Audible Book Review: A Little Christmas Magic by Suzanne Rogerson
I’m so happy to be welcoming Suzanne Rogerson to Novel Kicks and the Audible blog tour for A Little Christmas Magic. Book 2 in the Winter Warmer Series.
Part of the Winter Warmers Series, A Little Christmas Magic is a heart-warming collection of stories with a focus on family, friendship, love and goodwill.
From a much-loved family pet that goes missing to a neighbour in need.
Chance meetings and the kindness of strangers.
Overcoming trauma to help others and being prepared to make sacrifices.
A father rushing to get home to his kids in time for Christmas.
Dive into a short and sweet story to get you in the festive spirit.
Eight Stories included:
Poppy’s Christmas Wish
Last Minute Dash
Driving Home for Christmas
The Honeymoon Period
A Christmas Toast
The Last Train Home
The Wrong Post
Taking Care of Belle
*****
I do love myself some festive fiction and A Little Christmas Magic was just that, magic.
Made up of a series of short stories, there is something for everyone in this book. All of the stories were heart-warming. Some were a little sad but had a positive message at their heart.
Poppy’s Christmas Wish is the first story in this collection and it’s a strong start as it doesn’t take long to tug at all the feels. It features Lauren, Mike, Poppy and Kitty the cat.
Last Minute Dash is one of the shorter stories in the collection and tells the story of a man, a woman and a chance meeting.. When I started to read, I immediately got Christmas Wrapping by The Waitresses in my head.
Driving Home For Christmas was next. There was something about this story that just screamed ‘the magic of Christmas.’ Nigel is struggling to make a last minute delivery before he can go home to his family. He meets Fred and Betty and they help him find his way.
by 
Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: Walking Into A Snow Globe
It’s Friday which means it’s time to start writing some fiction.
Fiction Friday is our weekly writing flash fiction prompt.
The aim is to write for a minimum of five minutes and then keep going for as long as you can.
Don’t edit, just write. Once you’re done, you’re welcome to share in the comments but there’s no obligation.
Today’s Prompt: Walking into a Snowglobe.
Your character is not the biggest fan of Christmas. Why this is the case is up to you. Maybe they’ve never liked it? Maybe they have a bad memory they don’t want to face?
One day, a random person hands them a small snowglobe with the North Pole inside. After trying to return it, they end up having to take it home.
They discover the scene inside the snowglobe starts to move. Your character looks closer and then is mysteriously pulled into the scene where things are very real.
Write about their time there. What do they find?
This can be as festive as you like.
Have fun.
by Book Extract: The Unswitchable by Yoav Blum
I’m so excited to be welcoming Yoav Blum to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for his book, The Unswitchable.
A world where identity can be borrowed, traded, or escaped creates an instantly intriguing premise in The Unswitchable by Yoav Blum. The contrast between universal shapeshifting and one man’s inability to change forms the center of a story shaped by danger, secrecy, and shifting trust.
In a society where identity has become fluid and interchangeable, the idea of being permanently anchored to one body carries unexpected consequences. The Unswitchable imagines a world transformed by the Switch-Bracelet—technology that allows people to step into new forms for convenience, ambition, or escape. Amid this culture of effortless reinvention, one person’s inability to switch turns into a dangerous anomaly. When a dying stranger occupying a temporary body delivers a message tied to a part of his life he never understood, the fragile distance he keeps from the world collapses. Assassins with ever-changing faces quickly descend, hunting for something he carries without knowing. With no way to hide inside another body and no certainty about who is approaching him at any moment, he must navigate a maze built on deception, borrowed identities, and shifting allegiances. His unchanging self—once isolating—becomes the only reliable constant in a chase that forces him to confront the truth of why he alone remains unswitchable.
Yoav has shared an extract from The Unswitchable with us today. We hope you enjoy it.
(Content: Violence)
*****beginning of extract*****
She took a deep breath, her eyes cast down toward the glass of water in her hands. The light of the setting sun snuck through the open window behind her, painting the back of her right shoulder.
I looked at her, trying again to decide whether to believe her story.
She shuddered. The air in the room suddenly felt different, or perhaps I just imagined it. When she lifted her eyes toward me, I saw something that wasn’t there a moment earlier. Urgency, panic, maybe.
“Dan?” she asked.
The tone of her voice changed. It was the tone people use when they want to say something important, or when they’re suffering from amnesia and have no idea who you are. I wagered on the former.
She moved toward me, abruptly, stepping into the light of the setting sun.
“Dan?” she asked again.
by Book Review: A Christmas Caroline by K.L. Crear
It’s a pleasure to be welcoming K.L. Crear to Novel Kicks and the blog blitz for her book, A Christmas Caroline.
Caroline’s got frugality down to a fine art. She can make a tin of soup stretch for days, considers “reduced to clear” her love language, and thinks Christmas is just a daft excuse for people to throw their money away on tinsel trimmed tat.
But Christmas Eve night takes a turn when her best mate, Marlene, drops in for a chat. Lovely, right? Except Marlene’s been dead for seven years and she’s got a message for Caroline, she will be visited by three spirits and if she doesn’t pay attention, her future’s looking bleaker than the contents of her fridge freezer.
Caroline’s convinced she’s having a hallucination. Ghosts? Surely not! But as the night goes on, she starts to wonder if she might just learn something worth more than her latest discount voucher. And for someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing, this might be the wake-up call she didn’t see coming.
Move over Ebenezer! This modern, laugh-out-loud retelling of the Dickens classic has a new Scrooge in town. Perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella.
*****
Caroline is not a fan of Christmas. She’d much rather spend 25th December alone than spend any money and time with others. In fact, to be more accurate, she’s not a fan of people and spending money throughout the year either.
However, she’s about to be shown the errors of her ways by a very specific group. Can Caroline find merriment in the festive season and beyond?
Oh I do love a festive story and this one did not disappoint.
by Book Review: The Garden of Shared Stories by Clare Swatman
It’s so exciting to be welcoming Clare Swatman back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her latest book, The Garden of Shared Stories.
Emma is at an all-time low the day she meets Nick. She sits down in a quiet rose garden in her local park, and from nowhere a handsome man sits next to her and turns her world upside down.
Over the weeks, she and Nick meet regularly, always in the same place, always at the same time. They discover they have a lot in common – shared heartbreak, and shared dreams. They tell each other stories about the people they’ve lost – things they’ve never told anyone else. Bit by bit, they get to know each other, and fall in love.
But there’s a catch, because however much they have in common, they have one big thing keeping them apart… twenty years apart. Because when Nick is sitting in the garden it’s 1999 – two decades before Emma is there.
Emma never expected to fall in love again, but now she has, she’s not going to give up on it without a fight. But how do you turn something impossible into a happy ever after?
*****
Emma is mourning the loss of her husband, Greg whist Nick is trying to move on after the death of his wife, Dawn. Through a twist of fate, they both find themselves visiting the bandstand in the town gardens at the same time. Will they see where life takes them or will they be kept apart by a force stronger than fate?
I have been a fan of Clare Swatman’s books for a long time and never pass on an opportunity to jump onto one of her blog tours if I can and so, I couldn’t wait to get started on The Garden of Shared Stories.
I want to start by saying how pretty this cover is. Stunning.
OK, so down to the story. In one word, masterful.
The author wastes no time in tugging at the heartstrings and pulling the reader right into the story and taking hold, not letting go until the end.
by Book Club
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