Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!
You might remember me reading the first installment of this series for last year’s #blogmas here on Jorie Loves A Story? I happily felt dearly consumed by “Merry Hanukkah” as it was a unique spin on a #HolidayReads selection of story as there is a merger of religious traditions & holiday delights throughout the dramatic Women’s Fiction story-line wherein you truly feel badly for Rhonda! She has to not only juggle the love & romance in her life *but!* she has a family similar in vein to the one you might have seen in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”!!
As soon as you pick up Merry Hanukkah, you know your in for a delightful fun read – as Caruso has a natural talent for humour and wit; lacing in her style of Contemporary life with the fuell of comedy she evokes a sense of festive cheerfulness in her story. This isn’t a story to take too seriously as at the heart of the story itself is the truer blissitude and purpose behind why we all celebrate the holidays together as best we can as we merge our families together. Not all families can agree on the details but for those of us who celebrated the holidays whilst combining traditions and memories, those were the holidays you remember the most. Where everyone found a way to come together uniting through the blessing of the season and finding a reason to celebrate the joyfulness of being together.
This is what you can pick up on whilst reading the story – as Caruso wants to show how even if you have a family at odds with one another on certain points, there is renewed hope in being able to come together for the special moments in life which unite us without having to worry about all the little particulars that no one will remember anyway!
Caruso has a quick style – similar to writing for screen where she places you in-scene rather immediately and lets each individual scene speak for itself. As you shift between the chapters, you notice her style as you don’t wait long for embellishments on the previous disclosure and sequences, as you’ve found the plot has already moved forward. This works well for a short Holiday Contemporary like this one, as the pacing is matching the rush you feel at the holidays where there is never enough time to get everything accomplished you wish to get done.
The stories are delightfully on the ‘shorter side’ of Contemporary Women’s Fiction – perfect for the reader whose seeking a festively yet shorter read for their #ChristmasReads, #blogmas or even this week’s #ThanksgivingReadathon wherein you can nibble on the sharp dialogue and the witty narrative between holiday obligations, festive parties and the odd work commitment, too!
You will find yourself charmed by how the story is told whilst getting a good vibe and introduction to the writerly mind of Debby Caruso in the process! I honestly loved how she combined family & cross-religious traditions in a very modern & relatable setting.
If this is your first time seeing me feature this series, I hope you’ve brewed a cuppa to enjoy the information on this spotlighted post in conjunction with @SatBookChat whilst taking time to visit the transcript via Moments!
Without further adieu,
I give you my third”#SatBookChat spotlight”
wherein you can learn a bit more about the author & her series;
as well as where to find the archived chat we shared!
Happy Everything is the ongoing story of Rhonda and James, following them from Merry Hanukkah directly into the much anticipated second installment in the Merry Hanukkah series.
Everyone’s favorite newlyweds have settled into married life, but now it’s Dez and Jack’s turn to make it official. In typical Rhonda fashion, she’s determined to give her best friend Dez the best bridal shower ever, all while juggling yet another work crisis and still trying desperately to fit in to her new family situation. Unfortunately, Aunt Bunny is diagnosed with cancer, and the entire family starts coming apart at the seams. Rhonda and James step in to help support Uncle Ben any way they can, but it’s never enough for Rhonda’s incorrigible mother-in-law, Vivian. Will Vivian’s constant meddling finally cause Rhonda and James irreparable damage? Is there any way that Rhonda can pull the family together by hosting both Passover and Easter on the same weekend?
Why is Rhonda’s Dad suddenly dating someone much younger than him? And how can Rhonda come up with a new and exciting way to sell protein bars?
Follow Rhonda into this new chapter of her life, where success hinges on the latest and greatest ad campaign, and her personal triumphs are determined by how much she can do for others. Journey with her as she begins to slowly realize that she can’t be all things to all people; even the ones you love the most.
