Twelve holiday themed stories written by some of the most popular young adult writers out there right now (I assume, as I don't read any of their stuff) sounds like a perfect easy, cosy holiday read. This book has been on my radar for a while, not least because of its fantastically designed cover. Like... look at that magnificent festive treat of an illustration!

And now, thanks to my discovery of Book Depository, I actually have a physical book and I get to read it and stop feeling jealous of all those bookstagrams that post pretty photos of all the holiday (and other, regular). And since the stories contained herein include all the winter holidays,  I felt as if I could slot it in between Christmas and New Year's Eve. Alas, let us move on.

1. Midnights | Rainbow Rowell

"There's always room for you with me, on every coffee table."

Mags and Noell have been the best of friends since New Year's Eve 2011. Every midnight on December 31st since has had meaning for them. This story is told in short snippets and covers four New Year's Eve parties and all that goes along with them when you add in teenagers.

2. The Lady and the Fox | Kelly Link

"At Honeywell Hall, she is only as real as Elspeth and Daniel allow her to be."

Miranda is almost an orphan. Her mom is in a Phuket jail and she lives with aunt that just tolerates her. Her mom's ex boss takes pity on her and invites her to spend holidays with them - the perfect, mysterious Honeywells. This is a strange one as it reads like a fairytale and a supernatural twist is included. It reminds me strongly of The Snow Queen.

3. Angels in the Snow | Matt de la Pena

"This was where music had always existed for me. Inside a dark bathroom. Alone."

Shy Espinoza is a boy from the wrong side of the tracks who ends up getting a scholarship to NYU. Still, as money is tight he cannot go home and instead spends Christmas cat-sitting for his boss. The only issue is - the fridge is left almost empty and he has no money. While slowly strumming a guitar and trying not think about his twisting stomach, he meets the upstairs neighbor Haley who is forced to use his shower. The two talk, she finally feeds him and they slowly share secrets and get to know one another...

4. Polaris Is Where You'll Find Me | Jenny Han

"This year feels especially tinseled."

Natty is an Asian orphan. A human girl living on the North Pole. She was adopted by Santa when her mother left her in his sleigh one Christmas Eve. And while living in Polaris and hanging out with elves is magical, she cannot escape the fact that she doesn't fit in. Being a few feet taller than everyone around you can put a damper on any friendships. One year she goes on the trip with Santa and meets a boy in Sweden - Lars. She tells those who mock her that he's sending her letters but she's secretly crushing on Flynn. Things get a bit fuzzy when Flynn's enlisted to help her find this mysterious boy of hers.

5. It's a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown | Stephanie Perkins

"She loved the husky green scent of the Fraser firs and the crinkle crunch of their shavings underfoot."

Marigold and her mom live in a cramped apartment full of unpacked things. This usually doesn't bother her but when the Tree Lot Guy comes in his bafflement at their living arrangements is expected. She wasn't planning on buying a tree as her mom's a pagan and all that, but she went to the lot because of the Guy - or more accurately because of his voice. Being an animator on Youtube, Marigold is always on the hunt for people to voice her characters and this guy is perfect candidate. Now, if only she had the guts to ask him. While helping her sort out the apartment, North also helps her get her story out and returns the favor by sharing his woes as well...

6. Your Temporary Santa | David Levithan

"'The suit won't even need to be altered!', he promises. This is, of course, what I am afraid of."

Connor asks his Jewish boyfriend to play Santa so his sister would see him and not stop believing. His dad used to do it but as he isn't around anymore )not explained what happened) he is worried she might stop believing in magic. Very reluctantly, he agrees, but he feels like an impostor. He'd rather be in their house openly, holding Conn's hand, being a couple, than sneaking in and pretending to be someone else. He has a conversation with Riley as Santa, but Conn's other sister Riley who has never seemed to like him is there as well...

7. Krampuslauf  | Holly Black

"After Mom left, I wanted crystal balls with which to scrye my mother and magical chalk that could draw me a doorway to her, and a magical potion I could make her drink that would make her care about us."

