest's past. 

I'd definitely recommend giving Lindsey Love Loves a read. My only con about it is that sometimes it felt a little choppy, as in suddenly we're given a jump in the timeline that resulted in a second of realizing we were in a different place in the story now. 

I'm going to force myself to keep the TV off, to put the cardigan down for a while, and finish at least two of the Christmas books I have on the go. I used to be a one book at a time person, and lately I've found myself having four or more books going at once. I'm not quite sure how this happened, and I don't think I like it. I'm going to cut down to two, and they must be of different genres. Get it together, Xylia. 

Well, that was quick...

It's been a weekend of lashing rain, strong winds, and fireworks upsetting the cats. I haven't felt the best and with all the crap going on in the world today, I thought last night would be a great night to crawl into a bed with clean sheets, a thick duvet, and a crocheted blanket to snuggle down with my first Christmas book of the year. It was ridiculously early, too. I was in homebody, hygge heaven. The Christmas Bake Off  (free) by Abby Clements was calling to me. 

I warmed to the characters immediately, nice folks, cozy homes and shops, all that. I was a bit surprised that there were so many characters revealed in the first couple of pages, and I wondered how I'd ever keep them all straight without having to refer back (I do have a problem with that unless characters are introduced slowly), but it turned out not to be much of a problem. It's set in a typical little village scenario, the kind of idea I love, but would be miserable to actually live in. I don't want anybody up in my business, and I don't want to know everybody else's. 

So, pleased with my choice, I settled in for an hour or two of reading before I put head to pillow. But, alas, it was not to be. Twenty-six pages later, the book was done! I had no idea that I'd chosen a short story. I also have to admit that I added this book to my Kindle in 2012 and was just now reading it, so that's the state of my TBR Kindle books. 

So, what does a book junkie do when the Christmas fiction bug bites? They stockpile, so that's what I spent the next hour doing...adding Christmas books of every sort to my Kindle, mostly Kindle Unlimited, but some I paid for. Christmas books of all kinds, general fiction, romance, cozy mysteries of the bakery and bookshop types, and even a few Halloween/Christmas witchy mash-ups. I am now ready to binge on them until the end of the year. 

So, all ended well. I read a sweet, heartwarming Christmas short story, and then got to do one of the things I love most, purchase books. 

As I sit here now, early the next morning, rain has started splashing down again, and I'm just getting ready to choose which book to read next. It's a toss up between the third in the Bromance series or one about human brains. Whichever it is, it's the perfect morning for coffee (well, chicory and barley "coffee" for me because...ulcer), a snuggly crocheted afghan, a cuddly cat, and a book, so I can't go wrong.