The #MerryHanukkah series:
**I am looking forward to seeing this series continue to expand!**
Merry Hanukkah (book one) | see also Review
Meet Rhonda, a semi-neurotic ad agent and Christmas fanatic, who decides she’s going to make a fabulous Hanukkah celeration for her new husband James and his family.
In the midst of trying to create the perfect day, Rhonda meets with various roadblocks: a hostile mother-in-law who takes the joy out of <i>any</i> day, recipes she can’t seem to master, a looming work deadline that’s sure to do her in, as well as an intrinsic belief that somehow the holidays are about something more… and that the “perfect” day isn’t always what it seems.
<i> Merry Hanukkah</i> is for all those celebrating both Hanukkah and Christmas, and for the Holiday Junkie in all of us. It’s a hilarious journey revealling the truth of what we value the most: faith, family, friendship and love.
Happy Everything (book two)
I had the joyful pleasure of being able to read “Merry Hanukkah” last December [2018] as part of my #blogmas and #ChristmasReads celebrations here on Jorie Loves A Story! It was a pleasure of joy to finally have the chance to re-highlight this lovely cross-cultural and merged religious traditions series through my chat @SatBookChat! I have been wanting to discuss the components of the series whilst getting a bit more into the heart of how Ms Caruso had approached writing it – the #SatBookChat forum on #bookishTwitter allowed for that to happen rather organically!
Whilst we focused on the characters and the elements of how the story was told – we also dug into the writerly process ‘behind-the-book’ as we chatted about the series itself. This allowed a new technique (at least to me) to be introduced to the #SatBookChat community wherein it was referenced how Ms Caruso had actors speak her manuscript aloud and gave a new dimension of understanding for how to edit your own story whilst comparing it to how an actor might approach telling it aloud! I loved the dimensional insight of this technique as for those of us of whom cannot read our stories aloud (ie. for me as a dyslexic inkslayer that’s rather futile!) and would love to ‘hear’ how our stories could become interpreted (long, long before we’d every need an audiobook narrator!) – this is a viable option to pursue!
As long as I mentioned myself you have a welcoming theatrical local community!
Similar to real life – the ups and downs Rhoda is facing in her family and in her relationships due try her patience but at the heart of this series is a woman whose attempting the impossible – a full merger of religious traditional celebrations – first it was combining (or attempting to rather) Christmas and Hanukkah; in the sequel its Passover and Easter!
I am hopeful to be able to read during either my selections for the #ThanksgivingReadathon and/or through my concentration of #blogmas #ChristmasReads in December. I, for one, can’t wait to see how Rhonda shoulders the dramatic crises of this installment against the tides of uncertainty as there is a health issue with someone rather dear to the whole family. I am sure, in Caruso fashion our heart will be tucked and pulled but there will be a heap of lovely wit & humour to allow ourselves to *breathe!* through the harder bits of the story!
Ahead of sharing my continuing adventures of this series – I hope through this spotlighted post and the accompanying archived #SatBookChat will help you decide if this is a stocking stuffer for a friend, co-worker or relative OR if it is meant to be on your personal #nextreads list!
This Debby Caruso Spotlight is connected with the chat I hosted via @satbookchat featuring this lovely author on 9th November, 2019.
The press Materials are courtesy the author.
View the archived chat via Moments
{SOURCES: Book covers for “Merry Hanukkah” series as well as the author biography as well as the synopsis were all provided by the author Debby Caruso and are used with permission. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets were embedded due to codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: #SatBookChat Debby Caruso Chat badge, #blogmas 2019 banner and the Comment Box Banner.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2019.
I’m a social reader | I tweet my reading life
.@joriestory | 📌#SatBookChat #BookSpotlight
the #MerryHanukkah series by @StoryDebby🎄Perfect #stockingstuffer
🕯️Hols in #WomensFiction
🎄Cross-heritage traditions
🕯️2nd installment of series
🎄Whilst Rhonda juggles romance, life & family!📖🕯️https://t.co/ibHL33QYmU pic.twitter.com/hU2NFyXd40
— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) November 23, 2019
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