Penny, Wren and Hannah are three best friends. They go to a Krampuslauf celebration to spy on Penny's boyfriend. Roth is a rich boy who goes to a private school and is cheating on both Penelope and Silke, his other, rich girlfriend. The chaotic good of the trio, Wren, decides to trap Roth by throwing a NYE party and making his so drunk he'll confess his sins. Then, there's Hannah who is a dreamer and who has been told too many times to be wary of her active imagination. She once dreamed up a boyfriend who seemed so real to her she cried when they "broke up". So, she is the one who throws the party, trying to make it look as glamorous as possible, but things don't work out quite as they'd hoped. There's a lot of whimsy in this one and I am not really fond of it, especially since t really has very little to do with Christmas.

8. What the Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth?  | Gayle Forman

"Not sure there is such a thing as a minor miracle."

Sophie is a Jewish girl who is in her first year of college, living in a town called Bumfucksville. She is from NYC and so the people in this pastoral college all refer to her as a "big city girl" which she hates and feels is a veiled insult. Being short on money means she cannot spend Hanukkah with her mom but has to stay behind - as the plane ticket prices drop after the holidays she has to wait. After going out on a caroling even she meets Russel - an African American guy who shares her brand of humor. They end up going to Oz where she eats amazing food and shares even more amazing banter. Despite being from different social and economic background, the two connect and feelings blossom...

9. Beer Buckets and Baby Jesus | Myra McEntire

"I hated generalizations about the South, but the Rebel Yell did make me embarrassed for my home state of Tennessee."

Vaughn Hatcher is a trouble maker. He's been wrecking havoc on his hometown ever since kindergarten but has been getting away with it. He describes himself as creative, but teaching other kids to pull pranks is not something the adults in the community appreciate. When he accidentally sets the church's storage house (and all the Christmas pageant supplies) on fire, he is forced to forgo his Christmas trip to Miami in order to help make the pageant work. When everything goes wrong with the play due to a snow storm, Vaughn decides to use his creativity to curb chaos, instead of creating it...

10. Welcome to Christmas, CA | Kiersten White

"Everyone here is miserable, and we're all just punching our time cards until we die."

Maria lives in a town called Christmas, a place that is a "consensus-designated place" more than a town, actually. Her mom Paloma runs the local diner, while her boyfriend Rick works at the baron mine. She feels stifle and miserable and cannot wait to get out. One day, her mom hires a new cook though, and Ben seems to make everything more magical. He keeps making foo that is not on the menu but that makes people happy. More and more customers come in and they actually tip the waitresses. There is also Candy, the other waitress who is in an abusive relationship with Jerry and who needs to break free. Though the spirit of Christmas, Maria realizes that Rick actually loves and is proud of her, that her mom is right there, that Christmas is not such a miserable place with miserable inhabitants after all...

11. Star of Betlehem | Ally Carter

"Now I know what real stars look like. I'm sick of imitations."

Lydia and Hulda have a chance meeting at the Chicago O'Hare Airport. Lydia is headed anywhere that is away and Hulda needs to get to New York to see her boyfriend. Since she doesn't care about where she end s up, Lydia exchanges her ticket with Hulda's and ends up in Oklahoma. A whole family is waiting for her and she realizes that Hulda was supposed to see her other boyfriend. For his part, Ethan is supportive and covers for her, but his skepticism about who she is and why she's here accounts for certain awkward situations he puts her in. She is meant to be a student from Iceland who's come to spend 5 months in the USA. Secrets are revealed, things unravel and Lydia uncovers a part of herself that she's been hiding away for a while...

12. The Girl Who Woke the Dreamer | Laini Taylor

When I was younger I thought it was a book and I was desperate to read it since I saw it read to kids in almost every Christmas-themed movie. Alas, I realized it was a poem and read i right away years ago. Still, when I saw this beautiful mini version I had to buy it - if nothing that to read to my own children cone day (if I end up having any). 

If you're even reading this today - have a very very happy Christmas Eve and enjoy the time with your family - born or adopted along the way. I hope you all enjoy the magic of the holidays.

This book was made into a Hallmark movie starring Andrew W. Walker and Meghan Ory - and of course, I've seen it. Still, I wanted to read the story as well, as I was sure there would be some differences. And there were. This story is much sweeter, and there are less characters and twists. The TV version of Dash is let off the hook a bit to easily for my tastes, and they also added some things to Ashley to make the movie more interesting, I suppose. There was more action there, but the story is sweeter in the novel. Still, it somewhat fell flat, as the movie added more banter between the two, somehow fleshed out their characters more (as much as possible in a Hallmark movie) and there was more of a festive feeling in it, as well. 

