"The Three Gifts of Christmas"

 I know that this book wasn't next on my "Coming Up Next" list, but I figured since Christmas was this week now would be a good time to put it on here. "The Three Gifts of Christmas", by Anita Stansfield, is a story about a girl named LeNay that leaves an uncomfortable situation at home and is rescued by an amazing and unbelievably kind widow. It's at the home of this kind widow where LeNay learns what it is like to be a part of a real family. They include her in the daily chores of running the ranch, and when Christmas comes around they include her in all their celebrations and family traditions. LeNay learns the true meaning of Christmas and falls in love while she's at it.

This is a heart-warming story about family bonds, love, and kindness. Plus it's not really a Christmas book, so you can read it any time of the year! I recommend this to any reader looking for a book that will put a smile (and maybe even a tear) on your face. Let me know what you think!

"The Crush"

I almost didn't put this book on here because it is not a book that I would normally read. I had a friend recommend it to me, so I thought I'd check it out...and while I will probably never read more of Sandra Brown's work, I did enjoy "The Crush". Her writing honestly just sucked me in. I read this book in all my free time over a couple of days.

It's about a female doctor who serves jury duty and the criminal that ends up being acquitted becomes obsessed with her. Then the cop that is investigating a murder of one of her co-workers falls for her too, and the two battle for her affections - the criminal in a break-into-your-house creepy way, and the cop in a big-tough-cowboy I'm going to protect you way.

This book has just the right mixture of mystery, suspense, comedy, and romance. It also is full of swear words and some fairly detailed intimate scenes. That's the stuff I try to stay away from, so like I said, I won't be reading any more of her books. However, if that doesn't bother you and you are looking for a new author to check out, then definitely check out Sandra Brown. I just wanted to put this book on here to give you a heads up in case you pick up one of her books and don't know what to expect.

"Tess of the D'Urbervilles"

This book was on the reading list for my AP English class in high school. I thought I loved it then, but each time I read it I fall in love with it even more because I find something new that I didn't notice in my previous readings. "Tess of the D'Urbervilles", by Thomas Hardy, is a Victorian Novel that depicts what a truly pure woman is. I love this book because it challenges the social expectations of the time and has a heroine that probably appalled some of the women back then. Tess is a simple country girl that wasn't warned of the evils of the world. So when she ventures out on her own for the first time she gets herself in a bit of trouble with a boy. Now she is 'ruined' and she knows it, so she goes on to live her life and tries to be her best self. When a respectable gentleman falls in love with her she in no way leads him on even though she has fallen for him too. He asks her to marry him multiple times but she always says no, denying herself any type of happiness because she doesn't think she is worthy of it. Once he convinces her that he will always love her, no matter what, she agrees to marry him. Ah, but as soon as she tells him what happened to her, he acts like she is a stranger and leaves her. Over the next year she withstands multiple trials and hardships all while staying true to her husband and remaining a respectable lady. I'm not going to tell you what happens in the end because you will want to find out for yourself.

 I love Tess because no matter what happens, how bad things get for her, she always tries to be her best self. It's a sad tale that will make you happy and break your heart at the same time. This book is kind of thick and was written in the Victorian era so it will probably take a couple of weeks to read. However, it is time well spent. This will be a book that you come back to again and again. I would recommend it for anyone high school age and up. Let me know what you think! (The BBC mini-series for this book is really good too).