Santa’s Kiwi Holiday by Maria Farrer & Deborah Hinde

From the publisher: After all his hectic work Santa feels he needs a rest. He scans the globe for where to go. He wants sea and sun, not ice and snow - mountains, rivers, native bush. So where does he choose? Why sunny New Zealand of course. Over the days that follow Santa visits popular tourist sights throughout New Zealand until, with batteries thoroughly recharged, he returns to his North Pole home to prepare for next Christmas.

Reading this book reminds me of the John Hore Grenell version of “I’ve Been Everywhere, Man”. As a family we’ve tiki-toured our own country first of course so where Santa goes, we paved the way (sometimes literally although Bran has now outgrown that unfortunate stage). Love the illustrations on this one.

And here the link to Grenell’s version and a little bit of trivia for the John Denver fan – guess who he got the name from? Scroll to the bottom for a bit of a surprise.

Brian, The Big Brained Romney/Brian Saves Christmas, by Yvonne Morrison & Deborah Hinde

From the publisher: Brian is a new lamb born to a couple of the sheep that pull Santa’s tractor. But Brian doesn’t like rugby – or flying, for that matter. He’d much rather gaze at the stars than fly through them. But brainy Brian’s talents prove essential when the team are fog-bound on Christmas Eve.

Best read in the same tune as “Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer”, this is one we purchased as we loved this combinations version of a Kiwi Night Before Christmas (ours is complete with the bach but it comes in all formats, including a board version for little hands). What’s even better is our kids know someone who’s a bit like Brian, very smart and not easily merged into the group of rough-and-tumble boys that populate the school ground. So while the kids didn’t enjoy my singing voice much, we did have a good time spotting the “Kiwi” bits and a discussion about how it takes all sorts to get the job done.

TK Roxborogh - Bloodlines

Amazon Description: 'Do not feel guilty that you do not love me like her.  Our union will be another story, Fleance.  I will be a good wife and an excellent queen.' Fleance is the new king of Scotland, but he is the ruler of a divided nation. According to his advisors he must marry a woman from a royal bloodline to strengthen his position.  It seems that Rachel, sister of Fleance's dead friend King Duncan will be the next Queen of Scotland, although Fleance cannot forget Rosie, his first love. But when Rachel is abducted, Fleance's position becomes even more dangerous and a bloody civil war seems inevitable. Love and duty collide in this gripping tale of valour and betrayal. The epic story that began with Banquo's Son continues.

Tania Roxborogh’s an Otago-based English teacher and her premise for this series was – What happened when Shakespeare’s Macbeth finished? The first title of the trilogy was Banquo’s Son, has Fleance growing up far too fast – fleeing to England after the murder of his father, and learning both love and the necessary skills that will enable him to enact revenge. I absolutely loved it and was waiting with a lot of anticipation for this one. Bloodlines is still a teen read (late teens, if you please) and IMO, suffers a little from the trilogy bug, in that the second title is never quite as good as the first or the last.

But having said that, it’s still a good read. Plenty of action and romance, which any teen wants, along with attention to the historical details (crafty teacher – get them learning while they’re being entertained although I was looking for any reference to flagstones) – I liked the sneak peek of William of Normandy and wonder how much of a part he will play in Birthright and thought Aha! at the wedding in the last chapter. I can’t say too much as really anything would be a spoiler but things are set up very nicely for Birthright and I’m looking forward to that one too.

Erin McKean - The Secret Lives of Dresses

Amazon Description: Dora has always taken the path of least resistance. She went to the college that offered her a scholarship, is majoring in "vagueness studies," and wears whatever shows the least dirt. She falls into a job at the college coffee shop, and a crush on her flirty boss, Gary. Just when she's about to test Gary's feelings, Mimi, the grandmother who raised her, suffers a stroke. Dora rushes back home to Forsyth, NC, and finds herself running her grandmother's vintage clothing store. The store has always been a fixture in Dora's life; though she grew up more of a jeans-and-sweatshirt kind of girl, before she even knew how to write, Mimi taught her that a vintage 1920s dress could lift a woman's spirit. While working there, Dora befriends Mimi's adorable contractor, Conrad. Is he after Dora, or is working from a different blueprint? And why did Mimi start writing down--and giving away--stories of the dresses in her shop? When Mimi dies, Dora can't get out of town fast enough and cedes control of the store to her money-hungry aunt who wants to turn it into a t-shirt shop for tourists. But ultimately, she returns to Forsyth, willing to battle whatever may stand in the way of her staying there. Dora can trade her boring clothes for vintage glamour, but can she trade her boring life for one she actually wants?

The Amazon description probably gives away too much but the only true fault I found with this book is it gallops to the end. It’s a good storyline, realistic dialogue and bonus! No sex scenes, so safe to give to Grandma or the MIL as a present (so refreshing after the last book I read! Romance is not dead yet after all). And the secret lives of the dresses – cool idea.

Love in a Cold Climate - Nancy Mitford

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Having recently devoured (totally, totally enjoyed) the Duchess of Devonshire’s latest memoir, Wait for Me! the boss looked aghast when I said that I’d never read any of Nancy Mitford’s fiction and decided to fix that. The result was a loan of her Penguin classic Love in a Cold Climate, a idle weekend and an unweeded garden. Well, it was give up that or the laundry, and clean little boys will win out every time.

Basically, if you’re as uneducated as me (the boss’ terminology!) the story is told from the POV of Fanny, a childhood friend of Polly Hampton and describes beautifully the fancies and failures of the upper classes to find love, happiness or satisfaction in life. It’s a bit incestuous but actively reflects the social morality of the time.

One line I cracked up at reading online reviews of was “basically this is advanced Mills & Boon”. http://classicpenguins.blogspot.com/2009/12/love-in-cold-climate-nancy-mitford.html He might be onto something…that's pretty much how I saw it. Have ordered the others from the library tho!