I recently received two Christmas books from authors to review, and being the day before Christmas and the first day of holidays, I was definitely in the mood for a Christmas romantic drama.
“‘Tis the Season” by Olivia Folmar Ard is a novella about Lauren, a woman in her 20s with a good job, a gorgeous husband and the perfect beach house. A typical millennial, Lauren has a tendency to airbrush her life in her frequent social media posts. However, things aren’t actually going as well for Lauren as she would like others to believe. Diagnosed with a medical condition, Lauren’s plans have been put into a spin. With her marriage starting to strain and an inevitable Christmas with her in-laws looming, Lauren’s life feels like it’s starting to unravel.
This is a great little holiday read. Folmar Ard excels at slice-of-life fiction, and this novella captures the nuance of modern families, navigating marriage and balancing career priorities – especially for women. The thing that really resonated with me the most however was her ability to get on paper what it’s really like living in the year 2016 with social media at your fingertips. The thrill of notifications – likes, comments – and the temptation to check your phone is something that I know I am definitely susceptible to. There’s a scene in particular where Lauren and her husband are arguing about how much time she spends on her phone and how much time he spends watching television that struck me in particular. This book is a great reminder that it’s a good idea sometimes to put away your electronic devices to spend quality time with your friends and family, especially during holidays like Christmas.
A quick yet insightful Christmas book that would be a great one for tonight’s Jólabókaflóð.
Tinted Edges 