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annabellelb_'s review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
nancykorb's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this book. I wanted to read a x-mas book after I finished putting up y x-mas tree. I loved the cover of the book. I also enjoyed the way that it was laid out. Each chapter dealt with someone else story. After each chapter it gave a explanation of where that ingredient came from. I didn't
want to put the book down. To me that is a sign of a interesting book.
This book was about our relationship with others and the lives of that person. Things aren't always rosy but you can find good in every situation.
want to put the book down. To me that is a sign of a interesting book.
This book was about our relationship with others and the lives of that person. Things aren't always rosy but you can find good in every situation.
mishale1's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
The most surprising thing happened to me with this book: when I started reading it I thought I might not finish it. It was so, so sad at the beginning! The main character began by talking about her daughter’s infertility struggles and that’s not a storyline that generally bothers me but she described her daughter giving birth to a stillborn baby and that was terribly sad. Then the next character was talking about her son having an accident at work which resulted in his death at only 27 (his death was pretty graphically described in my opinion).
I thought, my goodness, this is a Christmas book! Why is it so sad and heavy?
But I kept reading.
And I actually really liked the book.
First, I love the concept most of all. In this book, 12 characters get together for a cookie night once a year. They each make 13 dozen cookies which is a dozen for each person and a dozen for a hospice. They also each put those cookies in a cute, usually keepsake container. Then everyone gets together at Marnie’s house where there will be a potluck meal, wine, cookies and talk.
Each character is introduced with their own chapter. We hear about their drama and their cookie. Each chapter starts with a cookie recipe, moves into the story of that character, and then wraps up with a little history of an ingredient. I thought the pages about the history of ingredients weren’t super exciting so I generally skimmed those pages.
This book kind of reminds me of Elin Hilderbrand’s book Five Star Weekend. Because each of these characters is connected through Marnie and Marnie met them at different stages of her life. One she met as a child, some as a young woman, a new mom, some in work environments, some at concerts, some will be tied to her by a baby.
The characters were not all likable. Some of their stories really made the narrator put to be kind of horrible.
And it’s true that there’s no end to anyone’s drama (well, one character but I don’t say who!) by the end of the book. But I didn’t mind that.
This isn’t so much a story about Christmas. It’s about a group of friends who are there for each other. They have known each other for many years and they support each other through good and bad, through sickness and health, through death, through new life, through it all. And it’s about the importance of keeping those friends close and about always trying to celebrate the good despite the bad.
I thought, my goodness, this is a Christmas book! Why is it so sad and heavy?
But I kept reading.
And I actually really liked the book.
First, I love the concept most of all. In this book, 12 characters get together for a cookie night once a year. They each make 13 dozen cookies which is a dozen for each person and a dozen for a hospice. They also each put those cookies in a cute, usually keepsake container. Then everyone gets together at Marnie’s house where there will be a potluck meal, wine, cookies and talk.
Each character is introduced with their own chapter. We hear about their drama and their cookie. Each chapter starts with a cookie recipe, moves into the story of that character, and then wraps up with a little history of an ingredient. I thought the pages about the history of ingredients weren’t super exciting so I generally skimmed those pages.
This book kind of reminds me of Elin Hilderbrand’s book Five Star Weekend. Because each of these characters is connected through Marnie and Marnie met them at different stages of her life. One she met as a child, some as a young woman, a new mom, some in work environments, some at concerts, some will be tied to her by a baby.
The characters were not all likable. Some of their stories really made the narrator put to be kind of horrible.
And it’s true that there’s no end to anyone’s drama (well, one character but I don’t say who!) by the end of the book. But I didn’t mind that.
This isn’t so much a story about Christmas. It’s about a group of friends who are there for each other. They have known each other for many years and they support each other through good and bad, through sickness and health, through death, through new life, through it all. And it’s about the importance of keeping those friends close and about always trying to celebrate the good despite the bad.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Cancer
louvis_12's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
I want to say over the top cheesy, but scared the author will write a chapter on the history of cheese. Mindless holiday read.
worldroamer's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
bleucaldwell's review
3.0
This was a nice holiday read -- cozy, but a little sad. The characters could have used a little more depth, and the story lines sometimes seemed forced, but I liked the concept of the Cookie Club creating the structure of the story, and I loved the interspersed bits of food history. There were some nice recipes as well, all from Pearlman's real-world cookie exchange.
jryan's review
4.0
Cute and hard hitting holiday book about love and how much great friendships can affect your life. Plus free cookie recipes!!!
lorees_reading_nook's review
2.0
A bit all over the place. There are too many characters in this book to really get involved with any of them.
books_and_chocolate's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I didn't feel the friendship in this book at all, there were so many characters, I couldn't keep track. The chapters about ingridients were completely unneccessary and In hated the Main character - she made everything about herself
engelkat's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75