Dash Southerland is an ex military who is rushing to Seattle to get to an important job interview. Ashley Davison is a grad student who unexpectedly got some time off work and wants to surprise her widowed mother for Christmas. All these plans sound good, but they fall through when there are no free seats available so close to Christmas.

Both are frustrated and head to a car rental place but, as luck would have it, there are two of them and only one car left.  Reaching an agreement - after Ashley has a phone conversation with Dash's mom to make sure he's not a serial killer - they embark on what they think will be bring, routine journey. But, luck is not on their side.

FBI agent Wilkies has been after Ashley Davison, a terrorist who always escapes justice, for two years. Apprehending her would be the crowning glory of his career. This makes him more determined than ever to catch the criminal mastermind. He is lead to a series of twists and turns and believes Ashley to be holding Dash hostage and that she is planning ton planting a bomb on Seattle's Space Needle on New Year's Eve.

On the other side, Ash and Dash are getting closer, despite their initial disagreements. They travel though some amazing places, meet unusual people, start warming up to each other and lowering shields. Still, there is something that holds Dash back from giving in, and still Ashley cannot help being attracted to his gentlemanly and chivalrous nature. And well, he is not immune to her sweet and charming disposition, either.

But what will come of it all? Will they actually dive into the relationship? Is Ashley really a criminal who is conning Dash into helping her out? Will the FBI catch her? Read and find out...

Asta Looney is a 33-year-old single mother living in Chelsea. She is an Irish ex-pat and the reasons for her moving away are not really nice. Her 16-year-old daughter Kitty is the reason she left home, sneaked out in the night and never looked back. A teen pregnancy was too much for the small, religious Irish village too take and Asta saw no other way than to start a new life in a new place.

Having struggled for years, she has made a life for herself. Her gorgeous daughter is well-mannered and a good kid, though her recent wish to gain independence is not sitting well with her mother. She is also asking about her father more and more - questions Asta simply cannot answer. Etienne was a teen crush - not quite love - a French student who passed through and with whom Asta simply wanted  to experience sex with. She just never planned on him leaving a little souvenir behind.

She has a job as a PA now, working for Conan, an elegant, womanizing and disorganized journalist. Although Asta can see herself by his side, he isn't really showing any signs of being interested. He is also content having her as a human life-organized and doesn't do much to get her career in journalism started. That is, until a story appears that would be just perfect for her. Under a perfect storm of circumstances - her cousin Oona cannot come to see her and mentions some family problems, along with Conan giving her an opportunity to write a story about a miracle in her hometown, Asta swallows a bitter pill and goes back home with her daughter - the shameful secret that made her run away - back to Tobercree. And this trip would prove to be the hand that unravels the thread of family history.

The quaint town she left behind is still the same, only with more tourists coming round to see the miraculous weeping statue of St. Catherine. Ready to unravel the scam she is sure hides behind the miracle, Asta's plan is slowly unraveled by Father Rory - a young, handsome man that has no job being a priest, and by Jake - an Englishman who has bought and refurbished the village's Big House. He's handsome and charming, with a hint of danger that both keeps Asta away and keeps pulling her in. There are also her typical stern Irish mother, her austere sister Gerry and her husband, the local celebrity, radio-show host Martin Mayberry. Asta has never liked Martin, and at fist, you get the feeling that it's just because of his bland personality and huge ego. But past cannot stay in the past and soon the secrets and past pains are revealed, and Martin's true colors are revealed for all to see.

When it comes to her personal life, Asta's hang-ups from her first foray into love carried on far into her adulthood, preventing her from having  a meaningful relationship with a man, even though she craves partnership and closeness. She often mentions she is is messed up in her conversation with Angie, a friend and fellow single mom, but it is not clear what she means until the end of the book, when past hurts are revealed and suddenly, everything makes sense.

I picked this book up because I wanted an easy Christmassy read. Alas, this turned out to be much deeper than that and I am glad, in a way. This isn't a festive book by any means. There is romance and it does happen around Christmastime, but there is so much pain and trauma that it took me a while to get through it. That's why this post is coming a bit later than I anticipated. Still, I have enjoyed the novel, and even though there are certain chick-lit cliches here, the characters are a bit more fleshed out, more real than one would anticipate in a book of this genre. That is why I can recommend it, but beware -- it's not all gingerbread cookies and mistletoe kisses.